By @PPetrov_FR
We’re in 2023, and the Wellington Phoenix has finally found its new star in the face of Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev. But we need to go more than 15 years back in order to fully understand who Kraev is and how he became the player he is today.
Once dubbed the “new Stoichkov”, by the former Ballon d’Or winner himself, Bozhidar – meaning Godsend in Bulgarian – started his football journey with his hometown club Botev Vratsa, before moving to Spain to join FC Vilafranca, an academy owned by Hristo Stoichkov at the time.
It would be an understatement to say that his time in Spain was successful. According to Bulgarian journalist Metodi Shumanov (@Shumanskoo), Kraev not only scored 70 goals in 60 games for his side but also attracted serious interest from Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy.
Unfortunately, a move to Barcelona never materialized and Kraev returned to Bulgaria, joining FC Chavdar Etropole, another Stoichkov-owned academy, which was a real powerhouse in Bulgarian youth football at the time.
“We were a very good team, but he was clearly the best of the bunch. He was probably the most talented player from our age group, winning games on his own even back then,” a former teammate of Kreav’s from the Chavdar days told Kick360.
After spending two years with Chavdar, he re-joined Botev Vratsa, before eventually ending up at Levski Sofia, one of the biggest clubs in the country and the one he supported as a child.
It was at Levski where the attacking-minded midfielder got his senior debut and continued developing as a player. His early performances for the team got a lot of eyes on him, and the youngster was even named one of the 40 best young talents in the world by The Guardian.
Not long after that, he was offered trials with then-Premier League and Serie A champions Manchester City and Juventus, where he got the opportunity to train with some of the best players on the planet, aged just 17.
Fast forward to February 2023, it is clear to see how these experiences, including varied, in terms of success, spells in Denmark and Portugal, have influenced Kraev’s career.
Reborn in Yellow and Black
The 24-time capped Bulgarian international has had an excellent start to life in the A-League Men’s competition. Since the beginning of the 22/23 season, Kraev has scored seven goals and provided one assist in 17 appearances.
Starting as the left-sided 10 in Talay’s 4-2-2-2, BK – as his teammates like to call him – has found a new lease of life, which has led to rumors in the Bulgarian media that he might be recalled to the national setup for the first time since June 2021.
Two-thirds through the season, the 25-year-old has already played more league minutes than in the last two campaigns combined, which has helped him get back to peak form and draw the attention of Mladen Krstajić, the Tricoulor’s new head coach.
Although Kraev’s end product is the most eye-catching part of his game, his underlying numbers have improved drastically and are worth pointing out too.
According to InStat, the Nix’s left-sided attacker has created the most chances out of any player in the squad (17), while also accumulating the second-highest xG and xGOT, which highlights just how important he is for the Yellow and Black in the final third.
The defensive part of his game has been on a solid level too. At the time of writing, Kraev boasts the second most attacking challenges in the side and is the attacker with the most ball recoveries in the opposition half.
But a lot of the credit should also go to Ufuk Talay and his coaching staff. They signed a player that was lacking in match fitness and hadn’t played much over the last two years and managed to give him back his confidence and make him a difference maker.
The narrow number 10 role has suited Kraev to a tee, giving him the opportunity to influence the game in more central areas and get involved in build-up play, while also making the most of his ability to arrive late in the box and get on the end of crosses.
There is still one-third of the A-League season to go, but most fans would agree that it isn’t premature to call Kraev’s signing a success.
Despite Wellington’s inconsistent form in recent weeks, their fans should be feeling confident coming into the tail end of the competition, with their foreigners clearly kicking into top gear as we saw against Western United and Central Coast.
Image Credit: Masanori Udagawa/Getty Images
