Zhivko Milanov

Zhivko Milanov (Bulgarian: Живко Миланов; born 15 July 1984 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian footballer who lastly played for Levski Sofia. Although he is primarily a right back, when needed he operates on the left side as well. Milanov has been capped 28 times for the Bulgarian national team.

Zhivko Milanov
Milanov playing for Tom Tomsk in 2013
Personal information
Full name Zhivko Kirilov Milanov
Date of birth (1984-07-15) 15 July 1984
Place of birth Sofia, Bulgaria
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Right back
Youth career
1993–2003 Levski Sofia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2009 Levski Sofia 122 (8)
2010–2013 Vaslui 104 (1)
2013–2015 Tom Tomsk 55 (1)
2015 Levski Sofia 12 (1)
2016–2019 APOEL 50 (0)
2019–2020 Levski Sofia 41 (1)
National team
2001 Bulgaria U16 3 (0)
2002 Bulgaria U19 2 (0)
2003–2005 Bulgaria U21 13 (0)
2006–2016 Bulgaria 28 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 June 2020

Career

Levski Sofia

Milanov made his league debut in 2003. With Levski Sofia he reached the quarter finals of UEFA Cup in 2005–06. Next season, Levski Sofia reached the group-stage of UEFA Champions League, becoming the first Bulgarian team that reached the groups.

He became a Champion of Bulgaria in 2009.

Vaslui

Milanov joined Vaslui on 14 January 2010 on a ​2 1⁄2-year contract. The deal was reported by media to be worth $350,000.[1] He was seen as the perfect substitute for Vaslui's captain Buhuş, whose long-term injury would keep him out from the field for the rest of the season.[2] He made his league debut against Gaz Metan Mediaş, wearing the number 20 for Vaslui.[3] He did not missed a single match for his new team, and helped Vaslui finishing third in Liga I,[4] and reaching the Romanian Cup final, eventually lost at the penalty shootout.[5] After Buhuş's departure, he established himself as Vaslui's first-choice right back.[6]

On 23 July 2010, in Liga I's opening match, Milanov received his first red card since his arrival in Vaslui.[7] Following Luz's long term-injury and Bălace's bad shape, Milanov was sent to play on the left side. However, because of Papp's unsuccessful try out on the right side, Milanov was sent back on his favourite position.[8] In his second season in Vaslui, he ended third in Liga I, after a long battle, between Oţelul Galaţi, Poli Timişoara and SC Vaslui, for their first championship.[9]

On 23 July 2011, Milanov received his second red card, in Vaslui's opening match against Rapid București.[10] On 19 August, he scored his first goal for Vaslui, against Sparta Prague helping his team qualify for the first time to the UEFA Europa League's Group Stages.[11]

Tom Tomsk

After his contract with Vaslui expired, Milanov joined Russian Premier League club Tom Tomsk on a free transfer on 24 June 2013.[12] He signed a two-year contract.

Levski Sofia

Milanov returned to Levski Sofia in early September 2015 and played for the Blues during the autumn part of the 2015–16 A Group, receiving praise for his performance.[13]

APOEL

On 30 December 2015, Milanov signed an 18-month contract with Cypriot First Division champions APOEL.[14] He made his debut on 10 January 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in APOEL's 2–1 away victory against Aris Limassol for the Cypriot First Division.[15] A few months after joining APOEL, he crowned champion as his team managed to win the Cypriot First Division title for a fourth time in the row.[16][17]

On 2 March 2017, Milanov signed a two-year contract extension with APOEL, running until 31 May 2019.[18]

Levski Sofia

After agreeing with APOEL to rescind his contract, Milanov returned again to Levski Sofia. On 11 February 2019 he signed a 1,5-year contract with the club.[19] On 23 June 2020 he played his last professional match against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in a semi-final Cup tie, finishing 0-0. After the match, he stated that a lung disease made him retire.[20]

International career

Milanov started playing for the Bulgarian national team in 2006, and has been capped 28 times during his international career. He announced his retirement from the national team on 21 March 2017, at the age of 32.[21]

Career statistics

Club
As of 20 June 2019[22]
Club Season Division League Cup Europe Other[lower-alpha 1] Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Levski Sofia 2002–03A Group 401000—50
2003–04 301010—50
2004–05 2014040—281
2005–06 191209000301
2006–07 181108010281
2007–08 253312010314
2008–09 2324040—312
2009–10 100118000191
Total 12281723602017710
Vaslui 2009–10Liga I 17030——200
2010–11 3001020—330
2011–12 27020101—391
2012–13 3011030—341
Total 104170151—1262
Tom Tomsk 2013–14Premier Liga 28030—2[lower-alpha 2]0330
2014–151.Division 27100—2[lower-alpha 3]0291
Total 55130—40621
Levski Sofia 2015–16A Group 12120——141
Total 12120——141
APOEL 2015–16Cypriot First Division 16060——220
2016–17 2705016010490
2017–18 2000600080
2018–19 50006000110
Total 50011028010900
Levski Sofia 2018–19First League 1110000—111
2019–20 2304030—300
Total 2311030—411
Career total 366124128217051015
  1. Appearances in Bulgarian Supercup and Cypriot Super Cup.
  2. Appearances in Russian Premier League relegation play-offs.
  3. Appearances in Russian National Football League promotion play-offs.

International
As of 7 October 2016[23]
Bulgaria
YearAppsGoals
2006 1 0
2007 2 0
2008 6 0
2009 5 0
2010 6 0
2011 3 0
2015 2 0
2016 3 0
Total 28 0

Honours

[22][24][25]

Levski Sofia
APOEL
gollark: Because totality.
gollark: Out of memory?
gollark: I bet you can create some sort of infinite error in finite lines with Haskell.
gollark: __M O N A D__
gollark: ***__M O N A D__***

References
  1. "Milanov vine la Vaslui" (in Romanian). GSP. 13 January 2010.
  2. "Buhus: Mi-e dor de fotbal" (in Romanian). GSP. 4 March 2010.
  3. "Vasluiul tinut in sah la Medias" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 21 February 2010.
  4. "Vasluiul prinde podiumul" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012.
  5. "CFR castiga cupa" (in Romanian). Onlinesport. 27 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012.
  6. "Buhus si-a reziliat contractul cu FC Vaslui" (in Romanian). Adevarul. 13 July 2010.
  7. "Cap si spada" (in Romanian). Prosport. 23 July 2010.
  8. "Papp a fost marginalizat" (in Romanian). Vremea Noua. 1 March 2011.
  9. "Si-au respectat blazonul" (in Romanian). Vremea Noua. 23 May 2011.
  10. "Start cu stangul" (in Romanian). Adevarul. 23 July 2011.
  11. "Moldovenii au detonat bomba" (in Romanian). Evenimentul Zilei. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  12. "Живко Миланов подписа с Том Томск" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 24 June 2013.
  13. "Шансовете Джеки Чан да остане намаляват". 7sport.net. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  14. Κατ' αρχήν συμφωνία με Zhivko Milanov (in Greek). apoelfc.com.cy. 30 December 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  15. "Aris Limassol 1-2 APOEL". apoelfc.com.cy. 10 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  16. "APOEL clinch record 25th title in Cyprus". uefa.com. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  17. "APOEL vs. AEK Larnaca 2 – 0". Soccerway. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  18. "Επέκταση συνεργασίας με τον Zhivko Milanov". APOEL FC. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  19. "Левски подписа с Живко Миланов" (in Bulgarian). levski.bg. 11 February 2019.
  20. "Живко Миланов спира с футбола заради заболяване на белия дроб (ВИДЕО)" (in Bulgarian). btvnovinite.bg. 23 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  21. Живко Миланов разкри каква е причината да се откаже от националния
  22. "Z. Milanov – Soccerway profile". soccerway. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  23. "Milanov, Zhivko – NFT profile". national football teams. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  24. Zhivko Milanov at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian) and StatisticsFootball.com
  25. Zhivko Milanov at National-Football-Teams.com


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