Momchil Emilov Tsvetanov (Bulgarian: Момчил Емилов Цветанов; born 3 December 1990) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays for Krumovgrad. Although he predominantly plays as a winger, he has also been deployed as a left-back.

Momchil Tsvetanov
Tsvetanov with Lokomotiv Plovdiv in 2019
Personal information
Full name Momchil Emilov Tsvetanov
Date of birth (1990-12-03) 3 December 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Pleven, Bulgaria
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Left-back, winger
Team information
Current team
Krumovgrad
Number 7
Youth career
0000–2006 Spartak Pleven
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Spartak Pleven 27 (7)
2008–2014 Litex Lovech 118 (14)
2014–2015 Botev Plovdiv 15 (0)
2015–2016 CSKA Sofia 18 (8)
2016–2017 Vereya 19 (5)
2017 Stal Mielec 3 (0)
2018 Slavia Sofia 22 (0)
2019–2021 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 64 (4)
2021–2022 Gangwon FC 18 (0)
2022 Anagennisi Karditsa 5 (0)
2023 Botev Vratsa 31 (1)
2023– Krumovgrad 10 (0)
International career
2008 Bulgaria U19
2008–2012 Bulgaria U21 14 (6)
2021– Bulgaria 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 June 2024

A product of Spartak Pleven's youth academy, he has represented Bulgaria at all youth levels. Tsvetanov was part of U19 squad for the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

Club career

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Spartak Pleven

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Born in Pleven, Tsvetanov began his career playing for local club Spartak.[1] On 9 September 2006, at the age of 16 he made his professional debut in the B Group, playing the second half of a 3–0 defeat to Minyor Pernik. He scored his first goal on 7 April 2007 against Hebar Pazardzhik in a 2–0 home league victory. He made 15 league appearances, scoring three goals during his debut season.[2] In the following season Tsvetanov scored four goals in 12 matches.[3]

Litex Lovech

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Tsvetanov with Litex Lovech in 2012

In January 2008, Tsvetanov joined Litex Lovech on a four-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. He made his competitive debut in the A Group in a 0–0 draw against CSKA Sofia on 1 March 2008. He played for 45 minutes.

On 12 July 2011, Tsvetanov assisted Svetoslav Todorov twice in a 2–1 away win over Mogren Budva in the second qualifying round of the 2011–12 Champions League.[4]

Botev Plovdiv

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After six years in Lovech, Tsvetanov surprisingly signed a two-year contract with Botev Plovdiv as a free agent on 21 August 2014.[5] He made his league debut for Botev three days later when he came on as 73rd-minute substitute in a match against Slavia Sofia which Botev won 2-0.[6]

Momchil Tsvetanov played in 14 games in A Grupa and 3 games for the Bulgarian Cup without scoring any goals and without making any assists.[7] He failed to impress and at the end of the season his contract was terminated by mutual agreement.[8]

CSKA Sofia

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On 30 June 2015, Tsvetanov joined CSKA Sofia. He lost his first choice status when the team was reinstated to the A PFG.

Vereya

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In July 2016, he signed a contract with newly promoted top division club Vereya.[9]

Stal Mielec

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On 11 July 2017, Tsvetanov signed with I liga side Stal Mielec.[10]

Slavia Sofia

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On 5 February 2018, Tsvetanov confirmed to the media that he had signed with Slavia Sofia.[11]

On 12 July 2018, Tsvetanov scored his first-ever goal in European competition, netting only goal in a 1–0 away win against FC Ilves in the first qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

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On 15 June 2019, Tsvetanov won his 5th Bulgarian Cup and 1st for his new club Lokomotiv Plovdiv. On 1 July 2020 he won the Bulgarian Cup again, scoring the last penalty kick in the shoot-out against CSKA Sofia.[12]

Gangwon FC

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On 20 July 2021, Korean K League 1 side Gangwon FC announced they have signed Tsvetanov.[13]

Krumovgrad

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In December 2023, Tsvetanov joined Krumovgrad.[14]

International career

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Tsvetanov made his debut for Bulgaria national team on 25 March 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Switzerland.[15]

Career statistics

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As of 20 March 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spartak Pleven 2006–07 B Group 15 3 0 0 15 3
2007–08 12 4 1 0 13 4
Total 27 7 1 0 0 0 28 7
Litex Lovech 2007–08 A Group 7 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
2008–09 15 0 3 1 1 0 19 1
2009–10 4 1 2 1 0 0 6 2
2010–11 22 3 4 0 2 0 28 3
2011–12 22 5 3 2 4 0 29 7
2012–13 16 0 3 0 19 0
2013–14 31 5 3 2 34 7
2014–15 1 0 0 0 3 0 4 0
Total 118 14 19 6 11 0 147 20
Botev Plovdiv 2014–15 A Group 15 0 2 0 0 0 17 0
CSKA Sofia 2015–16 V Group 18 8 3 1 21 9
Vereya 2016–17 Bulgarian First League 19 5 5 0 24 5
Stal Mielec 2017–18 I liga 3 0 2 0 5 0
Slavia Sofia 2017–18 Bulgarian First League 8 0 0 0 8 0
2018–19 14 0 3 0 4 1 21 1
Total 22 0 3 0 4 1 29 1
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2018–19 Bulgarian First League 10 0 4 1 14 1
2019–20 24 0 7 0 4 0 35 0
2020–21 21 4 4 0 1 0 27 4
Career total 277 38 50 8 21 1 348 47
  1. ^ Includes Bulgarian Supercup matches.

Honours

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Litex Lovech

CSKA Sofia

Slavia Sofia

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

References

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  1. ^ Petkov, Georgi (25 July 2008). "Момчил Цветанов: Мъри не се страхува да ни пуска срещу силните" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Tsvetanov Statistics 2006–07 season". Pfl.bg. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Tsvetanov Statistics 2007–08 season". Pfl.bg. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011.
  4. ^ "Quickfire Todorov inspires Litex comeback". UEFA.com. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  5. ^ Ботев привлече Момчил Цветанов
  6. ^ Ботев надигра и победи Славия, буря прекъсна мача
  7. ^ Момчил Цветанов - Футболисти - Ботев (Пловдив) - А група
  8. ^ Ботев се раздели с Момчил Цветанов
  9. ^ "Верея" с ударна селекция - взе Чико Цветанов и бивш на "Левски"!". topsport.bg. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Lato 2017 - Momchil Tsvetanov witamy!" (in Polish). stalmielec.com. 11 July 2017.
  11. ^ Момчил Цветанов пред БЛИЦ СПОРТ: Подписах със Славия‚ blitz.bg, 5 February 2018
  12. ^ Domuschiev, Angel (2 July 2020). ""Синът" на Ганчев и неговата любима". topsport.bg. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. ^ "강원FC on Instagram: ". [오피셜] '불가리아 국가대표' 츠베타노프 영입 👇입단 소감👇 저는 팀플레이어이기 때문에 승점 3점을 위해 코칭스태프가 원하는 플레이를 할 것입니다 그리고 팬들에게 경기 마지막까지 강원FC의 승리를 위해 뛰겠다고 말씀드리고 싶습니다😀 강원FC는 강원경찰청과 협업해 선수 영입 이미지에 '장기 실종 아동'의 사진과 정보를 함께 게재합니다 김선실님을 찾을 수 있도록 많은 관심 부탁드려요🧡 #강원FC #츠베타노프 #오피셜 #불가리아"".
  14. ^ "ФК Крумовград привлече Момчил Цветанов" (in Bulgarian). bntnews.bg. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Bulgaria v Switzerland game report". FIFA. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021.
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