Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James Nicholas Delianov[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 20 October 1999||
Place of birth | East Melbourne, Australia[2] | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Adelaide United | ||
Number | 1 | ||
Youth career | |||
2015–2016 | A.I.S | ||
2016–2019 | Melbourne City | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2017–2019 | Melbourne City NPL | 64 | (0) |
2019 | Melbourne City | 1 | (0) |
2019–2020 | Western United | 0 | (0) |
2020– | Adelaide United | 40 | (0) |
2021 | Adelaide United NPL | 5 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2015 | Australia U17 | 3 | (0) |
2018–2019 | Australia U20 | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 April 2019 |
James Nicholas Delianov (born 20 October 1999) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for A-League Men club Adelaide United.
Delianov was born in Melbourne, Victoria and raised in Mill Park. He has two older siblings, a brother who is four years older, and a sister who is five years older.[3] He took an interest in football at a young age, like his father, and was enrolled with Bundoora United Soccer Club.[4] Delianov idolised Mark Schwarzer and Mitchell Langerak.[3] He is of Macedonian descent.[4]
Delianov started his career at Melbourne City where he was named as one of the best young goalkeeping prospects in the country.[5][6] He was added to the first team squad after signing on a two-year scholarship contract in March 2017.[7]
Delianov made his debut on 26 April 2019, after spending two years as a third-choice keeper, in a 5–0 win against Central Coast Mariners at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.[8] Despite keeping a clean sheet in his maiden appearance, Delianov was released by Melbourne City a month later.[9]
Shortly after his release, Delianov signed for Western United on a two-year contract ahead of the club's inaugural A-League season.[10][11][12] He soon suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training, missing the rest of the season and was later replaced by Ryan Scott in November 2019.[13][14] Delianov terminated his contract with Western United in November 2020 by mutual consent.[15]
Delianov signed a two-year deal with Adelaide United on 11 November 2020, following his departure from Melbourne.[16] He made his debut on 28 December 2020 in a goalless draw against his former side Western United, keeping a clean sheet at GMHBA Stadium.[17][18] Delianov was voted RAA Travel Members’ Player of the Month twice consecutively by March 2021, having made 41 saves and keeping three clean sheets in total.[19] He was later ruled out with a hamstring injury during that month and temporarily replaced by Joe Gauci.[20]
He played in Adelaide's last match on 19 June 2021, saving a penalty during a 2–1 semi-final defeat to Sydney FC.[21] Delianov remained as a first-choice keeper in his second season, playing in the opening seven league matches before suffering a shoulder injury.[22] He was replaced by Joe Gauci in goals for a second time, although after his return, Delianov remained on the bench in the following matches.[23] He extended his contract with Adelaide United on a renewed two-year contract in June 2022.[24]
After Gauci was absent due to international football,[25] Delianov made his first appearance for United, following two years on the bench (his last being on New Year's Day in 2022), on 4 January 2024 against Wellington Phoenix.[26]
An Australian youth international, Delianov represented Australia under-16 and under-17 squad.[3] He was a part of the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship qualification campaign,[27] and included in the 2015 U-17 World Cup squad,[28][29] although he did not feature in a single match during the latter tournament.[1] Delianov was called up in October 2018 to the Australian under-20 squad, in preparation for the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship.[30][31] He received recognition for his goalkeeping abilities during the tournament,[32] even though Australia failed to qualify for the 2020 U-20 World Cup after a 3–1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the quarter-final.[33][34]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Melbourne City Youth | 2016 | NPLV2 West | 9 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
2017[35] | NPLV2 East | 29 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | ||
2018[36] | NPLV2 East | 26 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
Total | 64 | 0 | — | 64 | 0 | |||
Melbourne City | 2018–19[37] | A-League | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
Western United | 2019–20[38] | A-League | — | — | — | |||
Adelaide United Youth | 2021[39] | NPL SA | 5 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
Adelaide United | 2020–21[40] | A-League | 18 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |
2021–22[41] | A-League | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
2022–23[42] | A-League | — | — | — | ||||
2023–24[43] | A-League | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
Total | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
Career total | 97 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 99 | 0 |