Kristian Dimitrov
Personal information
Full name Kristian Traychev Dimitrov
Date of birth (1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Levski Sofia
Number 50
Youth career
2005–2013 Lokomotiv Plovdiv
2013–2016 Botev Plovdiv
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Botev Plovdiv 72 (6)
2018 → Montana (loan) 13 (1)
2020–2022 Hajduk Split 46 (3)
2022 → CFR Cluj (loan) 1 (1)
2023– Levski Sofia 32 (2)
International career‡
2015–2016 Bulgaria U19 6 (0)
2019– Bulgaria 17 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 March 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2023

Kristian Traychev Dimitrov (Bulgarian: Кристиан Трайчев Димитров; born 27 February 1997) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Levski Sofia and the Bulgarian national team.[2]

Club career

Botev Plovdiv

In the summer of 2013, Dimitrov joined Botev Plovdiv at under-17 level from Lokomotiv Plovdiv and progressed through the club's academy system.[3]

Dimitrov made his first-team debut on 13 March 2016, when he came off the bench to replace Serkan Yusein in the 81st minute of a 3–1 league win over Cherno More Varna.[4] His first senior goal came in the last round of the 2015–16 season; he scored the second goal in a 2–1 win over Ludogorets Razgrad on 27 May.[5]

Dimitrov began to establish himself in the Botev first team from the 2016–17 season, making eight league starts. On 8 June 2017, he signed a new two-year contract with the club.[6]

On 5 February 2018, Dimitrov joined Second League club Montana on loan for the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[7] He made 13 appearances in total. His only goal came on 5 May 2018 when he opened the scoring in a 2–0 away win over Botev Galabovo.[8]

In June 2018, Dimitrov returned to Botev and continued his progress during 2018–19, becoming a regular in the defence. On 24 April 2019, he scored a last-minute goal against CSKA Sofia, bringing the score to 3:3 and enabling his team (which had been reduced to nine men) to progress to the final of the Bulgarian Cup 6:5 on aggregate.[9]

Hajduk Split and the loan to CFR Cluj

On 11 February 2020, it was announced that Dimitrov had signed a two-and-a-half year contract with Hajduk Split.[10][11]

Not finding much playing time in the 2021/22 season, he was loaned out to CFR Cluj in February 2022.[12] He became a Liga I champion with the Romanian club, featuring in a single game, 3-1 loss against FCSB, scoring in the 45th minute.[13]

Returning to Hajduk, he spent the first part of the 2022/23 season largely on the bench, starting a single cup match, a 5-1 away win against Tehničar Cvetkovec, where he received a red card for a counter-attack stopping foul in the 33rd minute,[14] and his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 17 December 2022.[15] Dimitrov had scored 3 goals in 40 league matches at the Croatian club.

Levski Sofia

On 30 December 2022, Dimitrov returned to Bulgaria, signing a one-and-a-half year deal with Levski Sofia.[16]

International career

In May 2019, following his good performances for Botev, Dimitrov was called up to the national team by new manager Krasimir Balakov. On 7 June 2019, he made his debut, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–2 away loss against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2020 qualifier.[17]

Career statistics

Club

As of 19 March 2023
Club performance League Cup Continental Other Total
Club League Season Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Botev Plovdiv First League 2015–16 3 1 0 0 0[a] 0 – 3 1
2016–17 12 0 1 0 – – 13 0
2017–18 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2018–19 31 4 5 1 – – 36 5
2019–20 18 0 0 0 – – 18 0
Total 64 5 8 1 0 0 0 0 72 6
Montana (loan) Second League 2017–18 13 1 0 0 – – 13 1
Hajduk Split 1. HNL 2019–20 14 1 0 0 – – 14 1
2020–21 20 2 1 0 0 0 – 21 2
2021–22 6 0 3 0 1 0 – 10 0
2022–23 0 0 1 0 0 0 – 1 0
Total 40 3 5 0 1 0 0 0 46 3
CFR Cluj (loan) Liga I 2021–22 1 1 – – – 1 1
Levski Sofia First League 2022–23 4 0 – – – 4 0
Career statistics 118 10 13 1 1 0 0 0 132 11
  1. ^ UEFA Europa League matches.

International stats

As of match played 14 October 2023
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Bulgaria 2019 6 1
2020 6 0
2021 2 0
2023 3 0
Total 17 1

International goals

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.[2]
No Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 June 2019 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria 6  Kosovo 2–1 2–3 UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Style of play

Krasimir Balakov compared Dimitrov with the legendary Bulgarian defender Trifon Ivanov, while being manager of Bulgaria.[18]

Honours

Club

Botev Plovdiv

CFR Cluj

Hajduk Split

Individual

References

  1. ^ Kristian Dimitrov at Soccerway
  2. ^ a b "Dimitrov, Kristian". National Football Teams. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Школата на Ботев с най-много трансферни удари" (in Bulgarian). viasport.bg. 20 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Botev Plovdiv 3–1 Cherno More". soccerway.com. 13 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Botev Plovdiv 2–1 Ludogorets Razgrad". soccerway.com. 27 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Кристиан Димитров подписа нов договор с Ботев" (in Bulgarian). botevplovdiv.bg. 8 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Ботев преотстъпи двама във Втора лига" (in Bulgarian). botevplovdiv.bg. 5 February 2018.
  8. ^ "Botev Galabovo vs. Montana" (in Bulgarian). soccerway.com. 5 May 2018.
  9. ^ Vutov, Viktor (24 April 2019). "Пловдивско дерби във финала за Купата на България! Героичен Ботев постави ЦСКА на колене с девет души в истински трилър" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Ботев трансферира Кристиан Димитров в Хайдук" [Botev transferred Kristian Dimitrov to Hajduk]. www.botevplovdiv.bg (in Bulgarian). Botev Plovdiv. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Kristian Dimitrov novi je igrač Hajduka". www.hajduk.hr (in Croatian). HNK Hajduk Split. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Kristian Dimitrov odlazi na posudbu u CFR Cluj". www.hajduk.hr (in Croatian). HNK Hajduk Split. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  13. ^ Na zimu je otišao iz Hajduka, zaigrao jednom i osvojio naslov at 24 Sata
  14. ^ Hajduk bez problema pobijedio u Cvetkovcu i plasirao se u osminu finala Kupa: Mlakar, Vuković i Šarić zabijali, Dimitrov ‘pocrvenio‘ at Slobodna Dalmacija
  15. ^ "Kristian Dimitrov više nije igrač Hajduka". www.hajduk.hr (in Croatian). HNK Hajduk Split. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  16. ^ "ПФК Левски подписа с Кристиан Димитров". levski.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Czech Republic vs. Bulgaria 2-1". flashscore.com. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  18. ^ Кристиан Димитров разкри какво му е казал Балъков
  19. ^ "EXCLUSIV | U Craiova, aproape de a transfera un internațional bulgar! În sezonul trecut a fost declarat cel mai bun fundaș central din prima ligă a Bulgariei". 15 July 2019.
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