THOUSANDS GATHER TO SAY FAREWELL TO LEGENDARY BULGARIAN FOOTBALLER TRIFON IVANOV

Thousands of relatives, friends, former team-mates, fans and ordinary people attended the memorial service for the famous Bulgarian football defender Trifon Ivanov on 17th of February.

Trifon Ivanov died of massive heart attack at the age of 50 on 13th of February.

The memorial service was held at the Palace of Culture and Sport in Veliko Turnovo. Hristo Stoichkov flew from Miami and Krasimir Balakov from Germany to say final farewell to their friend and team-mate.

Messages of condolence were read out on behalf of Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

On behalf of Minister of youth and Sport, Krassen Kralev, Ivanov was awarded posthumously with the “Wreath of the Winner” certificate of state honour.

The Mayor of Veliko Turnovo announced that in commemoration of Trifon Ivanov, the municipality will establish an international junior football tournament, which would be held every year.

Trifon Ivanov will remain in the history of Bulgarian football as one of the best defenders - Footballer №1 of Bulgaria for 1996, 3-times champion of Bulgaria with CSKA team, and in 1996 became a champion of Austria with "Rapid"(Vienna). He played 77 matches and scored 6 goals for the "A" national team of Bulgaria, that reached the fourth place in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

The memorable goal Ivanov scored against Russia at the National Stadium "Vasil Levski" on 10th of September, 1997, qualified Bulgaria for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.