Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Aleksandar Lyubomirov Kolev | ||
Date of birth | 8 December 1992 | ||
Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Levski Sofia | ||
Number | 9 | ||
Youth career | |||
–2007 | Levski Sofia | ||
2007–2010 | Dessel Sport | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2010–2013 | Dessel Sport | 63 | (5) |
2013–2014 | ASV Geel | 31 | (7) |
2014–2015 | Botev Plovdiv | 29 | (3) |
2016 | ASV Geel | 5 | (0) |
2016 | Beroe | 11 | (0) |
2017 | Stal Mielec | 15 | (7) |
2017–2018 | Sandecja | 32 | (7) |
2018–2019 | Arka Gdynia | 19 | (1) |
2019 | Raków Częstochowa | 8 | (0) |
2020 | Kaisar | 11 | (0) |
2021 | Stal Mielec | 22 | (3) |
2022–2023 | CSKA 1948 | 37 | (11) |
2022 | CSKA 1948 II | 2 | (1) |
2023–2024 | Krumovgrad | 33 | (15) |
2024– | Levski Sofia | 4 | (3) |
International career‡ | |||
2012–2015 | Bulgaria U21 | 10 | (5) |
2023– | Bulgaria | 6 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:11, 10 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 June 2024 |
Aleksandar Kolev (Bulgarian: Александър Колев; born 8 December 1992) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Levski Sofia and the Bulgaria national team.[2]
Kolev began his career in the Levski Sofia youth academy. He moved to Belgium with his family when he was 15 years old and joined local side Dessel Sport.[3]
Kolev made his first team debut for Dessel Sport in a 2–1 home win over K.S.V. Oudenaarde on 12 February 2011.[4] One month later, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against Olsa Brakel.[5]
After good seasons in Dessel, Kolev joined Belgian Second Division team ASV Geel.[6] He made his debut for the team in a match against White Star Bruxelles[7]
On 4 August 2014, Kolev signed a contract with the Bulgarian team Botev Plovdiv.[8] He made his debut five days later, when he came in as an 86-minute substitute at the dramatic 3–3 draw against Litex Lovech.[9] Kolev was included at the starting lineup of the match for the Bulgarian Supercup against Ludogorets Razgrad. Unfortunately, he received a red card at the end of the first half.
Kolev scored his first goal for Botev on 23 September 2014, when he came on as a substitute and scored the third goal in a 4–0 away win against Lokomotiv Mezdra in the first round of the Bulgarian Cup.[10] On 28 October Kolev scored again in the next round of the Bulgarian Cup tournament. He scored a late equaliser in the derby game against Lokomotiv Plovdiv.[11]
On 8 November, Kolev scored the winning goal in a 2–1 away win over Litex Lovech.[12]
Alex Kolev was seriously injured in the beginning of the away game with Slavia on 29 November.[13] Soon after that it was confirmed that the injury will rule him out for six months.[14]
On 23 May 2015, after a long absence due to an injury, Kolev was included is the squad for the 1–2 away defeat from Beroe Stara Zagora but remained an unused substitute.[15][16] A week later he came on as a substitute in the final minutes of the last game of the season, 0–2 defeat from Lokomotiv Sofia.[17]
On 25 July 2015, Kolev missed a penalty in the first half of a 6–0 away defeat at Montana.[18] In the following game, the local derby with Lokomotiv Plovdiv, he scored a nice goal after an assist by Mariyan Ognyanov.[19]
On 9 August, Kolev scored the winning goal against Pirin Blagoevgrad.[20] He was selected for the man of the match and his goal was chosen for the best goal of the round.[21][22] Furthermore, Kolev won the award for the best player of the 4th round in A Grupa.[23]
Nikolay Kostov, the manager of Botev Plovdiv, decided that Aleksandar Kolev is no longer needed by the club. On 3 February 2016, after playing in 33 official games and scoring 5 goals, Kolev was released on a free transfer.[24]
Aleksandar Kolev was signed for free in the beginning of the 2017 summer transfer window and made his debut for the club on 16 July 2017, in a goalless draw against Lech Poznań. His first goal for the club came in a 3–1 away win against Jagiellonia Białystok on 6 August 2017. He scored a decisive brace against Pogoń Szczecin on 27 August 2017, leading his team to victory in a 2–1 home win.
On 5 January 2021, Kolev signed for Stal Mielec on a contract until the end of the 2020–21 season.[25] On 14 January 2022, he left the club by mutual consent.[26]
In June 2023, Kolev signed a contract with newly promoted Krumovgrad.[27] He finished the season as the top scorer in the league, having netted 15 goals.[28]
In August 2012, Kolev was called up for the Bulgarian U21 squad.[29] He made his debut in a 1–1 friendly draw against Macedonia U21 on 14 November 2012.[30]
In September 2013 Kolev scored during the 1–3 away defeat of the Bulgarian U21 team from Russia U21.[31]
Kolev scored a goal for Bulgaria U21 in the 2–2 draw with Estonia U21 on 3 September 2014.[32]
While Aleksandar Kolev was playing for Botev Plovdiv, he was included twice in the Bulgaria national football team but he did not participate in any official games.[33][34] On 16 November 2023, he earned his first cap after coming on as a second half substitute for Martin Minchev in the 2:2 home draw with Hungary in a Euro 2024 qualifier.[35]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Dessel Sport | 2010–11 | Third Division | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 3 | ||
2011–12 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 27 | 1 | ||||
2012–13 | Second Division | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 1 | |||
Total | 63 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 5 | ||
Geel | 2013–14 | Second Division | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 7 | ||
2014–15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
Total | 31 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
Botev Plovdiv | 2014–15 | A Group | 14 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 17 | 3 |
2015–16 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 2 | ||||
Total | 29 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 5 | ||
Geel | 2015–16 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||
Beroe | 2016–17 | First League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | – | 15 | 0 | |
Stal Mielec | 2016–17 | I liga | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 7 | ||
Sandecja Nowy Sącz | 2017–18 | Ekstraklasa | 32 | 7 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 8 | ||
Arka Gdynia | 2018–19 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 1[c] | 0 | 18 | 1 | ||
2019–20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||||
Total | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
Raków Częstochowa | 2019–20 | Ekstraklasa | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 8 | 1 | ||
Kaisar | 2019 | Kazakhstan Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
Total | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
Stal Mielec | 2020–21 | Ekstraklasa | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 2 | ||
2021–22 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 1 | ||||
Total | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | ||
CSKA 1948 | 2021–22 | First League | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 13 | 9 | ||
2022–23 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 29 | 3 | ||||
Total | 37 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 12 | ||
CSKA 1948 II | 2022–23 | Second League | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 1 | ||
Krumovgrad | 2023–24 | First League | 33 | 15 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 15 | ||
Levski Sofia | 2024–25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 1 | |||
Career statistics | 319 | 61 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 343 | 69 |