Zhivko Dinchev Zhelev (Bulgarian: Живко Желев; born 23 July 1979 in Stara Zagora) is a retired Bulgarian football defender and now manager of Etar Veliko Tarnovo.
 Zhelev as a player in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zhivko Dinchev Zhelev | ||
| Date of birth | 23 July 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Stara Zagora, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Etar Veliko Tarnovo (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1996 | Beroe Stara Zagora | 3 | (0) |
| 1996–2007 | Litex Lovech | 196 | (29) |
| 1996–1998 | → Olimpik Teteven (loan) | 37 | (3) |
| 2007–2009 | Oțelul Galați | 73 | (7) |
| 2010 | Steaua București | 16 | (1) |
| 2010 | Inter Baku | 1 | (0) |
| 2011 | Simurq Zagatala | 2 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Slavia Sofia | 66 | (4) |
| 2013–2016 | Vereya Stara Zagora | 64 | (11) |
| Total | 458 | (55) | |
| International career | |||
| Bulgaria U-21 | |||
| 2001–2006 | Bulgaria | 6 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2014–2015 | Vereya (assistant) | ||
| 2015–2016 | Vereya (playing manager) | ||
| 2016–2022 | Litex Lovech | ||
| 2022 | CSKA Sofia II (assistant) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Yantra Gabrovo | ||
| 2023 | Bdin Vidin | ||
| 2024 | Lovech | ||
| 2024– | Etar Veliko Tarnovo | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:48, 18 June 2016 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editLitex
editZhelev joined Litex Lovech quite young but fought hard to get a place in the first team. He formed a formidable duet with ex-Bulgarian national defender Rosen Kirilov. However, due to a lack of strikers Zhelev was also used by managers to play as a striker for Litex and scored a lot of goals in this position. He is the defender who has scored the most goals in the whole history of Bulgarian football.[1]
He has been considered one of the favourite players by Litex fans, due to his dedicated and selfless manner of playing, and his loyalty to the club. He has been awarded the title "The best player of Litex" in 2006.
Oţelul
editOn 12 July 2007, Zhelev joined Romanian club Oţelul Galaţi for a fee of €125,000
On 8 November 2009, after a game against FC Timişoara, he and his teammate Stoyan Kolev decided to leave Oţelul because of the financial situation of the club.
Steaua
edit"Coming to Steaua is a very important step in my career. I wanted to come to Steaua, because it is a very big club."
On 5 January 2010, Steaua and Oţelul agree Zhelev and Ochiroşii swap deal. On 10 January 2010, Steaua signed the Bulgarian centre-back on a free transfer until June 2011.
First match in Liga I for Steaua: 20 February 2010 • Steaua-Ceahlăul 1–3.
First goal in Liga I for Steaua: 25 April 2010 • Steaua-FC Timişoara 3–3.
In June 2010, Steaua has terminated the contract with Zhelev.
Inter Baku
editOn 25 June 2010, Zhelev signed a one-year deal with the Azerbaijani football club Inter Baku.[3] Thus, he joins compatriot Petar Zlatinov in the club squad.
Slavia Sofia
editAt the end of the 2010–11 season, Zhelev returned to Bulgaria and joined Slavia Sofia on a free transfer. He made his comeback league debut at the start of the 2011–12 season in a 1–0 defeat to Levski Sofia on 8 August. Zhelev was frozen out of the first team in October 2013 (after Asen Bukarev had been replaced as coach) and in December 2013 joined Vereya Stara Zagora in the third division of Bulgarian football.[4]
Vereya Stara Zagora
editIn March 2015, Zhelev took over from Radostin Kishishev as head coach of Vereya Stara Zagora. However, his assistant Vladislav Yanush was officially registered as the manager, as Zhelev had not yet obtained the coaching license to manage in the B PFG.[5]
Litex Lovech
editIn July 2016, Zhelev became the manager of Litex Lovech and coached them in the third tier of Bulgarian football.[6]
Honours
editPlayer
editHead coach
editReferences
edit- ^ "Zhivko Zhelev este jucatorul Stelei!". FCSB. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ^ "Zhivko Zhelev: Sper sa luam titlul". Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ "Живко Желев премина в Интер" (in Bulgarian). Gong.bg. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ "Живко Желев заигра във "В" група, разбра се с Верея". topsport.bg.
- ^ "Живко Желев наследи Кишишев във Верея, помощник ще му бъде Владислав Януш". topsport.bg. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ "Живко Желев ще води Литекс във "В" група". football24.bg. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
External links
edit- Zhivko Zhelev at National-Football-Teams.com