Strahil Popov

Strahil Popov

Personal information
Full name	Strahil Venkov Popov
Date of birth	(1990-08-31) 31 August 1990
Place of birth	Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
Height
Position(s)	Right back
Team information
Current team	Kasımpaşa
Number	90
Youth career
	Pirin Blagoevgrad
	Pirin 2001
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2016	Litex Lovech	138	(6)
2009	→ Lokomotiv Mezdra (loan)	14	(0)
2010	→ Montana (loan)	2	(0)
2016–	Kasımpaşa	12	(0)
International career‡
2008	Bulgaria U19	3	(0)
2009–2012	Bulgaria U21	3	(0)
2014–	Bulgaria	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:53, 17 May 2016 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:05, 1 April 2016 (UTC)

Strahil Popov (Bulgarian: Страхил Попов; born 31 August 1990) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays for Kasımpaşa and the Bulgarian national team. He mainly plays as a right back.

Club career

Born in Blagoevgrad, Popov began his career playing for Pirin Blagoevgrad before departing for the Pirin 2001.

Litex Lovech

In 2008, Popov joined Litex Lovech.

Lokomotiv Mezdra (loan)

On 9 July 2009, Popov joined Lokomotiv Mezdra on loan until December 2009. He made his team début on 10 July, scoring goal in an 1–2 friendly loss against Sivasspor.

Montana (loan)

On 18 January 2010, Popov was loaned out to Montana for the rest of the season. He made his competitive debut on 20 March in a 0–0 home league draw against Litex, coming on as a second-half substitute, and participated in only one more game to the end of the season.

Return to Litex

Popov returned to Litex at the end of the 2009–10 season. He played only three league games during a following campaign and became a regular first team player in the 2011–12 season. On 21 March 2012, Popov was sent off for the first time in his professional career in a 1–1 away draw against Beroe Stara Zagora.

On 21 July 2013, Popov scored his first goal for Litex, with a header, netting the third in a 4–1 home win over Neftochimic Burgas. He then scored the winning goal in Litex's 2–1 away win against Slavia Sofia on 7 December.

On 3 August 2014, Popov was announced as Litex's new club captain. Six days later, he added his third goal for Litex against Botev Plovdiv in a 3–3 away draw.

Kasımpaşa

On 5 January 2016, he moved to the Turkish Süper Lig team Kasımpaşa for a reported fee of € 750 000. He was given the number 90 jersey.

International career

After first being called up for a friendly match against Belarus in March 2014, but remaining an unused substitute, Popov made his debut for the national side on 23 May 2014, in the 1–1 draw with Canada. He played as a starter on 10 October 2015, in the 0:3 loss against Croatia in a Euro 2016 qualifier, remaining on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.

Club statistics

As of 26 April 2016

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	League	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bulgaria			League		Bulgarian Cup		Europe		Other		Total
Litex Lovech	A Group	2008–09	3	0	0	0	0	0	–		3	0
Lokomotiv Mezdra (loan)		2009–10	14	0	0	0	–		–		14	0
Montana (loan)		2009–10	2	0	0	0	–		–		2	0
Litex Lovech		2010–11	3	0	0	0	0	0	–		3	0
		2011–12	18	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	21	0
		2012–13	27	0	3	0	–		–		30	0
		2013–14	37	2	3	0	–		–		40	2
		2014–15	31	3	4	0	4	0	–		39	3
		2015–16	19	1	2	0	2	0	–		23	1
	Total		138	6	14	0	6	0	1	0	159	6
Turkey			League		Turkish Cup		Europe		Other		Total
Kasımpaşa	Süper Lig	2015–16	9	0	0	0	–		–		9	0
	Total		9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Career statistics			164	6	15	0	6	0	1	0	186	6

Awards

Club

Litex Lovech

• Bulgarian A PFG 2010/2011
• Bulgarian Cup – 2009
  • Bulgarian Supercup 2010

Individual

• Best defender in A Group: 2015