Ilian Iliev was unveiled as the new head coach of the Bulgarian senior men’s national team today. The 55-year-old was installed at the position with the unanimous vote of the Bulgarian Football Union’s Executive Committee and the president Borislav Mihaylov. He will take charge of the team in the upcoming EURO 2024 qualifiers against Hungary and Serbia and will also remain as head coach of PFC Cherno More until the end of the 2023/24 season.

“The BFU has always appointed high-profile names as national team head coaches. Ilian Iliev is respected by the whole Bulgarian sporting community because of his diligent and consistent work. I wish him the best of luck and I guarantee that he has our full support in his mission”, said Borislav Mihaylov.

“I accepted the offer to take over the national team because I want to help the players show their true face. I want them to have a higher self esteem when they go out to the pitch and to play tactically correct”, said Ilian Iliev.

Ilian Iliev was born on July 2, 1968, in Varna, and spent his playing career at local club Cherno More, Levski Sofia, Benfica, Altay, Slavia Sofia, Bursaspor, AEK Athens, Maritimo and Salgueiros. He is one of the most emblematic footballers of the 90’s in Bulgaria and has 35 caps and 3 goals for the national team, including all three games at the 1998 World Cup in France. As a head coach he is mainly associated with Cherno More, Beroe, Levski Sofia, Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Vereya. He has been voted Bulgarian coach of the year two times. Currently Iliev is at the helm of Cherno More, the club that is leading the table in the First Professional Football League.

His backroom staff will include assistants Petar Kostadinov and Georgi Donkov, goalkeeping coach Zdravko Zdravkov, fitness coach Yasen Lyubenov and analyst Atanas Ribarski.