Marcho Dafchev

Marcho Dafchev

Personal information
Full name	Marcho Petrov Dafchev
Date of birth	12 May 1978 (1978-05-12) (age 33)
Place of birth	Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Lokomotiv Sofia
Number	10
Youth career
	Maritsa Plovdiv
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–1998	Sokol Komatevo	?	(?)
1998–2001	Lokomotiv Sofia	84	(16)
2002	CSKA Sofia	6	(0)
2002–2003	A.O. Patraikos	6	(0)
2003–2004	Botev Plovdiv	24	(9)
2004–2008	Lokomotiv Sofia	97	(28)
2008–2009	Neftchi Baku	12	(2)
2009–	Lokomotiv Sofia	42	(11)
National team
2005	Bulgaria	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 9, 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Marcho Dafchev (Bulgarian: Марчо Дафчев) (born 12 May 1978 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He currently plays for Lokomotiv Sofia.^[1]

He has been capped by Bulgaria once in 2005. Dafchev previously played for Sokol Komatevo, CSKA Sofia, Patraikos in Greece, Botev Plovdiv and Neftchi Baku in Azerbaijan.

Career

Born in Plovdiv, Dafchev was in the youth setups of Maritsa before moving to Sokol Komatevo.

In June 1998, at the age of 20, he joined Lokomotiv Sofia. Dafchev made his debut during the 1998–99 season on August 8, 1998 in a 1–3 away loss against Litex Lovech, coming on as a substitute for Ivaylo Pargov. He scored his first goal for Lokomotiv in a 1–0 home win against Levski Kyustendil on 17 October 1998. Dafchev made 27 league appearances and a total of 34 matches scoring eight goals during his debut season with the Railwaymen.

He left Lokomotiv for CSKA Sofia during the January 2002 transfer window, but earned only 6 appearances in the A PFG and was released just five months later, signing a contract with Greek side A.O. Patraikos.

In July 2003 Dafchev joined Botev Plovdiv. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2003–04 season in a 1–0 win over Rodopa Smolyan on 9 August. Twenty days later Dafchev scored his first Botev and Plovdiv derby goal, opening the scoring in a 2–3 defeat against Lokomotiv Plovdiv.^[2] On 28 September he scored twice in a 3–1 home victory over CSKA Sofia.^[3] Dafchev made 24 appearances for the Canaries, scoring nine goals, but Botev were relegated from the A PFG at the end of the campaign.

Dafchev playing for Neftchi Baku

In the summer of 2004 Dafchev signed for his previously team Lokomotiv Sofia. Оn 10 August 2006, he scored his first ever European goal, netting a free-kick against Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv in a 2–0 away win. On 14 September, Dafchev scored free-kick and in a 2–2 home draw against Feyenoord. The following 2007–08 season he netted his third European goal in a 3–1 home win over Oţelul Galaţi of the UEFA Cup on 16 August 2007. In a 3–1 league win over Pirin Blagoevgrad on 11 November 2007, Dafchev scored his 49th and 50th goals in all competitions for Lokomotiv.

In May 2008 Dafchev was sold to Neftchi Baku. He passed his medical on 29 May and signed a three-year contract. He earned 12 appearances in the Azerbaijan Premier League and scored two goals.

On 15 August 2009 Dafchev returned to Lokomotiv Sofia after being released from his contract at Neftchi Baku.^[4] During the 2009–10 season he scored once in a 2–4 away loss against Cherno More on 7 November 2009. At the end of the following 2010–11 season, Dafchev became the club's second topscorer with 7 goals in 19 appearances and provided 6 assists for his team-mates.

Career statistics

As of 12 June 2011

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lokomotiv Sofia	1998–99	27	5	7	3	–	–	34	8
	1999–00	25	3	3	0	–	–	28	3
	2000–01	20	6	4	2	–	–	24	8
	2001–02	12	2	1	0	–	–	13	2
CSKA Sofia	2001–02	6	0	3	0	0	0	9	0
A.O. Patraikos	2002–03	6	0	0	0	–	–	6	0
Botev Plovdiv	2003–04	24	9	3	1	–	–	27	10
Lokomotiv Sofia	2004–05	26	5	1	0	–	–	27	5
	2005–06	25	5	0	0	–	–	25	5
	2006–07	20	5	0	0	5	2	25	7
	2007–08	26	13	3	2	4	2	33	17
Neftchi Baku	2008–09	12	2	0	0	–	–	12	2
Lokomotiv Sofia	2009–10	14	1	1	0	–	–	15	1
	2010–11	19	7	0	0	–	–	19	7
	2011–12	6	1	0	0	2	0	8	1
Career totals		268	64	26	8	11	4	305	76

References

1. ^ "Stats Centre: Marcho Dafchev Facts". Guardian.co.uk. http://guardian.touch-line.com/?pStr=Player&plid=183803&cust=&lang=0&teid=334&cpid=120&ctid=57. 
2. ^ "Lokomotiv 3–2 Botev". Guardian.co.uk. http://guardian.touch-line.com/?Lang=0&mTEID=327&Season=2003%20-%202004&CTID=7&CPID=11&TEID=334&RFID=&PLID=183803&MAID=330780&ListType=9&pStr=Match_Details&t=3. Retrieved 2003-08-29. 
3. ^ "Botev 3–1 CSKA Sofia". Guardian.co.uk. http://guardian.touch-line.com/?Lang=0&mTEID=327&Season=2003%20-%202004&CTID=7&CPID=11&TEID=334&RFID=&PLID=183803&MAID=330809&ListType=9&pStr=Match_Details&t=3. Retrieved 2003-09-28. 
4. ^ "Марчо Дафчев почва отново в Локо София" (in Bulgarian). dariknews.bg. http://dariknews.bg/view_article.php?article_id=386587. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 

External links

• Marcho Dafchev at National-Football-Teams.com

Persondata
Name	Dafchev, Marcho
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	12 May 1978
Place of birth	Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Date of death
Place of death