Velizar Dimitrov

Velizar Dimitrov

Dimitrov with Metalurh Donetsk in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1979-04-13) 13 April 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Pernik, Bulgaria
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	Minyor Pernik
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–1998	Lokomotiv Sofia	3	(0)
1998–2000	Minyor Pernik	28	(6)
1999	→ Litex (loan)	0	(0)
2000	Lokomotiv Sofia	2	(0)
2001–2002	Marek Dupnitsa	43	(18)
2002–2008	CSKA Sofia	115	(36)
2008–2013	Metalurh Donetsk	108	(18)
Total		296	(78)
International career
2002–2010	Bulgaria	31	(3)
Managerial career
2014–2015	Metalurh Donetsk (Scout)
2016–2021	CSKA Sofia (Scout)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Velizar Kostadinov Dimitrov (Bulgarian: Велизар Димитров; 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.

He joined CSKA Sofia in 2002, brought in the team by the manager Stoycho Mladenov.^{[citation needed]}.

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.^[1]

On 11 June 2008, Dimitrov signed with Metalurh Donetsk on a 2+1-year deal for a reported fee of €500,000.^[2] He made his Ukrainian Premier League debut against Karpaty Lviv on 19 July, playing the full 90 minutes.^[3]

On 17 November 2012, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv.^[4][5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9] He was brought on once again in the match against Italy.

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	20 August 2003	Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria	Lithuania	2–0	3–0	Friendly
2				3–0
3	17 November 2007	Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria	Romania	1–0	1–0	Euro 2008 qualifier

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

• Velizar Dimitrov at National-Football-Teams.com
• Velizar Dimitrov at UAF and archived FFU page (in Ukrainian)