John Atyeo (7 February 1932 – 8 June 1993) was an English footballer who played as a striker. He spent the majority of his career at Bristol City. He won six England caps between 1955 and 1957, scoring five goals. Atyeo made 645 appearances for Bristol City and scored a record 351 goals for them.
He played as an amateur for Portsmouth in 1950/51, then as a part-time professional for Bristol City while qualifying as a quantity surveyor until signing full-time ahead of the 1958/59 season. In 1963/64 he reverted to part-time status to prepare the way for his post-football career as a mathematics teacher.[1]
Biography
Peter John Walter Atyeo was born at Clivey on the outskirts of Dilton Marsh, Wiltshire.[2] He went to Berkley Primary School, near Frome, Somerset after his parents had moved the short distance over the county line to Standerwick when he was about 6 months old. As a schoolboy he played competitive football, rugby and cricket. His first competitive games were for Westbury United F. C.,[3] then Football League champions Portsmouth gave him two first team appearances in the 1950/51 season as an amateur, but he signed as a professional for Bristol City in the following season.[4]
He enjoyed a fifteen-year career with Bristol City despite offers from Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool and AC Milan which were worth around £20 million in today's money[5] and could have made him the most expensive player in England, making 645 appearances and became Bristol City's all-time top scorer with 351 goals[6] by the time he retired in May 1966. He captained the team during their promotion winning season in 1965.[4]
He played semi-professionally for Bristol City (1951/52 to 57/58 seasons) while qualifying as a quantity surveyor until signing full-time ahead of the 1958/59 season. In 1963 he reverted to part-time status to prepare the way for his post-football career as a mathematics teacher.[1] Atyeo won six England caps from 1955 to 1957. Although Bill Slater was also a part-timer, there was conjecture that Atyeo's part-time status led to his being dropped by the England selectors despite never having been on a losing side in his six international appearances, scoring five goals and having scored the goal that enabled England to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.[4]
Following his retirement from football, Atyeo became a full-time mathematics teacher at Kingdown School, Warminster, where he served for over 20 years, rising to head of mathematics,  House Master of Arn House and Deputy Headmaster. He was regarded as a dedicated teacher. Atyeo also wrote a regular football column for the Plymouth-based Sunday Independent newspaper.[4]
He died at home in Warminster of heart failure on 8 June 1993, survived by his wife Ruth and five children: Julie, Carol, Alison, Linda and Philip.[4]
Playing career
Portsmouth 1950–51
As a teenage amateur, John Atyeo played twice in the top flight for the then League Champions Portsmouth. Both were home matches at Fratton Park and finished as draws: vs Charlton Athletic 3-3, 11/11/50 and vs Arsenal 1-1, 26/03/51.[7]
Signing for Bristol City
It was due to the endeavours of the then Bristol City chairman, Harry Dolman, that John Atyeo was signed by Bristol City rather than Portsmouth or other interested clubs. Dolman took the contract for the services of John Atyeo down to Dilton Marsh, Wiltshire on 14 June 1951. He walked along the main railway line to the signal box where Atyeo's father worked and returned with a signed contract.[8] The contract was unusual in having six specific clauses at the insistence of Atyeo's father. Atyeo should always be on top wages at Bristol City; he should always be allowed to live at home and continue his apprenticeship as a quantity surveyor; he should be allowed to drive to training on Tuesdays & Thursdays; City would donate £100 to Westbury United; City would play a friendly at Westbury United at the end of season 1952–1953 and Atyeo would not be put on the transfer list without the consent of his father.[9]
Season 1951–52
John Atyeo joined Bristol City, a mid table side in the Third Division South, in the summer
of 1951. Atyeo made his Football League debut at centre forward in the opening game of the 1951–52 season in a 3–1 win v Newport County on 18 August 1951. Cyril Williams made his debut for City on his return from West Bromwich Albion in the same match. Both Atyeo and Williams were scorers in the win. The other goalscorer was Arnold Rodgers who had been the top scorer for Bristol City in the previous season with 20 goals in the no.9 shirt. Rodgers played inside left in 1951–52 as newcomer John Atyeo took the centre forward role. Atyeo made 44 appearances scoring 12 goals in 1951–52 finishing joint top scorer with Arnold Rodgers who netted his 12 goals from 36 appearances. In the FA Cup Atyeo scored both goals on his FA Cup debut in the 1st round 2–1 win at Brighton & Hove Albion. This was the first time that Atyeo (2) appeared in the list of goalscorers, the second time was when Bristol City took a team to Westbury United on 24 April 1952 and won 2–0. On that occasion Atyeo was helped by scoring one goal from a penalty.[9]
Season 1952–53
Bristol City started the season poorly, Atyeo failed to score in the opening three matches at centre forward and moved to inside right for the remainder of his league appearances. Arnold Rodgers reverted to centre forward and scored four goals in the next four games and then followed this up with three successive doubles late in September. After the first 13 matches Bristol City lay in 10th place in the Third Division South and Atyeo had netted three goals. Atyeo then dropped out of the team until returning in the New Year on 3 January 1953 at Brighton & Hove Albion with the team on a 7 match unbeaten run and by this time in 3rd position in the table.[9] The improvement was in part due to the signing by Pat Beasley of centre half Jack White for £5,300 from Aldershot. White was a dominant personality who was immediately installed as captain of the side.[8] Atyeo netted his first league double in a 5–1 win v Walsall on 7 March 1953 and played in front of a crowd of 35,606 in February in the 0–0 draw with Bristol Rovers at Ashton Gate. Bristol City finished the season in 5th place but the disappointment was that they were five points behind local rivals Bristol Rovers who won promotion to the Second Division as Champions. Atyeo made 33 appearances and score 11 goals which proved to be the lowest for any season of his prolific goalscoring career. Rodgers was leading scorer with 26 goals, Cyril Williams netted 17 times and Alec Eisentrager scored 12 goals from the right wing. Atyeo enjoyed a post season friendly tour of Cornwall scoring twice at Penzance and four goals at Newquay in May 1953.[9]
Season 1953–54
Again Bristol City started the season badly and were 20th with four games played. Atyeo began the season at inside right with Arnold Rodgers at centre forward and Cyril Williams at inside left. Jack Boxley became the regular left winger while Alec Eisentrager, Jimmy Rogers and Ernie Jones tussled for the position of outside right. Andy Micklewright newly signed in May 1953 from Bristol Rovers quickly made his presence felt playing in several positions across the forward line and ending the season as 2nd top scorer with 16 goals. Atyeo missed only one league game, a 0–5 defeat at Swindon Town in October, as Bristol City made a steady rise up the table before Christmas to start the New Year in 8th place and finish in 3rd position a full eight points behind champions Ipswich Town. Atyeo made 45 appearances and was the leading scorer with 22 goals, his highest seasons tally to date, as Bristol City netted 88 goals during the season. Atyeo was most prolific in mid season scoring 17 goals in a 20 match spell between the end of September and 20 February 1954 when he netted his first hat-trick for the club in a 5–1  win v Swindon Town. Atyeo also scored a goal in each of the three rounds of the FA Cup as Bristol City eventually lost 1–3 v Rotherham United in front of 29,216 fans in the 3rd round. Atyeo also scored in a series of first team friendlies arranged throughout the season which saw the likes of Fenerbache, Chelsea, Hajduk Split and Arsenal visiting Ashton Gate. Although Atyeo was the leading scorer in 1953–54 it was Arnold Rodgers who had the best ratio for scoring with 14 goals in 23 appearances.[9]
Champions of Third Division South
Bristol City hit the ground running in season 1954–55 reaching top spot in mid September and staying in one of the top two positions throughout the rest of the season. Jimmy Rogers took over as the regular right winger to partner Atyeo who played all season in the no.8 shirt. Arnold Rodgers played at centre forward in the first half of the season with Jimmy Rogers switching to centre forward for the second half.[9] In the absence of Rogers, Eisentrager returned briefly before England international outside right Arthur Milton was signed by Pat Beasley for £4,000 from First Division Arsenal for a cameo 14 appearances in the promotion run in. Milton became the last double England international at both football and cricket in 1958 when he made his Test cricket debut. Milton gave up football in the summer of 1955 to concentrate on cricket with Gloucestershire as a consequence of which Arsenal refunded half of the transfer fee paid by Bristol City.[8] Atyeo scored regularly throughout the season including doubles at Coventry City and Walsall along with doubles at Ashton Gate against Aldershot, Millwall, Bournemouth & Crystal Palace. Bristol City finished as champions of Third Division South nine points clear of runners up Leyton Orient. The 70 points (when it was 2 for a win and 1 for a draw) obtained by Bristol City equalled the record for the Third Division South set by Nottingham Forest four years earlier. Jack White and John Atyeo were the only ever presents in the championship winning side of 1954–55. Atyeo made 46 appearances and was top scorer with 28 goals as City scored 101 league goals. Jimmy Rogers was next highest scorer with 25 goals and Arnold Rodgers again maintained a good goal ratio with 13 goals in 26 appearances. City continued to arrange first team friendlies entertaining Rheims and Linz at Ashton Gate and ending the season in May with a European tour including Hamborn 07, Linz and Stuttgart Kickers.[9]
30 goals in 1955–56
In 1955–56 Bristol City returned to the Second Division for the first time since relegation when finishing bottom in season 1931–32. There were no new names in the Bristol City team that took the field in the opening game a 2–1 win v Swansea Town on 20 August 1955 which was the Second Division debut for John Atyeo. Two days later Atyeo scored the first of many goals in the Second Division in a 3–1 win at Rotherham United. Atyeo played at inside right throughout the season with Eisentrager as his regular right wing partner until Pat Beasley signed Wally Hinshelwood for £15,000 from Reading in February 1956. Jimmy Rogers had his most productive goalscoring season with 25 goals from centre forward. Tommy Burden provided the skill and drive at inside left and Jack Boxley was on the left wing  completing the regular forward line. Atyeo missed only 3 league games, all of which were defeats, two against Leeds United. Atyeo had a productive first half of the season scoring 20 goals in his first 19 games as the "Robins" stormed to the top of the table in mid November and remained at the summit until Christmas Eve. Atyeo scored a hat-trick (including a penalty) in a 3–1 win v Bury on 17 September and another hat-trick in a 5–1 win v Lincoln City on 3 December. City only won seven more league games after the win over Lincoln City and finished in 11th position in the final Second Division table as Atyeo scored only 10 more goals in the remaining 20 matches, still a good goals per game ratio. Overall Atyeo made 39 appearances and scored 30 goals in the league recording the highest total of league goals in a season in his career. This is the closest John Atyeo came to the Bristol City record for goals in a season held by Don Clark with 36 goals in 1946–47. In the FA Cup a crowd of 46,493 saw City defeated 1–3 in the 3rd round at Everton. However the 46,713 who witnessed the 1–2 league defeat at Liverpool became the largest crowd to watch Atyeo in Bristol City colours,that is, until the following season. Frankfurt, Nice and Stuttgart Kickers were the European teams welcomed to Ashton Gate for first team friendlies with Atyeo a regular scorer in the friendlies.[9]
England 1955–1957
John Atyeo made his England debut at inside right in a 4–1 friendly win over Spain at Wembley on 30 November 1955 in a forward line of Tom Finney (PNE); Atyeo; Nat Lofthouse (Bolton W); Johnny Haynes (Fulham) and Perry (Blackpool). Atyeo, Perry (2) & Finney scored.
Atyeo won his 2nd England cap at inside right in a 4–2 friendly win over Brazil at Wembley on 9 May 1956 in a forward line of Stanley Matthews (Blackpool); Atyeo; Tommy Taylor (Man Utd); Haynes (Fulham) and Grainger (Sheff Utd). Taylor (2) & Grainger (2) scored.
Atyeo won his 3rd England cap at inside right in a 0–0 friendly draw with Sweden in Stockholm on 16 May 1956 in a forward line of Berry (Man Utd); Atyeo; Taylor (Man Utd);  Haynes (Fulham) and Finney (Preston).
Atyeo won his 4th England cap at inside right in a 5–1 World Cup win over Republic of Ireland at Wembley on 8 May 1957 in a forward line of Matthews (Blackpool); Atyeo; Taylor (Man Utd); Haynes (Fulham) and Finney (Preston). Taylor (3) & Atyeo (2) scored.
Atyeo won his 5th England cap at inside right in a 4–1 World Cup win over Denmark in Copenhagen on 15 May 1957 in a forward line of Matthews (Blackpool); Atyeo; Taylor (Man Utd); Haynes (Fulham) and Finney (Preston). Haynes, Taylor (2) & Atyeo scored.
Atyeo won his 6th and final England cap at inside right in a 1–1 World Cup draw with Republic of Ireland in Dublin on 19 May 1957 in a forward line of Finney (Preston); Atyeo; Taylor (Man Utd); Haynes (Fulham) and David Pegg (Man Utd). Atyeo scored the goal.[10]
Overall John Atyeo won 6 England caps scoring 5 goals and played alongside experienced England internationals like Tom Finney 76 caps (1946–1958), Stanley Matthews 54 caps (1934–1957), Johnny Haynes 56 caps (1954–1962), Nat Lofthouse 33 caps (1950–1958) and Tommy Taylor 19 caps (1953–1957). Bill Perry 3 caps, Colin Grainger 7 caps, Johnny Berry 4 caps and David Pegg a single cap made fewer appearances but it must be remembered that there were far fewer internationals played in the 1950s than nowadays.[10]
Season 1956–57
Bristol City struggled throughout 1956–57 hovering above the relegation places for much of the season before settling into mid table with a run of 8 league victories in 9 matches between mid February and mid April 1957. Atyeo started the season with five goals in the opening 4 matches playing mainly at inside right alongside Hinshelwood on the right wing. However, in mid November manager Pat Beasley sold both centre forward Jimmy Rogers and left winger Jack Boxley to Coventry City. This prompted the signing of Irish centre forward Dermot Curtis from Shelborne for £5,000 in December 1956. Atyeo moved between inside right and centre forward depending on whether Curtis was playing in the team. Further forward line changes took place at much the same time as Bobby Etheridge signed from Gloucester City and young Johnny Watkins teamed up to form a new left sided partnership for Bristol City. As a result, only Hinshelwood with 41 appearances and Atyeo with 37 appearances were regulars throughout the season. Atyeo was the leading scorer again with 23 goals and Curtis the only other to reach double figures with 13 goals in only 16 games. Atyeo scored a league hat-trick in a 5–1 win v Sheffield United in January. Atyeo also created Bristol City history on 16 March 1957 scoring after only nine seconds of the match v Bury which City went on to win 2–0 with Atyeo scoring both goals. This still remains as the fastest ever goal scored in a match by a Bristol City player. In the FA Cup Atyeo scored doubles in both the 3rd & 4th round ties v Rotherham United and Rhyl. Atyeo also scored the goal in a 1–2 defeat at Aston Villa in the 5th round before a crowd of 63,099.[9]
Season 1957–58
Bristol City spent another season in 1957–58 struggling to avoid dropping into the relegation places. A poor run in mid season of only a single win in 14 matches between mid November and the start of March 1958 prompted a change of manager with Pat Beasley sacked on 6 January. There followed a three-week spell of caretaker management until Harry Dolman secured Peter Doherty as the new manager from Doncaster Rovers whom Dolman had first sought some nine years earlier. Doherty was quick to sign inside right Bert Tindill from Doncaster Rovers for £6,400 on 3 February and seven wins in the last 12 games lifted the "Robins" to safety and a 17th-place finish in the Second Division. The forward line had a distinctly more stable look in 1957–58 with wingers Hinshelwood and Watkins, Atyeo at centre forward and Etheridge at inside left. Tommy Burden, Curtis, Eisentrager and latterly Tindill also all featured in short spells across the forward line. Atyeo was the only ever present player with 42 appearances and ended as leading scorer with 23 goals including a hat-trick in a 3–0 win at Sheffield United. Tindill scored ten goals in only 14 appearances including successive hat-tricks in April wins v Barnsley and at Fulham. In the FA Cup the 5th round tie v Bristol Rovers at Ashton Gate drew a crowd of 39,160 but resulted in a 3–4 defeat to the local rivals. Atyeo scored twice in a mid season friendly 4–3 win over Tottenham Hotspur.[9]
Season 1958–59
Following a season of management change there was incredible stability within the team in 1958–59. Nine of the team appeared in 37 or more league matches with a line up of Cook; Hopkinson, Thresher; McCall, Williams, Burden; Hinshelwood, Tindill, Atyeo, Etheridge and Watkins. Bristol City opened with 6–1 and 7–4 wins but then lost 0–4 at Sheffield United. Atyeo scored a hat-trick in the 7–4 win at Barnsley on 27 August 1958 and added a second hat-trick in the 4–0 win v Swansea Town on 11 October 1958. This had City fans dreaming of a return to the First Division as the "Robins" remained in contention for promotion through to January when 6th in the table before falling away to a final 10th-place finish. Atyeo was top goalscorer again with 26 goals in 40 appearances leading the line as centre forward. Tindill scored 19 goals and Etheridge 13 goals as the inside forwards. In the FA Cup City lost 0–1 in a 4th round replay at Blackpool. The 1–1 home draw had attracted 42,594 fans to see an ageing Stanley Matthews confronted by the City left back Mike Thresher.[9]
Relegation in 1959–60
Bristol City started 1959–60 poorly despite the club record fee signing of left wing pairing Malcolm Graham and Johnny McCann from Barnsley for a combined £20,000 with Bert Tindill leaving in the opposite direction. Other additions of left half Tommy Casey from Newcastle United and inside forward Tommy Cavanagh from Doncaster Rovers together with the return of Jimmy Rogers from Coventry City all gave City fans hope of a good season but by mid September the side were bottom of the table and between 21 November 1959 and the end of the season the "Robins" never rose above the two relegation places eventually being relegated as 22nd and bottom of the table. The season was beset by injury with McCann breaking his leg in Boxing Day match and Graham scoring 8 goals from only 14 appearances through persistent knee injuries. Atyeo finished a disappointing season as one of only two ever presents in the team, the other being the goalkeeper Tony Cook. Atyeo was also joint top scorer for Bristol City with 16 goals from his 42 appearances. Rogers also scored 16 goals from only 31 appearances on his return to Ashton Gate. Manager Peter Doherty was dismissed on 15 March and relegation confirmed by defeat at Leyton Orient on 23 April. The new manager Fred Ford was not appointed until July 1960.[9]
Season 1960–61
The Football League parallel Third Divisions South & North had been reformed into a Third and Fourth Division so City played their first ever season of Third Division football under new manager Fred Ford. Bristol City spent most of the season 1960–61 in mid table. Atyeo missed a few early games but by October the forward line took on a fairly consistent look. Jimmy Rogers on the right wing partnered Atyeo at inside right. While Bristol youngsters Bobby Williams & Jantzen Derrick formed the left flank. New signing Alex Tait costing £5,000 from Newcastle United was the centre forward. Atyeo made 37 appearances scoring 19 goals including a hat-trick in the final game of the season in a 3–0 win v Brentford. This made Atyeo leading goalscorer once again with Tait scoring 15 goals. In the FA Cup Chichester City forfeited home advantage in the 1st round on 5 November 1960 and Bristol City scored a record highest ever FA Cup win by 11–0 with Atyeo scoring five goals. In the inaugural season of the League Cup Atyeo played in all three ties scoring twice in the 2nd round replay v Aldershot and in the 1–2 3rd round defeat at Nottingham Forest.[9]
Season 1961–62
Bristol City rose steadily up the table from a slow start and hovered in 2nd or 3rd place in the table throughout February & March 1962 before finishing in 6th position. Two local Bristol boys Brian Clark and Roger "Lou" Peters who had both made their debuts in the final game v Brentford in 1961–62 were given increased chances at inside right and outside left respectively. Overall the forward line was consistent with the previous season. Jimmy Rogers scored only four goals in his final season with the "Robins" on the right wing. Alex Tait scored 13 goals from centre forward while "Shadow" Wiliams netted 21 goals from inside left. Jantzen Derrick also scored four goals from the left wing. Atyeo was again top scorer with 26 goals from 42 appearances including hat-tricks in a 3–0 win v Grimsby Town in October and in a 4–0 win at Swindon Town in March. John Atyeo also scored four goals in a 6–0 win v Notts County on 16 December 1961.[9]
Season 1962–63 Snow on Boxing Day
Heavy snow fell on Boxing Day 1962 and stayed on the ground until a major thaw at the beginning of March 1963. During January Bristol City played only a single FA Cup 3rd round tie with the replay taking place on 7 March 1963 when City lost 2–3 at Aston Villa. Bristol City played only home games between the away defeats in league matches at Millwall on 15 December and at Swindon Town on 2 March. The backlog in fixtures led to Bristol City playing 8 matches in April and 4 in May a total of 12 games in 43 days at the end of the season. Atyeo only played in three of these backlog fixtures with Tait switching from right wing to centre forward.  Bristol City scored 100 league goals but conceded 92 during the season. The "Robins" kept only three clean sheets, all in September, and failed to score in only four matches. Atyeo moved to centre forward for most of his 30 appearances scoring 16 goals and finishing behind both "Shadow" Williams and top scorer Brian Clark in the goal scoring charts. In a season of goals all five of the regular forward line reached double figures for goals. Both wingers Alex Tait and Jantzen Derrick scored ten goals, while inside forwards Clark netted 23 times and Williams scored 19 goals. Even Barrie Meyer the Gloucestershire cricketer scored seven goals in 6 games when deputising for Atyeo. Bristol City spent the whole season in mid table finishing in 14th position but second top scorers in the Third Division.[9]
Season 1963–64
Bristol City started the season in mid table and slowly improved to finish in 5th position just five points short of promotion. The team remained remarkably consistent throughout the season with nine players appearing in 38 or more matches together with Derrick 33 and Low 32. The familiar line up was Gibson; Briggs, Thresher; Parr, Connor, Low; Derrick, Clark, Atyeo, "Shadow" Williams and Hooper. Peter Hooper the left winger with the explosive shot was the only new recruit in the summer costing £11,000 from Cardiff City. Atyeo was ever present with 46 appearances scoring 21 goals. Atyeo also played in the Boxing Day fixture which was abandoned at half time v QPR with City winning 3–0. Atyeo was the leading City goal scorer for the season ahead of inside forwards Clark, the only other ever present, with 19 goals and Williams 20 goals. John Atyeo scored 12 goals in the first 21 games but then failed to score in a spell of 7 matches before hitting a hat-trick in a 5–1 win v Walsall on 8 February 1964. Atyeo also netted four FA Cup goals as Bristol City reached the 4th round before they lost 1–6 at Sunderland.[9]
Season 1964–65 Promoted from Third Division
After an initial 2–5 defeat at Scunthorpe United Bristol City embarked on a remarkable run of six matches winning 5–1, 5–1, 4–0, 5–0, 4–0 with a 2–2 draw at Watford sandwiched in between. This left City at the top of the Third Division table and Brian Clark had scored 11 goals in 7 matches while John Atyeo had scored two hat-tricks in only five games in a 5–1 win v Walsall on 29 August 1964 and a 4–0 win v Southend United on 8 September. After this Bristol City remained near the top but never again reached the top two promotion positions until the final two games of the season. The final run in of 12 wins in the last 15 matches clinching promotion on goal average on the final day with a 2–0 win v Oldham Athletic in front of a crowd of 28,248 on 24 April 1965. John Atyeo scored six goals in the final three games including 4 goals in a 5–1 win at Shrewsbury Town on 19 April 1965. Brian Clark ended the season as ever present and top scorer with 24 goals. Atyeo scored 23 goals but made fewer appearances playing in only 38 matches. Atyeo began the season at centre forward flanked by inside forwards Clark and "Shadow" Williams. Williams was replaced for a spell in mid season by young Gerry Sharpe and then Williams was sold for £11,000 to Rotherham United. This led to a switch with Atyeo reverting to inside right, Clark moving to inside left and utility player Terry Bush stepping up from half back to centre forward to good effect scoring eight times in the run in to promotion. Atyeo was captain of this promotion winning team.[9]
Season 1965–66 Retirement
Back in the Second Division Bristol City conceded only 48 goals, the third best defensive record in the division, and lost only eight matches, only champions Manchester City lost fewer. Bristol City remained in the promotion race throughout the season but only broke into the top two promotion positions briefly for one weekend in September. Over the Easter period a 0–1 defeat v Southampton at Ashton Gate effectively ended the promotion push and the "Robins" finished three points behind runners up Southampton in 5th place in the final table which was the highest finishing position that the "Robins" achieved in the playing career of John Atyeo. Atyeo made 35 appearances and ended his career as top scorer on 19 goals with Clark scoring 15 goals despite playing in more games. Atyeo scored doubles in away games at Portsmouth where City won 4–2 in November, at Coventry City in 2–2 draw and in the following match a 2–4 defeat at Middlesbrough. In his final game in Bristol City colours on 10 May 1966 v Ipswich Town, Atyeo scored a further two goals in a 4–1 win in front of a rather meagre 13,893 crowd.[9]
John Atyeo was joint top scorer in his debut season 1951–52 and top scorer in his final season 1965–66. In all Atyeo was top scorer in ten seasons, joint top scorer in another two and beaten only in three seasons by Arnold Rodgers in 1952–53 and by Brian Clark in both 1962–63 and 1964–65. Atyeo never failed to reach double figures for league goals scored in his 15-season career at Ashton Gate. John Atyeo was also ever present in four seasons 1954–55, 1957–58, 1959–60 and 1963–64 which included the promotion campaign of 1954-55.
During the promotion season of 1964-65 John Atyeo was not selected for the away match at Gillingham on February 6.   This was the only time in his Bristol City career that he was fit and able to play but not selected.    The Gillingham game was the sixth in a run which realised two draws and four defeats.   Not picking Atyeo had the desired effect with Bristol City winning their next seven consecutive games (including victory against arch-rivals Bristol Rovers) and in fact, they won twelve and drew two of their last fifteen games to clinch promotion.[8]
Honours
with Bristol City
Football League Third Division South winner: 1954–55
Football League Third Division runners up: 1964–65
Memorials

Atyeo Close, Dilton Marsh is built on the site of "Glenthorne", the house his family moved to in the late 1930s.
The new stand that replaced the Park End at Ashton Gate stadium in 1994 is named the Atyeo Stand after him.[11] Bristol City Supporters Trust commissioned the statue of Atyeo that now has pride of place outside Bristol City's revamped stadium.[12]

 at Englandstats.com


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The Spanish State under Francisco Franco did not officially join the Axis Powers during World War II, although Franco wrote to Hitler offering to join the war on 19 June 1940. Franco's regime supplied Germany with the Blue Division to fight specifically on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union, in recognition of the heavy assistance Spain had received from Germany and Italy in the Spanish Civil War. Despite ideological sympathy and allowing volunteers to serve on the Eastern Front, Franco later stationed field armies in the Pyrenees to deter a German occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish policy frustrated Axis proposals that would have encouraged Franco to take British-controlled Gibraltar.[1] Franco considered joining the war and invading Gibraltar in 1940 after the Fall of France, but knew his armed forces would not be able to defend the Canary Islands and Spanish Morocco from a British attack.[2]
Domestic politics
During World War II, Spain was governed by an autocratic government,[3] but despite Franco's own pro-Axis leanings and debt of gratitude to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, the government was divided between Germanophiles and Anglophiles. When the war started, Juan Beigbeder Atienza, an Anglophile, was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The rapid German advance in Europe convinced Franco to replace him with Ramón Serrano Súñer, Franco's brother-in-law and a strong Germanophile (18 October 1940). After the Allied victories in North Africa, Franco changed tack again, appointing Francisco Gómez-Jordana Sousa, sympathetic to the British, as minister in September 1942. Another influential anglophile was the Duke of Alba, Spain's ambassador in London.
Volunteers
The main part of Spain's involvement in the war was through volunteers. They fought for both sides, largely reflecting the allegiances of the civil war.

Spanish volunteers in Axis service

Although Spanish caudillo Francisco Franco did not officially bring Spain into World War II on the side of the Axis, he permitted volunteers to join the German Army on the clear and guaranteed condition they would fight against Bolshevism (Soviet Communism) on the Eastern Front, and not against the western Allies. In this manner, he could keep Spain at peace with the western Allies, while repaying German support during the Spanish Civil War and providing an outlet for the strong anti-Communist sentiments of many Spanish nationalists. Spanish foreign minister Ramón Serrano Súñer suggested raising a volunteer corps, and at the commencement of Operation Barbarossa, Franco sent an official offer of help to Berlin.
Hitler approved the use of Spanish volunteers on 24 June 1941. Volunteers flocked to recruiting offices in all the metropolitan areas of Spain. Cadets from the officer training school in Zaragoza volunteered in particularly large numbers. Initially, the Spanish government was prepared to send about 4,000 men, but soon realized that there were more than enough volunteers to fill an entire division: – the Blue Division or División Azul under Agustín Muñoz Grandes – including an air force squadron – the Blue Squadron, 18,104 men in all, with 2,612 officers and 15,492 soldiers.
The Blue Division was trained in Germany before serving in the Siege of Leningrad, and notably at the Battle of Krasny Bor, where General Infantes' 6,000 Spanish soldiers threw back some 30,000 Soviet troops. The American ambassador called it a dubious distinction, since no other free country was attacking the Allies. In October 1943, under severe diplomatic pressure, the Blue Division was ordered home leaving a token force until March 1944. In all, about 45,000 Spanish served on the Eastern Front, mostly committed volunteers, and around 4,500 died. Joseph Stalin's desire to retaliate against Franco by making an Allied invasion of Spain the first order of business at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, was not supported by Harry S. Truman and Winston Churchill. War weary and unwilling to continue the conflict, Truman and Churchill persuaded Stalin to instead settle for a full trade embargo against Spain.

372 members of the Blue Division, the Blue Legion, or volunteers of the Spanische-Freiwilligen Kompanie der SS 101 were taken prisoner by the victorious Red Army; 286 of these men were kept in captivity until 2 April 1954, when they returned to Spain aboard the ship Semiramis, supplied by the International Red Cross.[4]
Spanish volunteers in Allied service
After their defeat in the Spanish Civil War, numbers of Republican veterans and civilians went into exile in France; the French Republic interned them in refugee camps, such as Camp Gurs in southern France. To improve their conditions, many joined the French Foreign Legion at the start of World War II, making up a sizeable proportion of it. Around sixty thousand joined the French Resistance, mostly as guerrillas, with some also continuing the fight against Francisco Franco.[5] Several thousand more joined the Free French Forces and fought against the Axis Powers. Some sources have claimed that as many as 2,000 served in General Leclerc's Second French Division, many of them from the former Durruti Column.[note 1]
The 9th Armoured Company comprised almost entirely battle-hardened Spanish veterans; it became the first Allied military unit to enter Paris upon its liberation in August, 1944, where it met up with a large number of Spanish Maquis fighting alongside French resistance fighters. Furthermore, 1,000 Spanish Republicans served in the 13th Half-brigade of the French Foreign Legion.[6]
In Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union received former Communist Spanish leaders and child evacuees from Republican families. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, many, such as communist General Enrique Líster, joined the Red Army. According to Beevor, 700 Spanish Republicans served in the Red Army and another 700 operated as partisans behind the German lines.[6] Individual Spaniards, such as the double-agent Juan Pujol García (code name GARBO), also worked for the Allied cause.
Diplomacy
From the very beginning of World War II, Spain favoured the Axis Powers. Apart from ideology, Spain had a debt to Germany of $212 million for supplies of matériel during the Civil War. Indeed, in June 1940, after the Fall of France, the Spanish Ambassador to Berlin had presented a memorandum in which Franco declared he was "ready under certain conditions to enter the war on the side of Germany and Italy". Franco had cautiously decided to enter the war on the Axis side in June 1940, and to prepare his people for war, an anti-British and anti-French campaign was launched in the Spanish media that demanded French Morocco, Cameroon and the return of Gibraltar.[7] On 19 June 1940, Franco pressed along a message to Hitler saying he wanted to enter the war, but Hitler was annoyed at Franco's demand for the French colony of Cameroon, which had been German before World War I, and which Hitler was planning on taking back.[8]

At first Adolf Hitler did not encourage Franco's offer, as he was convinced of eventual victory. In August 1940, when Hitler became serious about having Spain enter the war, a major problem that emerged was the German demand for air and naval bases in Spanish Morocco and the Canaries, which Franco was completely opposed to.[9] After the victory over France, Hitler had revived Plan Z (shelved in September 1939) for having a huge fleet with the aim of fighting the United States, and he wanted bases in Morocco and the Canary islands for the planned showdown with America.[10] The American historian Gerhard Weinberg wrote: "The fact that Germans were willing to forgo Spain's participation in the war rather than abandon their plans for naval bases on and off the coast of Northwest Africa surely demonstrates the centrality of this latter issue to Hitler as he looked forward to naval war with the United States".[10] In September, when the Royal Air Force had demonstrated its resilience in defeating the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, Hitler promised Franco help in return for its active intervention. This had become part of a strategy to forestall Allied intervention in north-west Africa. Hitler promised that "Germany would do everything in its power to help Spain" and would recognise Spanish claims to French territory in Morocco, in exchange for a share of Moroccan raw materials. Franco responded warmly, but without any firm commitment. Falangist media agitated for irredentism, claiming for Spain the portions of Catalonia and the Basque Country that were still under French administration.[11][12]
Hitler and Franco met only once at Hendaye, France on 23 October 1940 to fix the details of an alliance. By this time, the advantages had become less clear for either side. Franco asked for too much from Hitler. In exchange for entering the war alongside the alliance of Germany and Italy, Franco, among many things, demanded heavy fortification of the Canary Islands as well as large quantities of grain, fuel, armed vehicles, military aircraft and other armaments. In response to Franco's nearly impossible demands, Hitler threatened Franco with a possible annexation of Spanish territory by Vichy France. At the end of the day, no agreement was reached. A few days later in Germany, Hitler would famously tell Mussolini, "I prefer to have three or four of my own teeth pulled out than to speak to that man again!" It is subject to historical debate whether Franco overplayed his hand by demanding too much from Hitler for Spanish entry into the war, or if he deliberately stymied the German dictator by setting the price for his alliance unrealistically high, knowing that Hitler would refuse his demands and thus save Spain from entering another devastating war.

Spain relied upon oil supplies from the United States, and the US had agreed to listen to British recommendations on this. As a result, the Spanish were told that supplies would be restricted, albeit with a ten-week reserve. Lacking a strong navy, any Spanish intervention would rely, inevitably, upon German ability to supply oil. Some of Germany's own activity relied upon captured French oil reserves, so additional needs from Spain were unhelpful. From the German point of view, Vichy's active reaction to British and Free French attacks (Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir and Dakar) had been encouraging, so perhaps Spanish intervention was less vital. Also, in order to keep Vichy "on-side", the proposed territorial changes in Morocco became a potential embarrassment and were diluted. As a consequence of this, neither side would make sufficient compromises and after nine hours, the talks failed.
In December 1940, Hitler contacted Franco again via a letter sent by the German ambassador to Spain and returned to the issue of Gibraltar. Hitler attempted to force Franco's hand with a blunt request for the passage of several divisions of German troops through Spain to attack Gibraltar. Franco refused, citing the danger that the United Kingdom still presented to Spain and the Spanish colonies. In his return letter, Franco told Hitler that he wanted to wait until Britain "was on the point of collapse". In a second diplomatic letter, Hitler got tougher and offered grain and military supplies to Spain as an inducement. By this time, however, Italian troops were being routed by the British in Cyrenaica and Italian East Africa, and the Royal Navy had displayed its freedom of action in Italian waters. The UK was clearly not finished. Franco responded "that the fact has left the circumstances of October far behind" and "the Protocol then agreed must now be considered outmoded".

According to Franco's own autobiography, he also met privately once with Italian leader Benito Mussolini in Bordighera, Italy on 12 February 1941[13] at Hitler's request. Hitler hoped that Mussolini could persuade Franco to enter the war. However, Mussolini was not interested in Franco's help due to the recent series of defeats his forces had suffered in North Africa and the Balkans.
Franco signed the Anti-Comintern Pact on 25 November 1941. In 1942, the planning of Operation Torch (American landings in North Africa) was considerably influenced by the apprehension that it might precipitate Spain to abandon neutrality and join the Axis, in which case the Straits of Gibraltar might be closed. In order to meet this contingency, it was decided by the Combined Chiefs of Staff to include a landing in Casablanca, in order to have an option of an overland route via Moroccan territory bypassing the Straits.
Franco's policy of open support to the Axis Powers led to a period of postwar isolation for Spain as trade with most countries ceased. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, who had assured Franco that Spain would not suffer consequences from the United Nations (a wartime term for those nations allied against Germany), died in April 1945. Roosevelt's successor, Harry S. Truman, as well as new Allied governments, were less friendly to Franco. A number of nations withdrew their ambassadors, and Spain was not admitted to the United Nations until 1955.
Military
Although it sought to avoid entering the war, Spain did make plans for defence of the country. Initially, the mass of the Spanish army was stationed in southern Spain in case of an Allied attack from Gibraltar during 1940 and 1941. However, Franco ordered the divisions to gradually redeploy in the mountains along the French border in case of a possible German invasion of Spain as Axis interest in Gibraltar grew. By the time it became clear that the Allies were gaining the upper hand in the conflict, Franco had amassed all his troops on the French border and received personal assurances from the leaders of Allied countries that they did not wish to invade Spain.
Operation Felix

Before Franco and Hitler's October 1940 meeting in Hendaye, there had been Spanish-German planning for an attack, from Spain, upon the British territory of Gibraltar which was, and is, a British dependency and military base. At the time, Gibraltar was important for control of the western exit from the Mediterranean and the sea routes to the Suez Canal and Middle East, as well as Atlantic patrols.
The Germans also appreciated the strategic importance of north-west Africa for bases and as a route for any future American involvement. Therefore, the plans included the occupation of the region by substantial German forces, to forestall any future Allied invasion attempt.
The plan, Operation Felix, was in detailed form before the negotiations failed at Hendaye. By March 1941, military resources were being ear-marked for Barbarossa and the Soviet Union. Operation Felix-Heinrich was an amended form of Felix that would be invoked once certain objectives in Russia had been achieved. In the event, these conditions were not fulfilled and Franco still held back from entering the war.[16]
After the war, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel said: "Instead of attacking Russia, we should have strangled the British Empire by closing the Mediterranean. The first step in the operation would have been the conquest of Gibraltar. That was another great opportunity we missed."[17] If that had succeeded, Hermann Göring proposed that Germany would "... offer Britain the right to resume peaceful traffic through the Mediterranean if she came to terms with Germany and joined us in a war against Russia".[16]
As the war progressed and the tide turned against the Axis, the Germans planned for the event of an Allied attack through Spain. There were three successive plans, progressively less aggressive as German capability waned:
Operation Isabella

This was planned in April 1941 as a reaction to a proposed British landing on the Iberian peninsula near Gibraltar. German troops would advance into Spain to support Franco and expel the British wherever they landed.
Operation Ilona or Gisella
Ilona was a scaled down version of Isabella, subsequently renamed Gisella. Devised in May 1942, to be invoked whether or not Spain stayed neutral. Ten German divisions would advance to Barcelona and, if necessary, towards Salamanca to support the Spanish army in fighting another proposed Allied landing either from the Mediterranean or Atlantic coasts.
Operation Nurnberg
Devised in June 1943, Nurnberg was purely a defensive operation in the Pyrenees along both sides of the Spanish-French border in the event of Allied landings in the Iberian peninsula, which were to repel an Allied advance from Spain into France.

Occupation of Tangier
Spanish troops occupied the Tangier International Zone on 14 June 1940, the same day Paris fell to the Germans.  Despite calls by the writer Rafael Sánchez Mazas and other Spanish nationalists to annex "Tánger español", the Franco regime publicly considered the occupation a temporary wartime measure.[18] A diplomatic dispute between Britain and Spain over the latter's abolition of the city's international institutions in November 1940 led to a further guarantee of British rights and a Spanish promise not to fortify the area.[19] In May 1944, although it had served as a contact point between him and the later Axis Powers during the Spanish Civil War, Franco expelled all German diplomats from the Zone.[20]
The territory was restored to its pre-war status on 11 October 1945.[21] In July 1952 the protecting powers met at Rabat to discuss the Zone's future, agreeing to abolish it. Tangier joined with the rest of Morocco following the restoration of full sovereignty in 1956.[22]
Bribes by MI6
According to a 2008 book, Winston Churchill authorised millions of dollars in bribes to Spanish generals in an effort to influence General Franco against entering the war on the side of Germany.[23]  In May 2013 files were released showing MI6 spent the present-day equivalent of more than $200 million bribing senior Spanish military officers, ship owners and other agents to keep Spain out of the war.[24]
Resources and trade
Despite lacking cash, oil and other supplies, Francoist Spain was able to supply some essential materials to Germany. There was a series of secret war-time trade agreements between the two countries. The principal resource was wolfram (or tungsten) ore from German-owned mines in Spain. Tungsten was essential to Germany for its advanced precision engineering and therefore for armament production. Despite Allied attempts to buy all available supplies, which rocketed in price, and diplomatic efforts to influence Spain, supplies to Germany continued until August 1944.
Payment for wolfram was effectively set against the Spanish debt to Germany. Other minerals included iron ore, zinc, lead and mercury. Spain also acted as a conduit for goods from South America, for example, industrial diamonds and platinum. After the war, evidence was found of significant gold transactions between Germany and Spain, ceasing only in May 1945. It was believed that these were derived from Nazi looting of occupied lands, but attempts by the Allies to obtain control of the gold and return it were largely frustrated.
Espionage and sabotage

As long as Spain permitted it, the Abwehr – the German intelligence organisation – was able to operate in Spain and Spanish Morocco, often with cooperation of the Nationalist government. Gibraltar's installations were a prime target for sabotage, using sympathetic anti-British Spanish workers. One such attack occurred in June 1943, when a bomb caused a fire and explosions in the dockyard. The British were generally more successful after this and managed to use turned agents and sympathetic anti-Fascist Spaniards to uncover subsequent attacks. A total of 43 sabotage attempts were prevented in this way. In January 1944, two Spanish workers, convicted of attempted sabotage, were executed.
The Abwehr also maintained observation posts along both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar, reporting on shipping movements. A German agent in Cádiz was the target of a successful Allied disinformation operation, Operation Mincemeat, prior to the invasion of Sicily in 1943. In early 1944, the situation changed. The Allies were clearly gaining the advantage over the Axis and one double agent had provided enough information for Britain to make a detailed protest to the Spanish government. As a result, the Spanish government declared its "strict neutrality". The Abwehr operation in southern Spain was consequently closed down. The rail station of Canfranc was the conduit for the smuggling of people and information from Vichy France to the British consulate in San Sebastián.
The nearer border station of Irún could not be used as it bordered occupied France.
Jews and other refugees
In the first years of the war, "Laws regulating their admittance were written and mostly ignored."[25] They were mainly from Western Europe, fleeing deportation to concentration camps from occupied France, but also Jews from Eastern Europe, especially Hungary. Trudi Alexy refers to the "absurdity" and "paradox of refugees fleeing the Nazis' Final Solution to seek asylum in a country where no Jews had been allowed to live openly as Jews for over four centuries." [26]
Throughout World War II, Spanish diplomats of the Franco government extended their protection to Eastern European Jews, especially in Hungary. Jews claiming Spanish ancestry were provided with Spanish documentation without being required to prove their case and either left for Spain or survived the war with the help of their new legal status in occupied countries.
Once the tide of war began to turn, and Count Francisco Gómez-Jordana Sousa succeeded Franco's brother-in-law Serrano Súñer as Spain's foreign minister, Spanish diplomacy became "more sympathetic to Jews", although Franco himself "never said anything" about this.[25] Around that same time, a contingent of Spanish doctors travelling in Poland were fully informed of the Nazi extermination plans by Governor-General Hans Frank, who was under the misimpression that they would share his views about the matter; when they came home, they passed the story to Admiral Luís Carrero Blanco, who told Franco.[27]
Diplomats discussed the possibility of Spain as a route to a containment camp for Jewish refugees near Casablanca but it came to naught due to lack of Free French and British support.[28] Nonetheless, control of the Spanish border with France relaxed somewhat at this time,[29] and thousands of Jews managed to cross into Spain (many by smugglers' routes). Almost all of them survived the war.[30] The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee operated openly in Barcelona.[31]
Shortly afterwards, Spain began giving citizenship to Sephardic Jews in Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania; many Ashkenazic Jews also managed to be included, as did some non-Jews. The Spanish head of mission in Budapest, Ángel Sanz Briz, saved thousands of Ashkenazim in Hungary by granting them Spanish citizenship, placing them in safe houses and teaching them minimal Spanish so they could pretend to be Sephardim, at least to someone who did not know Spanish. The Spanish diplomatic corps was performing a balancing act: Alexy conjectures that the number of Jews they took in was limited by how much German hostility they were willing to engender.[32]
Toward the war's end, Sanz Briz had to flee Budapest, leaving these Jews open to arrest and deportation. An Italian diplomat, Giorgio Perlasca, who was himself living under Spanish protection, used forged documents to persuade the Hungarian authorities that he was the new Spanish Ambassador. As such, he continued Spanish protection of Hungarian Jews until the Red Army arrived.[33]
Although Spain effectively undertook more to help Jews escape deportation to the concentration camps than most neutral countries did,[33][34] there has been debate about Spain's wartime attitude towards refugees. Franco's regime, despite its aversion to Zionism and "Judeo"-Freemasonry, does not appear to have shared the rabid anti-Semitic ideology promoted by the Nazis. About 25,000 to 35,000 refugees, mainly Jews, were allowed to transit through Spain to Portugal and beyond.
Some historians argue that these facts demonstrate a humane attitude by Franco's regime, while others point out that the regime only permitted Jewish transit through Spain. After the war, Franco's regime was quite hospitable to those who had been responsible for the deportation of the Jews, notably Louis Darquier de Pellepoix, Commissioner for Jewish Affairs (May 1942 – February 1944) under the Vichy Régime in France, and to many other former Nazis, such as Otto Skorzeny and Léon Degrelle, and other former Fascists.[35]
José María Finat y Escrivá de Romaní, Franco's chief of security, issued an official order dated May 13, 1941 to all provincial governors requesting a list of all Jews, both local and foreign, present in their districts. After the list of six thousand names was compiled, Romani was appointed Spain's ambassador to Germany, enabling him to deliver it personally to Himmler. Following the defeat of Germany in 1945, the Spanish government attempted to destroy all evidence of cooperation with the Nazis, but this official order survived.[36]
Japanese war reparations

At the end of the war, Japan was compelled to pay high amounts of money or goods to several nations to cover damage or injury inflicted during the war. In the case of Spain, the reparations were due to the deaths of over a hundred Spanish citizens, including several Catholic missionaries, and great destruction of Spanish properties in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. To that effect, in 1954 Japan concluded 54 bilateral agreements including one with Spain for $5.5 million, paid in 1957.
See also
Moscow Gold
Spanish Maquis
Laurel Incident
Neutral powers during World War II
Notes

Further reading

Hayes, Carlton J. H. Wartime mission in Spain, 1942–1945 (1945) ISBN9781121497245. by the U.S. ambassador
León-Aguinaga, Pablo. "The Trouble with Propaganda: the Second World War, Franco's Spain, and the Origins of US Post-War Public Diplomacy." International History Review 37.2 (2015): 342-365.

Preston, Paul. "Spain" in The Cambridge History of the Second World War: vol 2 (2015) pp 301–323 DOI:

Thomàs, J. ed. Roosevelt and Franco During the Second World War: From the Spanish Civil War to Pearl Harbor (Springer, 2008).

, Benito Bermejo and Sandra Checa, Ministerio de Cultura de España, 2006. Re-published in Portable Document Format.
, Mikel Rodríguez, Euskonews & Media 301.
Jimmy Burns, Papa Spy: Love, Faith & Betrayal in Wartime Spain. London, Bloomsbury, 2009.


Karolina Gočeva, often credited as Karolina Gocheva (Macedonian: Каролина Гочева, [ karɔˈlina ˈɡɔtʃɛva](listen); born 28 April 1980) is a Macedonian recording artist. She represented Macedonia in the 2002 [1][2] and 2007 Eurovision Song Contests, ranking 19th and 14th.
Early life and education

Gočeva got her first break at the age of 10 when she performed at the children's festival "Si-Do" in Bitola and the annual festival "Makfest 91" in Štip with the song "Mamo, pušti me" ("Mum, let me go"). Her career was just starting, so she used the national festivals to promote her voice and talent.
Career
She became a regular participant in SkopjeFest, debuting in 1994 with a performance of the song "Koj da ti kaže" ("Who to tell you"). In the following years she participated successfully, especially at SkopjeFest where the Macedonian Eurovision song is chosen. In 1996, Gočeva participated with "Ma, ajde kaži mi" ("Come on, tell me") and reached 9th place. In 1998, she participated with "Ukradeni noќi" ("Stolen nights") and was more successful, reaching 4th place with 10,454 televotes.
Avalon Production - 2000
In 2000, she joined the record label Avalon Production, on which her debut album "Jas imam pesna" (I've got a song) was released.  Gočeva released several singles off her first album, including "Sakaj me" ("Love me"), "Bez ogled na se"("No matter what") and "Nemir" ("Restless"), the latter of which she sang in a duet with Toše Proeski. With her first album released, she took part in the Macedonian Eurovision song selection.  Gočeva nearly won, but missed out coming in 2nd place with the song "Za nas" ("For us") from Darko Dimitrov, which managed to receive 916 points. After promotion through concerts and festivals, she released her second album "Zošto sonot ima kraj" (Why the dream has an end) in 2002. She gained more popularity in the former Yugoslavia, by performing at the Sunčane Skale festival with the song "Kaži mi" ("Tell me"). She released "Ti možeš" ("You could") and "Ke bide se vo red" ("Everything will be okay") as singles in Macedonia. On her album, she included three English versions of her songs titled "I'm looking for Jamaica", "You could", and "Tell me".
Karolina in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

The year 2002 became even more successful for Gočeva because she was crowned the winner of "SkopjeFest 2002 with "Od nas zavisi" (English: It Depends On Us), which allowed her to represent Macedonia in front of a European audience. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, she ended up in 19th place. She was also nominated for Miss Eurovision 2002
2003–2006
On March 2003 she released her third album "Znaeš kolku vredam" (You know what I'm worth). She released music videos for her songs "Hipokrit" ("Hypocrite"), "Ljubov pod oblacite" ("Love under the clouds"), and "Sreščemo se opet" ("We will meet again"). After 2003, her career expanded to include Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia, where her CDs are now also released. She went into the studios and recorded all of her songs from her third album in the Serbian language so she could appeal to a wider market in those areas. Her first Serbian language album was titled "Kad zvezde nam se sklope...kao nekada" (When the stars align...like once before).
In 2005,  Gočeva participated once again at Herceg Novi in the Sunčane Skale festival. Her song "Ruža Ružica" ("Red Rose") became an instant hit placing her 4th in the festival. She also released her new song "Se lažam sebe" ("I'm lying to myself"), written by Kaliopi. At the end of 2005, she released the album "Vo zaborav" (In Oblivion).
Karolina in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Karolina Gočeva participated in, and won, the Skopje Fest competition with the song "Mojot svet", a song written by Grigor Koprov and composed by Ognen Nedelkovski. The competition took place on 24 February 2007 at the Universal Hall in Skopje. Gočeva obtained a total of 144 points with a maximum of twelve points from every voting district, procuring her a landslide victory. She became the first artist to represent Macedonia twice at the Eurovision Song Contest. She competed in the semi-final in Helsinki, Finland on 10 May 2007, performing at number 18. She qualified for the final and performed in the 6th slot on 12 May 2007, where she placed 14th in a field of 24 contestants with a score of 73 points.
2007–2008
On 15 December 2007, she participated on Radijski festival with the song Kad te nema, and finished on 2nd place. She won the award for the best composition. In June 2008  Gočeva released her fifth album, named "Makedonsko devojče”. This CD is made in cooperation with the composer Zlatko Origanski and it is totally different album. All songs are under the influence of the local traditional music and the first single “Ptico malečka” became a huge hit in Macedonia. “Makedonsko devojče” is the best selling album in Macedonia for 2008. In December 2008 the album was released in Serbia and other ex-Yugoslav countries by City Records.
2009–present
Karolina announced her collaboration with the famous Serbian R&B/Hip-Hop star Wikluh Sky. Her single "Kraj" was atop many charts in Macedonia as well as in the other former Yugoslav republics. Karolina performed "Kraj" at the opening ceremony of Big Brother Serbia. The album which was scheduled to be released in the early spring 2010 titled like the first single Kraj. The second single was released in December 2009, just couple of days before New Year's Eve. The song titled as "Za Godina, Dve" (titled in Serbian as "Uspomene na tebe") is a powerful ballad about ending a relationship. The song became an instant radio hit in Macedonia and it was promoted on the Serbian TV show "Sve Za Ljubav" and on the semi-final of VIP Veliki Brat.
Discography
Albums
Mamo, pušti me (1992)
Jas Imam Pesna (2000)
Zošto Sonot Ima Kraj (2002)
Znaeš Kolku Vredam (2003)
Kad zvezde nam se sklope...kao nekada (2003)
Vo Zaborav (2005)
U Zaboravu (2006)
Makedonsko Devojče (2008)
Kapka Pod Neboto (2010)
Najubavi Pesni (2012)
Makedonsko Devojče 2 (2014)
Singles
1991: "Mamo, pušti me"
1992: "Srekjen pat"
1993: "Zamrznato srce"
1993: "Da nema sudbini"
1994: "Koj da ti kaže"
1995: "Isčekuvanje"
1996: "Ma, ajde kaži mi"
1997: "Tonovi tajni"
1998: "Ukradeni noḱi"
1998: "Čuden dožd"
1998: "Edna noḱ"
1998: "Kako da te otkačam"
1998: "Daj mi se"
1999: "Samo za tebe" (featuring Vrčak)
1999: "Sakaj me"
1999: "Bez ogled na se"
2000: "Nemir"/"Pomozi mi (duet with Toše Proeski)"
2000: "Za nas"
2000: "Milenium so tebe"
2001: "Ajde da letame"
2001: "Ti možeš"
2002: "Jamajka"
2002: "Ке bide se vo red"
2002: "Od nas zavisi"
2002: "Štom sakaš"/"Kad voliš"
2003: "Hipokrit"/"Začaren krug"
2003: "Ljubov pod oblacite"/"Ljubov ispod oblaka"
2003: "Sreščemo se opet" (Cover of "Nekogaš & negde" by Vlado Janevski)
2004: "Znaeš kolku vredam"/"Znaš koliko vredim"
2004: "Ljubovta e moja religija"
2005: "Se lažam sebe"/"Lažem sebe"
2005: "Ruža ružica"
2005: "Vo zaborav"/"U zaboravu"
2006: "Ova srce znae"/"Teško srcu pada"
2006: "Bela pesna"/"Bjela pesma (duet with Aki Rahimovski)" (Cover of "Bela" by Risto Samardžiev)
2006: "Umiram bez tebe"/"Umirem bez tebe"
2006: "Ti i ja (duet with Flamingosi)"
2007: "Mojot svet"
2007: "Jedan dan"
2007: "Napred Makedonija (English: Go Go Macedonia)"
2007: "Kad te nema"
2008: "Dafino vino crveno"
2008: "Ptico malečka"
2008: "Za kogo?"
2009: "Kraj"
2009:
2010:
2010: "Ne se vrakaš"
2012: "Toj"
2013: "Čalgiska"
2014: "Dve liri"
See also

Music of the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest

What style of music does Karolina Gočeva produce?