Zahari Sirakov

Zahari Sirakov (; born 8 October 1977) is a Bulgarian football coach and a former player. He is the manager of Sportist Svoge.

Career Sirakov started his career with Levski Kyustendil, but made a name for himself in Bulgaria while playing for Levski Sofia. On 24 September 1999, he scored a last-minute goal against Litex Lovech in an A Group match to bring the score to 1–1 in the heated derby encounter, prompting a brief pitch invasion by joyous Levski supporters. Sirakov was also notable for his sportsmanship, on one occasion shaking the hand of referee Atanas Uzunov after receiving a red card in a match against CSKA Sofia. He has remained popular with Bulgarian supporters even after starting his Russian adventures.

In February 2004, Sirakov signed with Russian club Amkar Perm. After more than 11 years with Amkar, Sirakov ended his career at the end of 2014–15 season.

International career After first receiving a call-up for a friendly match against Morocco prior to the 1998 World Cup, but withdrawing due to an injury, In November 2020 he was announced as the new manager of Ludogorets III, together with the U19 team. In January 2024 he was promoted to manager of Ludogorets Razgrad II in Second League. In August 2024, Sirakov was appointed as interim manager of the first team after Georgi Dermendzhiev stepped down as head coach following the club's elimination from the Champions League. In his first match in charge, he led the “eagles” from Razgrad to a 1:0 league win over former club Levski Sofia.

Managerial statistics

Personal life Sirakov is married to Irina and they have a son named Aleksandar.

Honours

Club PFC Levski Sofia Champion of Bulgaria -2000, 2001 Bulgarian Cup 1998, 2000

APOEL Cypriot Super Cup : 2002