Bozhidar Kraev
Bozhidar Kraev | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bozhidar Boykov Kraev June 23, 1997 Vratsa, Bulgaria |
| Occupation | Professional footballer |
| Years active | 2014– |
| Known for | Attacking midfielder and secondary striker for Western Sydney Wanderers and the Bulgarian national team |
Bozhidar Boykov Kraev (; born 23 June 1997) is a Bulgarian professional football player, primarily operating as an attacking midfielder and secondary striker for the A-League Men team Western Sydney Wanderers as well as representing the Bulgarian national squad.
Early beginnings
Originating from Vratsa, Kraev started his football journey at the age of six with his hometown club Botev Vratsa, where his father, Boyko Kraev, was also a player. In 2008, he became part of Hristo Stoichkov’s academy in Vilafranca, Spain, through a youth talent initiative launched by Stoichkov and sponsored by Gillette. After two years abroad, Kraev returned to Bulgaria to join Chavdar Etropole, followed by a season back at Botev Vratsa. His brother, Andrian, is currently playing for Levski Sofia.
Levski Sofia
At just 15 years old in January 2013, Kraev entered the youth ranks of Levski Sofia. He made his senior debut on 19 July 2014 during a league match that ended in a 1–1 draw against Lokomotiv Plovdiv. On 23 September that year, he achieved a hat-trick in a commanding 7–1 away victory over Spartak Varna in the Bulgarian Cup. Later that year, on 14 October, The Guardian recognized him as one of the top forty most promising young talents worldwide.
Kraev secured his first professional contract on 12 December 2014, signing a three-year deal. Soon after, he underwent trials with Italian giants Juventus and spent a week training with English Premier League side Manchester City in January 2015.
His inaugural league goal for Levski came on 27 February 2015 during an emphatic 8–0 win over Haskovo. On 26 May 2015, Kraev recorded his first hat-trick in Bulgaria’s A Group in a dominant 6–0 win against Marek Dupnitsa, marking the club’s milestone of the 100th hat-trick in its Bulgarian league history.
On 9 April 2017, he made history at Levski by becoming the youngest player to score four goals in a single match, contributing to a comprehensive 5–0 victory over Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
Midtjylland
Kraev transferred to Danish Superliga outfit Midtjylland on 19 June 2017, agreeing to a five-year contract reportedly worth €500,000. He made his debut in a Europa League fixture against Derry City, scoring just ten minutes after entering as a substitute. On 12 April 2018, he netted two late goals to clinch a 2-1 win over Hobro IK, helping Midtjylland reach the cup semifinals. Three days later, he scored his first league goal in another narrow 2-1 triumph against FC Nordsjælland.
Throughout his spell at Midtjylland, Kraev played an integral role in securing both the Danish Cup and the Danish Superliga titles.
On 22 June 2019, he was loaned out for one season to Portuguese Primeira Liga club Gil Vicente. He made his debut in the Taça da Liga against Aves, where he assisted the opening goal and netted the decisive winner in stoppage time for a 3–2 victory. On 10 August, Kraev featured for the entire league match versus Porto, providing the assist for the winning goal in a surprising 2–1 upset over one of Portugal’s top teams.
Kraev moved on loan again on 11 January 2021 to another Primeira Liga side, Famalicão, with an option to purchase until the end of that season.
On 22 May 2022, Midtjylland confirmed that Kraev was among seven players departing following contract expirations.
Wellington Phoenix
On 22 July 2022, Kraev committed to Wellington Phoenix by signing a contract for two years. He made his first appearance on 3 August, netting a goal in a 4–0 triumph against Devonport City Strikers during the Australia Cup.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Kraev secured a two-year agreement with Western Sydney Wanderers on 16 July 2024.
International career
In March 2016, Kraev featured in the starting lineup for Bulgaria U19 in fixtures versus Belgium and Croatia. By May, he had been selected to join Bulgaria U21’s squad competing in the 2016 Toulon Tournament.
Kraev earned his initial senior national team call-up in November 2016 for Bulgaria’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Belarus but did not enter the match. His senior debut came on 25 March 2017 when he came off the bench in a 2–0 victory over the Netherlands during World Cup qualifying. On 6 September 2018, Kraev scored twice against Slovenia in the UEFA Nations League, securing a crucial win for Bulgaria.
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Levski Sofia | 2014–15 | A Group | 19 | 6 | 8 | 3 | — | — | 27 | 9 | |||
| 2015–16 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 29 | 6 | |||||
| 2016–17 | First League | 35 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 11 | |||
| Total | 81 | 21 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 92 | 26 | ||||
| Midtjylland | 2017–18 | Danish Superliga | 17 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | — | 22 | 5 | ||
| 2018–19 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 38 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 1 | — | 53 | 6 | ||||
| Gil Vicente (loan) | 2019–20 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 2Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content |
1 | 33 | 8 | ||
| Famalicão (loan) | 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| Wellington Phoenix | 2022–23 | A-League Men | 26 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 8 | |||
| 2023–24 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 47 | 12 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 52 | 13 | |||||
| Career total | 210 | 43 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 244 | 54 | |||
International
| National team | Year | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 2018 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 3 | |
- The score and result list Bulgaria's goals first.
| # | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Outcome | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 September 2018 | Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C |
| 2. | 2–1 | |||||
| 3. | 3 September 2020 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B |
Personal life
Bozhidar is the son of Boyko Kraev, who formerly played professionally for Botev Vratsa. He is also the sibling of Andrian Kraev, currently a player at Levski Sofia.
Honours
FC Midtjylland
- Danish Superliga Champion: 2017–18
- Danish Cup Winner: 2018–19
Individual Achievements
- Recognized as Bulgaria’s Best Developing Young Player: 2014, 2015
- Selected for the A-Leagues All Star squad: 2024
External links
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- Pages with script errors
- Pages with reference errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1997 births
- Living people
- Bulgarian men's footballers
- Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers
- Bulgaria men's youth international footballers
- Bulgaria men's under-21 international footballers
- Bulgaria men's international footballers
- Men's association football midfielders
- First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
- Danish Superliga players
- Primeira Liga players
- A-League Men players
- A-League Men All-Stars
- PFC Levski Sofia players
- FC Midtjylland players
- Gil Vicente F.C. players
- F.C. Famalicão players
- Wellington Phoenix FC players
- Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark
- Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
- Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand
- Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
- Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
- Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand
- Footballers from Vratsa
- 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen