Valentin Antov
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.
 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) | 30 | (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 17:18, 5 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:59, 25 March 2024 (UTC) | |||
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 internationally at every level, making his debut for the senior team in March 2019 at the age of 18.
Club career
CSKA Sofia
Antov came up through CSKA's youth academy and impressed from an early age. He made his first-team debut on 19 August 2015, 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] Antov began to establish himself in the CSKA first team during the 2018–19 season, playing 26 matches in all competitions. On 12 July 2018, he made his debut in the Europa League playing 90 minutes in the first match of the first qualifying round against Latvian club Riga.[4] He scored his first competitive goal for the club, netting CSKA's second in a 5–0 league victory against Beroe Stara Zagora on 12 July 2020.
In August 2020, he was named as the new club captain.
Loan to Bologna
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][6]
Monza
On 27 August 2021, Antov was sent on a one-year loan to Serie B side Monza, with a conditional obligation for purchase.[7] He made his debut on 21 September, as a starter in a 2–1 defeat to Pisa in the league.[8] Following Monza's Serie A promotion on 29 May 2022, Antov's obligation for purchase clause was triggered.[9]
International career
Antov made his debut for Bulgaria national team on 25 March 2019, as an 80th-minute substitute for Georgi Kostadinov in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Kosovo.[11] He scored his first international goal on 23 September 2022, in a 5–1 win against Gibraltar in the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.[12]
Personal life
Antov is a nephew of former footballer Anatoli Nankov.[13]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 March 2024[14]
| Club | Season | Division | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | 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[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | First League | 17 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | First League | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | First League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 3] | 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[lower-alpha 4] | 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
- Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Bulgarian Supercup
- Appearance in play-offs
International
- As of match played 25 March 2024[15]
| 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
CSKA Sofia
- Bulgarian Cup: 2015–16, 2020–21
- V Group: 2015–16
Individual
- Bulgarian Youth Footballer of the Year: 2018
- Bulgarian First League Best Defender of the Year: 2020
References
- "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!". Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- "Валентин Антов: Щастлив съм, че дебютирах". Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- "Валентин Антов: Изненадах се, когато видях, че ще играя срещу Рига". Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
- "Официално: Валентин Антов премина в Болоня". Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- "Antov al Bologna". Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- "Valentin Antov è biancorosso - Associazione Calcio Monza S.p.A." www.acmonza.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- "Il Monza comincia male a Pisa: sotto di un gol alla fine del primo tempo". www.ilcittadinomb.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- Losapio, Andrea (17 June 2022). "Monza, riscattato Antov dal CSKA per due milioni". TUTTOmercatoWEB.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- "Valentin Antov è un nuovo giocatore della Cremonese" [Valentin Antov is a new player of Cremonese] (in Italian). Cremonese. 31 August 2023. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- "Kosovo v Bulgaria game report". UEFA. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- Alencar, Thomas (23 September 2022). "Highlights and goals: Bulgaria 5–1 Gibraltar in Nations League | 09/23/2022". Vavel. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- "Детето чудо на ЦСКА - Вальо Антов". Archived from the original on 22 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
- Valentin Antov at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- "Valentin Antov". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
External links
- Valentin Antov at Soccerway
- Valentin Antov – UEFA competition record (archive)