# Simeon Slavchev

Simeon Nenchev Slavchev (Bulgarian: Симеон Ненчев Славчев; born 25 September 1993) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Lokomotiv Sofia.
Slavchev began his professional career at Litex Lovech in 2010. After loan spell at Chavdar Etropole he became a regular in their team. In 2014, he signed for Sporting CP, but failed to break into the first team. After a loan spells with Bolton Wanderers, Apollon Limassol, and Lechia Gdańsk, he signed for Qarabağ in 2018.

## Club career
### Early career

Slavchev started his career at home-town club Septemvri Sofia, joining their youth system as a six-year-old. In the 2006–07 season, he became a goalscorer for their youth team. In 2007, Slavchev joined Slavia Sofia and was part of the side that won the Bulgarian U-15 Championship in the 2007–08 season.

### Litex Lovech

Slavchev joined the Litex's first team in October 2010. He made his debut during the 2010–11 season, on 31 October 2010 in a 2–0 home win over Slavia Sofia, coming on as a substitute for Hristo Yanev.
In July 2011, Slavchev joined Chavdar Etropole on a season-long loan deal. In the 2011–12 season, he earned 13 appearances in the B PFG(second division of Bulgarian football).
In the summer of 2012, he returned to Litex. On 4 November 2012, in the league match against Cherno More, he marked his first goal in the A PFG in a 4–1 victory.

### Sporting CP

On 19 May 2014, Slavchev signed with Portuguese side Sporting CP on a five-year deal, for a reported fee of €2.5 million.

#### Loans to Bolton, Apollon, and Lechia

On 2 February 2015, Slavchev joined Bolton Wanderers until the end of the season. He made his debut for the team in the English Championship on 7 February 2015 in a match against Derby County. It was his only match for Bolton after Slavchev got injured and was ruled out until the end of the season.
On 11 August 2015, Slavchev joined the Cypriot team Apollon Limassol on loan for the 2015–16 season. He made his debut on 23 August 2015, scoring the winning goal after added time. On 19 May 2016, Apollon won the Cypriot Cup.
Slavchev had an injury at the end of the 2015–16 season. Sporting decided to loan him out in order for him to gain more experience and to reach full fitness. On 17 August 2016, Slavchev joined Polish club Lechia Gdańsk, on a season-long loan, where he would play alongside fellow Bulgarian footballer, Milen Gamakov. Slavchev made his debut for the team on 9 September 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win against Cracovia. He scored his first goal for the team on 11 March 2018, in a 3–1 home loss against Legia Warsaw.
Slavchev spent a trial period at Birmingham City during the summer of 2017.

### Qarabağ

On 5 July 2018, Slavchev signed a three-year contract with Qarabağ FK.

### Levski Sofia

After agreeing to rescind his contract with the Azerbaijani side, Slavchev returned to his home country. On 22 December 2019, he signed a three-year deal with Levski Sofia. He made his debut on 15 February 2020, in the 0–0 league draw against CSKA Sofia in The Eternal Derby, coming on as an early substitute before being replaced himself towards the end of the match due to injury issues. On 20 June 2020, Slavchev scored his first goal for the club in another Eternal derby that ended 3–3.

### Lokomotiv Sofia

In December 2021, Slavchev signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Lokomotiv Sofia.

### Wieczysta Kraków

On 3 January 2023, despite efforts from Lechia Gdańsk to re-sign him in the winter transfer window, Slavchev joined Polish fourth division side Wieczysta Kraków on a two-and-a-half-year deal, with an extension option. After playing a marginal role in winning promotion to the third division, Slavchev left the club by mutual consent on 19 June 2024.

### Return to Lokomotiv Sofia

On 3 July 2024, Slavchev re-joined Lokomotiv Sofia on a three-year deal.

## International career

In September 2009, he was called for Bulgaria U17 by coach Atanas Zhelev and took part in the UEFA U-17 European championship. In 2011, he was called up for the UEFA U-19 European Championship. In 2012, he got his first call-up for the national youth team by coach Mihail Madanski.
In 2013, he was called up for Bulgaria by Lyuboslav Penev for the 2014 World Cup qualification games against Malta and Denmark. On 15 October 2013, in the last match for the qualifications for the 2014 FIFA World Cup against the Czech Republic, he made his debut for the first team as a substitute.
On 25 March 2016, Slavchev came on as a substitute during the magnificent 0–1 away win over Portugal. On 13 November 2016, he played the full 90 minutes in the 1:0 win over Belarus in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 9 June 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Lovech | 2010–11 | A Group | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lovech | 2012–13 | A Group | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Lovech | 2013–14 | A Group | 34 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 35 | 14 |
| Lovech | Total | Total | 52 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 15 |
| Chavdar Etropole (loan) | 2011–12 | B Group | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 |
| Sporting CP | 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Sporting CP B | 2014–15 | Segunda Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2014–15 | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Apollon Limassol (loan) | 2015–16 | Cypriot First Division | 21 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2 |
| Lechia Gdańsk (loan) | 2016–17 | Ekstraklasa | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 0 |
| Lechia Gdańsk (loan) | 2017–18 | Ekstraklasa | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 1 |
| Lechia Gdańsk (loan) | Total | Total | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 1 |
| Qarabağ | 2018–19 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | 31 | 2 |
| Qarabağ | 2019–20 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Qarabağ | Total | Total | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 39 | 2 |
| Levski Sofia | 2019–20 | First League | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 |
| Levski Sofia | 2020–21 | First League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| Levski Sofia | 2021–22 | First League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Levski Sofia | Total | Total | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 2021–22 | First League | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 1 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 2022–23 | First League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Total | Total | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 |
| Wieczysta Kraków | 2022–23 | III liga, gr. IV | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| Wieczysta Kraków | 2023–24 | III liga, gr. IV | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| Wieczysta Kraków | Total | Total | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 212 | 21 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 250 | 22 |

### International

    As of 14 December 2018
| Team | Year | Tournament | Tournament | Friendly | Friendly | Total | Total |
| Team | Year | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Bulgaria U19 | 2011 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bulgaria U21 | 2013 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Bulgaria |
| Bulgaria | 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 2014 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 2015 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 2016 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 2017 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 2018 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 2019 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | Total | 18 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | 25 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 32 | 0 |

#### Notes
## Honours

Litex Lovech
* Bulgarian A PFG: 2010–11
Apollon Limassol
* Cypriot Cup: 2015–16
Qarabağ
* Azerbaijan Premier League: 2018–19
Wieczysta Kraków
* III liga, group IV: 2023–24
* Polish Cup (Lesser Poland regionals): 2022–23
Individual
* Bulgarian Best Young Player of the Season: 2013
* Lovech sportsman of the year: 2013