Simeon Nenchev Slavchev (; born 25 September 1993) 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 a

defensive 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 Lokomotiv Sofia. Slavchev began his professional career at Litex Lovech in 2010. After loan spell at Chavdar Etropole he became a regular in their team. In 2014, he signed for

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, but failed to break into the first team. After a loan spells with

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

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 ...

, and

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Gdańsk. As of the 2025–26 Ekstraklasa, 2025–26 season, they compete in the Ekstraklasa. The club was founded in 1945 by people Polish population transfers (1944–1946 ...

, he signed for Qarabağ in 2018.

Club career

Early career

Slavchev started his career at home-town club Septemvri Sofia, joining their youth system as a six-year-old. In the 2006–07 season, he became a goalscorer for their youth team. In 2007, Slavchev joined Slavia Sofia and was part of the side that won the Bulgarian U-15 Championship in the 2007–08 season.

Litex Lovech

Slavchev joined the Litex's first team in October 2010. He made his debut during the 2010–11 season, on 31 October 2010 in a 2–0 home win over Slavia Sofia, coming on as a substitute for Hristo Yanev. In July 2011, Slavchev joined Chavdar Etropole on a season-long loan deal. In the 2011–12 season, he earned 13 appearances in the B PFG(second division of Bulgarian football). In the summer of 2012, he returned to Litex. On 4 November 2012, in the league match against Cherno More, he marked his first goal in the

A PFG 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 ...

in a 4–1 victory.

Sporting CP

On 19 May 2014, Slavchev signed with Portuguese side

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

on a five-year deal, for a reported fee of €2.5 million.

Loans to Bolton, Apollon, and Lechia

On 2 February 2015, Slavchev joined

until the end of the season. He made his debut for the team in the English Championship on 7 February 2015 in a match against Derby County. It was his only match for Bolton after Slavchev got injured and was ruled out until the end of the season. On 11 August 2015, Slavchev joined the Cypriot team

on loan for the 2015–16 season. He made his debut on 23 August 2015, scoring the winning goal after added time. On 19 May 2016, Apollon won the

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup, formally known as the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup of First and Second Division () for sponsorship purposes, is a Cypriot knockout football club competition, hosted annually by the Cyprus Football Association. First held in 1934, it i ...

. Slavchev had an injury at the end of the 2015–16 season. Sporting decided to loan him out in order for him to gain more experience and to reach full fitness. On 17 August 2016, Slavchev joined Polish club

, on a season-long loan, where he would play alongside fellow Bulgarian footballer, Milen Gamakov. Slavchev made his debut for the team on 9 September 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win against Cracovia. He scored his first goal for the team on 11 March 2018, in a 3–1 home loss against

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

. Slavchev spent a trial period at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

during the summer of 2017.

Qarabağ

On 5 July 2018, Slavchev signed a three-year contract with Qarabağ FK.

Levski Sofia

After agreeing to rescind his contract with the Azerbaijani side, Slavchev returned to his home country. On 22 December 2019, he signed a three-year deal with Levski Sofia. He made his debut on 15 February 2020, in the 0–0 league draw against

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'' ...

in The Eternal Derby, coming on as an early substitute before being replaced himself towards the end of the match due to injury issues. On 20 June 2020, Slavchev scored his first goal for the club in another Eternal derby that ended 3–3.

Lokomotiv Sofia

In December 2021, Slavchev signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Lokomotiv Sofia.

Wieczysta Kraków

On 3 January 2023, despite efforts from Lechia Gdańsk to re-sign him in the winter transfer window, Slavchev joined Polish fourth division side Wieczysta Kraków on a two-and-a-half-year deal, with an extension option. After playing a marginal role in winning promotion to the third division, Slavchev left the club by mutual consent on 19 June 2024.

Return to Lokomotiv Sofia

On 3 July 2024, Slavchev re-joined Lokomotiv Sofia on a three-year deal.

International career

In September 2009, he was called for Bulgaria U17 by coach Atanas Zhelev and took part in the UEFA U-17 European championship. In 2011, he was called up for the UEFA U-19 European Championship. In 2012, he got his first call-up for the national youth team by coach Mihail Madanski. In 2013, he was called up 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 ...

Lyuboslav Penev Lyuboslav Mladenov Penev (; 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 his career at CSKA Sofia in 1984, winning two B ...

for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

qualification games against

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. On 15 October 2013, in the last match for the qualifications for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, he made his debut for the first team as a substitute. On 25 March 2016, Slavchev came on as a substitute during the magnificent 0–1 away win over

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. On 13 November 2016, he played the full 90 minutes in the 1:0 win over

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

Career statistics

Club

International

;Notes

Honours

Litex Lovech * Bulgarian A PFG: 2010–11 Apollon Limassol *

: 2015–16 Qarabağ *

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

: 2018–19 Wieczysta Kraków *

III liga, group IV III liga, group IV is one of the four groups of III liga, which are competitions of the fourth tier of the Polish football league system. This group was established in 2016, when, after the 2015–16 season, as a result of the reorganization of th ...

: 2023–24 * Polish Cup (Lesser Poland regionals): 2022–23 Individual * Bulgarian Best Young Player of the Season: 2013 * Lovech sportsman of the year: 2013

References

External links

*
Simeon Slavchev
at theplayersagent.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slavchev, Simeon Living people 1993 births Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers Bulgaria men's under-21 international footballers Bulgaria men's youth international footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Lovech players FC Chavdar Etropole players Sporting CP footballers Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Apollon Limassol FC players Lechia Gdańsk players Qarabağ FK players PFC Levski Sofia players FC Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia players Wieczysta Kraków players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players English Football League players Cypriot First Division players Ekstraklasa players Azerbaijan Premier League players III liga players Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in England Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen