Ilian Ilianov Iliev (; born 20 August 1999), also known as Ilian Iliev Jr., 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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () 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 Sports Club of the Army'' ...

Club career

Ilian made his first team league début in a 1–3 home defeat against Ludogorets on 9 September 2016, coming on as substitute for Georgi Iliev. He scored his first goal in the top division of Bulgarian football on 30 August 2019, in the 1–1 draw with Dunav Ruse. On 31 July 2017, Iliev joined Académica de Coimbra's academy. On 19 July 2021, Iliev agreed a deal to join

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

side

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

on a four-year contract. Having spent the first-half of the 2023–24 season on loan with A.E. Kifisia, Iliev returned to Cherno More on loan for the remainder of the season in February 2024.

International career

Iliev made his debut for Bulgaria national team on 25 March 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Switzerland.

Personal life

He is the son of former footballer and current manager Ilian Iliev Sr.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Apollon Limassol *

: 2021–22

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iliev, Ilian 1999 births Living people Footballers from Funchal Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's youth international footballers Portuguese men's footballers Portuguese people of Bulgarian descent Men's association football midfielders PFC Cherno More Varna players Académica de Coimbra (football) players Apollon Limassol FC players A.E. Kifisia F.C. players PFC CSKA Sofia players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Bulgaria men's under-21 international footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Greece 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen