CHICAGO(Dec. 9, 2020) – Chicago Fire FC announced today that the Club has acquired 21-year-old Bulgarian winger Stanislav Ivanov via transfer from Levski Sofia (Bulgaria). Ivanov will be added to the Fire’s 2021 roster pending a medical and receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P1 Visa. He is under contract with the Fire through the 2023 season with a Club option for the 2024 season.
“As we continue to build a strong and competitive roster for 2021 and beyond, it was important that we added another talented, young attacking player,” said Chicago Fire FC Sporting Director Georg Heitz. “Stanislav is a dynamic and hard-working winger who fits our style of play extremely well. We expect him to be an integral part of the team moving forward.”
Ivanov, who made his professional debut for Levski Sofia as a 16-year-old, has spent the first six seasons of his career in the Bulgarian first division, tallying 13 goals and 15 assists. Overall, he has made 85 appearances (54 starts) across all competitions for Levski Sofia, including five appearances (four starts) in the UEFA Europa League. The 2019-20 campaign marked a career-high in goals (nine), assists (five), games played (27) and starts (25) for the winger.
At the international level, he has made 10 appearances (10 starts) for Bulgaria’s U-21 side during qualification for the UEFA European U-21 Championship. In those 10 appearances, Ivanov scored four goals, including a brace in a 3-0 win against Poland on Nov. 15, 2019. In addition, Ivanov has represented Bulgaria at the U-19 (14 caps) and U-17 (five caps) levels.
Ivanov will occupy an international slot on the Fire’s 2021 roster. Additionally, he is the Fire’s fourth consecutive signing under the age of the 23. Overall, the Club currently has 16 players age 23 or younger on its 30-man roster for 2021.
Transaction: Chicago Fire FC acquires winger Stanislav Ivanov via transfer from Levski Sofia. Ivanov’s contract with the Fire will begin in January 2021.
Name: Stanislav Ivanov (Sta-nee-slav EE-vah-nov)
Position: Winger
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 155 lbs.
Date of Birth: April 16, 1999
Hometown: Gabrovo, Bulgaria
Birthplace: Gabrovo, Bulgaria
Citizenship: Bulgaria
Last Club: Levski Sofia
