Atanas Zehirov

Atanas Zehirov (Bulgarian: Атанас Зехиров; born 13 February 1989) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a right back and right winger for Botev Vratsa.[2]

Atanas Zehirov
Personal information
Full name Atanas Tsankov Zehirov
Date of birth (1989-02-13) 13 February 1989
Place of birth Kochan, Bulgaria
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Right back / Right winger
Club information
Current team
 Botev Vratsa
Number 81
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 CSKA Sofia 6 (1)
2010 → Sliven (loan) 5 (0)
2011 Pirin Blagoevgrad 1 (0)
2011–2012 Hasle-Løren IL 22 (6)
2013–2017 Beroe Stara Zagora 92 (10)
2017–2018 Cherno More 38 (2)
2019 Botev Plovdiv 5 (0)
2020– Botev Vratsa 25 (0)
National team‡
Bulgaria U19
2008–2009 Bulgaria U21 4 (0)
2017– Bulgaria 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 September 2017

Career

Early career

Zehirov began his career with CSKA Sofia, but made only six league appearance with one goal and spent time on loan to Sliven 2000 before leaving the club in October 2010.[3] He scored his first and last goal for the club against Lokomotiv Mezdra on 13 June 2009.

Zehirov with CSKA in 2009

On 31 January 2011, Zehirov signed as a free agent with Pirin Blagoevgrad,[4] but made only one league appearance, as a substitute, before being released at the end of the season.

In August 2011, Zehirov joined Norwegian side Hasle-Løren IL.

Beroe

On 7 February 2013, Zehirov signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Beroe Stara Zagora.[5] During his time with the club he primarily has been used in the defence as a right-back. Zehirov made his debut on 22 May 2013, replacing Martin Raynov for the last 13 minutes of a 2–1 away win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv. On 1 March 2014, Zehirov scored his first league goal for Beroe in a 5–0 home win over Lyubimets 2007, scoring the fourth of their five goals.

In the 2014–15 season, Zehirov became Beroe's first-choice right-back. On 8 May 2015, he signed a new two-year extension to his contract.[6] He left the club in May 2017 after his contract expired.[7]

Cherno More

On 1 June 2017, Zehirov agreed to join Cherno More,[8] but the official contract was signed two weeks later.[9] On 15 July, he made his debut in a 1–0 home win over Vitosha Bistritsa, playing as a right winger.[10] On 11 August 2017, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 home draw with Slavia Sofia.[11] Zehirov won the Man of the match award in that game.[12]

International career

On 26 May 2015, Zehirov received his first call-up to the Bulgaria national team for the friendly game against Turkey on 8 June 2015 in Istanbul from Ivaylo Petev, but did not make an appearance.[13] He was called up in November 2016 for a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Belarus national team, during which he remained on the bench.[14] On 3 September 2017, Zehirov made his debut in a 1–3 away defeat by the Netherlands, a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.[15]

Career statistics
As of 21 January 2019
Club Season Division League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
CSKA Sofia 2008–09 A Group 5100–51
2009–10 10001020
Sliven 2000 (loan) 5000–50
Pirin Blagoevgrad 2010–11 1000–10
Hasle-Løren IL 2011 2. Divisjon 12100–121
2012 3. Divisjon 10500–105
Beroe 2012–13 A Group 2010–30
2013–14 2633100294
2014–15 19230–222
2015–16 1842040244
2016–17 First League 2510000251
Cherno More 2017–18 32210–332
2018–19 6021–81
Botev Plovdiv 0000–00
Career Total 162191225017921

Honours

Club
Beroe

References
  1. "Състав на "Черно море" за сезон 2017/2018" (in Bulgarian). Cherno More official website. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  2. "Stats Centre: Atanas Zehirov Facts". Guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-09-25.
  3. "ЦСКА се раздели с талант от село Кочан" (in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 11 October 2010.
  4. "Атанас Зехиров подписа само за 1 година с Пирин" (in Bulgarian). novsport.com. 31 January 2011.
  5. "Зехиров подписа с Берое" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 7 February 2013.
  6. "Двама играчи продължиха договорите си" (in Bulgarian). beroe.bg. 8 May 2015.
  7. "Александър Томаш поема "Берое" от новия сезон" (in Bulgarian). beroe.bg. 23 May 2017.
  8. "Атанас Зехиров подписа предварителен договор с "Черно море" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  9. "Черно море започна подготовка с 18 футболисти" (in Bulgarian). chernomorepfc.bg. 14 June 2017.
  10. "Cherno More vs. Vitosha Bistritsa 1–0". soccerway.com. 15 July 2017.
  11. "Cherno More vs. Slavia Sofia 1–1". soccerway.com. 11 August 2017.
  12. "Черно море-Славия, 11 август 2017, 18:15 - Играч на мача" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 11 August 2017.
  13. "Turkey 4-0 Bulgaria". goal.com. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  14. "Bulgaria NT vs. Belarus NT 1:0". flashscore.com. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  15. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Matches - Netherlands-Bulgaria - FIFA.com". fifa.com. 3 September 2017.
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