Ilian Kiriakov
Encyclopedia
Ilian Ivanov Kiriakov (born 4 August 1967 in Lesicheri) is a retired Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n footballer.

A player of great energy, he was equally at ease as right and left defender. During a professional career which spanned nearly 20 years, he played for nine different clubs, including three in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Club career

In his country, Kiriakov represented Etar Veliko Tarnovo
F.C. Etar
Football Club Etar was a Bulgarian professional association football club from Veliko Tarnovo. Founded on 24 April 1924, the club spent most of its history in the Bulgarian A PFG....

 and CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...

. In 1991, he moved abroad, signing with Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia; founded in 1906 and currently playing in Segunda División...

. In his first season, he was first-choice (only missed three La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

matches), but the Galicians barely avoided relegation, as 17th; subsequently, as Super Depor came to fruition, he became a fringe player and left.

Kiriakov continued in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 for 1993–94, playing in Division Two
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...

 with CP Mérida
CP Mérida
Club Polideportivo Mérida was a Spanish football team based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura.Having played twice in La Liga , the club disappeared in 2000, due to serious economic debts...

. He then returned to his country for one more year, with PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...

, signing in the 1995 summer with Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 club Anorthosis Famagusta FC
Anorthosis Famagusta FC
Αnorthosis Famagusta FC is a Cypriot football and volleyball club which is originally based in Famagusta, but is now temporarily based in Larnaca, due to the Turkish invasion. Anorthosis is one of the most successful clubs in Cypriot football, having won 13 league titles, 10 Cypriot Cups and 6...

.

Kiriakov would spend the following five years in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, playing for Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

, Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians F.C.
Airdrieonians Football Club, more commonly known as Airdrie, were a Scottish professional football team from the town of Airdrie, in the Monklands area of Lanarkshire....

 (only five months) and Raith Rovers
Raith Rovers F.C.
Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...

.

Kiriakov finished his career in June 2003 at nearly 36: after a brief spell with lowly Akademik Svishtov
Akademik Svishtov
Akademik Svishtov is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Svishtov. It plays its home matches at Akademik stadium with a capacity of 14,500 seats, and its team colours are blue and white. The team currently plays in the Bulgarian third division...

, he retired at Etar, his first club.

International career

During eight years, Kiriakov played 53 times for Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...

, scoring five goals.

He appeared in six matches in the 1994 FIFA World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

, as the national side finished in fourth position, and was also picked for the squad at UEFA Euro 1996, where he played in group stage 1–1 draw against Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

.

External links

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