Daniel Nachev (Bulgarian: Даниел Начев; born 20 September 2003) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spartak Varna.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Zhivkov Nachev | ||
| Date of birth | (2003-10-20) 20 October 2003 (age 19) | ||
| Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Spartak Varna | ||
| Number | 45 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2013 | Septemvri Sofia | ||
| 2013–2014 | Botev Plovdiv | ||
| 2014–2015 | Septemvri Sofia | ||
| 2015–2021 | Levski Sofia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2021– | Spartak Varna II | 6 | (1) |
| 2021– | Spartak Varna | 38 | (4) |
| National team | |||
| 2019–2020 | Bulgaria U17 | 8 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:46, 19 October 2022 (UTC) | |||
Considered to be one of biggest talents in Bulgaria, he gained media attention at just the age of 10 and was heavily compared with Lionel Messi and regularly called by the media The Bulgarian Messi.[3]
Nachev joined in Septemvri Sofia academy at an early age and gained media attention for first time in 2012 being called the Bulgarian Lionel Messi.[4][5] In the end of 2013 he moved to Botev Plovdiv academy,[6] but just after few months he returned to Septemvri in 2014. In the same year he had a trials to Manchester City. In 2015 he joined Levski Sofia.[7] He become a captain of the U19 team at age of 17.[8] Despite occasionally training with the first team, [9] in the end of June 2021, Nachev refused to sign a professional contract with Levski as he believed he didn't get enough chances.[10]
On 29 June 2021, Nachev signed with Spartak Varna for an undisclosed transfer fee, joining the team until June 2024.[11] He scored his first league goal on 4 August 2021 in match against his youth team of Septemvri Sofia.[12] On 7 September, in a cup match against Nadezhda Dobroslavtsi, he made 2 assists and was named man of the match.[13]
| 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[lower-alpha 1] | Total | ||||||||
| Spartak Varna II | Third League | 2021–22 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2022–23 | 5 | 1 | – | – | – | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |||
| Spartak Varna | Second League | 2021–22 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 4 | |||
| First League | 2022–23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 38 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 | |||
| Career statistics | 44 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 5 | |||
FC Spartak Varna – current squad | |
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