📍Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1966 – 1984“Hristo Stoichkov was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second city, an ancient town built on hills beside the Maritsa river, in February 1966. His father, Stoichko, was the goalkeeper of the local club, Maritsa Plovdiv, and Hristo grew up around the club, watching his father play. Unlike his father, though, he was always more interested in scoring goals than stopping them, and he spent his childhood playing in the streets and parks of Plovdiv. At eleven his father enrolled him in the youth teams of Maritsa, where he spent several years. He was fiery, fast and fiercely competitive, with a powerful left foot and a temper to match. After his youth years he played for the works team of the Yuri Gagarin factories in Plovdiv, and then, as a teenager, moved to Hebros, a club in the small town of Harmanli, near the Turkish border, in the third division. There he scored 14 goals in 32 league games, and his form caught the eye of the CSKA Sofia coach, Manol Manolov. In 1984 he joined CSKA Sofia, where he became Bulgaria's best player, despite being banned for a time after a brawl in the 1985 cup final. In 1990 Johan Cruyff signed him for Barcelona, where he won four league titles and the European Cup in 1992. At the 1994 World Cup he led Bulgaria to the semi-finals, sharing the Golden Boot, and he won the Ballon d'Or that year. Plovdiv is proud of its most famous footballing son.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today