Nikolay Bodurov

Nikolay Bodurov
Personal information
Full nameNikolay Georgiev Bodurov
Date of birth30 May 1986
Place of birthBlagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing positionRight-back, Centre-back
Club information
Current team
Fulham
Number6
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2004–2009Pirin Blagoevgrad104(1)
2009–2014Litex Lovech109(8)
2014–Fulham37(1)
National team
2010–Bulgaria27(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:37, 21 April 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2014

Nikolay Bodurov (Bulgarian: Николай Бодуров; born 30 May 1986) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays for English club Fulham and the Bulgarian national team. Bodurov plays mainly as a centre back but has also played as a right back on some occasions.

He started his professional career at his hometown club Pirin Blagoevgrad, playing five seasons before moving to Litex Lovech in 2009, with whom he won two league titles. In 2014 he signed with Fulham for a fee in the region of €1 million. Internationally, Bodurov made his debut for Bulgaria in 2010.

Career

Pirin Blagoevgrad

Born in Blagoevgrad, Bodurov started to play football at early age with Pirin 1922. He made his way through the youth ranks at the club before making his first team debut on 8 August 2004 against Shumen, when he was only 18 years old. Bodurov quickly established himself in the Pirin 1922 first-team. He earned 29 league appearances in 2004–05 season and helped the team to win promotion to A Group.

Bodurov scored his only goal for Pirin during a 2007–08 season. On 27 October 2007, he scored a last-minute goal to secure a 1–0 away win over Vidima-Rakovski.

In the 2008–09 season with the team, he qualified for the final of Bulgarian Cup. Bodurov played in 125 matches at the club of Blagoevgrad until 2009.

Litex Lovech

In July 2009, Litex Lovech signed Bodurov[2] on a four-year deal. He was given the number 33 shirt. He made his competitive debut for Litex on 1 August 2009, against Levski Sofia for the Bulgarian Supercup. Bodurov made his league debut against Montana on 30 August, playing the full 90 minutes. The game ended with a 3–0 victory to Litex.[3] On 25 March 2010, he netted his first goal for the club, scoring header in the 1–0 home win against Sliven 2000.[4] In his first season playing for Litex, he made 18 appearances in the A PFG and ended the season winning his first league golden medal. During a campaign, he was mainly used as a right-back.[5]

On 20 December 2010, Bodurov was named 2010 A PFG Defender of the Year.[6] He collected his second A PFG title winner's medal at the end of the 2010–11 season.

On 3 August 2011, he scored the only goal for Litex in a 1–3 away loss against Wisła Kraków in the Champions League qualifying match.[7] On 21 August 2011, as a result of injury to regular captain Nebojša Jelenković,[8] Bodurov captained Litex for the first time in the last 22 minutes against Svetkavitsa at the Lovech Stadium in a 6–0 Litex victory.[9] A week later, he scored his first league goal of the 2011–12 season in a 2–0 win at Slavia Sofia.[10]

Fulham

On 1 August 2014, Bodurov signed a three-year contract with English side Fulham with an additional one-year option.[11] The 28 year old immediately joined up with his new club on their pre-season tour of Austria at a training camp in Innsbruck. He made his league debut in the opening game of the season, in a 2–1 loss to Ipswich Town on 9 August, playing full 90 minutes in the centre of defence.[12] Bodurov scored his first goal for Fulham to open the scoring against Derby County in a 2–0 home win on 28 February 2015.[13]

International career

On 8 October 2010, Bodurov made his debut for the Bulgarian national team[14] in the 1–0 away win in a Euro 2012 qualifying match against Wales in Cardiff. During a 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Denmark on 26 March 2013, Bodurov ruptured his ligament of ankle,[15] and received surgery two days later.[16] He reclaimed his starting spot for the national team following his return from injury, but was sent off on 11 October 2013, in the 1–2 away loss against Armenia in a World Cup qualifier.[17]

On 9 September 2014, Bodurov captained his country for the first time in the 2–1 away victory over Azerbaijan in a Euro 2016 qualifier after regular captain Ivelin Popov had sustained an injury a few days prior to the match. He subsequently dedicated the win to Popov.[18][19]

International goals

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 13 October 2014 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway  Norway 1–1 1–2 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Career Statistics

Club

Bodurov playing for Pirin

As of 28 February 2015

Club Season Division League Cup League Cup Continental Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Pirin 1922 2004–05 B Group 29050340
2005–06 A Group 13030160
Pirin Blagoevgrad 2006–07 B Group 16030190
2007–08 A Group 27130301
2008–09 22040260
Pirin total 1041210001251
Litex Lovech 2009–10 A Group 1822000202
2010–11 2523050332
2011–12 1933061284
2012–13 18050230
2013–14 27120291
2014–15 20004060
Litex total 10981501511399
Fulham 2014–15 Championship 3314020391
Fulham total 331402000391
Career total 246104002015130311

National team

Bulgaria national team
YearAppsGoals
201030
201140
201290
201360
201451
Total271

Honours

Litex Lovech

References

  1. "Българите с половин сантиметър по-високи" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  2. "Литекс взе Бодуров от Пирин" (in Bulgarian). dariknews.bg. 5 July 2009.
  3. "Litex 3–0 Montana". soccerway.com. 30 August 2009.
  4. "Литекс стигна до минимален успех срещу Сливен" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 25 March 2010.
  5. "Бодуров недоволства от Червенков" (in Bulgarian). topsport.com. 6 March 2010.
  6. "Годината на Бодуров" (in Bulgarian). webcafe.bg. 23 December 2010.
  7. "Wisła within sight after ousting Litex". uefa.com. 3 August 2011.
  8. "Литекс размаза слабака Светкавица с 6:0" (in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 21 August 2011.
  9. "Литекс закопа Светкавица" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 21 August 2011.
  10. "Slavia 0–2 Litex". soccerway.com. 21 August 2011.
  11. "Fulham sign Nikolay Bodurov on three-year deal". skysports.com. 1 August 2014.
  12. "Ipswich Town 2–1 Fulham". bbc.com. 9 August 2014.
  13. "Fulham’s Nikolay Bodurov’s brilliant shot sinks leaders Derby County". theguardian.com. 28 February 2015.
  14. Nikolay Bodurov at National-Football-Teams.com
  15. "Бодуров е със скъсана връзка" (in Bulgarian). novsport.com. 27 March 2013.
  16. "Оперираха Бодуров, аут до края на сезона" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 28 March 2013.
  17. "Адио, Рио! Националите не издържаха в Армения" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 11 October 2013.
  18. "България показа характер и пречупи азерите в Баку, Венци Христов ни донесе успеха" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 9 September 2014.
  19. "Бодуров: Ивелине, това е за теб, трудна победа" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 9 September 2014.

External links