Bozhidar Kraev

Bozhidar Kraev (Bulgarian: Божидар Краев; born 23 June 1997 in Vratsa) is a Bulgarian footballer who currently plays as a Midfielder for Gil Vicente on loan from Danish Superliga club Midtjylland and the Bulgarian national team.

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Boykov and the family name is Kraev.
Bozhidar Kraev
Personal information
Full name Bozhidar Boykov Kraev
Date of birth (1997-06-23) 23 June 1997
Place of birth Vratsa, Bulgaria
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder / Second striker
Club information
Current team
 Gil Vicente (on loan from Midtjylland)
Number 24
Youth career
2003–2008 Botev Vratsa
2008–2010 Vilafranca
2010–2012 Chavdar Etropole
2012–2013 Botev Vratsa
2013–2014 Levski Sofia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Levski Sofia 83 (22)
2017– Midtjylland 29 (1)
2019– → Gil Vicente (loan) 25 (5)
National team‡
2012 Bulgaria U17 3 (0)
2014–2016 Bulgaria U19 9 (1)
2016–2019 Bulgaria U21 7 (1)
2017– Bulgaria 14 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 June 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2019

Career

Early career

Born in Vratsa, at the age of six Kraev began playing football at the local club Botev Vratsa, for whom his father Boyko Kraev had also played. In 2008, he joined Hristo Stoichkov's academy in Vilafranca, Spain, as a part of a Gillette programme for young talented players, which was initiated by Stoichkov.[1] Two years later, Kraev returned to his home country to join Chavdar Etropole. Then he spent one year with his first club Botev Vratsa.

Levski Sofia

In January 2013, at the age of 15, Kraev joined Levski Sofia's academy.[2] He made his first team debut in a 1–1 league draw against Lokomotiv Plovdiv on 19 July 2014, coming on as a second-half substitute.[3] On 23 September, he marked his first start by scoring a hat-trick in a 7–1 away win over Spartak Varna in the Bulgarian Cup. On 14 October, Kraev was named by The Guardian as one of the forty most promising young players in the world.[4]

On 12 December 2014, Kraev signed his first professional contract, on a three-year deal.[5] Two days later, he was invited for a trial at Juventus.[6] In January 2015, Kraev also spent a week on trial at English club Manchester City.[7]

Kraev scored his first league goal for Levski in an 8–0 home win over Haskovo on 27 February 2015. On 26 May 2015, he scored his first A Group hattrick in a 6–0 win against Marek Dupnitsa. Kraev's hattrick was the 100th in Levski's history in the Bulgarian league.[8]

On 9 April 2017, Kraev scored four goals in a 5–0 win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv, thereby becoming the youngest player in Levski history to score four goals in one game.[9]

Midtjylland

On 19 June 2017, Kraev signed with Danish Superliga side Midtjylland on a five-year deal for a reported fee of €500,000.[10] He made his debut for the team in a Europa League match against Derry City coming on as a substitute in the 73rd minute and scoring a goal 10 minutes later.[11] On 12 April 2018, Kraev scored twice in a 2-1 win against Hobro IK and qualified his team for the cup's semifinals after coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute and scoring both goals in the game's added time.[12][13] Three days later, he scored his first league goal in a 2-1 win against FC Nordsjælland.[14]

Kraev was part of the squad that won the Danish Cup and the Danish Superliga for Midtjylland during his stay at the Herning club.

Loan to Gil Vicente

On 22 June 2019, Kraev was sent on a season-long deal at the Portuguese Primeira Liga team Gil Vicente.[15] Kraev made his debut for the team in a Taça da Liga match against Aves, providing an assist for the first goal and later scored the winning goal in the 90th minute for a 3–2 win.[16] A week later, on 10 August, Kraev made his league debut, playing a full match against Porto, providing the winning goal in the 77th minute, for a 2–1 win over one of the league favorites. [17]

International career

In March 2016, Kraev was in the starting lineup of Bulgaria U19 for the 0-1 defeats from Belgium U19 and Croatia U19.[18][19] On 13 May 2016 he was included in the Bulgaria U21 squad for the 2016 Toulon Tournament.[20]

In November 2016, Kraev received his first call-up to the senior Bulgaria squad for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Belarus.[21] He remained on the bench for the game.[22] On 25 March 2017, Kraev made his complete debut for the team coming on as a substitute during the 2–0 home win over Netherlands for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.[23] On 6 September 2018, he scored 2 goals against Slovenia in the UEFA Nations' League, helping his country to 3 points.[24]

Statistics

Club Statistics

As of 14 November 2019

Club performanceLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
ClubLeagueSeasonAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
BulgariaLeagueBulgarian CupEuropeOther[lower-alpha 1]Total
Levski Sofia A Group 2014–15 19683––279
2015–16 27422––296
First League 2016–17 35111000–3611
Total 832211500009427
DenmarkLeagueDBU PokalenEuropeOtherTotal
Midtjylland Superliga 2017–18 1712331–225
2018–19 1201010–140
Total 291334100365
PortugalLeagueTaça de PortugalEuropeOther[lower-alpha 2]Total
Gil Vicente (loan) Primeira Liga 2019–20 11100–11122
Career statistics12024148411113934
  1. Includes Bulgarian Supercup matches.
  2. Includes Taça da Liga matches.

International goals

Score and result list Bulgaria's goal tally first.

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.
6 September 2018Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia Slovenia
1–0
2–1
2018–19 UEFA Nations League
2.
2–1
Last updated 7 September 2018[25]

Honours

Club
FC Midtjylland

Individual

Best progressing young player in Bulgarian football - 2014, 2015[26]

References
  1. "Чичарито от Враца" (in Bulgarian). webcafe.bg. 13 July 2011.
  2. "Левски привлече и по-големият брат Краев" (in Bulgarian). viasport.bg. 8 February 2013.
  3. "Левски - Локомотив (Пловдив) 1–1" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 19 July 2014.
  4. "Next Generation 2014: 40 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. 14 October 2014.
  5. "Левски върза Краев с нов договор" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 12 December 2014.
  6. "Краев замина на проби в Ювентус" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 15 December 2014.
  7. "Levski Sofia's Bozhidar Kraev arrives for Manchester City trial". theguardian.com. 4 January 2015.
  8. "Краев с хеттрик № 100 в историята на Левски". sportal.bg. 26 May 2015.
  9. "Краев влезе в историята на Левски, остави и Гунди зад себе си" (in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 11 April 2017.
  10. "Bulgarsk stortalent til FC Midtjylland" (in Danish). fcm.dk. 19 June 2017.
  11. Божидар Краев с дебютен гол за Мидтиланд
  12. Отличен Краев класира отбора си на ½ финала в Дания
  13. Indskiftede Bozhidar Kraev blev dobbelt målscorer og matchvinder, da ulvene besejrede Hobro 2-1 i pokalkvartfinalen
  14. Краев отново герой, надпреварата за титлата ще е до последно
  15. Мидтиланд изпрати Божидар Краев под наем в Португалия
  16. Божидар Краев с победен гол в Португалия
  17. Gil Vicente entra com pé-direito na I Liga ao vencer FC Porto
  18. Юношите на България аут от Евро 2016
  19. Юношите започнаха с минимална загуба от Хърватия
  20. Съставът на България U21 за международния турнир "Тулон"
  21. "Petar Hubchev named an expanded group for Belarus". bfunion.bg. 4 November 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  22. "Bulgaria NT vs. Belarus NT 1:0". flashscore.com. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  23. Браво, "лъвове"! България с голям успех над Холандия
  24. БожиДар изстреля "лъвовете" в Словения
  25. "Kraev, Bozhidar". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  26. Dimitrov, Ivaylo (17 February 2015). "Владислав Стоянов е най-добрият български футболист за 2014 година! Лудогорци обраха почти всички индивидуални награди". topsport.bg. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
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