Sad News! Legendary Bobby Mihaylov Passes Away

Legendary national team captain Borislav Mihaylov passed away this morning in Sofia. The great Bulgarian goalkeeper had been in serious condition since late last year following a stroke and ultimately could not recover, despite the care of his family and medical staff. He passed away at the age of just 63, a milestone he reached less than 50 days ago (February 12).

Mihaylov, widely regarded as the best goalkeeper in the history of Levski and Bulgaria, is one of the most iconic figures of the Bulgarian national team, earning 102 caps, 60 of which were as captain. He led the team during its most successful era in the nation's history.

He was a key contributor to the major achievements of the golden generation that secured a legendary success and bronze medals at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA. A highlight of his performance on American soil was the Round of 16 match against Mexico, where he became a hero by saving two penalties in the shootout.

He also participated in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, playing in four matches. Mihaylov holds the record for the most World Cup appearances for Bulgaria with 11, a record he shares with Nasko Sirakov. However, the goalkeeper leads in minutes played—975 compared to 822 for one of his best friends on and off the pitch. Furthermore, Bobby Mihaylov started in all 11 matches, making him unique in this regard.

Mihaylov is the only goalkeeper to have played in both of Bulgaria's World Cup Round of 16 appearances. He captained the team to its first-ever World Cup finals victory, a 4-0 win against Greece in Chicago, as well as during other legendary wins over Argentina (2-0), Mexico (1-1, 4-2 on penalties), and the quarter-final against Germany (2-1).

Exactly 30 years ago, he wore the captain's armband during our first-ever appearance at a European Championship in 1996, and also for our first victory at the tournament, a 1-0 win against Romania in Newcastle.

In his club career, he was a three-time league champion (1983/1984, 1984/1985, 1987/1988) and a three-time Bulgarian Cup winner (1982, 1984, 1986) with Levski, and was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 1986. After the infamous 1985 cup final between CSKA and Levski, he was among those banned from football but was reinstated six months later. He spent eight seasons with the "Blues," making 243 appearances. His most memorable matches include the encounters with Stuttgart in the autumn of 1983 (1-1, 1-0) and the autumn of 1984 (1-1, 2-2), where Levski twice defeated the heavily favored German side. Mihaylov was instrumental in these victories, particularly in the 1983 second leg, where he delivered arguably the best performance of his career for the 26-time champions with numerous saves.

After leaving his boyhood club, he played for Belenenses in Portugal and Mulhouse in France. In the mid-90s, he returned to Bulgaria to play for Botev for two seasons before moving to English club Reading. At the end of the century, he returned to his homeland once more, playing half a season for Slavia before finishing his career at Zürich in Switzerland.

After retiring as a player, he began a career in football administration. In 2000, he became a member of the Executive Committee of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU), and shortly after, its first vice-president. In 2005, he was elected president of the BFU and, with a brief interruption, held the position until 2023.
This makes him the longest-serving president of the Bulgarian Football Union, with a tenure of 16 years: from 2005 to 2019 and from 2021 to 2023. Under his leadership, the national team's training facility and the BFU headquarters in Boyana were built.

Mihaylov is a recipient of the highest and most prestigious award of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Order of Stara Planina, First Class, which he received after the 1994 World Cup. He is also an honorary citizen of Sofia.

Mihaylov was the first and only Bulgarian to have been a member of the UEFA Executive Committee. The former goalkeeper held this position for a full 8 years until 2019.

Two years ago, along with two other Bulgarian legends, Hristo Stoichkov and Krasimir Balakov, he co-founded the "Nationals '94 Foundation."

The legendary goalkeeper's son, Nikolay Mihaylov, confirmed the sad news to our media outlet, asking for respect for the entire family during this incredibly difficult time. The family will publicly announce the details of the farewell service for one of the most iconic figures in the history of Bulgarian football.

The team at Sportal.bg extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Borislav Mihaylov.