Aleksandar Tonev

Aleksandar Antonov Tonev (Bulgarian: Александър Антонов Тонев; born 3 February 1990) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a winger for the Bulgarian national team.

Aleksandar Tonev

Tonev playing for Bulgaria U21 in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Aleksandar Antonov Tonev[1]
Date of birth	3 February 1990
Place of birth	Elin Pelin, Bulgaria
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
	Levski Elin Pelin
	CSKA Sofia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2011	CSKA Sofia	42	(4)
2009–2010	→ Sliven (loan)	23	(1)
2011–2013	Lech Poznań	54	(7)
2013–2015	Aston Villa	17	(0)
2014–2015	→ Celtic (loan)	6	(0)
2015–2016	Frosinone	22	(0)
2016–2018	Crotone	21	(1)
2018–2020	Botev Plovdiv	33	(2)
National team^‡
2007–2008	Bulgaria U19	5	(0)
2008–2012	Bulgaria U21	14	(4)
2011–	Bulgaria	29	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 July 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 August 2020

He began his career at CSKA Sofia, also spending a season on loan at Sliven 2000 before joining the Polish Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań in 2011. In his second season, he inspired them to runners-up position in the league, and was signed by Aston Villa. In 2014, Villa loaned him to Celtic, and then sold him to Frosinone the following year. He spent one year there before transferring to fellow Serie A team Crotone.

A full international since 2011, Tonev has earned over 30 caps for the different national sides of Bulgaria.

Club career

CSKA Sofia

Tonev playing for CSKA Sofia in November 2010

Born in Elin Pelin, Sofia Province, Tonev was raised in CSKA Sofia's youth teams. He made his first team debut in a 3–1 league win over Belasitsa Petrich on 8 March 2008, coming on as a substitute for Chigozie Udoji.[2] Tonev got his chance in CSKA's first team after the sale of many players in the summer of 2008. He played in the club's first fixture in the 2008–09 season against Litex Lovech on 3 August 2008. His team won the game and won the Bulgarian Supercup for the third time.

After Lyuboslav Penev replaced Dimitar Penev as head coach of CSKA Sofia, Tonev appeared in the match groups more often and often came in as a substitute for his team. On 22 April 2009, Tonev scored his first 2 goals for CSKA, securing a brace in the 4–1 away win against Vihren Sandanski.

He was loaned to OFC Sliven 2000 for the 2009–10 season, where he was likely to receive more chances to play. He was recalled from his loan to the team from Sliven for the 2010–11 season.

Lech Poznań

Tonev playing for Lech Poznań in October 2011

On 16 June 2011 Tonev signed with Polish Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań.[3] He made his debut on 29 July 2011, coming on in 75th minute, replacing Jakub Wilk in a game against ŁKS Łódź. Lech Poznań won the game 5–0.

On 26 July 2012, Tonev scored his first ever European goal, netting the only goal in a 1–0 home victory over Azerbaijani club Khazar Lankaran in the second qualifying round of Europa League. On 25 August, Tonev netted his first Ekstraklasa goal of the 2012–13 season as he scored a 25-yard winning strike in a 2–1 away victory over Polonia Warsaw.

Aston Villa

On 7 June 2013, Tonev signed for Aston Villa as their first signing of the pre-season. He was recommended by former international teammate Stiliyan Petrov, a development coach at the club.[4] He made his debut on 13 August, replacing Karim El Ahmadi for the final eight minutes of a 2–1 defeat away to Chelsea,[5] making 17 Premier League appearances in total throughout the season.

Celtic

On 11 August 2014, Tonev moved to Scottish champions Celtic on a season-long loan deal, with an option to buy.[6] He made his debut on 13 September, starting in a 2–1 home win over Aberdeen.[7] Aberdeen full-back Shay Logan accused Tonev of having racially abused him during this match; Tonev denies the allegations.[8] On 30 October 2014, Tonev was given a seven-match ban for "using abusive language of a racist nature". Celtic confirmed that they would appeal the decision, as they believe him to be innocent.[9] Tonev then lost his appeal and Celtic decided not to take the matter any further.[10]

Frosinone

On 27 August 2015, Tonev joined Serie A newcomers Frosinone on a permanent deal.[11] He played his first game three days later, coming on as a substitute for Luca Paganini in a 2–0 loss against Atalanta at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia.

Crotone

On 16 July 2016, Tonev joined Serie A newcomers Crotone.[12] He scored his first goal for the club in a 0–1 away win over Pescara on 7 May 2017.

International career

On 4 September 2009, Tonev scored his first goal for the Bulgaria U21 in the 3–0 home win against Kazakhstan U21 in a UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifier. On 9 September 2009, he was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Guillermo Molins in the 90th minute of the 1–2 away loss to Sweden U21. On 9 February 2011, Tonev scored a goal in a friendly match against Cameroon.[13]

Tonev made his debut for the Bulgarian national team in a 0–1 home loss against Wales on 11 October 2011.[14] On 22 March 2013, he scored his first international goals as he netted a hat-trick (the first one in his career) during a 6–0 home win over Malta in the World Cup 2014 qualifying match.[15]

Three years and a week later, he scored his first international goal since the hat-trick, to conclude a 2–0 win over neighbours Macedonia in Skopje.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 July 2020[17]

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
CSKA Sofia	2007–08	A Group	2	0	0	0	–		0	0	2	0
	2008–09		17	2	0	0	–		–		17	2
Sliven 2000 (loan)	2009–10		23	1	0	0	–		–		23	1
CSKA Sofia	2010–11		23	2	3	0	–		8	0	34	2
	Total		42	4	3	0	–		8	0	53	4
Lech Poznań	2011–12	Ekstraklasa	28	2	1	0	–		–		29	2
	2012–13		24	4	1	0	–		6	1	31	5
	Total		54	7	2	0	–		6	1	62	8
Aston Villa	2013–14	Premier League	17	0	1	0	2	0	–		20	0
Celtic	2014–15	Scottish Premiership	6	0	2	0	1	0	4	0	13	0
Frosinone	2015–16	Serie A	22	0	0	0	–		–		22	0
Crotone	2016–17		13	1	1	0	–		–		14	1
	2017–18		8	0	2	0	–		–		10	0
	Total		21	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	24	1
Botev Plovdiv	2018–19	First League	9	0	3	0	–		–		12	0
	2019–20		24	2	3	0	–		–		27	2
	Total		33	2	6	0	0	0	0	0	39	2
Career Total			214	15	17	0	3	0	18	1	252	16

International

As of match played on 26 August 2020.[18]

Bulgarian national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2011	1	0
2012	8	0
2013	5	3
2014	3	0
2015	3	0
2016	5	2
2017	3	0
2020	1	0
Total	29	5

International goals

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	22 March 2013	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Malta	1–0	6–0	2014 World Cup qualifier
2	22 March 2013	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Malta	2–0	6–0	2014 World Cup qualifier
3	22 March 2013	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Malta	5–0	6–0	2014 World Cup qualifier
4	29 March 2016	Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia	Macedonia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
5	6 September 2016	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Luxembourg	4–3	4–3	2018 World Cup qualifier

References

1. "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
2. "ЦСКА победи Беласица с 3:1 в Петрич" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
3. "Aleksandar Tonev signs with Lech". polandsoccerblog.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
4. "Aleksandar Tonev: Aston Villa set up deal for Bulgarian winger". BBC Sport. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
5. Monaghan, Matt (21 August 2013). "Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
6. "Aleksandar Tonev delighted to join Celtic". Celtic FC. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
7. Southwick, Andrew (13 September 2014). "Celtic 2-1 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
8. "SFA to assess Logan's allegation of Tonev racist slur". BBC Sport. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
9. "Celtic's Aleksandar Tonev given seven-game ban for racist abuse". BBC Sport. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
10. "Celtic: Ronny Deila reveals club will not take Tonev case further". BBC Sport. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
11. "Aleksander Tonev leaves Aston Villa to join Italian side Frosinone". Sky Sports. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
12. "Two new buys for Crotone - Football Italia".
13. "Olympique de Marseille emissaries tracking Aleksandar Tonev" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 27 February 2011.
14. "България 0:1 Уелс" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 11 October 2011. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012.
15. "Unbeaten Bulgaria overwhelm Malta". uefa.com. 22 March 2013.
16. "Germany rebound to crush Italy as England fall to Netherlands". ESPN. 29 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
17. "Bulgaria - Aleksandar Tonev". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
18. "Aleksandar Tonev". European Football. Retrieved 26 August 2020.

External links

• Aleksandar Tonev at Soccerway
• Aleksandar Tonev at WorldFootball.net
• Aleksandar Tonev at National-Football-Teams.com
• Aleksandar Tonev at 90minut.pl (in Polish)