Ilian Stoyanov

Ilian Stoyanov
Stoyanov with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 2010
Personal information
Full name Ilian Stoyanov
Date of birth (1977-01-20) 20 January 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth Kyustendil, Bulgaria
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back, Left-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 CSKA Sofia 3 (0)
1996–2000 Velbazhd Kyustendil 88 (3)
2000–2005 Levski Sofia 90 (2)
2005–2007 JEF United Chiba 65 (2)
2007–2010 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 85 (6)
2011 Fagiano Okayama 26 (2)
Total 357 (15)
International career
1998–2010 Bulgaria 40 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ilian Stoyanov (Bulgarian: Илиaн Стоянов; born 20 January 1977) is a former Bulgarian football defender. In Bulgaria he is also known as Collovati, because of his haircut in the past, reminiscent of that of former Italian midfielder Fulvio Collovati.[2]

Career

He was part of the Bulgarian 2004 European Football Championship team,[3] who exited in the first round, finishing bottom of Group C, having finished top of Qualifying Group 8 in the pre-tournament phase. In the beginning of his career, he played as left-back.

He started his professional career with CSKA Sofia in 1995. However, Stoyanov made a name for himself with Velbazhd Kyustendil and Levski Sofia, appearing in more than 150 matches in the top division. During his time in Bulgarian football, he established himself as a capable defender, but was also notable for displaying a fiery temper on occasions and was involved in a number of controversial incidents, including an altercation with a referee[4] and remarks uttered at black footballers, which invited accusations of racism.[5][6]

He joined JEF United Chiba in 2005 from Levski Sofia and enjoyed a reasonably successful first season, helping them lift the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (the Japanese League Cup), the club's first ever trophy – and also to repeat the achievement the following season, 2006. The club released him in July 2007 after he criticised manager Amar Osim. On 12 August 2007, he signed with another Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He could not help the team to avoid relegation to J2 in the same season. However, he helped his new team to get to the final of the Emperor's Cup in 2007, and to win the Xerox Super Cup in 2008.

In 2009, he returned to Bulgaria national team and started 7 games in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Ilian Stoyanov wearing the jersey of Sanfrecce Hiroshima

After his retirement, Stoyanov has started his own business in Japan and is also involved in a football academy.[7]

Club statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bulgaria League Bulgarian Cup League Cup Europe Total
1995–96 CSKA Sofia Bulgarian A PFG 3 0 -
1996–97 Velbazhd Kyustendil 17 0 -
1997–98 27 1 -
1998–99 22 1 -
1999–00 22 1 -
2000–01 Levski Sofia 20 1 5 0 - 4 0 29 1
2001–02 25 0 5 0 - 7 0 37 0
2002–03 19 1 8 0 - 7 0 34 1
2003–04 18 0 0 0 - 7 0 25 0
2004–05 8 0 1 0 - 3 0 12 0
Japan League Emperor's Cup League Cup Asia Total
2005 JEF United Chiba J1 League 30 1 2 0 8 0 - 40 1
2006 26 0 0 0 10 0 - 36 0
2007 9 1 0 0 4 0 - 13 1
2007 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 13 0 5 0 0 0 - 18 0
2008 J2 League 32 2 4 0 - - 36 2
2009 J1 League 23 4 0 0 3 1 - 26 5
2010 17 0 1 0 2 0 3 1 23 1
2011 Fagiano Okayama J2 League 26 2 0 0 - - 26 2
Total Bulgaria 181 5 - -
Japan 176 10 12 0 27 10 3 1 218 12
Career total 357 13

National team statistics

[8]

Bulgaria national team
Year Apps Goals
1998 2 0
1999 5 0
2000 4 0
2001 2 0
2002 1 0
2003 5 0
2004 9 0
2005 3 0
2006 0 0
2007 0 0
2008 0 0
2009 6 0
2010 3 0
Total 40 0

Honors

Levski Sofia
JEF United Chiba
Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Personal life

  • He is a friend of Bulgarian sumo wrestler Kotooshu Katsunori who became the first European to win the top division championship, Makuuchi.

References

  1. ^ "Започваме ги с Швеция. 10 години след лудото американско лято се готвим за скок в Европа" (in Bulgarian). standartnews.com. 12 June 2004. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Stats Centre: Ilian Stoyanov Facts". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  3. ^ Blagoeva, Sonya (1 June 2004). "Бербатов вкарва два на лекция" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Каубоя: никой от "Левски" не ме е удрял" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 26 August 2002. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Скандалът между ЦСКА и "Левски" стигна и до Народното събрание" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. 9 May 2003. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  6. ^ ""Литекс" пуска жалба срещу Илиян Стоянов" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 9 March 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Честит рожден ден на Илиан Стоянов". Bulgarian Football Union. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. ^ Ilian Stoyanov at National-Football-Teams.com
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