Petar Zanev


Petar Dimitrov Zanev is a Bulgarian professional footballer. He plays for the Bulgarian national team and CSKA Sofia and is usually deployed as a left back for both club and country. Currently, he captains CSKA Sofia, where he mainly plays as a centre back.

Club career

Zanev was born in Blagoevgrad and joined the youth system of his hometown club Pirin at an early age. In early 2005 he signed with Litex Lovech.

Celta (loan)

On 17 June 2007, Celta manager Hristo Stoichkov unveiled Zanev as the club's first signing ahead of 2007–08 season. On the next day, Zanev signed for the Spanish Segunda División side on a season-long loan deal, with the club having the option to make the move permanent. On 26 August, he made his league debut in their 1–1 draw against Córdoba CF, but spent most of his time with Celta on the bench, making only three appearances. Because of this, midway through the season his contract was terminated.

Racing Ferrol (loan)

On 9 January 2008, Racing Ferrol confirmed Zanev has joined on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut on 27 January in a 3–1 away win over SD Eibar, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan Pereira. Zanev appeared 14 times for Ferrol in the Segunda División.

Return to Litex

Zanev returned to Litex Lovech at the end of the 2007–08 season. On 18 May 2011, he scored his second league goal in his career in a 4–1 win over Montana. Zanev's third official goal for Litex came on 19 July 2011, netting the first of a 3–0 home win over Mogren Budva in the second qualifying round of the Champions League, this also being Zanev's first European goal.

Volyn Lutsk

In early July 2012, Zanev signed a three-year contract with Ukrainian club Volyn Lutsk.

Amkar Perm

Zanev signed with Russian Premier League side Amkar Perm on 30 June 2013 on a three-year deal. He was given the number 3 jersey.

Yenisey Krasnoyarsk

On 25 June 2018, following the bankruptcy of Amkar, he joined FC Yenisey Krasnoyarsk that was promoted for the first time into the Russian Premier League. He left Yenisey on 3 April 2019.

CSKA Sofia

On 29 May 2019 CSKA Sofia announced to have signed a contract with Zanev, following a period when he was training with the team.

International career

In 2006 Hristo Stoichkov called up the left back to the Bulgaria national football team. Zanev made his official debut for Bulgaria in a friendly match against Slovakia on 15 November 2006. The result of the match was a 1:3 loss for Bulgaria. He was sent off for the first time on 15 October 2013, in the 0:1 home loss against the Czech Republic in a World Cup qualifier. After being overlooked for the Euro 2016 qualifiers, Zanev's good performances in the Russian Premier League saw him make a return to the national side for the 2018 World Cup qualification matches. On 7 October 2017, he captained the national team, in the 0:1 home loss against France in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

Career statistics

Honours

;Litex Lovech