Actor Pavel Ivanov, who played the role of Georgi Asparuhov-Gundi in the film of the same name, shared on Facebook a little-known fact about his character, namely:
“Rudeness in football is a sad phenomenon that offends,”, says Mr. Georgi Asparuhov, “… otherwise, football is a pleasure,”, he concludes.
In the midst of perhaps the strongest statistical season for Mr. Asparuhov (1966), a coaching approach emerged in Bulgaria that was applied by defenders against him. The coaches’ instructions: Don’t let him play! Kick Gundi!”- were just a small but representative part of the attitude towards him. Ruthless and targeted tackles on Mr. Asparuhov marked the days leading to the end of his career, accompanied by constant pain. He himself shared with his closest ones that he experienced severe pain even when walking calmly. He underwent several surgeries in Vienna, and renowned European doctors (such as Robert Jelinek, who operated on him) remarked, “I wonder how he managed to play in such a condition.”
This started to happen as early as 1966, when he was only 23 years old. He should have had time and a path ahead for a wonderful career in sports, along with opportunities to represent Bulgaria to the world, but his crutch was always at hand. He eagerly awaited the words from the doctors, “You can play again,” and like a child, he rushed back onto the field, he was a restless soul, something that had been said of him since he was young. He could live without food, he could live without water, but he couldn’t live without football. There are recorded instances that in his very first match after returning from a serious injury, he was injured again. This happened during a match against then “Spartak” Plovdiv.
Mr. Asparuhov did not suffer injuries from foreign players in international formats. He was only badly kicked in Bulgaria.
He came to the conclusion that without proper treatment, he wouldn’t recover. He spent over two years in clinics without being able to play fully. It reached a point where the national team asked him to simply be present with the squad, without playing, so that opponents at the World Cup would be intimidated and to lift the spirits of our boys. Even then, there were people who doubted him. They thought he was simulating. After another surgery in Vienna, he returned home with a jar containing his own bone fragments. “What is this?”, his wife asked him. “These are my simulations,”, he replied.
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