Ivelin Popov

Ivelin Ivanov Popov (Bulgarian: Ивелин Иванов Попов; born 26 October 1987) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Russian club Sochi. He represented the Bulgaria national team between 2007 and 2019.

Club Career

Youth career

Born in Sofia, Popov started to play football in Septemvri Sofia's academy. In 2005, he trained for four months with Feyenoord but did not sign with the team because he was not 18 years old. After that, he returned to Bulgaria and played in a tournament for Beroe's youth team and there he was spotted by the Litex Lovech scouts. On 14 July 2005, he even scored a goal for Beroe in a friendly game.

Litex Lovech

Popov signed his first professional contract with Litex Lovech in December 2005. He made his European debut in the first leg of Round of 32 Stage in a 0–0 draw against Strasbourg; he made his official debut in the Bulgarian top division in a match against CSKA Sofia on 12 March 2006. He played 59 minutes. The result of the match was a 1–1 draw. On 9 April 2006, he scored his first goal in professional football against Lokomotiv Sofia. The result of the match was a 3–1 win for Litex. The same season, Popov played in 11 matches and scored five goals. In two consecutive seasons, Popov was third placed in the voting for Young player of the year award in 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, Popov scored a brace, in a first leg of second round, in a 3–0 win over Besa Kavaje. Eventually, Litex Lovech advanced to the next round, losing to Hamburger SV in two's leg.

On 18 September 2008, Popov scored a goal in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Aston Villa. In July 2009, Popov was given the captain's armband. At the end of the season, Popov was awarded A League's player of the season after having the most votes in the poll.

In August 2010, he went on trial to Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. He impressed the club, whereafter he received a contract off

This page also has a version in other languages :  Ивелин Попов (russian)