Countdown 22-23: Bulgaria international Bozhidar Kraev was courted by some of Europe’s top clubs not long ago but tells Tom Smithies why he’s happy to be at Wellington.
Of all the football clubs in all the towns in all the world, Wellington Phoenix securing Bozhidar Kraev might just be the most unlikely signing we’ve seen in the A-League Men for years.
Which is no slight against Phoenix, but some digging into the history of a player once dubbed one of the world’s brightest young prospects suggests Ufuk Talay might have secured a remarkable diamond.
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You could get a glowing character reference for the Bulgarian playmaker from Awer Mabil, the Socceroo who Kraev calls his “best friend in football”, but there are plenty of other testaments to a footballing ability that stood out when Kraev was just a toddler.
A player mentored as a child by Hristo Stoichkov, himself one of the finest players of all time, and who had extended trials with European powerhouses in 2015, is never likely to be a shrinking violet – but even so, an hour in the company of Kraev is hugely entertaining. If he’s half as good as he suggests, we are in for a treat.
The perplexing thing is that Kraev is only 25; by rights he should be playing in the UEFA Champions League for a top club. Instead he’s preparing for Wellington’s first game of the season, and shows every satisfaction in where things are at.
Kraev describes himself as someone playing “on the edge of risk”, a gamechanger who will also run his heart out – early footage confirms that combination of deftness of touch, balance and running power.
Don’t just take our word for it – Kraev won a competition in Bulgaria to identify young footballing talent as a 10-year-old, judged by a certain Hristo Stoichkov: creative genius for Barcelona and Bulgaria, twice runner up for world player of the year and selected in FIFA’s 100 greatest players of all time.
Kraev looks at you like you’re slightly unhinged when you ask if his 10-year-old self was aware of the magnitude of Stoichkov’s fame – “Oh yes! He was so big,” he adds. “In (the Spanish province of) Catalonia, especially, in Bulgaria even more, of course. He’s our biggest star.”
A few months later Kraev had moved from Bulgaria to Spain, to join Stoichkov’s own academy in Barcelona, and for a year he made hay.
“I moved from Bulgaria when I was 11 and at that time, you don’t see the big picture,” he shrugs. “When you’re a kid, you just do the things – after the years (go by), you recognize how difficult it was to leave my family, my brother, to leave everybody and move to Spain. But in the end, it formed me, (into) a person who I am today, I think this plays a big role in my career, and as a player and as a human being also.”
Kraev admits the number of goals he is reputed to have scored there is somewhat spurious – “You get goals in the academy but it doesn’t matter what you do if you don’t perform in professional football after that, it’s worth nothing.”
Still, the legend was growing – Kraev went back to Bulgaria and by 17 was playing and scoring in the first team at Bulgarian top-flight club Levski Sofia. By 19 he was introduced by The Guardian newspaper as part of its annual 40 best talents around the globe – trials at Manchester City and Juventus followed. But even then, you get the sense he was determined to follow his own path, not be pushed in any direction.
“I remember very well The Guardian with the top 40 list and I was playing for the first team in Levski Sofia,” he says. “Yeah there was pressure, but I kept my focus and I think I did well.
“I went to trials but in the end Levski Sofia wanted to keep me to perform in the first team because for Juventus, for City, this (opportunity) was for the second teams – me also, I prefer to play first team football and to continue my growing process. So it was good.”
Kraev made his Bulgaria debut at 20 – with 24 caps to his name so far – and eventually in 2017 Kraev joined Danish Superliga side Midtjylland on a five-year deal. There he developed a close friendship with Mabil, who only months ago joined Cadiz in LaLiga – “probably my best friend in the world of football. We became very close and we have similar directions – we both left our countries, went to Portugal on loan, went back to Midtjylland again and we connected very well.
“LaLiga is extremely competitive but I think he’s on the right age and state of mind to perform there also.”
For Kraev the direction has been a little different; looking for the right move months after deciding to leave Midtjylland and agreeing to the suggestion of former Wellington winger Sarpreet Singh’s agent that Phoenix could be a good fit.
“This (European) summer, I’ve had some more propositions, different countries. But I felt this, Wellington Phoenix and the A-League, I felt it with my heart. I say to myself, let’s do it,” said Kraev.
“For every moment in my career I always do it like this. I have to ‘feel’ the offer. Of course you make research, you make calls, you try to inform yourself about the team.
“I spoke with Awer, I make the research, I saw the stadium, the city… I liked it. Now I am very, very excited to go there and perform in front of our fans.
“I would say I am a natural No10, very creative. For example, not always, but I mostly play high-risk balls forward. I can make three mistakes, but the fourth pass can decide the game.
“So I play on the edge of the risk, creative and also working hard. I have that mentality also to work hard.”
At which point Kraev jumps up with a grin. “How was the interview, good?” he asks and strides through the door, high-fiving Talay on the way. One way or another this could be very entertaining.
