Aleksandar Branekov
Aleksandar Branekov (Bulgarian: Александър Бранеков; born 31 May 1987) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a centre back.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aleksandar Georgiev Branekov | ||
| Date of birth | 31 May 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2010 | CSKA Sofia | 28 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | → Lokomotiv Plovdiv (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Vidima-Rakovski | 41 | (4) |
| 2012–2015 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 92 | (3) |
| 2015–2016 | CSKA Sofia | 10 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Slavia Sofia | 9 | (0) |
| 2017 | Septemvri Sofia | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 17 | (0) |
| Total | 208 | (10) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Career
Branekov is a product of the CSKA Sofia Academy. He marked his first-team debut with goal, opening the scoring in a 2–1 away win over Lokomotiv Sofia on 6 November 2005.[1] Branekov spent a 2007–08 season on loan with Lokomotiv Plovdiv to build up his first team experience, but earned only 7 appearances in the A Group.
In June 2008, Branekov returned to CSKA. After the game with Lokomotiv Sofia on 5 May 2010, in which Branekov scored goal for the 5–1 home win, he came into conflict with the fans and was removed from the first team.[2] In June 2010, he was released from CSKA.
A month later, Branekov signed a contract as a free agent with Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo and quickly established himself as a key player. During his time with Vidima, he scored 4 goals in 41 matches in the A Group.
On 1 February 2012, Branekov signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Lokomotiv Sofia.[3] He made his debut in a 2–0 home win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv on 5 March. In January 2013, Branekov was announced as Lokomotiv's new club captain. On 10 June 2013, he signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at Lokomotiv until 30 June 2015.[4] On 22 February 2014, he scored his first goal in a Lokomotiv shirt against Neftochimic Burgas, in a 5–1 home league win. On 13 March, Branekov scored the only goal in a home win over Chernomorets Burgas in the Bulgarian Cup.
On 1 July 2015, Branekov returned to his favorite club CSKA Sofia, although the fact that the team will play amateur football next season. He had an opportunity to join the enemy Levski Sofia but he rejected the offer from them.[5]
On 14 June 2017, Branekov joined Septemvri Sofia.[6] He made his debut for the team on 17 July 2017 in match against Dunav Ruse.[7] On 31 August 2017, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[8]
On 4 September 2017, Branekov signed with Second League club Lokomotiv Sofia.[9] At the end of the 2017–18 season, he announced his retirement from football.[10]
Career statistics
- As of 22 December 2015
| Club | Season | Division | League | Cup | Europe | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| CSKA Sofia | 2005–06 | A Group | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 2006–07 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||
| Total | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 2 | ||
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv (loan) | 2007–08 | A Group | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| Vidima-Rakovski | 2010–11 | A Group | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 27 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 | 2 | |||
| Total | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 41 | 4 | |||
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 2011–12 | A Group | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 13 | 0 | |
| 2012–13 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 1 | – | 33 | 3 | |||
| 2014–15 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 28 | 1 | |||
| Total | 92 | 3 | 16 | 1 | – | 108 | 4 | |||
| CSKA Sofia | 2015–16 | V Group | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | |
| Total | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 178 | 10 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 202 | 11 | ||
Honours
- Bulgarian Cup (1): 2006
- Bulgarian Supercup (1): 2008
References
- "Aleksandar Branekov: All appearances 2005–06 season". guardian.touch-line.com.
- "Армейците изгониха от тима Бранеков" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 5 May 2010.
- "Бранеков подписа с Локомотив София" (in Bulgarian). gol.bg. 1 February 2012.
- "Бранеков остава в Локо (Сф), подписа за 2 години" (in Bulgarian). novsport.com. 11 June 2013.
- "Александър Бранеков пред сензационен трансфер в "Левски (видео)". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 25 June 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- "Септември стартира с четирима нови подготовката за новия сезон" (in Bulgarian). fcseptemvri.com. 14 June 2017.
- "Септември започна със загуба в Първа Професионална Лига". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2017-07-23.
- "Септември се раздели с Бранеков и Даниел Георгиев" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 2 September 2017.
- "Бранеков: Разбрах се с Локо София, питайте Чандъров защо напуснах Септември" (in Bulgarian). novsport.com. 4 September 2017.
- "Бранеков прекрати футболната си кариера" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 13 June 2018.
External links
- Aleksandar Branekov at Soccerway
- Player Profile at guardian.touch-line.com