Iliya Hristov Gruev (Bulgarian: Илия Христов Груев; born 30 October 1969) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer. Until 2022 he was assistant manager at Arminia Bielefeld.
 Gruev with Bulgaria in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iliya Hristov Gruev | ||
| Date of birth | 30 October 1969 | ||
| Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1991 | Levski Sofia | 53 | (0) |
| 1992 | Slavia Sofia | 15 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | Altay | 27 | (4) |
| 1993–1994 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 17 | (4) |
| 1994–1995 | Altay | 30 | (2) |
| 1995–1996 | Montana | 12 | (0) |
| 1996–2000 | Naftex Burgas | 141 | (35) |
| 2000–2004 | MSV Duisburg | 80 | (11) |
| 2004–2005 | KFC Uerdingen 05 | 30 | (5) |
| 2005–2006 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 18 | (1) |
| Total | 523 | (62) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–1999 | Bulgaria | 13 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2010 | Chernomorets Burgas (assistant) | ||
| 2011 | Bulgaria (assistant) | ||
| 2011–2012 | Hajduk Split (assistant) | ||
| 2012 | Kaiserslautern (assistant) | ||
| 2012–2013 | MSV Duisburg (assistant) | ||
| 2013–2015 | Kaiserslautern (assistant) | ||
| 2015–2018 | MSV Duisburg | ||
| 2019–2020 | Werder Bremen (assistant) | ||
| 2021–2022 | Arminia Bielefeld (assistant) | ||
| 2022 | Arminia Bielefeld (caretaker) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editGruev started out at Levski Sofia. Later, he played for Slavia Sofia, Lokomotiv Sofia and Montana in his home country and Altay in Turkey. After that he spent almost five years at Neftochimic Burgas before leaving for Germany to represent MSV Duisburg from 2000 to 2004. Following that he played for KFC Uerdingen 05 before finishing his active career in Rot-Weiß Erfurt.
Gruev has 13 caps for Bulgaria, scoring once – on 11 October 1997, in the 2–4 away loss in a 1998 World Cup qualifier against Russia.
Managerial career
editAssistant manager
editHe was assistant coach in Chernomorets Burgas, Hajduk Split, Duisburg, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bulgaria from 2009 to 2015.[1]
MSV Duisburg
editAfter MSV Duisburg's bad results and following the release of their manager Gino Lettieri, Gruev was announced as the new manager of the team, signing a contract until 2017, becoming a first team manager for the first time.[2][3] In the 2016–17 season, Duisburg won the 3. Liga and got promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.
Gruev was sacked on 1 October 2018 after the team scored only two points out of the first eight matches.[4] Torsten Lieberknecht became the new head coach.
Werder Bremen
editIn summer 2019, Gruev joined Werder Bremen as an assistant coach with a focus on set pieces.[5]
Personal life
editGruev's son Ilia is also a professional footballer for Leeds United.[6]
Career statistics
editInternational goal
edit- Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gruev goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 October 1997 | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia |  Russia |
1–4 | 2–4 | 1998 World Cup qualifier |
Managerial statistics
edit- As of 29 September 2018
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | GD | |||
| MSV Duisburg | 6 November 2015 | 1 October 2018 | 105 | 38 | 33 | 34 | 36.19 | 143 | 139 | +4 |
References
edit- ^ "Илия Груев стана помощник-треньор на "Дуисбург", ще спасява отбора заедно с новия наставник" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ Официално: Илия Груев пое Дуисбург
- ^ ""Legen wir los": Gruev unterschreibt bei den Zebras" ["Let's go": Gruev signs with the zebras]. kicker.de (in German). 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "MSV entbindet Ilia Gruev und Yontcho Arsov von ihren Aufgaben – Neuer Coach zeitnah". msv-duisburg.de. 1 October 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ Gruev wird Co-Trainer
- ^ Lüddecke, Tim (27 July 2023). "Gruev im Interview: "Man muss immer Mensch bleiben"" [Gruev in an interview: ‘You always have to stay human’]. Kicker (in German). Retrieved 16 May 2024.
External links
edit- Iliya Gruev at National-Football-Teams.com
- Profile at LevskiSofia.info
- Iliya Gruev at WorldFootball.net
