Iliyan Ivanov Kiryakov (; born 4 August 1967) is a Bulgarian former 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 played as a defender. A versatile player, he could be deployed as a full-back on either flank, or as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. During a professional career which spanned nearly 20 years, he played for nine different clubs, including three in Scotland. Kiryakov won 56

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and represented the nation at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

and

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

Club career

Kiryakov was born in the small town of Lesicheri. In his country, he represented Etar Veliko Tarnovo and

PFC 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 Professional Football League, First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ' ...

. In 1991, he moved abroad, signing with

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. In his first season, he was first-choice (only missed three

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

matches) but the

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

barely avoided relegation, as 17th; subsequently, as ''Super Depor'' came to fruition, he became a fringe player and left. Kiryakov continued in Spain for 1993–94, playing in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

with

CP Mérida Club Polideportivo Mérida was a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Mérida, Spain, Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Having played twice in La Liga (1995–96 La Liga, 1995–96 and 1997–98 La Li ...

. He then returned to his country for one more year, with

, signing in the 1995 summer with Cyprus club

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

. Kiryakov spent the following five years in Scotland, playing for

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

(scoring once against

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Club ...

(only five months) and

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the as a member of the Scottish Professional Football League. The club has won f ...

. He finished his career in June 2003 at nearly 36: after a brief spell with lowly

Akademik Svishtov OFC Akademik Svishtov () is a Bulgarian association football club based in Svishtov, currently playing in the North-West Third League, the third tier of Bulgarian football. Akademik plays its home matches at Akademik stadium with a capacity of ...

, he retired at Etar, his first club. A year later he returned to play for the amateur club Chumerna Elena. Same year he joined his birth city club CSKA Lesicheri in the regional divisions, then moved to other regional club Rositsa Polikraishte, before retiring again in Yantra 2002.

International career

During eight years, Kiryakov played 53 times for

, scoring five goals. He appeared in six matches in the

(four complete) as the national side finished in fourth position, and was also picked for the squad at

, where he played in the group stage 1–1 draw against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Career statistics

Honours

Etar Veliko Tarnovo *

A Group The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

: 1990–91 Bulgaria *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

fourth place: 1994

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiryakov, Iliyan 1967 births Living people Bulgarian men's footballers Men's association football defenders First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players FC Etar (Veliko Tarnovo) players FC Etar 1924 Veliko Tarnovo players PFC CSKA Sofia players La Liga players Segunda División players Deportivo de La Coruña players CP Mérida footballers Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players Aberdeen F.C. players Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players Raith Rovers F.C. players Cypriot First Division players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players OFC Akademik Svishtov players Bulgaria men's youth international footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers 1994 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1996 players Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland 20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen