Valeri Emilov Bojinov ( bg, Валери Емилов Божинов, ; born 15 February 1986) is a Bulgarian 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 striker. Throughout his career, Bojinov has played for seventeen different clubs during his various spells in Italy, as well as in England, Portugal, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, China and Switzerland. At international level, he also played for the Bulgarian national team. His surname is sometimes transliterated as Bozhinov.

Biography

Born in

Gorna Oryahovitsa Gorna Oryahovitsa ( bg, Горна Оряховица ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town in northern Bulgaria, situated in Veliko Tarnovo Province, from Veliko Tarnovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Gorna Orya ...

, Bulgaria, Bojinov moved to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

at the age of 12 with his mother Pepa, a former

Bulgaria women's national football team The Bulgaria women's national football team ( bg, Български женски национален отбор по футбол) represents Bulgaria in international women's football, and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. The t ...

player, and stepfather

Sasho Angelov Sasho Angelov ( bg, Сашо Ангелов; born 15 June 1969) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. Angelov played as a defender. On the club level, Angelov played for Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, Botev Plovdiv, CSKA Sofia, Lok ...

, who had played for the

Bulgarian 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 football and is administered by the Bulgarian F ...

during the 1990s. Bojinov was discovered at the age of 14 by

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

sports director

Pantaleo Corvino Pantaleo Corvino (born 12 December 1949) is an Italian director of football, currently working for Lecce. After his father's death, he was forced to interrupt his career as a player and became non-commissioned officer. His early career in mana ...

while playing for

Pietà Hotspurs The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

, and signed for just 30,000,000 ITL (around €15,000).

Club career

Lecce

Bojinov settled in the city of

and continued his studies there while playing for

's youth teams. He debuted in the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

on 27 January 2002 at the age of 15 years and 11 months, becoming the youngest foreign player to make an appearance at the top level of Italian football. He scored his first goal in the top division on 6 January 2004 in a 2–1 home defeat against

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, becoming the youngest non-national to score in Serie A.

Fiorentina

Bojinov was acquired by

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

in January 2005. He made his club debut against

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, playing the full match on 2 February 2005. On 26 February 2005, he scored his first goal for Fiorentina, against

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...

. On 8 May 2005, Bojinov scored a winning goal in 79th minute against

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi in 2–1 away win. During the 2004–05 season, Bojinov has played a total of nine matches, scoring two goals.

Juventus

For the 2006–07 season, Fiorentina loaned Bojinov to

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

, which had just been relegated to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

Manchester City

On 3 August 2007, it was reported that Bojinov had completed his move to English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, signing a four-year contract in an undisclosed fee deal. On 11 August 2007, he made his debut for the club in a 2–0 away win against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

at the

Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...

, entering as a substitute for

Rolando Bianchi Rolando Bianchi (; born 15 February 1983) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. With 77 total goals, he is Torino's 11th-highest all-time goal scorer. Bianchi was primarily known for his ability in the air. Clu ...

in the 60th minute in league play. Bojinov was ruled out of action for five months after he suffered a knee ligament injury against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in August 2007. He returned to full training on 22 January 2008, scoring five goals in a bounce game. On 11 February 2008, Bojinov played in a Manchester City reserve game, where he came on as a substitute and scored a header from a cross by

Émile Mpenza Eka Basunga Lokonda "Émile" Mpenza (born 4 July 1978) is a Belgian former footballer who played as a striker. He has been capped at international level by Belgium. His older brother, Mbo, also represented Belgium. Club career Belgium, Germa ...

. Manchester City manager

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; born 5 February 1948) is a Swedish football manager and former player. After an unassuming playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management between 1977 and 2001, winning 18 ...

told Bojinov that he would not be ready to play in the game against Everton on 25 February 2008. He did not manage to make a comeback to the first-team squad in the 2007–08 season, but he did make some appearances for the reserve squad and was included in City's tour of Asia. Bojinov scored his first goal for the club in over a year in a pre-season friendly against

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

. He also scored the winning goal in a friendly against

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

on 9 August 2008. On 17 August 2008, Bojinov was ruled out for six months after suffering an Achilles injury as he was running on to the pitch to warm up against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. In mid-February 2009, Manchester City manager

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...

declared that Bojinov was going to play a practice match "behind closed doors", as he was nearing his return to first-team football. He played 65 minutes for the reserves on 17 February 2009. He even scored a penalty against rivals Manchester United in a reserve game while regaining match fitness. Bojinov made his return to Premier League football by coming on as an 89th-minute substitute against West Ham on 1 March 2009. He then appeared again as a late substitute for Manchester City by entering as an 83rd-minute substitute for

Elano Elano Blumer (born 14 June 1981), known as Elano, is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his accurate passing and precise set pieces, Elano started his senior career at Santos, and sp ...

against Aston Villa. Bojinov made his first start since 2007 in a 1–0 home win over

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

on 22 March 2009, but was substituted in the 65th minute for the return of injured

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...

. He scored his first league goal in the 2–1 loss against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

on 16 May 2009, four minutes after coming on as a substitute for compatriot

Martin Petrov Martin Petyov Petrov ( bg, Мартин Петьов Петров; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a winger. Club career Petrov began his career for Botev Vratsa. After a few good seasons, he signed with CS ...

in the 61st minute away at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

Parma

It was announced on 29 July 2009 that Bojinov would be joining Italian side

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

on a season-long loan deal. He decided to wear number 86. On 23 September 2009 he scored his first official goal for Parma against

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...

. He also won a penalty for his team; the match ended in a 2–1 away win. On 24 March 2010, Bojinov scored against

in 90th minute in 1–0 home win. During the 2009–10 season, Bojinov played 31 matches in all competitions, scoring eight goals. On 4 July 2010, it was confirmed that Parma had completed the permanent signing of Bojinov. However, Bojinov endured a difficult season, largely restricted to the bench thanks to a combination of his own sub-par performances; the regular use of just one forward in the team; and regular goals coming from

Hernán Crespo Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. He is the current manager of Qatari club Al-Duhail. A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 19 years. At in ...

and Amauri in the early and late parts of the season, respectively.

Sporting CP

On 6 July 2011, Portuguese side

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

signed Bojinov on a five-year contract, paying €2.6million for 80% of his registration rights, which could have risen to €3.5 million depending on his performances. His transfer to Sporting saw

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Jaime Valdés Jaime Andrés Valdés Zapata ( born 11 January 1981) is a Chilean footballer who plays for Primera B de Chile side Santiago Wanderers. He usually plays as midfielder. Valdés was member of his national under-20 national team in the 2001 FI ...

move on loan to Parma as part of the exchange. During his time with the

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

outfit, he was primarily used by coach

Domingos Paciência Domingos José Paciência Oliveira, known simply as Domingos as a player (; born 2 January 1969), is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a striker, currently a manager. He achieved success with both Porto and the Portugal national te ...

as a substitute. He made his first-team debut on 25 August against Danish side

Nordsjælland North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

in a UEFA Europa League play-off tie. He would score for Sporting for the first time on 24 October against

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

. A brace against the Barcelos side saw Bojinov help his side demolish the opposition 6–1 in a gameweek eight

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

fixture. On 20 January 2012, Sporting declared Bojinov persona non-grata, forbidding the player from entering the stadium or the training academy, due to his actions in a

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

match against

Moreirense Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...

played the previous day. At 92 minutes, Sporting was conceded a decisive penalty kick that would, if scored, give the team the victory. The regular penalty taker for Sporting, Matías Fernández, prepared to take the shot, but Bojinov took the ball from him, pushing him away and insisting that he would take the shot, despite him having never taken a penalty for Sporting, nor that he had not scored a penalty in an official game since 2006. He failed to score, infuriating the supporters and Sporting's managers, who subsequently banned Bojinov on the basis that he disrespected the decision of the coach and therefore the rules of the club. He then joined his former club Lecce on a loan deal.

Loan spells to Verona and Vicenza

On 31 August 2012, it was announced that Bojinov became an official

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

player, joining on a year-long loan deal. On 17 January 2013, however, he signed with second-division side

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

on a separate six-month loan deal. He scored his first goal in his second game for Vicenza against Juve Stabia on 2 February. Bojinov would score again on 26 February, a brace against

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

in a 2–1 away win. On 6 September 2013, the contract between Bojinov and Sporting was terminated.

Levski Sofia

On the last day of January 2014, it was confirmed that Bojinov had signed with Bulgarian side

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 ...

, the first time in his career he would play for a club in his home country. He scored a goal on his unofficial debut on 7 February in a 4–2 loss in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Czech side

Teplice Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The his ...

. Bojinov netted his first goal in an official match on 12 March in a 3–1 win over

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 ...

in a

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 ...

game. On 11 May 2014, Bojinov scored two goals in the 3–2 home loss against champions Ludogorets Razgrad.

Ternana

In September 2014, Bojinov cancelled his contract with Levski and joined Italian

side

Ternana Ternana Calcio, commonly referred to as Ternana, is an Italian football club based in Terni, Umbria. The club was founded in 1925 and refounded in 1993. In its history, Ternana has twice played in Serie A (in the 1972–73 and 1974–75 seas ...

as a free agent on a one-year contract. He made his debut against Bologna on 23 September, playing the full 90 minutes. On 4 November, against

Virtus Entella Virtus Entella, commonly referred to as Entella, is an Italian professional football club based in Chiavari, Liguria. Founded in 1914, the club currently competes in the . History 1914: Foundation The club was founded in 1914 as Foot-Ball Club ...

at the Stadio Comunale, Bojinov scored his first goal for Ternana with a 49th-minute equaliser in a 2–1 loss. On 17 January 2015, Bojinov scored a brace in 2–1 home win over

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...

; the second goal was a fantastic 40-meter strike.

Partizan

On 14 June 2015, Bojinov signed a two-year contract with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n team

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

. Former Partizan player and Bulgarian international Ivan Ivanov recommended Partizan to Bojinov. Bojinov took number 86 on the jersey and said that it was his lucky number and chose to wear it on the jersey. He made his official debut for the club in a second qualifying round

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

against

Dila Gori FC Dila Gori is a Georgian football club based in Gori. The club takes part in Erovnuli Liga, the first tier of Georgian football system, and plays their home games at Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium. Dila won the Georgian Cup in 2012 and Georgian C ...

on 14 July 2015. In the match, he spent 77 minutes on the field without scoring. On 17 July 2015, against Metalac, Bojinov scored his first goal for Partizan. In that match, he scored one goal and had two assists in a 4–0 home win. On 25 July 2015, Bojinov scored twice against

Jagodina ) , image_shield = Jagodina-grb.png , image_flag = FLAG Jagodina.png , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = File:Municipalities of Serbia Jagodina.png , map_caption = Location of Jagodina w ...

in a 6–0 home win. On 22 October 2015, Bojinov was in the starting XI against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

in his first time 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage. On 13 December 2015, Bojinov entered the game as a substitute for

Ivan Šaponjić Ivan Šaponjić (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Шапоњић; born 2 August 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Slovan Bratislava in the Niké Liga. At international level, Šaponjić won the gold medal for Se ...

in the 59th minute and scored a brace against

Rad RAD or Rad may refer to: People * Robert Anthony Rad Dougall (born 1951), South African former racing driver * Rad Hourani, Canadian fashion designer and artist * Nickname of Leonardus Rad Kortenhorst (1886–1963), Dutch politician * Radley R ...

. In the winter of 2016, Partizan declined separate €2 million offers from both

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, P ...

and

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

for Bojinov. In January 2016, during an interview, he promised to any teammate who would assist one of his goals that he would give them €500. On 17 February 2017, he terminated his contract with Partizan by mutual consent.

Meizhou Hakka

In March 2017 he signed with Chinese second level club

Meizhou Hakka Meizhou Hakka Football Club (; Hakka language: Mòi-Chû Hag-Ga chuk-khiù khî-lo̍k-phu) is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). ...

Lausanne

In July 2017, Bojinov signed a two-year contract with Swiss side

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

; however, in October, he cancelled his contract with the club.

Rijeka

In February 2018, Bojinov signed for

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

in Croatia as a free agent. He was initially signed until June 2018 with an extension option. He made his official debut for the club in the semi-final of the 2017–18 Croatian Football Cup against

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

on 4 April 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute. In his league debut against Inter Zaprešić on 8 May 2018, Bojinov came on as a substitute in the 76th minute and within three minutes on the field made an assist for Rijeka's fifth goal. On 5 June 2018, Bojinov's contract was extended for another season. On 20 August 2018, HNK Rijeka and Bojinov mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the club.

Return to Bulgaria

Bojinov played for

during the spring of 2019, scoring the decisive playoff goal against Etar that helped the team qualify for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. His time at the "bluemen" was sandwiched between two spells with

Botev Vratsa Botev ( bg, Ботев) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Vratsa, that competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football. The club was founded in 1921. Since 1948, Botev have played their home games at St ...

- one in the second half of 2018, during which he established himself as an important player for the club, and a short, disappointing stint in the autumn of 2019.

Pescara

In February 2020, Bojinov joined

club

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

. On 23 February 2020, he was sent off before being able to make his debut (while sitting on the substitutes' bench against

) by the match referee for insulting language. He appeared for the first time in an official match on 4 March, after coming on as a second half substitute in the 2–0 away loss against

Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

Third spell at Levski Sofia

In September 2020, Bojinov rejoined

for the third time in his career. Although he did not play regularly, he became fan favorite due to his dedication to the club and his leadership qualities. On 21 October 2020, he scored his first goal of the season in his first start since his return against Partizan Cherven Bryag in the Round of 32 of the Bulgarian Cup. On 23 May 2021, he scored the winning goal against Cherno More. On 16 July 2021, his contract with the team was extended for one more season.

Managerial career

On 25 June 2022 Bojinov was announced as the new assistant manager to

Slavko Matić Slavko Matić ( sr-Cyrl, Славко Матић; born 2 July 1976) is a Serbian football. He is a holder of the UEFA Pro Licence. He played for OFK Beograd, Spartak Moscow, PFC Slavia Sofia and PFC CSKA Sofia. Matić had a short stint as ma ...

Septemvri Sofia Septemvri ( bg, Септември) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the First League, the first tier of Bulgarian football. Its home ground is the Septemvri Stadium, but due to i ...

while still playing for the club.

International career

Bojinov made his debut for

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 ...

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

; on 22 June 2004, he came on as a substitute in the 1–2 loss against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He earned his second cap on 19 August 2004 in the 1–1 away draw against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

in a

during which he also scored his first international goal. On 17 November 2005, Bojinov scored a goal against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in a friendly match in the United States at

NRG Stadium NRG Stadium, formerly Reliant Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. Construction was completed in 2002, at a cost of $352 million and has a seating capacity of 72,220. It was the first NFL facility to have a retrac ...

, contributing to a 3–0 win. On 6 September 2006, Bojinov scored his first international goal in a competition match, against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, in 3–0 home win in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying. It was also Bulgaria's first goal in the Euro 2008 qualifying.

Style of play

Once considered to be a highly promising prospect in his youth, Bojinov is known for his skill and goalscoring abilities as a striker, and is capable of scoring with either foot, due to his powerful and accurate striking ability, which also enabled him to play alongside another forward as a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, or as winger on either flank, as well as in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

of the pitch; a fast footballer in his prime, he was also known for his speed over short distances, agility, and explosive acceleration, as well as his quick feet, and close control in limited spaces. In spite of his talent, however, he has also garnered a reputation throughout his career for being inconsistent.

Personal life

Bojinov dated Bulgarian singer Alisia. On 12 September 2007, he became father of a baby son. His son is also named Valeri. He was married to Bulgarian

Playboy Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

from 2011 to 2015.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bojinov goal.''

Honours

Juventus *

: 2006–07 Partizan *

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

: 2016–17 *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup ...

: 2015–16

References

External links