Quick Facts
Biography
Stoycho Nedkov (Bulgarian: Стойчо Недков) is a Bulgarian footballer, playing as a winger and a full-back. He is a disciple of the Levski Sofia youth academy, where he was team captain.
Career
Youth years
Nedkov began practicing sports at age 7 at the Levski swimming academy under the direction of renowned coach and olympian Georgi Enchev. Enchev noticed that Nedkov's musculature did not belong to a swimmer, but rather to a natural footballer, and convinced his parents to sign him up for football instead. They subsequently transferred him to the Levski football academy, where in the coming years he established himself as a key player and team captain, scoring 90 goals in 142 games.
In 2004, as a member of Levski's U-18 squad, Nedkov gained notoriety when, in a friendly match against Levski's men's team, he scored the winning goal against national team goalkeeper Georgi Petkov. This feat resulted in an invitation to the Bulgarian national squad. He went on to score 14 goals in 20 games during that season as Levski won the U-18 title.
Senior career
Nedkov's contribution to winning the title in 2005 was noticed by scouts for Portuguese League side Académica de Coimbra, who invited him to Portugal for a tryout. He was ultimately unable to join the club as the quota for non-EU players had already been filled. He went on to play for Septemvri Sofia, Vihren Sandanski, Orfeas Nicosia (gaining promotion to next division), and Vitosha Bistritsa, with whom he won the Amateur League Cup in 2012.
Nedkov is currently a student at the National Sports Academy, specializing in football coaching.