Velizar Kostadinov Dimitrov (; 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..
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.
Metalurh Donetsk On 11 June 2008, Dimitrov signed with Metalurh Donetsk on a 2+1-year deal for a reported fee of €500,000. He made his Ukrainian Premier League debut against Karpaty Lviv on 19 July, playing the full 90 minutes.
On 17 November 2012, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv. 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.
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. 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. 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. He was brought on once again in the match against Italy.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubLeagueSeasonLeagueCupContinentalTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsApps Goals Lokomotiv SofiaA Group1997–983010—40Minyor Pernik1998–99234??—224Litex (loan)1999–0000002020Minyor Pernik1999–0052??—52Lokomotiv Sofia2000–012000—20Marek DupnitsaB Group2000–0184??—84A Group2001–02351400—3514 Total4318??004318Career total781052008312
International goals Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition120 August 2003Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria2–03–0Friendly23–0317 November 2007Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria1–01–0 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
External links