Velizar Dimitrov

Velizar Kostadinov Dimitrov (Bulgarian: Велизар Димитров; born 13 April 1979) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Velizar Dimitrov

Dimitrov with Metalurh Donetsk in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1979-04-13) 13 April 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Pernik, Bulgaria
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	Minyor Pernik
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–1998	Lokomotiv Sofia	3	(0)
1998–2000	Minyor Pernik	28	(6)
1999	→ Litex (loan)	0	(0)
2000	Lokomotiv Sofia	2	(0)
2001–2002	Marek Dupnitsa	43	(18)
2002–2008	CSKA Sofia	115	(36)
2008–2013	Metalurh Donetsk	108	(18)
Total		296	(78)
International career
2002–2010	Bulgaria	31	(3)
Managerial career
2014–2015	Metalurh Donetsk (Scout)
2016–2021	CSKA Sofia (Scout)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He has previously played for Minyor Pernik, Lokomotiv Sofia, Marek Dupnitsa and CSKA Sofia. Dimitrov was part of the Bulgarian 2004 European Football Championship team, who exited in the first round, finishing bottom of Group C, having finished top of Qualifying Group 8 in the pre-tournament phase. He has also worked as a pundit since his retirement.

Career

He joined CSKA Sofia in 2002, brought in the team by the manager Stoycho Mladenov.^{[citation needed]}.

In 2003, when Dimitrov won a number of individual awards as one of the best players in the A PFG, he was close to securing a move to FC Porto, but the deal eventually fell through due to financial reasons.^[1]

Metalurh Donetsk

On 11 June 2008, Dimitrov signed with Metalurh Donetsk on a 2+1-year deal for a reported fee of €500,000.^[2] He made his Ukrainian Premier League debut against Karpaty Lviv on 19 July, playing the full 90 minutes.^[3]

On 17 November 2012, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv.^[4][5] He marked his 100th league appearance for Metalurh against Hoverla Uzhhorod on 20 April 2013, by scoring a winning goal for a 2–1 home win.^[6]

International career

Dimitrov played for the league based national side in an unofficial friendly against Azerbaijan on 21 February 2002, scoring a goal for a 3–0 home win.^[7] He made his competitive debut for the national team in a 1–0 away loss against Spain on 20 November 2002, coming on as a second-half substitute.^[8] On 20 August 2003, Dimitrov opened his senior international goals tally, scoring twice for a 3–0 win over Lithuania.

He was included in the Bulgaria Euro 2004 squad in May 2004 by Plamen Markov and came on as a second-half substitute in Bulgaria's opening game against Sweden on 14 June.^[9] He was brought on once again in the match against Italy.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	League	Season	League		Cup		Continental		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lokomotiv Sofia	A Group	1997–98	3	0	1	0	—		4	0
Minyor Pernik		1998–99	23	4	?	?	—		22	4
Litex (loan)[10]		1999–00	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
Minyor Pernik		1999–00	5	2	?	?	—		5	2
Lokomotiv Sofia		2000–01	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
Marek Dupnitsa	B Group	2000–01	8	4	?	?	—		8	4
	A Group	2001–02	35	14	0	0	—		35	14
	Total		43	18	?	?	0	0	43	18
Career total			78	10	5	2	0	0	83	12

International goals

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	20 August 2003	Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria	Lithuania	2–0	3–0	Friendly
2				3–0
3	17 November 2007	Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria	Romania	1–0	1–0	Euro 2008 qualifier

Honours

Club

CSKA Sofia

• A PFG: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08
• Bulgarian Cup: 2005–06
• Bulgarian Supercup: 2006

Metalurh Donetsk

• Ukrainian Cup: Runner-up 2009–10, 2011–12
• Ukrainian Super Cup: Runner-up 2012

References

1. "Велизар разкри учителите си за "велизарките", "подражавах на Емо Костадинов и Гиби Искренов". topsport.bg. 15 February 2014.
2. "Велизар Димитров е играч на Металург Донецк" (in Bulgarian). sportline.bg. 11 June 2008.
3. "Metalurh Donetsk 1–0 Karpaty Lviv". soccerway.com. 19 July 2008.
4. "Велизар Димитров в идеалния отбор на 16-ия кръг в Украйна" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 21 November 2012.
5. "Metalurh Donetsk 1–0 Dynamo Kyiv". soccerway.com. 17 November 2012.
6. "Като в приказка" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 21 April 2013.
7. "Националите ни с лекота се справиха с азерите" (in Bulgarian). more.info.bg. 21 February 2002. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013.
8. "Испания – България 1:0" (in Bulgarian). more.info.bg. 20 November 2002. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013.
9. "Sweden 5–0 Bulgaria". BBC. 14 June 2004.
10. "Dimitrov Statistics for Litex". worldfootball.net.

External links

• Velizar Dimitrov at National-Football-Teams.com
• Velizar Dimitrov at UAF and archived FFU page (in Ukrainian)