View source for Todor Diev

{{Short description|Bulgarian footballer (1934–1995)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{family name hatnote|Nedyalkov|Diev|lang=Bulgarian}}
{{Infobox football biography
 | name                 = Todor Diev
 | image                = Todor Diev (1963).jpg
 | caption              = Diev in 1963
 | fullname             = Todor Nedyalkov Diev
 | birth_date           = {{Birth date|1934|1|28|df=y}}
 | birth_place          = [[Plovdiv]], [[Kingdom of Bulgaria]]
 | death_date           = {{Death date and age|1995|1|6|1934|1|28|df=y}}
 | death_place          = [[Plovdiv]], [[Bulgaria]]
 | height               = 
 | position             = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]<br />[[Midfielder#Winger|Winger]]
 | youthyears1          =  | youthclubs1    = 
 | years1  = 1950–1952 | clubs1   = [[FC Spartak Plovdiv|Spartak Plovdiv]]               | caps1 =  | goals1 = 
 | years2  = 1952–1953 | clubs2   = [[Spartak Sofia]]                                    | caps2 =  | goals2 = 
 | years3  = 1953–1966 | clubs3   = [[FC Spartak Plovdiv|Spartak Plovdiv]]               | caps3 =  | goals3 =
 | totalcaps = 308     | totalgoals = 146
 | nationalyears1       = 1955–1965 | nationalteam1  = [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] | nationalcaps1 = 55  |nationalgoals1 = 16
 | pcupdate             = 22 November 2012
 | ntupdate             = 22 November 2012
 | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Football]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{BUL}}}}
{{MedalBronze| [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Melbourne]] |[[Association football at the 1956 Summer Olympics|Team Competition]]}}
}}

'''Todor Nedyalkov Diev''' ({{langx|bg|Тодор Недялков Диев}}; 28 January 1934 – 6 January 1995) was a [[Bulgaria]]n [[football (soccer)|footballer]], part of the Bulgarian squad that won the bronze medals in the [[Association football at the 1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/24285 |title=Todor Diev |work=Olympedia |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

==Career==
Diev began his career at the local [[Spartak Plovdiv]]. He made his professional debut in 1950 and since then he played in 308 matches and scored 146 goals. He had a brief period in [[Spartak Sofia]] in 1952–1953. He won the [[Bulgarian A Professional Football Group]] in 1963 and the [[Soviet Army Cup]] in 1958. Diev was crowned as championship top scorer for three times in 1955, 1962 and 1963. He is one of the legends of Spartak Plovdiv. He was recognized as all-time best player of the club.<ref>[http://spartakpd.info/history.php History of Spartak Plovdiv]</ref>

Todor made his international debut on 13 November 1955, when he scored a goal against [[Czechoslovakia national football team|Czechoslovakia]] in a 3–0 win in [[Sofia]]. He was capped 55 times for [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria national team]] and scored 16 goals. Diev played for the team in [[1962 FIFA World Cup]] in [[Chile]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070702123511/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=21/teams/team=43936.html The Bulgarian squad for 1962 FIFA World Cup Chile]</ref> and won a bronze medal in the [[Association football at the 1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Summer Olympics]] in [[Melbourne]]. His most remarkable goal was against [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] on 18 May 1958 at [[Estádio do Morumbi]]. After the match, he received an offer for transfer to a Brazilian club, but he refused.<ref>[http://marica.bg/show.php?id=18613 15 years passed from Diev's death] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130115095445/http://marica.bg/show.php?id=18613 |date=2013-01-15 }}</ref> Diev was the national team's captain from 20 December 1964 until his retirement. His last international match was against [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] on 27 October 1965, Bulgaria lost 5–0 in [[Brussels]].<ref>[http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=4732 Todor Diev international appearances, matches and goals – eu-football.info]</ref>

==Honours==
; Spartak Plovdiv (1953–1966)
*[[Bulgarian A Professional Football Group|Bulgarian A PFG]]: [[1962–63 A Group|1962–63]]
* [[Soviet Army Cup]]: [[1958 Bulgarian Cup|1958]]
; Bulgaria (1955–1965)
* [[Football at the Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics Tournament]] Bronze Medal: [[Association football at the 1956 Summer Olympics|1956]]

;Individual
*[[Bulgarian A Professional Football Group#Top_scorers_by_season|A RFG top goalscorer]]: [[1955 A Group|1955]], [[1962–63 A Group|1962–63]]
* Honored Master of Sports: 1960

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Navboxes
| title = Bulgaria squads
| bg        = white
| fg        = darkgreen
| bordercolor = red
| list =
{{Bulgaria football squad 1956 Summer Olympics}}
{{Bulgaria football squad 1960 Summer Olympics}}
{{Bulgaria squad 1962 FIFA World Cup}}
}}
{{Bulgarian A Professional Football Group top scorers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diev, Todor}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Bulgarian men's footballers]]
[[Category:20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen]]
[[Category:Bulgaria men's international footballers]]
[[Category:PFC Spartak Plovdiv players]]
[[Category:First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players]]
[[Category:1962 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic footballers for Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in football]]
[[Category:Footballers from Plovdiv]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]