Vasil Bozhikov

Vasil Bozhikov (Bulgarian: Васил Божиков; born 2 June 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who captains Slovak Super Liga club Slovan Bratislava and plays for the Bulgarian national team. He usually plays as a centre back.

In this Eastern Slavic name, the patronymic is Georgiev and the family name is Bozhikov.
Vasil Bozhikov
Bozhikov with Litex Lovech in 2015
Personal information
Full name Vasil Georgiev Bozhikov
Date of birth (1988-06-02) 2 June 1988
Place of birth Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Slovan Bratislava
Number 29
Youth career
1996–1997 Pirin Gotse Delchev
1997–2002 Botev Plovdiv
2002–2006 Botev 2002
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Gigant Saedinenie 67 (3)
2009–2011 Minyor Pernik 70 (0)
2012–2015 Litex Lovech 91 (1)
2015–2017 Kasımpaşa 23 (0)
2017– Slovan Bratislava 79 (2)
National team‡
2009 Bulgaria U21 6 (0)
2016– Bulgaria 30 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 December 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2020

Bozhikov began his senior career with Third League club Gigant Saedinenie, spending two and a half seasons before signed his first professional contract with First League club Minyor Pernik in February 2009. After three years with Minyor, he joined Litex Lovech in January 2012. Bozhikov made over 100 appearances for Litex and signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa in July 2015. After two seasons with Kasımpaşa, he signed for Slovan Bratislava on a free transfer in July 2017.

In 2016, Bozhikov won his first cap for Bulgaria, having previously played for the under-21 team. Since his senior international debut, he has made over 20 appearances for the national team.

Career

Early career

Bozhikov was born in Gotse Delchev. He began playing football with hometown club Pirin Gotse Delchev, where he spent one year. Then he played youth football with Botev Plovdiv and Botev 2002.[1]

In 2006, Bozhikov joined Gigant Saedinenie, where he made his senior debut in the Third League. For two-and-a-half seasons he made over 80 appearances for Gigant.

Minyor Pernik

In February 2009, Bozhikov signed professional contract with First League side Minyor Pernik after a successful trial period. He made his league debut on 16 March 2009 in a 0–0 home draw against Litex Lovech. At the end of July 2011, Bozhikov spent a week on trial with Belgian side Genk, playing in a pre-season match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, but he did not sign for Genk.[2] During his spell at Pernik, Bozhikov made a total of 70 league appearances for the club.

Litex Lovech

On 1 December 2011, it was announced that Litex Lovech had agreed a deal with Minyor to sign Bozhikov; Minyor announced that the contract would begin on 1 January 2012.[3] Bozhikov was given the number 4 shirt and signed a three-year contract. He made his debut on 22 April 2012 in a 1–1 away draw against Ludogorets Razgrad, playing full 90 minutes.[4]

Bozhikov became a regular in the team during a 2012–13 season, making 26 league starts. In 2013–14 season, he scored his first goal for Litex in a 2–1 away win over Sozopol in the Bulgarian Cup on 6 November 2013.[5]

In January 2015, Bozhikov signed a new contract with Litex, keeping him at the club until 2018.[6] On 2 July 2015, he scored his first ever European goal in a 1–1 away draw against FK Jelgava in the first qualifying round of 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

Bozhikov with Slovan in 2018

Kasımpaşa

Bozhikov signed with Turkish side Kasımpaşa on 15 July 2015 on a 2+1-year deal for a reported fee of €400,000.[7] He made his debut for the club on 23 September against Tire 1922 in the Turkish Cup, playing full 90 minutes. He played his first Süper Lig game on 28 September, coming on as a first-half substitute for Kenneth Omeruo in a 1–1 home draw against Rizespor.[8] On 4 October, Bozhikov made his first league start in Kasımpaşa's fixture away at Antalyaspor.[9]

Slovan Bratislava

On 30 July 2017, Bozhikov signed for Slovak Super Liga club Slovan Bratislava on a three-year contract.[10] He was given the number 29 shirt. He made his debut on 13 August, in a 1–1 home draw against DAC Dunajská Streda.[11] On 1 May 2018, Bozhikov scored his first goal for Slovan in a 3–1 home win over Ružomberok in the Slovak Cup. He scored his first league goal against DAC at MOL Aréna on 12 May 2018, a goal which proved to be the winner.[12]

Following the departure of Boris Sekulić in June 2018, Bozhikov was made captain of Slovan. On 29 July 2018, he scored his first goal of the 2018–19 season in a 3–0 win against Podbrezová. On 9 August, he scored his second goal of the season in a 2–1 win over Rapid Wien in the third qualifying round of 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.

International career

In February 2014, Bozhikov was named in the senior Bulgarian squad for the first time, ahead of a friendly against Belarus in March, but did not feature.

In March 2016, he was called up for friendly matches against Portugal and against Macedonia, and made his senior debut from the bench on 26 March, in a 1–0 away win over Portugal, replacing Strahil Popov in the 88th minute. On 29 March, Bozhikov made his first Bulgaria start in a friendly against Macedonia at Philip II Arena.

Bozhikov scored his first goal for Bulgaria on 25 March 2019, when he headed from a corner kick in a 1–1 draw against Kosovo in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match.

Career statistics

Club
As of 20 November 2019
Club Season League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Minyor Pernik 2008–09 A Group 14010—150
2009–10 A Group 23030—260
2010–11 A Group 22020—240
2011–12 A Group 11000—110
Total 7006000760
Litex Lovech 2011–12 A Group 4000—40
2012–13 A Group 27020—290
2013–14 A Group 34061—401
2014–15 A Group 2614140342
2015–16 A Group 00002121
Total 911122611094
Kasımpaşa 2015–16 Süper Lig 14020—160
2016–17 Süper Lig 9070—160
Total 2309000320
Slovan Bratislava 2017–18 Slovak Super Liga 2715100322
2018–19 Slovak Super Liga 2410061302
2019–20 Slovak Super Liga 9000110200
Total 60251171824
Career total 24433232322998

National team
As of match played 15 November 2020[13]
Bulgaria
YearAppsGoals
201650
201770
201870
201972
202040
Total302

International goals
Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.25 March 2019Fadil Vokrri, Pristina, Kosovo Kosovo1–01–1UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
2.17 November 2019Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria Czech Republic1–01–0

Honours

Slovan Bratislava

'Individual'

References
  1. "Васил Божиков: Публиката в Перник е уникална" (in Bulgarian). novsport.com. 26 September 2009.
  2. "Божиков не успя с пробите в Генк" (in Bulgarian). bgfootball.com. 29 July 2011.
  3. "Литекс привлече защитник от Миньор Перник" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 1 December 2011.
  4. "Ludogorets vs. Litex". soccerway.com. 22 April 2012.
  5. "Sozopol vs. Litex". soccerway.com. 6 November 2013.
  6. "Защитник преподписа с Литекс" (in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 11 January 2015.
  7. "Защитник на Литекс подписа с Касъмпаша" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 15 July 2015.
  8. "Kasımpaşa vs. Rizespor". soccerway.com. 28 September 2015.
  9. "Antalyaspor vs. Kasımpaşa". soccerway.com. 4 October 2015.
  10. "Васил Божиков подписа със Слован Братислава" (in Bulgarian). btvnovinite.bg. 30 July 2017.
  11. "Slovan Bratislava vs. DAC". soccerway.com. 13 August 2017.
  12. "DAC vs. Slovan Bratislava". soccerway.com. 12 May 2018.
  13. Bozhikov, Vasil at National-Football-Teams.com
  14. Petkov, Georgi (5 January 2020). "Димитър Илиев е "Футболист на годината", получи наградата си лично от Бербатов". topsport.bg. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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