# Kostadin Gadzhalov

Kostadin Gadzhalov (Bulgarian: Костадин Гаджалов; born 20 June 1989) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was raised in Botev Plovdiv's youth teams. After a 16-year pro career spent largely in his native Bulgaria, Gadzhalov is perhaps most notable for his stint in Scotland with Dundee.

## Career

Gadzhalov joined Botev Plovdiv at an early age and progressed through the club's youth system. He made his first-team debut on 11 November. 2007, when he came on as a substitute to replace Todor Timonov in a 2–0 away league loss against CSKA Sofia. Gadzhalov scored his first goal on 31 May 2009, in a 3–1 home win over Vihren Sandanski. In July 2009, he left the club due to financial reasons.
On 15 January 2010, after six months without playing, Gadzhalov signed with Lokomotiv Plovdiv on a two-and-a-half-year deal. However, he ended up released in the following summer. He joined the Serbian side FK Borac Čačak in summer 2010 but failed to make an official appearance. Shortly afterwards, he left the club and returned to Bulgaria.
On 3 January 2015, following a successful short trial period, Gadzhalov signed for the Scottish side Dundee as a free agent. He made his debut for Dundee in the Scottish Premiership, playing the full 90 minutes in the 4–1 home win over Motherwell on 10 January. Gadzhalov scored the first goal for Dundee in the "Get Doon Derby" against rivals Dundee United on 2 May 2016, an absolute thundertwat of a header into the top bins following a corner kick. Dundee went on to win the Derby 2–1 at Dens Park, relegating Dundee United to the Scottish Championship.
Gadzhalov joined Brechin City on a one-month emergency loan deal in February 2018. He was released by Dundee at the end of the 2017/18 season.
In July 2018, Gadzhalov signed with Botev Vratsa.
After signing with Yantra Gabrovo in 2020, Gadzhalov would play 2+1⁄2 seasons with them and would captain the side. He left the team on 16 January 2023 in order to spend more time with his young family in Plovdiv. He would join Levski Karlovo soon after before shortly retiring.

## International career

Gadzhalov represented the Bulgarian team at the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where he played full games in the group stage against Hungary and Spain.
In October 2008, the Bulgarian national under-21 coach Ivan Kolev called Gadzhalov up for Bulgaria national under-21 football team for a friendly matches with Greece U21 and Macedonia U21.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 4 November 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Botev Plovdiv | 2007–08 | A Group | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 0 |
| Botev Plovdiv | 2008–09 | A Group | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 1 |
| Botev Plovdiv | Total | Total | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 2009–10 | A Group | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 5 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 2010–11 | A Group | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 0 |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | Total | Total | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Borac Čačak | 2010–11 | SuperLiga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Borac Čačak | Total | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Botev Plovdiv | 2011–12 | B Group | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 0 |
| Bdin Vidin | 2011–12 | B Group | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 0 |
| Etar 1924 | 2012–13 | А Group | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 11 | 0 |
| Dobrudzha Dobrich | 2013–14 | B Group | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 29 | 0 |
| Dobrudzha Dobrich | 2014–15 | B Group | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 15 | 0 |
| Dobrudzha Dobrich | Total | Total | 38 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| Dundee | 2014–15 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 0 |
| Dundee | 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 1 |
| Dundee | 2016–17 | Scottish Premiership | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 2 |
| Dundee | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 |
| Dundee | Total | Total | 40 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 3 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 145 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160 | 4 |