Velizar Popov
Velizar Emilov Popov (Bulgarian: Велизар Емилов Попов; born 7 February 1976) is a Bulgarian former professional player and current manager of V.League 1 club Thanh Hóa FC. He is known for an aggressive attacking high intensity football style which brings in results and development to his players and teams.
|
Popov in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Velizar Emilov Popov | ||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Plovdiv, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder, defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Thanh Hóa (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1994 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1996 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | ||
| 1996–1999 | Hebar Pazardzhik | ||
| 1999–2000 | Spartak Plovdiv | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1999–2002 | Spartak Plovdiv (Youth Academy) | ||
| 2002–2007 | Cherno More (Youth Academy) | ||
| 2007–2009 | Cherno More (assistant coach) | ||
| 2009–2010 | Cherno More | ||
| 2010–2011 | FC Liberika | ||
| 2011–2012 | Costuleni | ||
| 2012–2013 | New Radiant SC | ||
| 2013–2014 | Sur SC | ||
| 2014 | Suphanburi | ||
| 2015 | Maldives | ||
| 2016 | Kelantan | ||
| 2017 | Sisaket | ||
| 2018 | Sur SC | ||
| 2019–2022 | Myanmar U23 | ||
| 2022– | Thanh Hóa | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
As a player, Popov appeared for Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Hebar Pazardzhik and Spartak Plovdiv. Popov has managed abroad 10 different teams in 8 different countries including 2 national teams. He is the one and only Bulgarian football manager to win abroad a treble with a 100% winning record in 2013 and also the Group Stage in AFC Cup, reaching the quarterfinals for the first and only time in the history of Maldives football in international competitions. In 2019 Popov won a bronze medal from the Southeast Asian Games with Myanmar. In 2023 under the guidance of Velizar Popov FC Dong A Thanh Hoa won the National Cup of Vietnam for the first time ever and the Vietnamese Super Cup as well, becoming the first and only manager in the club's history with two trophies in one year 2023, also reached another historic achievement for the club and Vietnam League 1 as the only one undefeated team in 13 consecutive away games during the whole year 2023. Popov has over two decades of experience across the world with extensive stints in Europe and Asia, managing more than 200 official games in Bulgaria, Denmark, Moldova, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Oman. As manager of the Maldives Senior national team and Myanmar Olympic national teams, he participated in international competitions such as World Cup Qualifiers, AFC Cup, AFF Championship and Southeast Asian Games.