Zhivko Zhelev

Zhivko Zhelev
	Zhelev as a player in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Zhivko Dinchev Zhelev
Date of birth	23 July 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Etar Veliko Tarnovo (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team
1995–1996	Beroe Stara Zagora
1996–2007	Litex Lovech
1996–1998	→ Olimpik Teteven (loan)
2007–2009	Oțelul Galați
2010	Steaua București
2010	Inter Baku
2011	Simurq Zagatala
2011–2013	Slavia Sofia
2013–2016	Vereya Stara Zagora
Total
International career
	Bulgaria U-21
2001–2006	Bulgaria
Managerial career
2014–2015	Vereya (assistant)
2015–2016	Vereya (playing manager)
2016–2022	Litex Lovech
2022	CSKA Sofia II (assistant)
2022–2023	Yantra Gabrovo
2023	Bdin Vidin
2024	Lovech
2024–	Etar Veliko Tarnovo
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:48, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Zhivko Dinchev Zhelev (Bulgarian: Живко Желев; born 23 July 1979 in Stara Zagora) is a retired Bulgarian football defender and now manager of Etar Veliko Tarnovo.

Club career

Litex

Zhelev joined Litex Lovech quite young but fought hard to get a place in the first team. He formed a formidable duet with ex-Bulgarian national defender Rosen Kirilov. However, due to a lack of strikers Zhelev was also used by managers to play as a striker for Litex and scored a lot of goals in this position. He is the defender who has scored the most goals in the whole history of Bulgarian football.^[1]

He has been considered one of the favourite players by Litex fans, due to his dedicated and selfless manner of playing, and his loyalty to the club. He has been awarded the title "The best player of Litex" in 2006.

Oţelul

On 12 July 2007, Zhelev joined Romanian club Oţelul Galaţi for a fee of €125,000

On 8 November 2009, after a game against FC Timişoara, he and his teammate Stoyan Kolev decided to leave Oţelul because of the financial situation of the club.

Steaua

"Coming to Steaua is a very important step in my career. I wanted to come to Steaua, because it is a very big club."

Zhivko Zhelev after the first training at Steaua.^[2]

On 5 January 2010, Steaua and Oţelul agree Zhelev and Ochiroşii swap deal. On 10 January 2010, Steaua signed the Bulgarian centre-back on a free transfer until June 2011.

First match in Liga I for Steaua: 20 February 2010 • Steaua-Ceahlăul 1–3.

First goal in Liga I for Steaua: 25 April 2010 • Steaua-FC Timişoara 3–3.

In June 2010, Steaua has terminated the contract with Zhelev.

Inter Baku

On 25 June 2010, Zhelev signed a one-year deal with the Azerbaijani football club Inter Baku.^[3] Thus, he joins compatriot Petar Zlatinov in the club squad.

Slavia Sofia

At the end of the 2010–11 season, Zhelev returned to Bulgaria and joined Slavia Sofia on a free transfer. He made his comeback league debut at the start of the 2011–12 season in a 1–0 defeat to Levski Sofia on 8 August. Zhelev was frozen out of the first team in October 2013 (after Asen Bukarev had been replaced as coach) and in December 2013 joined Vereya Stara Zagora in the third division of Bulgarian football.^[4]

Vereya Stara Zagora

In March 2015, Zhelev took over from Radostin Kishishev as head coach of Vereya Stara Zagora. However, his assistant Vladislav Yanush was officially registered as the manager, as Zhelev had not yet obtained the coaching license to manage in the B PFG.^[5]