Anton Nedyalkov

Anton Nedyalkov (Bulgarian: Антон Недялков; born 30 April 1993) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a left-back and centre-back for Ludogorets Razgrad and the Bulgarian national team.[2]

Anton Nedyalkov

Personal information
Full name	Anton Mihaylov Nedyalkov
Date of birth	(1993-04-30) 30 April 1993
Place of birth	Lovech, Bulgaria
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Left-back / Centre-back
Club information
Current team	Ludogorets Razgrad
Number	3
Youth career
2002–2011	Litex Lovech
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2016	Litex Lovech	72	(0)
2011	→ Chavdar Etropole (loan)	10	(0)
2012	→ Svetkavitsa (loan)	13	(0)
2015–2016	Litex Lovech II	10	(1)
2016–2017	CSKA Sofia	53	(0)
2018	FC Dallas	9	(0)
2018–	Ludogorets Razgrad	63	(1)
National team^‡
2011	Bulgaria U19	3	(0)
2012–2014	Bulgaria U21	5	(0)
2016–	Bulgaria	14	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 August 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 December 2019

Nedyalkov began his professional career at Litex Lovech in 2011. After loan spells at Chavdar Etropole and Svetkavitsa he became a regular in their team, playing 85 total games for Litex. In June 2016, he joined CSKA Sofia and became an integral member of the team. In December 2017, he briefly signed for Major League Soccer club FC Dallas before joining Ludogorets six months later.

Formerly an international at under-19 and under-21 level, Nedyalkov made his senior international debut for Bulgaria against Luxembourg on 6 September 2016.

Career

Litex Lovech

Nedyalkov with Litex in 2015

Nedyalkov joined the first team in 2012 after two loan spells at Chavdar Etropole and Svetkavitsa during the 2011/12 season.

CSKA Sofia

In June 2016, Nedyalkov joined CSKA Sofia. He made his debut on 29 July, in a 2–0 home win over Slavia Sofia which was also the season opener.[3] In his first season with CSKA, he appeared in 34 of 36 league matches; in 33 of them Nedyalkov played full 90 minutes. After a number of good games he was chosen as the best player of the 2016–17 season by the club's fans.[4]

FC Dallas

On 21 December 2017, Nedyalkov completed a move to Major League Soccer club FC Dallas for a fee of $1.5 million plus bonuses.[5][6] He was given the number 6 shirt. Nedyalkov made his league debut in a 3–0 home win at Toyota Stadium against Seattle Sounders on 18 March 2018, playing full 90 minutes as a left-back.[7] He assisted Roland Lamah for third goal in the game.[8]

Ludogorets Razgrad

On 23 June 2018, after just 6 months in the United States, Dallas announced that Nedyalkov would return to Bulgaria and sign a contract with Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad for an undisclosed fee.[9] Later that day Ludogorets officially announced the transfer of Nedyalkov, signing with his favorite number 3 shirt.[10]

International career

In 2011, he was a member of Bulgaria U-19 team, playing three games in the qualifying round of U-19 European Championship.[11] Nedyalkov was called up to the senior Bulgaria team for friendlies against Portugal and Macedonia in March 2016.[12] On 6 September 2016, he made his debut for Bulgaria in a 4-3 2018 World Cup Qualifying victory over Luxembourg.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of 13 July 2020[14]

Club	Season	Division	League		Cup[lower-alpha 1]		Continental[lower-alpha 2]		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Litex Lovech	2010–11	A Group	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chavdar Etropole (loan)	2011–12	B Group	10	0	0	0	–		0	0	10	0
Svetkavitsa (loan)	2011–12	A Group	13	0	0	0	–		0	0	13	0
Litex Lovech	2012–13		17	0	2	0	–		0	0	19	0
	2013–14		19	0	1	0	–		0	0	20	0
	2014–15		21	0	4	0	2	0	0	0	27	0
	2015–16		15	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	19	0
	Total		72	0	11	0	2	0	0	0	85	0
Litex Lovech II	2015–16	B Group	10	1	–		–		0	0	10	1
CSKA Sofia	2016–17	First League	34	0	1	0	–		0	0	35	0
	2017–18		19	0	1	0	–		0	0	20	0
	Total		53	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	55	0
Dallas	2018	MLS	9	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	10	0
Total			9	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	10	0
Ludogorets Razgrad	2018–19	First League	35	1	1	0	10	0	0	0	46	1
	2019–20		26	0	1	0	15	0	1	0	43	0
	Total		61	1	2	0	25	0	1	0	89	1
Career statistics			228	2	15	0	28	0	1	0	272	2

1. Includes Bulgarian Cup, Bulgarian Supercup and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches.
2. Includes UEFA Europa League and CONCACAF Champions League matches.

National team

Bulgaria national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2016	2	0
2017	3	0
2018	3	0
2019	6	0
Total	14	0

Honours

Ludogorets Razgrad

• Bulgarian First League (2): 2018–19, 2019–20
• Bulgarian Supercup (2): 2018, 2019

Individual

Best defender in the Bulgarian First League - 2019[15]

2nd place in the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year ranking - 2019[15]

References

1. "Профил на Антон Недялков" (in Bulgarian). winner.bg. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
2. "Anton Nedyalkov Facts". Footballdatabase.eu.
3. "CSKA Sofia vs. Slavia Sofia". soccerway.com. 29 July 2016.
4. "Феновете на ЦСКА решиха: Антон Недялков е №1 в отбора!" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 13 June 2017.
5. "FC Dallas Signs Defender Anton Nedyalkov". FC Dallas. 21 December 2017.
6. "Антон Недялков ще играе в САЩ" (in Bulgarian). cska.bg. 21 December 2017.
7. "FC Dallas vs. Seattle Sounders". soccerway.com. 18 March 2018.
8. "Антон Недялков с асистенция при успех на Далас" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 19 March 2018.
9. FC Dallas Transfers Defender Anton Nedyalkov to Ludogorets
10. "Лудогорец с пореден трансферен удар, подписа с български национал" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 23 June 2018.
11. "Anton Nedyalkov". UEFA. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
12. "Petev names Bulgarian squad for the friendly games against Portugal and Macedonia". bfunion.bg. 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
13. http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/season=2018/matches/round=2000717/match=2017630/index.html
14. "Anton Nedyalkov". Soccerway.com. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
15. Petkov, Georgi (5 January 2020). "Димитър Илиев е "Футболист на годината", получи наградата си лично от Бербатов". topsport.bg. Retrieved 8 January 2020.