Velizar Dimitrov

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

Dimitrov previously played for Minyor Pernik, Lokomotiv Sofia, Marek Dupnitsa and CSKA Sofia, and was part of the Bulgarian UEFA Euro 2004 team. He has worked as a pundit since his retirement.

Career

He joined CSKA Sofia in 2002, brought in the team by the manager Stoycho Mladenov.Template: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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Metalurh Donetsk

On 11 June 2008, Dimitrov signed with Metalurh Donetsk on a 2+1-year deal for a reported fee of €500,000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He made his Ukrainian Premier League debut against Karpaty Lviv on 19 July, playing the full 90 minutes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 17 November 2012, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref>	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	Template:Fb	2–0	3–0	Friendly
2				3–0
3	17 November 2007	Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	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

External links

• Template:NFT player
• Template:FFU