Aleksandar Branekov ( bg, Александър Бранеков; born 31 May 1987) is a former

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

n professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Career

Branekov is a product of the

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...

Academy. He marked his first-team debut with goal, opening the scoring in a 2–1 away win over

Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv 1929 ( bg, Локомотив 1929) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refou ...

on 6 November 2005. Branekov spent a 2007–08 season on loan with

Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Локомотив Пловдив), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park ...

to build up his first team experience, but earned only 7 appearances in the

A Group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

. In June 2008, Branekov returned to CSKA. After the game with

on 5 May 2010, in which Branekov scored goal for the 5–1 home win, he came into conflict with the fans and was removed from the first team. In June 2010, he was released from CSKA. A month later, Branekov signed a contract as a free agent with

Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo PFC Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo ( bg, ПФК Видима-Раковски Севлиево) was a Bulgarian football club based in Sevlievo- Balabanica, which competed in various Bulgarian football leagues (ultimately the North-West V AFG, the thi ...

and quickly established himself as a key player. During his time with Vidima, he scored 4 goals in 41 matches in the

. On 1 February 2012, Branekov signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with

. He made his debut in a 2–0 home win over

on 5 March. In January 2013, Branekov was announced as Lokomotiv's new club captain. On 10 June 2013, he signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at Lokomotiv until 30 June 2015. On 22 February 2014, he scored his first goal in a Lokomotiv shirt against

Neftochimic Burgas ''For the new club claimed as the successor, see PFC Neftochimic Burgas.'' PFC Naftex Burgas ({{Lang-bg, ПФК Нафтекс) is a former football club from Burgas, Bulgaria. History The club was created in 1962 by a group of workers, laying t ...

, in a 5–1 home league win. On 13 March, Branekov scored the only goal in a home win over

Chernomorets Burgas PSFC Chernomorets Burgas ( bg, ПСФК Черноморец Бургас) or simply Chernomorets ( bg, Черноморец) was a Bulgarian football club from the city of Burgas. The club never won any major competition, its most notable achie ...

in the

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tourname ...

. On 1 July 2015, Branekov returned to his favorite club

despite the fact that the team would play amateur football the following season. He had an opportunity to join the rival club

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 ...

but he rejected the offer from them. On 14 June 2017, Branekov joined

Septemvri Sofia Septemvri ( bg, Септември) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the First League, the first tier of Bulgarian football. Its home ground is the Septemvri Stadium, but due to it ...

. He made his debut for the team on 17 July 2017 in a match against

Dunav Ruse FC Dunav ( bg, Дунав, officially named ''"Дунав от Русе"'') is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Ruse, which currently competes in the Second League, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system. Part ...

. On 31 August 2017, his contract was terminated by mutual consent. On 4 September 2017, Branekov signed with Second League club

. At the end of the 2017–18 season, he announced his retirement from football. Branekov subsequently became a youth coach in

Emil Velev Emil Simeonov Velev ( bg, Емил Симеонов Велев; born 5 February 1962) is a former Bulgarian footballer and currently manager. Career Velev started his career in Levski Sofia. Kokala James ( bg, Кокала) ''(The bone James)'' ...

's academy - FA Levski-Spartak 1962 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

Personal

On 2 September 2020, Branekov was arrested for being involved in a riot during the protests against the Borisov government. He was released by the Sofia District Court after 72 hours.

Career statistics

Honours

;

(1): 2006 *

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and ...

(1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

References

External links

*
Player Profile
at guardian.touch-line.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Branekov, Aleksandar 1987 births Living people Footballers from Sofia Bulgarian footballers PFC CSKA Sofia players PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv players PFC Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo players FC Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia players PFC Slavia Sofia players FC Septemvri Sofia players Association football central defenders First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players