Ivelin Ivanov Popov (; born 26 October 1987) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bulgarian First League club Botev Plovdiv.
Club career
Youth career
Born in Sofia, Popov started to play football in Septemvri Sofia's academy. Then he played for the youth formations of Levski Sofia from 1999 to 2004. In 2005, he trained for four months with Feyenoord but did not sign with the team because he was not 18 years old. After that, he returned to Bulgaria and played in a tournament for Beroe's youth team and there he was spotted by the Litex Lovech scouts. On 14 July 2005, he even scored a goal for Beroe in a friendly game.
Litex Lovech
Popov signed his first professional contract with Litex Lovech in December 2005. He made his European debut in the first leg of Round of 32 Stage in a 0–0 draw against Strasbourg; he made his official debut in the Bulgarian top division in a match against CSKA Sofia on 12 March 2006. He played 59 minutes. The result of the match was a 1–1 draw. On 9 April 2006, he scored his first goal in professional football against Lokomotiv Sofia. The result of the match was a 3–1 win for Litex. The same season, Popov played in 11 matches and scored five goals. In two consecutive seasons, Popov was third placed in the voting for Young player of the year award in 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, Popov scored a brace, in a first leg of second round, in a 3–0 win over Besa Kavajë. Eventually, Litex Lovech advanced to the next round, losing to Hamburger SV in two's leg.
On 18 September 2008, Popov scored a goal in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Aston Villa. In July 2009, Popov was given the captain's armband. At the end of the season, Popov was awarded A League's player of the season after having the most votes in the poll.
In August 2010, he went on trial to Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. He impressed the club, whereafter he received a contract offer, but the move collapsed over his work permit rejected by the British Government, having not played enough international matches.
Gaziantepspor
Kuban Krasnodar
On 25 August 2012, Popov joined Russian Premier League club Kuban Krasnodar on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. According to Chempionat.com, the fee was worth €2 million. He made his debut for the club, coming on as a substitute for Marcos Pizzelli, in a 2–1 win over Dynamo Moscow on 2 September 2012. On 26 October 2012, Popov scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over Rostov. Less than a month later he scored his first brace, putting two goals past Krylia Sovetov and contributing with an assist in a 4–1 home victory. On 13 April 2013, Popov scored a late equalizer in a 2–2 draw away from home to Terek Grozny. On 4 May, he scored a brace as Kuban beat Rostov 2–0 away from home on. On the last day of the 2012–13 season, Popov scored the only goal in a vital 1–0 home victory over Anzhi Makhachkala, securing Kuban a European debut in the Third Qualifying Round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League and earning them their best ever finish in the top flight at fifth, having the same points as fourth-placed Spartak Moscow. He finished the season with 9 goals as the club's top goalscorer together with Aras Özbiliz.
Because of his outstanding performance in the 2012–13 season, Popov was appointed captain of Kuban Krasnodar for the 2013–14 season. He captained his team to its first away victory of the season over Russian Premier League newcomer, Tom Tomsk, by contributing with a pair of assists. The match ended with a 2–1 score. His first brace came shortly after, in a historical first ever match in a European championship for Kuban. He netted two goals in a 2–0 away victory over Scottish Premier League runners-up Motherwell in the first leg of a qualifying match for the UEFA Europa League. Both goals were assisted by teammate Ibrahima Baldé. This resulted in his jersey being displayed in the National football museum.