Lyuben Nikolov

Lyuben Nikolov (Bulgarian: Любен Николов; born 8 September 1985) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Lyuben Nikolov

Personal information
Full name	Lyuben Georgiev Nikolov
Date of birth	(1985-09-08) 8 September 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Sofia, Bulgaria
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Tsarsko Selo (assistant)
Youth career
2002–2004	Levski Sofia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2007	Levski Sofia	0	(0)
2004–2005	→ Vihren Sandanski (loan)	4	(1)
2005–2006	→ Rodopa Smolyan (loan)	10	(0)
2006–2007	→ Maritsa Plovdiv (loan)	18	(2)
2007–2009	Spartak Plovdiv	22	(1)
2009–2010	Nesebar	20	(2)
2010–2011	Akademik Sofia	13	(0)
2011–2012	Sportist Svoge	20	(3)
2013–2014	Dinamo Brest	53	(0)
2015–2016	Sisaket	44	(1)
2017	Super Power Samut Prakan	27	(1)
2018	PKNP FC	10	(0)
2019	Visakha	12	(2)
2019–2020	Dunav Ruse	23	(0)
Managerial career
2022–	Tsarsko Selo (assistant)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Youth career in "Levski" Sofia and other Bulgarian clubs

Nikolov grew up as part of Levski Sofia's academy and signed his first professional contract with the senior team in the 2002–03 season. He signed a three-year contract, but did not make any official appearance for the first team. For that time he played on loan for Vihren Sandanski, Rodopa Smolian and Maritsa Plovdiv.

In Bulgaria he also played for Spartak Plovdiv, Nessebar FC, Akademik and Svoge.

Dynamo Brest

In 2013 Nikolov moved to Belarus, where he signed a one-year contract with FC Dynamo Brest.^[1] Because of his good performance, he was offered to renew his contract with the team for one more season. After two seasons in Belarus, Nikolov moved to Thailand.

Sisaket

In the beginning of January 2015, Sisaket FC announced that the club had signed Nikolov to a two-year deal (year two of the contract is a club option). Nikolov made 45 appearances and scored 1 goal during his first season in Thai premier league.

In this season Sisaket FC reached the final of the Toyota Cup, for the first time in the history of the club. They lost 1:0 to Buriram United and Nikolov was awarded a silver medal.

After this great season, Nikolov was chosen by Thaileague Mania in their "11 Top Transfers of 2015 in Thaileague": ^[2]