Ilian Iliev
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ilian Dimov Iliev | ||
| Date of birth | 2 July 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Varna, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Vereya (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1991 | Cherno More | 123 | (31) |
| 1991–1995 | Levski Sofia | 85 | (19) |
| 1993 | → Altay (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 1995–1997 | Benfica | 40 | (5) |
| 1997 | Slavia Sofia | 11 | (1) |
| 1998 | Bursaspor | 15 | (3) |
| 1998 | AEK Athens | 8 | (1) |
| 1999 | Levski Sofia | 11 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | Marítimo | 76 | (10) |
| 2002–2003 | Salgueiros | 25 | (3) |
| 2003–2004 | Cherno More | 18 | (3) |
| Total | 436 | (80) | |
| National team | |||
| 1991–2000 | Bulgaria | 34 | (3) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2004–2006 | Cherno More | ||
| 2006–2007 | Beroe Stara Zagora | ||
| 2008–2012 | Beroe Stara Zagora | ||
| 2012–2013 | Levski Sofia | ||
| 2014–2015 | Interclube | ||
| 2016 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | ||
| 2017– | Vereya | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Ilian Dimov Iliev (Bulgarian: Илиан Димов Илиев; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian former international football midfielder, and currently manager of Vereya. His son Ilian Iliev Jr. is also a footballer, currently playing for Cherno More.
He is best known for having played for Portuguese club Benfica and Bulgarian sides Cherno More and Levski Sofia. In his professional career as a footballer, he received 35 international caps for the Bulgaria national team.
Career
Iliev was born in Varna and started to play football at his hometown club Cherno More. After his good performances in the youth teams were caught, he was promoted into the first team in 1986. For five seasons, between 1986 and 1991, Iliev made 123 appearances and scored 31 goals for the club. He was transferred to Levski Sofia in the 1991–92 season, winning three times the Bulgarian A PFG and one Bulgarian Cup in five years with the club. In 1995, Iliev moved to Benfica and won the Taça de Portugal in the 1995–96 season. In his career he also played for Slavia Sofia, Turkish Bursaspor, Greek AEK Athens as well as for the Portuguese clubs Marítimo and Salgueiros. He finished his career at his first club Cherno More Varna in 2004.
International career
Iliev earned his first cap with Bulgaria in a friendly match against Turkey on 22 September 1991 in Stara Zagora. He registered 35 caps for his country, scoring three goals. Iliev was part of the Bulgarian squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he played in three games.[1]
Coaching career
After retiring in 2004, Iliev pursued a career as a coach. In June 2004, he was appointed as a manager in his first club Cherno More Varna. However, on 3 March 2006, after a two years spell at the Sailors, he resigned after a home 0–1 loss against Rodopa Smolyan. Since 2006,[2] he serves as the manager of Beroe Stara Zagora,[3] making him one of the longest serving coach in a Bulgarian football club. Under his management in the 2009–10 season, Beroe won a historical first Bulgarian Cup and consequently achieved a participation in the UEFA Europa League qualification stages. Iliev has been voted best coach in the Bulgarian championship for the season 2009–10 by the association of Bulgarian football players.
On 6 April 2012 it was announced that Iliev will be the new manager of Levski Sofia. He will complete the current season with Beroe and then will start his new job at the beginning of the 2012–13 season. His contract will be until June 2015.
On 12 April 2013, he was fired by Levski Sofia and was replaced by Nikolay Mitov.
In mid May 2014, Iliev held final talks to become the manager of Angolan club Inter Luanda. Compatriot Petar Kostadinov was announced as his assistant.[4] He returned to his country in 2016, being appointed as manager of Loko Plovdiv. Iliev came close to securing European club football for the team, as the "smurfs" finished in 5th place in the standings during the 2015/2016 A PFG. On 17 October 2016, following a 1–2 defeat by Lokomotiv GO, Iliev announced that he is leaving Lokomotiv Plovdiv.[5] In early 2017, Iliev signed a contract to manage newly promoted Altai Semey from the Kazakhstan Premier League, but stepped down in February 2017, as the club eventually did not receive a license for the top division.[6]
On 9 June 2017, Iliev was appointed as manager of First League club Vereya.[7]
Honours
Player
- Levski Sofia
- Bulgarian A PFG: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
- Bulgarian Cup: 1991–92, 1993–94
- Benfica
Manager
- Beroe
- Bulgarian Cup: 2010
- A PFG Coach of the Season: 2009–10
References
- ↑ "The Bulgarian squad for the 1998 World Cup finals". bulgarian-football.com.
- ↑ http://football.sportal.bg/news.php?news=12255
- ↑ "Beroe back to their best under Iliev". UEFA.com. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- ↑ "Илиев пое африканския Интер, Илиан ще работи в Ангола". topsport.bg. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ↑ "Старши треньорът на Локомотив Илиан Илиев подаде оставка" (in Bulgarian). lokomotivpd.com. 17 October 2016.
- ↑ "Илиан Илиев: разтрогнах договора си с "Алтай" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ↑ "Илиан Илиев е новият старши треньор на ПФК Верея" (in Bulgarian). fcvereya.bg. 9 June 2017.
External links
- Ilian Iliev at ForaDeJogo
- Ilian Iliev at TheFinalBall.com
- Ilian Iliev manager stats at TheFinalBall.com
- Ilian Iliev at National-Football-Teams.com
- Profile at LevskiSofia.info
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