Georgi Chilikov (; born 23 August 1978) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who manages Dunav Ruse.
He was part of the Bulgarian 2004 European Football Championship team, which exited in the first round, finishing bottom of Group C, having finished top of Qualifying Group 8 in the pre-tournament phase. Chilikov scored his only goal for the national side in the 2:1 home win against Andorra on 16 October 2002 in a Euro 2004 qualifier.
Club career
Born in
Burgas, Chilikov was educated in Chernomorets Burgas' youth academy. From 1999 to 2001 he played for the other club from
Burgas – Naftex. His move from Naftex to Levski Sofia made him the record holder of the highest transfer between Bulgarian clubs. In June 2001, Levski Sofia signed Chilikov to a four-year deal for a record €1.25 million. During his time with the "blues", Chilikov established himself as a dependable goal-scorer. On 24 April 2004, he netted a
last-minute goal against archrivals
CSKA Sofia in an
A PFG match to help his team to a 2–1 away win.
On 28 August 2002, Chilikov failed to convert a penalty in a 1–0 loss against Ukrainian side
Dynamo Kyiv in a third qualifying round Champions League match.
In 2005, he moved to Portugal, joining
CD Nacional. In June 2007, Chilikov was loaned out to CSKA Sofia for one year and 50 000 euros price. Despite some reservations on the part of the CSKA supporters (due to the time he had spent at Levski Sofia), Chilikov quickly managed to win them over. On 11 August 2007, he netted an equalizing goal in an A PFG match against
Litex Lovech.
On 30 August 2007, Chilikov scored a
last-minute goal against Cypriot side
AC Omonia in a
UEFA Cup game and helped his team advance to the next stage. However, despite generally impressing in his substitute appearances, Chilikov failed to establish himself as part of the starting 11. In January 2008, he was transferred to Chinese club
Dalian Shide. After that he had brief stints with
FC Tobol, Chernomorets Burgas and Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
International career
Between 2002 and 2004, Chilikov earned seven caps for Bulgaria, scoring one goal.
Style of play
Chilikov was known for his powerful heading ability.
Coaching career
From July to September 2010 he served as assistant manager in Neftochimic Burgas. Chilikov was assistant manager in Chernomorets Burgas from June 2011 to May 2014. In July 2016, Chilikov was assigned as coach of PFC Levski (Sofia) U17 youth academy team. Between October 2016–June 2017 he was the Head Scout of Levski Sofia and was in charge of the team's selection.
On 9 June 2017, Chilikov was appointed as manager of Second League club Oborishte Panagyurishte.[ Георги Чиликов част от щаба на Димитър Димитров в Лудогорец] In September 2021, Chilikov became the head coach of Arda Kardzhali.
Career statistics
- Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.
Honours
Levski Sofia
- * Bulgarian League: 2002
- * Bulgarian Cup: 2002, 2003, 2005
- * A PFG Top goalscorer: 2003 (22 goals)
External links
