Emil Velev

Velev started his career in Levski Sofia. Kokala James (Bulgarian: Кокала) (The bone James), as the fans called him, played for Levski's first team from 1981 until 1989. He became Champion of Bulgaria in 1984, 1985 and 1988. Velev won the Cup of Bulgaria in 1982 and 1984. He registered 176 matches and 22 scores for Levski in the championship, and 34 matches and 8 goals for the Cup of Bulgaria. Velev had also played for many years with Maccabi Ironi Ashdod F.C. in Israel.

Levski Sofia

In 2002 Velev became an assistant coach of PFC Levski Sofia. Six years later, Emil became head coach of Levski, after Velislav Vutsov's sacking. Under his guidance, Levski secured a 1–1 away draw against Belarusian FC BATE Borisov in the third qualifying phase of the UEFA Champions League, but this result was insufficient for Levski to progress after the 0–1 home loss in the first game. Velev made an awesome debut in the Bulgarian league, coaching Levski. He debuted as a coach on 17 August 2008 in a game against Botev Plovdiv. Levski won the match 6–0. However, Velev drew the ire of Levski supporters on a number of occasions in subsequent matches due to what were perceived to be poor tactics and inconsistent player selections. After Levski were eliminated by Slovak MŠK Žilina, Velev criticized some of the Levski ultras, hinting at their latent alcoholism and drug abuse, and condemned what he regarded as their insufficient support during matches. Velev eventually stated that some of his comments had been misconstrued by the media and attempted to mend fences with the Levski supporters, praising them for their passion for the team on a number of occasions. He led the blues to become the Champion of Bulgaria on 31 May 2009 following a 1–1 home draw against Minyor Pernik. All in all, this was attained after a contradictory but great season under his coaching. Despite the bad results during the autumn part of the season, after great matches in the spring,…

As a player

Champion of Bulgaria 1984, 1985, 1988 Bulgarian Cup 1982, 1984

As a manager

Champion of Bulgaria 2009