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)
