55 Years Since the Deaths of Georgi Asparuhov and Nikola Kotkov.

On this date 55 years ago, Bulgarian and Levski football legends Georgi Asparuhov and Nikola Kotkov tragically died. The two lost their lives in a severe car crash at Vitinya. They were travelling to Vratsa for the 50th anniversary of Botev Vratsa football club. In the area of the Vitinya Pass in the Balkan Mountains, the car driven by Gundi collided with a truck that came out of the side road to the Arabakonak Pass and blocked the main road. After the impact, the car caught fire, and Georgi Asparuhov and Nikola Kotkov died.

At around 11:30 a. in the Vitinya Pass, the car crashed into the fuel tank of a truck. A fire followed, and the two football legends were burned alive.

Gundi and Koteto are two of the undisputed figures in the history of Bulgarian football. During his football career, Georgi Asparuhov played for Botev Plovdiv and Levski Sofia. With Levski, he became Bulgarian champion three times — in the 1964/1965,1967/1968 and 1969/1970 seasons — and won the Bulgarian Cup three times, in 1966/1967,1969/1970 and 1970/1971. In the 1964/1965 season, he scored 27 goals for Levski and became the league’s top scorer. He twice reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup — in 1963. He played 50 matches for the Bulgarian national team and scored 19 goals. He took part in three World Cups — in 1962.