Dimitar Ivanov Makriev (; born 7 January 1984) is a Bulgarian former 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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Club career

Youth career

Makriev was raised in

Levski Sofia PFC Levski Sofia () 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 by a group of high sc ...

's youth teams. In 2002, he signed a contract with Levski's rival

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () 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 Sports Club of the Army'' ...

Inter Milan

Few days after signing Makriev, CSKA Sofia sold him to

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

. However, he spend the first part of 2002–03 season in CSKA, because Italian Federation froze transfers of foreigners from outside the European Union. After that he played on loan for Swiss

AC Bellinzona AC Bellinzona is a Swiss football club based in Bellinzona. It was founded in 1904, and won the Swiss Super League in 1948. After being folded in 2013 declaring bankruptcy, the team played the Ticino Group of 2.Liga, the sixth tier of the Sw ...

, Polish

Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish association football, football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning ...

and Swiss

FC Chiasso FC Chiasso is a Swiss football club based in Chiasso. It was founded in 1905. Chiasso also played in the Italian first league between 1914 and 1923. The team currently play in 3. Liga, the seventh tier of Swiss football. History Between 1927 ...

. In season 2005–06,he was a part of French

Dijon FCO Dijon Football Côte d'Or (; ), commonly referred to as Dijon FCO or simply as Dijon, is a French Football in France, football club based in Dijon. The club was founded in 1998 as a result of a merger between two local clubs in the city, and co ...

Maribor

In 2006, Makriev signed with

NK Maribor Nogometni klub Maribor () is a Slovenian professional Association football, football club based in Maribor, Slovenia. It competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of the Football in Slovenia#League system, Slovenian football league system ...

. For two seasons, Makriev earned 48 appearances playing in the

Slovenian PrvaLiga The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten clubs, it operates on a system of prom ...

, scoring 23 goals.

Ashdod

In January 2008,

Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...

signed Makriev on a two-and-a-half-year deal. He was given the number 7 shirt. Makriev helped the team save themselves from relegation to the second league in Israel. In 18 games, he scored 11 goals. During the 2008–09 season, Makriev scored 11 goals.

Krylia Sovetov Samara

On 19 May 2011,

accepted an offer for Makriev from

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

club

Krylia Sovetov Samara PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara () is a Russian professional football club based in Samara that plays in the Russian Premier League. In 2004, they finished third in the Russian Premier League. History Krylia Sovetov was founded in Kuybyshev (now Sama ...

. On the next day, he passed his medical and signed a three-year deal that will keep him with the club until 2014.

Levski Sofia

In late August 2013, Makriev returned to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and signed a one-year contract (with the option for an additional year) with

South China

On 22 August 2014, he moved to Hong Kong team South China AA on a free transfer. However, he had left the club on 10 October 2014 by mutual consent.

Nea Salamina

On 12 July 2015, Makriev signed a contract with

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

club

Nea Salamina Nea Salamis Famagusta or Nea Salamina Famagusta () is a Cypriot sports club based in Ammochostos (also known by its romanized name, Famagusta), Cyprus. The club is named after Salamis, Cyprus, Salamis (or Salamina), an ancient city near present- ...

. He appeared in all of Nea Salamina's league matches and scored 19 goals in the 2015–16 season, finishing as the league's top scorer alongside

Fernando Cavenaghi Fernando Ezequiel Cavenaghi (; born 21 September 1983) is a retired Argentine professional association football, footballer. He played as a striker (association football), striker who was efficient in front of goal with either foot and from any ...

and André Alves.

Arda Kardzhali

On 30 July 2018, Makriev signed a contract with the newly promoted Second League team Arda Kardzhali.

Vihren Sandanski

In August 2021, Makriev joined

Vihren Sandanski OFC Vihren () is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Sandanski, currently playing in the Second League. Sandanski's home ground is the Sandanski Stadium in Sandanski with a capacity of 6,000. Vihren Sandanski's team colours are green an ...

International career

On 28 March 2009, Makriev received his first call-up to the Bulgarian national team for a

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualifier against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. A few days later, on 1 April, he scored his first goal for Bulgaria against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Levski Sofia * A Group: 2000–01 Individual *

top scorer: 2015–16

References

External links