Villyan Bijev (, born 3 January 1993) is a Bulgarian retired

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Early life

Villyan Bijev was born in

Sofia Sofia 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 part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria, and moved with his family to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the age of five in 1998. He grew up in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

and began his youth career with the Bullard Flyers U-12 local school team. In 2008, at the age of 15, Bijev joined the Clovis-based California Odyssey. He also played for the Edison High School team in Fresno, graduating in 2011. He was named to the 2010 ''Parade'' All-America soccer team.

Career

Liverpool

Bijev originally signed to play college soccer at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in the fall of 2011, but in July 2011,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

invited Bijev for a trial with the Under 18s. He left a great impression, netting five goals in two pre-season friendly games, earning himself a permanent switch to the Merseyside outfit in the process on a reported three-year deal with an additional two-year option. Liverpool officially announced the signing from US outfit California Odyssey on 31 August 2011. He was released from the club at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Loan spells

The same day he signed for Liverpool, it was announced that Bijev had signed on loan for

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

side

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

for the 2011–12 season. Bijev played mostly for Fortuna B-squad, where he scored 4 goals in 16 games. He appeared once for the first team, playing the last 8 minutes of a 2–1 away loss against

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from ...

on 5 April 2012, in the place of

Adam Matuszczyk Adam Matuszczyk (; born 14 February 1989) is a Polish professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. A former member of the Poland national football team, Poland national team, he can also be deployed as a left ...

. On 27 August 2012, Bijev joined

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

side

IK Start Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start) is a Norwegian Association football, football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the Norwegian First Division, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The club was ...

on a one-year loan, as this will help him gain the necessary work permits to play in England. Bijev made his debut for the club in a 2–1 win over Hødd. Though he made one appearance, the club would be promoted to

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

Slavia Sofia

After being released by Liverpool, Bijev joined

Bulgarian A Football Group The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

side

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia 1913 () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground is the Stadion Aleksandar Sh ...

. He made his league debut for the club in a 4–1 home win against

Marek Dupnitsa FC Marek () is a Bulgarian football club based in Dupnitsa, currently playing in the Second League, the second level of the Bulgarian football league system. It was founded in 1947 following the unification of four local clubs. Home matches take ...

on 19 July 2014. Bijev marked his debut with a goal, scoring the fourth. In December 2014, his contract with Slavia was terminated by mutual consent.

Cherno More

On 12 January 2015, Bijev signed with

Cherno More Varna Cherno More () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in the city of Varna, which currently competes in Bulgaria's primary football competition, the First League. Founded on 3 March 1913, as an association football branch ...

on a one-and-a-half-year deal. He made his debut on 27 February, starting in a 2–0 home league win against

. Bijev scored his first official goal for Cherno More on 5 March, netting the fourth in a 5–0 success at

Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa Lokomotiv () is a Bulgarian association football club based in Gorna Oryahovitsa, which currently competes in the Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football. Established in 1932 as a sports association of the railway workers in the t ...

for the

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup () 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 tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...

Return to the US

Bijev returned to the United States in 2016, playing for

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

sides

Portland Timbers 2 Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was a member of the USL Champ ...

and

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

. In March 2021, Bijev joined

Oklahoma City Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. Although ...

. After OKC Energy announced a year-long hiatus, Bijev made a return to his hometown of Fresno by signing with

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

expansion club

Central Valley Fuego FC Central Valley Fuego FC, also known as CV Fuego FC or simply Fuego FC, is an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California. The team was founded in 2020, and played its inaugural season in 2022. The team most recently competed ...

. On 8 June 2022, Bijev was named USL League One Player of the Month for May, in recognition of his three goals and one assist which led Central Valley to their first ever unbeaten month. On 2 January 2024 he announced his retirement from playing at the age of 30.

International career

Born in Bulgaria but raised in the United States and holding American citizenship, Bijev is eligible for both nations. He has represented the United States at the under-18 and under-20 level and Bulgaria at the under-21 level. He has yet to represent either at the senior level.

Career statistics

Honors

Cherno More *

: 2014–15 *

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup () 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 the holder of the Bulgarian Cup at that time. ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bijev, Villyan 1993 births Living people Footballers from Sofia Soccer players from Fresno, California Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's under-21 international footballers American men's soccer players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Bulgarian emigrants to the United States Men's association football forwards Liverpool F.C. players Fortuna Düsseldorf II players Fortuna Düsseldorf players IK Start players PFC Slavia Sofia players PFC Cherno More Varna players Portland Timbers 2 players Sacramento Republic FC players OKC Energy FC players Central Valley Fuego FC players 2. Bundesliga players Norwegian First Division players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players USL Championship players American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Norway 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England