- Dimitar Ivankov
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Dimitar Ivankov Personal information Full name Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov Date of birth 30 October 1975 Place of birth Sofia, Bulgaria Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Playing position Goalkeeper Club information Current club - Youth career Levski Sofia Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1995–2005 Levski Sofia 275 (25) 2005–2008 Kayserispor 94 (6) 2008–2011 Bursaspor 90 (6) 2011 Anorthosis Famagusta 0 (0) National team‡ 1999–2010 Bulgaria[1] 63 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 20, 2010.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of May 27, 2010Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov (born 30 October 1975) is a Bulgarian football player who currently plays for Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta FC. He plays as a goalkeeper, however he is known for his goals, especially from converting penalty kicks. Ivankov is the 3rd best goalscoring keeper in the world with 42 goals (as of April 2010).[2] He won the Turkish Süper Lig with Bursaspor in 2010.
Contents
Career
Born in Sofia, Ivankov was raised in Levski Sofia's youth teams. For ten seasons he played in 275 matches and scored 25 goals. Ivankov was a champion of Bulgaria in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and the national cup winner for 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2005.
He joined Turkish club Kayserispor in June 2005. On May 7, 2008 he played a vital role in Kayseri winning the Turkish Cup, saving 8 penalties and scoring two himself.[3] During three seasons with the club Ivankov earned 94 appearances playing in the Süper Lig, and scored six goals.
In May 2008 the media suggested that Ivankov was wanted by the Greek side Aris Thessaloniki F.C., but on June 9, 2008 he signed a contract with Bursaspor.[4] He scored a crucial goal against Fenerbahçe in the 95th minute. His goal made the game 2–1 to Bursapor.
In March 2010 he scored the 41st senior goal of his career, putting him in third place for the most goals scored by goalkeepers worldwide. He is known for his unorthodox technique of closing his eyes on his run up, only opening them at the last minute to put off the opposing goalkeeper
In November 2010 Ivankov hoped to sign on loan for the rest of the 2010-11 with mid-table Millwall of the Npower Championship in England. According to the manager, Ivankov would be used upfront due to his incredible scoring record throughout his career as a Goalkeeper. Ivankov in response was delighted at the thought of helping Millwall's push up the table and insisted he was there as a striker to 'cut through' any defence in the league, with the game against Leeds Utd the game he looks forward to most.
In 23 June 2011, Ivankov signed a contract with Cypriot First Division side Anorthosis Famagusta.He was released by Anorthosis after less than 2 months and two bad games at Europa League 3rd round.He is the main target by the fans for the Uefa Europa League elimination from FK Rabotnicki.
International career
Ivankov earned his first cap with Bulgaria in 1999 and has since earned 63 caps for his country. He was part of the Bulgarian squad at Euro 2004 in Portugal, but he did not play any single match in the competition as Zdravko Zdravkov was still at best performances in club and as number one of the Bulgarian national team. After Euro 2004 Ivankov was the first choice for goalkeeper of the Bulgarian team. On 3 March 2010, he played his last match for the national team in a friendly against Poland.[5]
Honours
Levski Sofia
- A PFG (3): 2000, 2001, 2002
- Bulgarian Cup (5): 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005
Kayserispor
- Turkish Cup (1): 2008
- Bursaspor
- Süper Lig (1): 2010
References
- ^ "Ivankov milli takımı bıraktı". Ligtv.com.tr. 19-11-2009. http://ligtv.com.tr/Default.aspx?r=1&hid=64145. Retrieved 2009-11-19. (Turkish)
- ^ dunyada ilk 5te&ver=19 "Penaltı ustası Ivankov". Milliyet.com.tr. 02-10-2008. http://www.milliyet.com.tr/Spor/SonDakika.aspx?aType=SonDakika&Kategori=spor&KategoriID=&ArticleID=998271&Date=02.10.2008&b=Ivankov dunyada ilk 5te&ver=19. Retrieved 2008-10-02. (Turkish)
- ^ "Penaltı fatihi Ivankov". Mackolik.com. 08-05-2008. http://www324d.mackolik.com/Futbol/Haber/66150/Penalti-Fatihi-Ivankov. Retrieved 2009-11-19. (Turkish)
- ^ "Dimitar Ivankov Bursaspor'da". Sporx.com. 05-06-2008. http://www.sporx.com/detail.php?Type=1&kategori=29&go=113108. Retrieved 2009-11-19. (Turkish)
- ^ "Bulgaria recall retired keeper Ivankov". Fourfourtwo.com. http://fourfourtwo.com/news/restofeurope/48285/default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
External links
Bulgaria squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Zdravkov • 2 Ivanov • 3 Kirilov • 4 I. Petkov • 5 Zagorčić • 6 Kotev • 7 Borimirov • 8 M. Petkov • 9 Berbatov • 10 Dimitrov • 11 Lazarov • 12 Kolev • 13 Peev • 14 Chilikov • 15 Hristov • 16 Manchev • 17 M. Petrov • 18 Pažin • 19 S. Petrov (c) • 20 Bojinov • 21 Janković • 22 Stoyanov • 23 Ivankov • Coach: Markov
Categories:- 1975 births
- Living people
- Bulgarian footballers
- Bulgaria international footballers
- Bulgarian expatriate footballers
- Kayserispor footballers
- Bursaspor footballers
- PFC Levski Sofia players
- Anorthosis Famagusta players
- Bulgarian A Professional Football Group players
- UEFA Euro 2004 players
- Expatriate footballers in Turkey
- Süper Lig players
- Expatriate footballers in Cyprus
- Association football goalkeepers
- Association football goalkeepers who have scored
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