Aleksandar Kolev ( bg, Александър Колев; born 8 December 1992) is a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Krumovgrad Krumovgrad ( bg, Крумовград , tr, Koşukavak ) is a town in Kardzhali Province in the south of Bulgaria, located in the Eastern Rhodopes on the banks of the river Krumovitsa. The majority of its population is ethnic Turkish people, Tur ...

and the Bulgaria national team.

Career

Early career

Kolev began his career in the

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...

youth academy. He moved to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

with his family when he was 15 years old and joined local side

Dessel Sport Koninklijke Football Club Dessel Sport, or KFC Dessel Sport, is a Belgian association football club based in Dessel in the province of Antwerp. Current squad ''Updated 11 August, 2022''K.S.V. Oudenaarde Koninklijke Sport Vereniging Oudenaarde is a football in Belgium, Belgian association football club based in Oudenaarde, East Flanders. It is currently playing in the Belgian Third Division. The club plays at Burgemeester Thienpontstadion in Ou ...

on 12 February 2011. One month later, he scored his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against Olsa Brakel. After good seasons in Dessel, Kolev joined

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division (known as the Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Associa ...

team ASV Geel. He made his debut for the team in a match against White Star Bruxelles

Botev Plovdiv

2014–15

On 4 August 2014, Kolev signed a contract with the Bulgarian team

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes ...

. 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 Litex ( bg, Литекс) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Lovech, which currently competes in the Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Sports Club. The club's home ground is the Gradski Stadion ...

. Kolev was included at the starting lineup of the match for the

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and ...

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 FC Lokomotiv Mezdra (ФК Локомотив Мездра) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Mezdra, which currently playing in the Third League, the third tier of Bulgarian football. The club's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium ...

in the first round of the

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament ...

. On 28 October Kolev scored again in the next round of the

tournament. He scored a late equaliser in the derby game against

Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Локомотив Пловдив), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park ...

. On 8 November, Kolev scored the winning goal in a 2–1 away win over

. Alex Kolev was seriously injured in the beginning of the away game with Slavia on 29 November. Soon after that it was confirmed that the injury will rule him out for six months. 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 Beroe ( bg, Берое) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded in 1916 under the name ''Vere ...

but remained an unused substitute. 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 Lokomotiv 1929 ( bg, Локомотив 1929) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refou ...

2015–16

On 25 July 2015, Kolev missed a penalty in the first half of a 6–0 away defeat at

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. In the following game, the local derby with

, he scored a nice goal after an assist by Mariyan Ognyanov. On 9 August, Kolev scored the winning goal against

Pirin Blagoevgrad Futbolen klub Pirin ( bg, Футболен клуб „Пирин“), also known as Pirin Blagoevgrad is a Bulgarian football club based in Blagoevgrad, which currently competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football. Th ...

. He was selected for the man of the match and his goal was chosen for the best goal of the round. Furthermore, Kolev won the award for the best player of the 4th round in

A Grupa The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

Nikolay Kostov Nikolay Kostov ( bg, Николай Костов; born 2 July 1963) is a Bulgarian football manager and former footballer who most recently managed Shakhter Karagandy. Career Much of his coaching career has taken place in Cyprus. His first co ...

, the manager of

, 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.

Sandecja Nowy Sącz

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 Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional association football, football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation' ...

. His first goal for the club came in a 3–1 away win against

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the Reserve Battalion in Białystok. Jagiellonia play their home g ...

on 6 August 2017. He scored a decisive brace against

Pogoń Szczecin Pogoń Szczecin Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Pogoń Szczecin (), is a Polish professional football club, based in Szczecin, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of the national football league s ...

on 27 August 2017, leading his team to victory in a 2–1 home win.

Stal Mielec

On 5 January 2021, Kolev signed for

Stal Mielec Stal Mielec () is a Polish football club based in Mielec, Poland. The club was established on April 10, 1939. Historically, the club has enjoyed great successes within Poland's Ekstraklasa, winning the title twice (in 1973 and 1976) but had under ...

on a contract until the end of the 2020–21 season. On 14 January 2022, he left the club by mutual consent.

Krumovgrad

In June 2023, Kolev signed a contract with newly promoted

International career

In August 2012, Kolev was called up for the Bulgarian U21 squad. He made his debut in a 1–1 friendly draw against Macedonia U21 on 14 November 2012. In September 2013 Kolev scored during the 1–3 away defeat of the Bulgarian U21 team from Russia U21. Kolev scored a goal for Bulgaria U21 in the 2–2 draw with Estonia U21 on 3 September 2014. While Aleksandar Kolev was playing for

, he was included twice in the

Bulgaria national football team The Bulgaria national football team ( bg, Български национален отбор по футбол, Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol) represents Bulgaria in men's international Association football, football and is administere ...

but he did not participate in any official games. On 16 November 2023, he earned his first cap after coming on as a second half substitute for

Martin Minchev Martin Yankov Minchev ( bg, Мартин Янков Минчев; born 22 April 2001) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Czech First League club Sparta Prague and the Bulgarian national team. Career ...

in the 2:2 home draw with

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

in a Euro 2024 qualifier.

Honours

;Botev Plovdiv *

Runner-up:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

;Arka Gdynia *

Polish Super Cup The Polish Super Cup (, ) is an annually held match between the champions of the Ekstraklasa and the Polish Cup winners or, if the Ekstraklasa champions also win the Polish Cup, the Cup's runners-up. As of 2021, the Polish Super Cup has been pl ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolev, Aleksandar 1992 births Living people Bulgarian men's footballers K.F.C. Dessel Sport players Botev Plovdiv players PFC Beroe Stara Zagora players Stal Mielec players Sandecja Nowy Sącz players Arka Gdynia players Raków Częstochowa players FC Kaisar players FC CSKA 1948 Sofia players FC Krumovgrad players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players I liga players Ekstraklasa players Kazakhstan Premier League players Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Footballers from Sofia Men's association football forwards