Valentin Antov
 Antov with CSKA Sofia in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Valentin Ivaylov Antov | ||
| Date of birth | 9 November 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Cremonese (on loan from Monza) | ||
| Number | 26 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2017 | CSKA Sofia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | CSKA Sofia II | 5 | (0) |
| 2015–2022 | CSKA Sofia | 60 | (3) |
| 2021 | → Bologna (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | → Monza (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2022– | Monza | 9 | (0) |
| 2023– | → Cremonese (loan) | 31 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013–2015 | Bulgaria U16 | 9 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Bulgaria U17 | 12 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Bulgaria U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Bulgaria U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Bulgaria U21 | 14 | (0) |
| 2019– | Bulgaria | 26 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:03, 10 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:59, 25 March 2024 (UTC) | |||
Valentin Ivaylov Antov (Bulgarian: Валентин Ивайлов Антов; born 9 November 2000) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Serie B club Cremonese, on loan from Monza, and the Bulgaria national team.
A youth product of CSKA Sofia, Antov became the youngest player ever to represent the club when he made his debut in 2015 at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 10 days. He moved on loan to Serie A side Bologna in the second half of the 2020–21 season, and to Serie B side Monza in the summer of 2021.
Antov has represented Bulgaria at every international level, debuting for the senior team in March 2019 at the age of 18.
Club career[edit]
CSKA Sofia[edit]
On 19 August 2015, Antov made his first team debut in a Bulgarian Cup match against Sofia 2010, becoming CSKA's youngest ever debutant at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 10 days, while also becoming the youngest ever captain for the club after taking the captain's armband for the last 25 minutes of the match.[2]
Antov made his First League debut on 14 April 2018, in a league match against Vereya.[3] He began to establish himself in the CSKA first team during the 2018–19 season, playing 26 matches in all competitions.[citation needed] On 12 July 2018, Antov made his debut in the Europa League playing 90 minutes in the first match of the first qualifying round against Latvian club Riga.[4]
Italy[edit]
On 1 February 2021, Antov was loaned to Serie A club Bologna until the end of the season with an option for a permanent transfer.[5]
Monza[edit]
On 27 August 2021, Antov was sent on a one-year loan to Serie B side Monza, with a conditional obligation for purchase.[6] He made his league debut the same year on 21 September, starting in a 2–1 loss to Pisa.[7] Following Monza's Serie A promotion on 29 May 2022, Antov's obligation for purchase clause was triggered.[8]
Loan to Cremonese[edit]
On 31 August 2023, Antov joined Cremonese on loan.[9]
International career[edit]
On 25 March 2019, Antov debuted for the Bulgarian senior squad as an 80th-minute substitute for Georgi Kostadinov in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo.[10] On 23 September 2022, he scored his first international goal in a 5–1 victory against Gibraltar during the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.[11]
Personal life[edit]
Antov is a nephew of former footballer Anatoli Nankov.[12]
Career statistics[edit]
Club[edit]
- As of match played 16 March 2024[13]
| Club | Season | Division | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| CSKA Sofia II | 2016–17 | Second League | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| CSKA Sofia | 2015–16 | Third League | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | First League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | First League | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | First League | 17 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | First League | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10[b] | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | First League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 60 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 3 | ||
| Bologna (loan) | 2020–21 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Monza (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie B | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Monza | 2022–23 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| Cremonese (loan) | 2023–24 | Serie B | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | |
| Career Total | 108 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 4 | ||
- ^ Includes Bulgarian Cup, Coppa Italia
- ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Bulgarian Supercup
- ^ Appearance in play-offs
International[edit]
- As of match played 25 March 2024[14]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Antov goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 September 2022 | Huvepharma Arena, Razgrad, Bulgaria |  Gibraltar
|
1–0 | 5–1 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C |
Honours[edit]
CSKA Sofia
Individual
- Bulgarian Youth Footballer of the Year: 2018
- Bulgarian First League Best Defender of the Year: 2020
References[edit]
- ^ "Valentin Antov". AC Monza (in Italian). Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ "Сега Антов, до 3-4 години Брилянтов!". Top Sport (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- ^ "Валентин Антов: Щастлив съм, че дебютирах". Novsport (in Bulgarian). 14 April 2018.
- ^ "Валентин Антов: Изненадах се, когато видях, че ще играя срещу Рига" (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- ^ "Официално: Валентин Антов премина в Болоня". CSKA Sofia (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ "Valentin Antov è biancorosso". AC Monza (in Italian). Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Il Monza comincia male a Pisa: sotto di un gol alla fine del primo tempo". Il Citta di Nomb (in Italian). 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ Losapio, Andrea (17 June 2022). "Monza, riscattato Antov dal CSKA per due milioni". Tutto Mercato Web (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "Valentin Antov è un nuovo giocatore della Cremonese" [Valentin Antov is a new player of Cremonese]. Cremonese (in Italian). 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- ^ "След много битка България се измъкна в Косово (видео + снимки)". Sportal (in Bulgarian). 25 March 2019.
Петър Занев замени Делев, след което младият Мартин Минчев влезе вместо Малинов, а контузеният Костадинов напусна за сметка на Валентин Антов, който дебютира за България
[Petar Zanev replaced Delev, then the young Martin Minchev came in for Malinov, and the injured Kostadinov left for Valentin Antov, who debuted for Bulgaria.] - ^ "Валентин Антов: С цялото ми уважение към Гибралтар, но този мач трябваше да го вземем". BNT 1 (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian National Television. 24 September 2022.
- ^ "Детето чудо на ЦСКА - Вальо Антов". Gol Bulgaria (in Bulgarian). 22 August 2015.
- ^ Valentin Antov at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ "Valentin Antov". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
External links[edit]
- Valentin Antov at Soccerway
- Valentin Antov – UEFA competition record (archive)
- 2000 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Sofia
- Bulgarian men's footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- Men's association football defenders
- PFC CSKA Sofia players
- Bologna FC 1909 players
- AC Monza players
- US Cremonese players
- First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
- Serie A players
- Serie B players
- Bulgaria men's youth international footballers
- Bulgaria men's international footballers
- Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers
- Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
- Expatriate men's footballers in Italy