Kiril Lazarov retires, his legacy stays forever
Handball without Kiril Lazarov? Hard to imagine! But the 42-year-old icon of the sport will end his illustrious playing career this weekend after the French cup final with HBC Nantes.
What will be left behind is a stunning legacy, full of dazzling numbers and records in European club competitions from one of the players that shaped the face of the game over the past two decades.
One of the all-time legends of handball announced his retirement Tuesday: Kiril Lazarov said he will play the French cup final with HBC Nantes against Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday night before calling it a career.
At 42, the Macedonian great ends an incomparable journey that took him to clubs like Zagreb, Veszprém, Ciudad Real, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, and – for the past five seasons – Nantes.
And with 1,596 goals in 283 European cup matches (of them: 1,482 in 252 EHF Champions League games), and 1,443 goals in 208 international games for his country, Lazarov's legacy will live on forever.
Take a look at his fabulous figures:
Kiril Lazarov's achievements & records:
EHF Champions League winner: 1x (2015 with Barcelona)
EHF Champions League finalist: 3x (2011, 2012, 2018)
EHF Champions League top scorer: 2x (2006, 2008)
EHF Champions League All-star Team player: 3x (2014, 2015, 2016)
IHF Super Globe winner: 2x (2012, 2013)
EHF EURO top scorer: 1x (2012*)
IHF World Championship top scorer: 2x (2009*, 2017)
* Kiril Lazarov set the record for most goals scored at a single championship for both the EHF EURO (61 goals) and the World Championship (92 goals)
Kiril Lazarov’s EHF club competitions timeline
03.09.1995, first EC game: Brașov ROU – Dinamo Bucuresti ROU vs Borec Titov Veles MKD 26:18 EHF CL Qualification
03.09.1995, first EC goal: Brașov ROU – Dinamo Bucuresti ROU vs Borec Titov Veles MKD 26:18 EHF CL Qualification
02.09.1996, first EC penalty minutes: Kavadarci MKD – ‘Pelister’ Bitola MKD vs GTU Tbilisi GEO 24:14 EHF CL Qualification
03.10.1998, first EC red card: Bitola MKD – RK ‘Pelister’ Bitola MKD vs HC Kovopetrol Plzen CZE 30:27 EHF CL Qualification
11.11.2000, first CL game: Göteborg SWE – Redbergslids IK SWE vs Badel 1862 Zagreb CRO 23:25 EHF CL Group A
11.11.2000, first (and only) CL red card: Göteborg SWE – Redbergslids IK SWE vs Badel 1862 Zagreb CRO 23:25 EHF CL Group A
11.11.2000, first CL goal: Göteborg SWE – Redbergslids IK SWE vs Badel 1862 Zagreb CRO 23:25 EHF CL Group A
24.02.2001, 100th EC goal: Zagreb CRO – Badel 1862 Zagreb CRO vs FC Barcelona ESP 17:29 EHF CL Quarter-final
06.04.2003, 100th CL goal: Veszprém HUN – Fotex KC Veszprém HUN vs Portland San Antonio ESP 30:26 EHF CL Semi-final
08.10.2005, most goals (14) in a EC/CL game: Veszprém HUN – MKB Veszprém KC HUN vs Dinamo Baumit Bucuresti ROU 37:27 EHF CL Group F
07.10.2006, most goals (14) in a EC/CL game: Veszprém HUN – MKB Veszprém KC HUN vs MSK SIRS Povazska Bystrica SVK 46:26 EHF CL Group A
25.11.2007, 500th EC goal: Zagreb CRO – HC Croatia Osiguranje Zagreb CRO vs Kadetten Schaffhausen GCZ SUI 30:27 EHF CL Group C
16.03.2008, 500th CL goal: Flensburg GER – SG Flensburg-Handewitt GER vs HC Croatia Osiguranje-Zagreb CRO 36:29 EHF CL Main Round
07.10.2009, 100th EC game: Zagreb CRO – HC Croatia Osiguranje-Zagreb CRO vs Alingsas HK SWE 30:21 EHF CL
16.10.2010, 100th CL game: Zagreb CRO – HC Croatia Osiguranje ZAGREB CRO vs Renovalia Ciudad Real ESP 30:30 EHF CL Group D
14.11.2013, 1,000th EC goal: Minsk BLR – HC Dinamo Minsk BLR vs FC Barcelona ESP 25:35 EHF CL Group C
28.09.2014, 1,000th CL goal: Alingsås SWE – Alingsas HK SWE vs FC Barcelona ESP 28:38 EHF CL Group B
01.10.2016, 200th EC game: Barcelona ESP – FC Barcelona Lassa ESP vs THW Kiel GER 26:25 EHF CL
07.02.2019, 1,400th CL goal: Nantes FRA – HBC Nantes FRA vs Paris Saint-Germain HB FRA 31:35 EHF CL Group B
17.11.2019, 250th EC game: Nantes FRA – HBC Nantes FRA vs OIF Arendal Elite NOR 30:29 EHF Cup Qualification
16.02.2020, 1,500th EC goal: Velenje SLO – RK Gorenje Velenje SLO vs HBC Nantes FRA 28:35 EHF Cup Group C
20.05.2021, 250th CL game: Veszprém HUN – Telekom Veszprém HC HUN vs HBC Nantes FRA 32:30 EHF CL Quarter-final
13.06.2021, 252nd and last CL game: Cologne GER – HBC Nantes FRA vs Paris Saint-Germain HB FRA 28:31 EHF FINAL4, third place match
13.06.2021, 1,482nd and last CL goal: Cologne GER – HBC Nantes FRA vs Paris Saint-Germain HB FRA 28:31 EHF FINAL4, third place match
05.04.2022, 283rd and last EC game: Berlin GER – Füchse Berlin GER vs HBC Nantes FRA 30:33 EHF EL Last 16
05.04.2022, 1,596th and last EC goal: Berlin GER – Füchse Berlin GER vs HBC Nantes FRA 30:33 EHF EL Last 16
Kiril Lazarov's longest scoring streaks:
EC: 152 games (07.10.1997, Bitola MKD – ‘Pelister’ Bitola MKD vs ‘Spodriba’ HSK Dobele LAT 46:28 – 08.02.2014, Bern SUI – Wacker Thun SUI vs FC Barcelona ESP 23:39)
CL: 144 games (11.11.2000, Göteborg SWE – Redbergslids IK SWE vs Badel 1862 Zagreb CRO 23:25 – 08.02.2014, Bern SUI – Wacker Thun SUI vs FC Barcelona ESP 23:39)
