Svetoslav Todorov

Club

International

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Todorov goal.

Early career

After being part of the youth system since the age of 6, Todorov began his career at Bulgarian First Division club Dobrudzha Dobrich in 1996–97, scoring twice in twelve appearances. He then joined Second Division champions Litex Lovech where he scored 34 goals in 70 league games over four seasons (two of them title winning). He managed a career-high 19 league goals during the 1999–2000 season, being overtaken as the top goalscorer by Mihail Mihaylov on the last match day. Todorov captained the team over the course of the autumn part of the 2000–2001 campaign. He scored his first European goals during the summer of 1999, in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, all three of them coming against Polish team Widzew Łódź. During his time in Bulgaria he had a clean disciplinary record and was sent off only once (on 13 May 2000, in a 1–0 away loss against Spartak Varna in an A PFG match). His form attracted attention from English clubs and after trials with Preston North End and West Ham United, he joined West Ham in January 2001.

West Ham United

Todorov joined West Ham in January 2001 for a fee of £500,000, rising to £2 million depending on appearances. He made his debut in a 3–0 defeat at Liverpool and scored his first goal for the club in his third game, a 3–2 FA Cup defeat at home to Tottenham, and then scored his first league goal for the club against Middlesbrough. However, following manager Harry Redknapp's departure from the club…

He used to be part of the Bulgaria U21 team. Todorov made his debut for Bulgaria on 10 March 1998, in the 0:2 loss against Argentina in a friendly match. He was in manager Hristo Bonev's plans for the 1998 World Cup, but missed out due to an injury. For the same reason, he was unable to participate in Euro 2004.

Todorov is married to Severina and they have a son. His father, Ivan Manolov, is also a football manager and represented Dobrudzha Dobrich in his playing days. Todorov's younger brother, Pavlin, is a former professional footballer and current manager as well.