Yanko Hristov Valkanov ( bg, Янко Христов Вълканов; born 25 July 1982) 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 ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player who played as a defender. His preferred position on the pitch is right-back, but he can play as a central defender as well.

Career

Club

Early career in Bulgaria

He started his professional football career with

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

in the 1999/2000 league season and was quickly loaned out to

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 ...

to gain more playing time. The following season he was loaned out once more to

Naftex Burgas ''For the new club claimed as the successor, see PFC Neftochimic Burgas.'' PFC Naftex Burgas ({{Lang-bg, ПФК Нафтекс) is a former football club from Burgas, Bulgaria. History The club was created in 1962 by a group of workers, laying t ...

, however he was unable to establish himself and returned to CSKA Sofia during the league season. At the beginning of the 2002/2003 league season he would transfer to

Marek Dupnitsa FC Marek ( bg, ФК Марек) is a Bulgarian football club based in Dupnitsa, currently playing in the Third League, the third level of the Bulgarian football league system. It was founded in 1947 following the unification of four local clubs. ...

and during his time with them he would attract the interests of

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground ...

and would join them before the start of the 2003/2004 where after several seasons he would establish himself as an integral member of their team.

Belarus and Lithuania

Yanko Valkanov joined reigning

Belarusian Cup The Belarusian Cup () is an annual association football knock-out cup competition for men's football clubs in Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, � ...

winners MTZ-RIPO Minsk during the 2006 league season and while he was a squad regular he could not establish himself as a first team regular. By the following season he would move to

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n football club

FBK Kaunas Kauno futbolo ir beisbolo klubas, commonly known as FBK Kaunas, was a Lithuanian football club from the city of Kaunas. History Banga Kaunas (1960–1993) Originally the team was founded in 1960 as Banga Kaunas and played its first three years ...

during the 2007 league season, however his time with them was not the most productive and halfway through the 2008 league season in July he would return to MTZ-RIPO Minsk.

Move to China

At the beginning of the 2009

China Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

season he transferred to

Shanghai Shenhua Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...

. At first he was criticized for poor performances by both fans and the media, but he began to gain popularity on the other end of the pitch; he has so far scored 5 goals (3 in

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

, 2 in

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

), becoming the top scorer of his team. On 17 April, he scored two goals using his right shoulder in a

match against

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

. At the end of 2009 season, his position was transformed to striker by

Jia Xiuquan Jia Xiuquan (; born 9 November 1963) is a Chinese people, Chinese Association football, football Coach (sport), manager and former international player. Player career Club career As a player, Jia Xiuquan predominately played the majority of hi ...

. But he played unbelievable jobs that he had made two assists to

Aleksander Rodić Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

at critical moment. Valkanov transferred to

Shenzhen Ruby Shenzhen Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League. The team is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong and their home stadium is the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre that has a seating capacity of ...

on 28 February 2010. He was released by Shenzhen in July 2010 after New Zealand defender

Ivan Vicelich Ivan Robert Vicelich ( hr, Vicelić, ; ; born 3 September 1976) is a former New Zealand professional footballer who is currently assistant coach at Auckland City FC in the ASB Premiership. He is his country and Oceania's most-capped interna ...

joined the club.

Return to Belarus

On 8 September 2010, Valkanov signed with

FC Dinamo Minsk FC Dinamo Minsk ( be, ФК Дынама Мінск, ''FK Dynama Minsk''; russian: link=no, ФК Динамо Минск) is a professional football club based in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk. It was founded in 1927 as part of the Sovi ...

until the end of the

2010 Belarusian Premier League The 2010 Belarusian Premier League was the 20th season of top-tier football in Belarus. It started on April 3 and ended on 20 November 2010. BATE Borisov are the defending champions. Teams Gomel, Granit Mikashevichi and Smorgon were relegate ...

season. He made his debut four days later in the 4:0 home win against

FC Belshina Bobruisk FC Belshina Bobruisk ( be, ФК "Белшына Бабруйск", ''FK Belshyna Babruisk'') is a Belarusian football club based in Bobruisk. The team has won one Belarusian Premier League title, as well as 3 Belarusian Cup titles. History of the ...

, playing the full 90 minutes.

Later career

In 2011 Valkanov had a short spell with

A PFG 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 ...

club Beroe. He signed with

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

i club Akzhayik in February 2012. On 14 July 2015, Valkanov returned to

FC Akzhayik FC Akzhayik ( kk, Aqjaıyq Oral Fýtbol Klýby) is a Kazakhstani professional football club, based in Oral, current member of the Kazakhstan First Division. History Names *1968 : Founded as ''Uralets'' *1993 : The club was renamed ''Uralets-Arm ...

, helping them win the

Kazakhstan First Division The Kazakhstan First Division is the second division of football in Kazakhstan. The League is controlled by the Football Union of Kazakhstan and feeds into the Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League ( kk, Қа ...

and gain promotion to the

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League ( kk, Қазақстан Премьер Лигасы, ''Qazaqstan Premer Ligasy''), commonly referred to as Kazakh Premier League or simply Premier League, is the top division of football in Kazakhstan ...

. In August 2017, Valkanov joined Tundzha Yagoda.

International career

He earned his first call-up to the national side for the

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

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, which was held on 17 November 2004.

Career statistics

International

''Statistics accurate as of 11 November 2015''

International goal

References

External links

Profile
at Weltfussball.de * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valkanov, Yanko 1982 births Living people Footballers from Stara Zagora Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers PFC CSKA Sofia players PFC Beroe Stara Zagora players PFC Naftex Burgas players FC Marek Dupnitsa players PFC Slavia Sofia players FC Partizan Minsk players FBK Kaunas footballers Shanghai Shenhua F.C. players Shenzhen F.C. players FC Dinamo Minsk players FC Akzhayik players FC Belshina Bobruisk players FC Botev Galabovo players FC Levski Karlovo players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Belarusian Premier League players A Lyga players Chinese Super League players Kazakhstan Premier League players Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in China Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Expatriate men's footballers in Belarus Expatriate men's footballers in Lithuania Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Men's association football defenders Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania Bulgarian football managers