Dimitar Iliev (footballer, born 1988)
Dimitar Iliev (Bulgarian: Димитър Илиев, born 25 September 1988) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Lokomotiv Plovdiv, where he is also club captain.[1]
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dimitar Krasimirov Iliev | ||
| Date of birth | 25 September 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Attacking midfielder / Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2009 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 73 | (14) |
| 2010–2011 | CSKA Sofia | 5 | (0) |
| 2010 | → Minyor Pernik (loan) | 14 | (5) |
| 2011 | → Pirin Blagoevgrad (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Montana | 27 | (2) |
| 2012–2014 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 57 | (10) |
| 2014–2017 | Wisła Płock | 90 | (11) |
| 2017–2018 | Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała | 23 | (3) |
| 2018– | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 48 | (20) |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2005 | Bulgaria U17 | 6 | (5) |
| 2006–2007 | Bulgaria U19 | ||
| 2008–2009 | Bulgaria U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019– | Bulgaria | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 December 2019 | |||
Career
Iliev began his career in the youth ranks of Lokomotiv Plovdiv. After making his way through the various youth levels at the club, he debuted for the senior team in a 4–1 home win over Lokomotiv Sofia on 11 September 2004, at age of 15. In November 2004, Iliev had a trial spell with Chelsea.[2]
In January 2010, Iliev signed for CSKA Sofia, but struggled to get into the main squad and spent loan spells at Minyor Pernik and Pirin Blagoevgrad, before joining Montana on a permanent basis in August 2011.[3]
After one season with Montana, Iliev joined Lokomotiv Sofia, where he spent two seasons before moving to Poland to sign for Wisła Płock in 2014. In 2015–16, his second season with the club, Iliev helped Wisła achieve promotion to the Ekstraklasa. He spent three full seasons with Wisła before moving to Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała in 2017 where he spent one season.
On 16 July 2018, Iliev re-joined Lokomotiv Plovdiv, signing a two-year contract.[4] At the end of the season he lifted the Bulgarian Cup as a captain of his childhood team. The 1–0 win against local rivals Botev Plovdiv was achieved with the only goal in 73rd minute scored by Alen Ožbolt (assist by Ante Aralica and pre-assist by Iliev himself). It happened to be the first Bulgarian Cup trophy for Lokomotiv as well as the 1st ever trophy in Iliev's career.
International career
In November 2019 Iliev received his first call up to the national team for the friendly match against Paraguay and the UEFA Euro 2020 Qualification match against the Czech Republic,[5] but remained an unused substitute for both games. He earned his first cap on 26 February 2020, playing the first half of the 0:1 home loss against Belarus in a friendly game.[6]
Career statistics
As of 9 June 2020
| Club | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 2004–05 | A Group | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2006–07 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 | ||
| 2007–08 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 7 | ||
| 2009–10 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 3 | ||
| CSKA Sofia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Minyor Pernik (loan) | 2009–10 | A Group | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 5 |
| Pirin Blagoevgrad (loan) | 2010–11 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 3 | |
| Montana | 2011–12 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 2012–13 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 31 | 6 | |
| 2013–14 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 6 | ||
| Total | 57 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 12 | ||
| Wisła Płock | 2014–15 | I liga | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 5 |
| 2015–16 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | Ekstraklasa | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 3 | |
| Total | 90 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 91 | 11 | ||
| Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała | 2017–18 | I liga | 23 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 3 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 2018–19 | First League | 29 | 9 | 6 | 2 | — | — | 35 | 11 |
| 2019–20 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 19 | ||
| Total | 126 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 147 | 45 | ||
| Career statistics | 354 | 69 | 33 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 396 | 81 | ||
- Includes Bulgarian Supercup matches.
Honours
Individual
- Bulgarian Footballer of the Year: 2019[7]
- Best forward in the Bulgarian First League: 2019[7]
References
- "Dimitar Iliev Facts". footballdatabase.eu.
- "Димитър Илиев от Локо (Пд) започва проби в Челси" (in Bulgarian). monitor.bg. 1 November 2004.
- "Монтана се подсили с бивш цесекар" (in Bulgarian). btvnovinite.bg. 2 August 2011.
- "Локомотив подписа договор с Димитър Илиев" (in Bulgarian). lokomotivpd.com. 16 July 2018.
- "Георги Дерменджиев започна с изненадите в националния отбор". topsport.bg. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- "Експериментален състав на България отстъпи на Беларус (видео+галерия)". sportal.bg. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- Petkov, Georgi (5 January 2020). "Димитър Илиев е "Футболист на годината", получи наградата си лично от Бербатов". topsport.bg. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
External links
- (in Bulgarian) Lokomotiv Plovdiv profile
- Dimitar Iliev at Soccerway
- Dimitar Iliev at 90minut.pl (in Polish)