Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Valentin Iliev Ivanov | ||
Date of birth | 11 July 1980 | ||
Place of birth | Knezha, Bulgaria | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Playing position | Centre back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team
|
CSKA 1948 (manager) | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1999–2001 | Botev Vratsa | 37 | (3) |
2002–2004 | Metalurh Zaporizhya | 21 | (1) |
2004–2007 | CSKA Sofia | 79 | (7) |
2008–2009 | Terek Grozny | 47 | (5) |
2010 | Universitatea Craiova | 25 | (6) |
2011–2012 | Steaua Bucureşti | 26 | (4) |
2012–2013 | Volyn Lutsk | 18 | (0) |
2013–2015 | CSKA Sofia | 40 | (5) |
2015–2016 | CS U Craiova | 20 | (1) |
National team | |||
2005–2013 | Bulgaria | 23 | (0) |
Teams managed | |||
2016– | CSKA 1918 | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 May 2016. |
Valentin Iliev (Bulgarian: Валентин Илиев; born 11 August 1980 in Knezha) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played as a defender and now manager of CSKA 1918.
Iliev's father, Iliya Valov, was goalkeeper for CSKA and Bulgaria's national team.
Iliev started his career in his home town Vratsa, where he played for the local team Botev Vratsa. In June 2001 he signed with Ukrainian club Metalurg from Zaporizhzhya, where he played 21 matches and scored one goal.
In November 2004, Iliev joined CSKA Sofia. He collected his first A Group title winner's medal at the end of the 2004–05 season. Iliev scored 4 league goals in 18 matches that season.
On 23 August 2005, Iliev scored a goal, which helped CSKA secure a historic 1–0 away win over Liverpool in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. However, it did not help them qualify for the Champions League group phase, as the "armymen" were eliminated after an aggregate score of 2–3, having lost their home game. He developed a knack for scoring key goals for CSKA making good use of his powerful heading ability. In April 2006, Iliev was given the captain's armband, as Emil Gargorov was stripped from that role as a result of loss in the Eternal derby of Bulgarian football against Levski Sofia.