Aleksandar Tunchev

Bulgaria

Tunchev started his career in his hometown of Pazardzhik with local team Hebar. After that he played for Belasitsa Petrich, later joining Lokomotiv Plovdiv in June 2002. With Lokomotiv they became Champions of Bulgaria in 2004 and also won the Bulgarian Super Cup that same year. In 2006, he signed for CSKA Sofia. In 2007, he was appointed captain after Valentin Iliev was stripped of the CSKA captaincy. They were crowned champions in 2008, and also won the Bulgarian Cup and Supercup in 2006. In June 2008, CSKA was in a deep financial crisis and were forced to sell their key players, including Tunchev.

Leicester City

2008–09 season

Tunchev joined Leicester City on 5 July 2008 for a fee of £375,000, signing a three-year contract. He made his debut in a 2–0 home win over MK Dons on 9 August 2008, scoring his first league goal in a 2–2 home draw against Walsall on 21 October. Tunchev was peerless as he guided the club's defence through the first half of the 2008–09 season, losing just two league games.

Knee injury

His season was cut short when he suffered a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a 2–1 FA Cup replay defeat to Crystal Palace on 14 January 2009. It was Tunchev's "first big injury", his previous being a pulled hamstring. Nonetheless, he was awarded a medal after Leicester finished the season as League One champions, winning promotion to the Championship. On 20 July 2009, Tunchev was…

Tunchev used to be part of the Bulgaria national side. He made his debut in a 3–1 win over Turkey on 18 August 2005, playing for six minutes. The defender was a regular for the Bulgarian team since making his official debut against Romania in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match. On 11 October 2006, Tunchev scored his first international goal in a 1–0 away win over Luxembourg during a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match. In November 2014, he was recalled to the national side for a Euro 2016 qualifier against Malta after a long absence from international duty, but remained on the bench.

Player

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

A Group: 2003–04 Bulgarian Supercup: 2004 CSKA Sofia

A Group: 2007–08 Bulgarian Cup: 2005–06 Bulgarian Supercup: 2006 Leicester City

League One: 2008–09

Manager

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

A Group runner-up: 2020–21