| Stefan Velkov | |
| Fullname: | Stefan Ivov Velkov |
| Birth Date: | 12 December 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Height: | 1.90 m[1] |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | Vejle |
| Clubnumber: | 13 |
| Youthyears1: | 2005–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Slavia Sofia |
| Years1: | 2013–2018 |
| Caps1: | 86 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2018–2020 |
| Caps2: | 41 |
| Goals2: | 4 |
| Years3: | 2020 |
| Clubs3: | → RKC Waalwijk (loan) |
| Caps3: | 3 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2020–2021 |
| Caps4: | 5 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs5: | MSV Duisburg |
| Caps5: | 19 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2022– |
| Clubs6: | Vejle |
| Caps6: | 62 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2011–2012 |
| Nationalteam1: | Bulgaria U16 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 5 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2012–2013 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 21 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 1 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2013 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 3 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears4: | 2013–2018 |
| Nationalcaps4: | 20 |
| Nationalgoals4: | 2 |
| Nationalyears5: | 2020 |
| Nationalteam5: | Bulgaria |
| Nationalcaps5: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals5: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 3 December 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 20:33, 28 February 2020 (UTC) |
Stefan Ivov Velkov (bg|Стефан Ивов Велков; born 12 December 1996) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Danish club Vejle.[2]
Born in Sofia, Velkov began his football career with Slavia Sofia in 2005.[3] He made his first-team debut on 27 July 2013, at 16 years 227 days, coming on as a substitute for Hristo Yanev in a 0–0 away league draw against Cherno More Varna. On 18 December 2013, it was reported that Velkov was on trial with Manchester United.[4] After the great debut season and a few trials in big European teams, Velkov got a serious injury, which took him out of football for a minimum of six months.[5]
In March 2015, Velkov extended his contract with Slavia for a further three years.[6] He returned to training in April, but he did not take part in any further matches, so he missed the entire 2014–15 season.[7]
Velkov returned to play in the first match of the 2015–16 season against Lokomotiv Plovdiv as a substitute in the 88th minute.[8]
Velkov scored his debut goal for Slavia in the league on 17 September 2016 in a match against Ludogorets Razgrad, lost by his team with 3–1.[9]
On 10 August 2018, Velkov signed for the Dutch Eerste Divisie team Den Bosch. He made his debut a week later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 away win over FC Volendam.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 25 September, in a 2–1 loss against Heracles Almelo in the KNVB Cup.
After a short stint at KFC Uerdingen he moved to MSV Duisburg in January 2021.[11] He signed a new one-year contract on 27 May 2021.[12] In the summer of 2022, he left Duisburg.[13]
On 17 June 2022, Velkov signed with newly relegated Danish 1st Division side Vejle Boldklub, penning a deal until June 2024.[14]
Velkov represented Bulgaria at the under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels. On 1 June 2013, he made his debut for the Bulgaria under-21 side at the age of 16 years, 5 months and 22 days, making him the second-youngest player to debut for the team after Nikolay Mihaylov.[15] [16] On 25 March 2016 Velkov was in the starting lineup for the goalless draw with Wales U21.[17] [18] He served as the team captain.
On 14 March 2017, he received his first call-up for Bulgaria senior team for the match against the Netherlands on 25 March 2017,[19] in which he was an unused substitute.[20] Velkov earned his first cap on 26 February 2020, playing the first 75 minutes of the 1–0 home loss against Belarus in a friendly game.[21]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Slavia Sofia | 2013–14 | A Group | 21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 23 | 1 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2015–16 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | ||||||
| 2016–17 | First League | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[22] | 0 | 24 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 86 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 96 | 3 | |||
| Den Bosch | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 2[23] | 0 | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2019–20 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 2 | ||||||
| Total | 41 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 5 | |||
| Waalwijk (loan) | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| KFC Uerdingen | 2020–21 | 3. Liga | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| MSV Duisburg | 2020–21 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2021–22 | 3. Liga | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | ||||||
| Career total | 154 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 168 | 8 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | ||||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | ||
Slavia Sofia