Ivan Ivanov (footballer, born 1988)

Ivan Ivanov

Ivanov in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Ivan Kamenov Ivanov
Date of birth	25 February 1988
Place of birth	Zlatitsa, Bulgaria
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position	Centre back
Club information
Current team	Panathinaikos
Number	51
Youth career
–2005	Pirin 1922
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2005	Pirin 1922	6	(0)
2005–2010	CSKA Sofia	53	(6)
2007–2008	→ Lokomotiv Plovdiv (loan)	24	(0)
2010–2011	Alania Vladikavkaz	24	(2)
2011–2013	Partizan	59	(8)
2013–2015	Basel	11	(0)
2016	Lokomotiv Plovdiv	9	(0)
2016–	Panathinaikos	7	(0)
National team^‡
2004–2005	Bulgaria U17[2]	6	(0)
2006–2007	Bulgaria U19[2]	8	(0)
2007–2009	Bulgaria U21[2]	9	(1)
2008–	Bulgaria	40	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 September 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 February 2015

Ivan Kamenov Ivanov (Bulgarian: Иван Каменов Иванов; born 25 February 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays for Superleague Greece club Panathinaikos and the Bulgarian national team, mainly as a centre-back.

In 2013, Ivanov was named the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year, becoming the first defender to win this award after Trifon Ivanov in 1996.

Club career

Early career

Born in Zlatitsa, Ivanov was inspired to become a footballer after watching the matches from the 1994 FIFA World Cup.^[3] He made his debut with Pirin 1922, before moving to CSKA Sofia in 2005. With CSKA, he was a Bulgarian Cup winner in 2006 and Bulgarian Supercup winner in the same year. In August 2007, Ivanov went on loan to Lokomotiv Plovdiv. In the winter of 2008, local media reported that he was a target for English side Derby County, but problems with the work permit stopped the transfer.^[4]

CSKA Sofia

Ivanov celebrating the win against Dynamo Moscow (2009)

After many departures from the club in the 2008 summer transfer window, Ivanov became an integral part of CSKA's defence, together with Kiril Kotev. He was in the starting line-up against Litex Lovech in the 2008 Bulgarian Supercup, which they won 2–1. On 19 September 2008, Ivanov scored his first goal for CSKA against Minyor Pernik, a header after a corner kick in the 67th minute. On 18 March 2009, Ivanov scored against his former club Lokomotiv Plovdiv to secure a 3–1 win for CSKA. He continued his goalscoring run on 21 March 2009, in a 2–0 win against Spartak Varna. In total, Ivanov scored five league goals in the 2008–09 season.

On 15 August 2009, Ivanov scored his first goal of the 2009–10 season, in a 3–0 home win against Beroe Stara Zagora. On 27 August 2009, Ivanov scored the winning goal against Dynamo Moscow in the Europa League play-off round, helping his team to a 2–1 aggregate win and an entry into the group stage of the tournament.^[5] On 1 November 2009, he was indefinitely banned from the first team, along with eight other players, following a breach of discipline. On 20 November 2009, Ivanov was reinstated to the first team and a day later came on as a substitute for Aleksandar Branekov in a 2–2 away draw with Lokomotiv Sofia.

Alania Vladikavkaz

In February 2010, Ivanov signed a four-year contract with Alania Vladikavkaz.^[6] He scored two goals in 24 matches of the Russian Premier League. However, Alania were relegated to the Russian First Division after only one season.

Partizan

On 17 June 2011, Ivanov signed a three-year contract with Partizan.^[7] He made his competitive debut for the club on 13 July 2011, in a 4–0 home win against Shkëndija in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. On 3 December 2011, he scored his first goal for Partizan, in a 3–0 home win against Radnički Kragujevac. He also scored a header which provided to be the winning goal in their 2–1 away win over OFK Beograd on 14 March 2012. In the 2011–12 season, Ivanov played every minute of Partizan's league matches and scored four goals.

On 30 August 2012, Ivanov scored a header against Tromsø to give Partizan a 1–0 win and thus qualify the team for the Europa League group stage. In recognition of his contributions, he was voted Partizan's Player of the Year for 2012 by the club's supporters. Ivanov was also named in the 2012–13 Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season, alongside four teammates.

Basel

In August 2013, Ivanov signed a contract with Swiss side Basel.^[8] He scored his first goal for the club with a header in an away cup match against Old Boys, with an assist coming from Matías Delgado. On 11 December 2013, Ivanov was sent off in a 0–2 loss to Schalke 04.^[9]

On 14 January 2014, Ivanov suffered a knee injury in a friendly match against Eintracht Braunschweig,^[10] causing him to miss the rest of the 2013–14 season.^[11] Finally, the team won the 2013–14 Swiss Super League.^[12] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 0–2 by Zürich after extra time. Ivanov also missed the entire 2014–15 season due to the injury reoccurring. Basel again won the title and again reached the 2014–15 Swiss Cup final.

Ivanov was expected to recover for the start of the Euro 2016 qualifiers,^[13] receiving a call-up for the match against Azerbaijan, but was eventually deemed not fully fit.^[14]

On 15 December 2015 he was released from the club in mutual consent, in order to be able to cope with his injury at his own pace.^[15]

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

After having trials at New York City FC, Ivanov was not able to sign because he was still recovering from an 2-year long injury (torn ligaments). Instead he chose to return to his home country and signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with a former team of his, PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv.^[16] He appeared in 9 matches for Lokomotiv during the second half of the season.

Panathinaikos

On 28 June 2016, Ivanov signed a contract with Superleague Greece club Panathinaikos until the summer of 2019. He scored his first goal in a 1-1 Europa League game against Danish side Brøndby IF; a game which saw his team secure a place in the group phases of the tournament. He has been a solid starter for Panathinaikos, ever since he joined the club. ^[17][18]

International career

Ivanov (#15) on the starting line against Switzerland (2011)

Youth level

Ivanov represented Bulgaria at all national levels, including U-17, U-19 and U-21 teams. On 10 June 2009, he scored his only goal for the under-21 side in a 4–3 loss against Israel U-21. Ivanov also served as team captain in the absence of Nikolay Mihaylov.^[19]

Senior level

Ivanov made his debut for the senior national team on 20 August 2008, in a 2–1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, during which he entered the match as a substitute in the 67th minute.^[20] He also came on as a substitute for the naturalized Brazilian Lúcio Wagner in a World Cup qualifier against Italy on 10 October 2008.^[21] He played the full 90 minutes in another World Cup qualifier against Georgia five days later, which also ended in a scoreless draw. On 10 October 2009, Ivanov earned his fourth cap in a 4–1 away loss against Cyprus, attracting some criticism from the media for defensive mistakes.^[22] Nonetheless, he played in the next match against Georgia.

On 6 September 2011, Ivanov netted his first national team goal, opening the scoring in a 3–1 away loss against Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier.^[23] He became an integral part of the national team in the following years. After missing the qualifiers for Euro 2016 due to continued struggles with injuries, Ivanov made his return to the team on 6 September 2016, in the 4:3 win over Luxembourg in a 2018 World Cup qualification match.

Career statistics

Club

As of 16 November 2016

Club	Season	League		Cup		Continental		Super Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
CSKA Sofia	2005–06	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2006–07	6	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	2007–08	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
CSKA Sofia	2008–09	30	5	3	0	0	0	1	0	34	5
	2009–10	11	1	1	0	8	1	0	0	20	2
Alania Vladikavkaz	2010	24	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	28	2
	2011–12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Partizan	2011–12	30	4	3	0	6	0	–		39	4
	2012–13	29	4	0	0	12	2	–		41	6
	2013–14	0	0	0	0	3	0	–		3	0
Basel	2013–14	11	0	1	1	6	0	–		18	1
	2014–15	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	2015–16	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv	2015–16	9	0	0	0	0	0	–		9	0
Panathinaikos	2016–17	6	0	1	0	7	1	–		14	1
Bulgaria		86	6	4	0	9	1	1	0	100	7
Russia		24	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	28	2
Serbia		59	8	3	0	21	2	–		83	10
Switzerland		11	0	1	1	6	0	–		18	1
Greece		6	0	1	0	7	1	–		14	1
Career total		186	16	13	1	43	4	1	0	243	21

International

As of 9 September 2016

Bulgaria national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2008	3	0
2009	2	0
2010	9	0
2011	9	1
2012	8	0
2013	8	2
2013	1	0
Total	40	3

International goals

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 September 2011	St. Jakob-Park, Basel	Switzerland	1–0	1–3	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
2	22 March 2013	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia	Malta	6–0	6–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying
3	4 June 2013	Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty	Kazakhstan	2–0	2–1	Friendly

Honours

Club

CSKA Sofia

• Bulgarian Cup (1): 2005–06
• Bulgarian Supercup (2): 2006, 2008

Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga (2): 2011–12, 2012–13

Basel

• Swiss Super League (2): 2013-14, 2014-15
• Swiss Cup runner up (2): 2013–14, 2014–15

Individual

• FK Partizan Player of the Year (1): 2012
• Serbian SuperLiga Team of the Season (1): 2012–13
• Bulgarian Footballer of the Year (1): 2013

References

1. "Българите с половин сантиметър по-високи" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
2. Only official UEFA matches included
3. "И2 – формулата на яркия талант" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. 26 April 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
4. "Българските футболисти - до Англия и назад" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. 14 January 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
5. "Велик ЦСКА! Динамо (Москва) на колене пред евробоеца на България" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 27 August 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
6. "Alania sign Bulgaria duo". uefa.com. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
7. "Ivanov u Partizanu!" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
8. "Ivan Ivanov zum FC Basel 1893" (in German). fcb.ch. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
9. "Челси без драма срещу Стяуа, Шалке изхърли Базел" (in Bulgarian). topsport.ibox.bg. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
10. "Иван Иванов със скъсани кръстни връзки на коляното?" (in Bulgarian). topsport.ibox.bg. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
11. "Basel lose Ivanov as Díaz signs on". uefa.com. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
12. "Fotos vom Spiel gegen Lausanne sowie den anschliessenden Feierlichkeiten" (in German). fcb.ch. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
13. "Иван Иванов претърпя втора операция на коляното" (in Bulgarian). topsport.ibox.bg. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
14. "Тежък удар по Любо преди старта на квалификациите" (in Bulgarian). topsport.ibox.bg. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
15. Basel released Ivan Ivanov
16. http://gong.bg/bg-football/a-grupa/multimedia/video/ivan-ivanov-otkroven-reshih-da-se-vyrna-tam-kydeto-zapochna-vsichko-369304
17. Ανακοίνωσε την απόκτηση του Ιβάνοφ ο ΠΑΟ
18. Επίσημο: Στον Παναθηναϊκό ο Ιβανόφ
19. "Иван Иванов с капитанската лента" (in Bulgarian). topsport.ibox.bg. 31 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
20. "България победи Босна" (in Bulgarian). topsport.ibox.bg. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
21. "България не се даде на Италия" (in Bulgarian). topsport.ibox.bg. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
22. "Кипър се подигра с България – 4:1" (in Bulgarian). tvevropa.com. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
23. "България поведе в Базел, но накрая падна с 1:3" (in Bulgarian). tvevropa.com. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012.

External links

• Ivan Ivanov – FIFA competition record
• Ivan Ivanov – UEFA competition record
• Ivan Ivanov at National-Football-Teams.com