Aleksandar Antonov Tonev ( bg, Александър Антонов Тонев); born 3 February 1990 is a retired 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 ...

who last played as a winger for Botev Plovdiv. He began his career at

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 ...

, also spending a season on loan at Sliven 2000 before joining the Polish

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

club

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' ...

in 2011. In his second season, he inspired them to runners-up position in the league, and was signed by

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 2014, Villa loaned him to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, and then sold him to

Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the Va ...

the following year. He spent one year there before transferring to fellow

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 ...

team

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 ...

. A full international since 2011, Tonev has earned over 30 caps for the different national sides of Bulgaria.

Club career

CSKA Sofia

Born in

Elin Pelin Elin Pelin ( bg, Елин Пелин ) (8 July 1877 – 3 December 1949), born Dimitar Ivanov Stoyanov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Стоянов) is considered Bulgaria’s best narrator of the Bulgarian (Balkan) countryside and village. ...

Sofia Province Sofia Province ( bg, Софийска област, translit=Sofiyska oblast) is a province (''oblast'') of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains its administrative center. The province borders on t ...

, Tonev was raised in

's youth teams. He made his first team debut in a 3–1 league win over

Belasitsa Petrich OFC Belasitsa ( bg, ОФК Беласица Петрич) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Petrich, currently playing in the Second League. The team was founded in 1923. They play at the Stadion Tsar Samuil in Petrich, which has ...

on 8 March 2008, coming on as a substitute for

Chigozie Udoji Chigozie Udoji (born 16 July 1986), also known by his Bulgarian name Mitko Georgiev ( bg, Митко Георгиев), is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker and is currently playing for Vihren Sandanski. Club career Udoji moved to B ...

. Tonev got his chance in CSKA's first team after the sale of many players in the summer of 2008. He played in the club's first fixture in the 2008–09 season 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 ...

on 3 August 2008. His team won the game and won 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 ...

for the third time. After

Lyuboslav Penev Lyuboslav Mladenov Penev ( bg, Любослав Младенов Пенев; born 31 August 1966) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. Penev played as a forward for several clubs in Bulgaria and Spain. He started hi ...

replaced

Dimitar Penev Dimitar Dushkov Penev ( bg, Димитър Душков Пенев, born 12 July 1945) is a Bulgarian football coach and former player and central defender of CSKA Sofia. He played 90 games for Bulgaria national football team and scored two goals. ...

as head coach of

, Tonev appeared in the match groups more often and often came in as a substitute for his team. On 22 April 2009, Tonev scored his first 2 goals for CSKA, securing a brace in the 4–1 away win against Vihren Sandanski. He was loaned to

OFC Sliven 2000 FC Sliven (ФК Сливен) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Sliven, currently playing in the Third League, the third level of Bulgarian football. The club's home ground is the Hadzhi Dimitar Stadium in Sliven with a capacity of 1 ...

for the 2009–10 season, where he was likely to receive more chances to play. He was recalled from his loan to the team from

Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...

for the 2010–11 season.

Lech Poznań

On 16 June 2011 Tonev signed with

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

club

. He made his debut on 29 July 2011, coming on in 75th minute, replacing Jakub Wilk in a game against

ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) is a Polish sports club based in Łódź. They are best known for their football club but are represented in many sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and in the past ice ...

won the game 5–0. On 26 July 2012, Tonev scored his first ever European goal, netting the only goal in a 1–0 home victory over

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 ...

i club

Khazar Lankaran Khazar Lankaran FK ( tly, Xəzər Lankon Futboli Klub, script=Latn, az, Xəzər Lənkəran Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Lankaran that last played in the Azerbaijan Premier League during the 2015–16 season. Since the ...

in the second qualifying round of

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 ...

. On 25 August, Tonev netted his first

goal of the 2012–13 season as he scored a 25-yard winning strike in a 2–1 away victory over

Polonia Warsaw Polonia Warsaw ( pl, Polonia Warszawa, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing Varsovian sports club, best known for its football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, swimming, chess, mountain biking, and contract ...

Aston Villa

On 7 June 2013, Tonev signed for

as their first signing of the pre-season. He was recommended by former international teammate

Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov ( Bulgarian: Стилиян Альошев Петров, born 5 July 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Petrov joined Celtic from CSKA Sofia in 1999, and won ten trophies in ...

, a development coach at the club. He made his debut on 13 August, replacing

Karim El Ahmadi Karim El-Ahmadi Aroussi (Arabic: كريم الأحمدي; born 27 January 1985) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. El-Ahmadi was born in the Netherlands and played for FC Twente and Feyenoord before moving to the P ...

for the final eight minutes of a 2–1 defeat away to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, making 17

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 ...

appearances in total throughout the season.

Celtic

On 11 August 2014, Tonev moved to Scottish champions

on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy. He made his debut on 13 September, starting in a 2–1 home win over

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. Aberdeen full-back

Shay Logan Shaleum Narval Logan (born 29 January 1988) is an English footballer who plays as a right-back for Cove Rangers. He began his career in the Premier League with Manchester City and played on loan at Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe United, Stockport C ...

accused Tonev of having racially abused him during this match; Tonev denies the allegations. On 30 October 2014, Tonev was given a seven-match ban for "using abusive language of a racist nature". Celtic confirmed that they would appeal the decision, as they believe him to be innocent. Tonev then lost his appeal and Celtic decided not to take the matter any further.

Frosinone

On 27 August 2015, Tonev joined

newcomers

on a permanent deal. He played his first game three days later, coming on as a substitute for

Luca Paganini Luca Paganini (born 8 June 1993) is an Italian footballer who plays as a right winger for club Latina. Club career Paganini is a youth exponent from Frosinone Calcio. He made his first team debut on 18 December 2011 against U.S. Siracusa in ...

in a 2–0 loss against

Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily known ...

Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, known for sponsorship reasons as the Gewiss Stadium since July 2019 and as Stadio di Bergamo in UEFA competitions, is a stadium in Bergamo, Italy. It is the home of club Atalanta and has a capacity of 21,000 seat ...

Crotone

On 16 July 2016, Tonev joined

newcomers

. He scored his first goal for the club in a 0–1 away win over

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 7 May 2017.

Retirement

Tonev announced his retirement from football in March 2022, 20 months after his last official game and started his own construction business.

International career

On 4 September 2009, Tonev scored his first goal for the Bulgaria U21 in the 3–0 home win against Kazakhstan U21 in a

UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the compe ...

qualifier. On 9 September 2009, he was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for a dangerous tackle on

Guillermo Molins Guillermo Federico Molins Palmeiro (; born 26 September 1988) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for Sarpsborg 08. Beginning his career with Malmö FF in 2006, he has gone on to play professionally in Belgium, Spain, China, Greece ...

in the 90th minute of the 1–2 away loss to Sweden U21. On 9 February 2011, Tonev scored a goal in a friendly match against Cameroon. Tonev made his debut for the Bulgarian national team in a 0–1 home loss against Wales on 11 October 2011. On 22 March 2013, he scored his first international goals as he netted a hat-trick (the first one in his career) during a 6–0 home win over

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 ...

in the World Cup 2014 qualifying match. Three years and a week later, he scored his first international goal since the hat-trick, to conclude a 2–0 win over neighbours Macedonia in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonev, Aleksandar 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Sofia Province Bulgarian footballers Bulgaria international footballers First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players PFC CSKA Sofia players OFC Sliven 2000 players Lech Poznań players Aston Villa F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Frosinone Calcio players F.C. Crotone players Botev Plovdiv players Association football midfielders Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate footballers in Poland Expatriate footballers in England Bulgarian expatriates in the United Kingdom Premier League players Expatriate footballers in Scotland Scottish Professional Football League players Bulgarian expatriates in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Serie A players Race-related controversies in the United Kingdom