View source for Daniel Borimirov

{{Short description|Bulgarian footballer (born 1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{family name hatnote|Borimirov|Borisov|lang=Bulgarian}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Daniel Borimirov
| image          = Daniel Borimirov.jpg
| image_size     = 
| caption        = Borimirov in 2011
| fullname       = Daniel Borimirov Borisov
| birth_date     = {{Birth date and age|1970|1|15|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Vidin]], Bulgaria
| height         = 1.85 m
| currentclub    =
| position       = [[Attacking midfielder]] 
| youthyears1    = 1980–1986
| youthclubs1    = [[OFC Bdin Vidin|Bdin Vidin]]
| youthyears2    = 1986–1987
| youthclubs2    = [[POFC Botev Vratsa|Botev Vratsa]]
| years1         = 1987–1990
| clubs1         = [[OFC Bdin Vidin|Bdin Vidin]]
| caps1          = 91
| goals1         = 18
| years2         = 1990–1995
| clubs2         = [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]
| caps2          = 123
| goals2         = 40
| years3         = 1995–2004
| clubs3         = [[TSV 1860 Munich|1860 Munich]]
| caps3          = 213
| goals3         = 31
| years4         = 2004–2008
| clubs4         = [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]
| caps4          = 98
| goals4         = 29
| totalcaps      = 525
| totalgoals     = 118
| nationalyears1 = 1993–2005
| nationalteam1  = [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]]
| nationalcaps1  = 67
| nationalgoals1 = 5
}}
'''Daniel Borimirov Borisov'''<ref>{{cite web | url = http://en.levskisofia.info/player/daniel-borimirov/ | title = Даниел Боримиров Борисов | date = 15 January 1970 | language = bg | publisher = levskisofia.info | access-date = 18 June 2013}}</ref> ({{langx|bg|Даниел Боримиров Борисов}}; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional [[Association football|footballer]] who played mainly as an [[attacking midfielder]].

Borimirov's professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three clubs: [[OFC Bdin Vidin|Bdin Vidin]], [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]] and [[TSV 1860 Munich]].

In international football, Borimirov made his [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] debut on 18 February 1993 at the age of 23. He made 66 career appearances in total, appearing at two [[FIFA World Cup]] tournaments, in [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]] and [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]], and two [[UEFA European Championship]] tournaments, in [[UEFA Euro 1996|1996]] and [[UEFA Euro 2004|2004]].

==Club career==
Born in [[Vidin]], Borimirov's club career began with local club [[OFC Bdin Vidin|Bdin]] in [[Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|second league]], where he made his first-team debut in 1987 at age 17. 

In 1990 Borimirov joined [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]. In the beginning, he appeared mainly as a [[Forward (association football)#Second striker|supporting striker]], but eventually reconverted to [[attacking midfielder]]. At Levski, Borimirov was very important – if not crucial – part in all of the club's six major titles during his first spell, three [[Bulgarian A Professional Football Group|leagues]] and three [[Bulgarian Cup|cups]]. The biggest victory in the history of [[The Eternal Derby]] of Bulgaria (7–1 for Levski in [[1994–95 A Group]]) is unthinkable without the two goals scored by Daniel Borimirov. After 32 goals combined in his last two years, with three back-to-back national championships, he signed with Germany's [[TSV 1860 Munich]].

Borimirov made his [[Bundesliga]] debut on 12 August 1995, scoring twice at [[FC St. Pauli]], albeit in a 4–2 loss, adding another two in the next two games, as the ''Lions'' eventually [[1995–96 Bundesliga|finished in eighth position]]; in [[1996–97 Bundesliga|the following season]], he experienced his best year abroad, netting nine times in 31 matches, helping TSV [[1997–98 UEFA Cup|qualify]] for the [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]].

In the following years, although used more sparingly, Borimirov continued to be an important member for Munich 1860, eventually appearing in nearly 300 official matches in his {{frac|8|1|2}}-year spell. 214 of them were in the Bundesliga.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/players/borimirovdata.html | title = Daniel BORIMIROV Borisov - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga | first = Matthias | last = Arnhold | date = 2 April 2020 | access-date = 3 April 2020 | publisher = [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|RSSSF.com]]}}</ref> In early January 2004, one week shy of his 34th birthday, he returned to Levski, being the driving force behind the success of the club in the [[2005–06 UEFA Cup]], helping the [[Sofia|capital]] outfit to the quarterfinals, namely scoring against [[Udinese Calcio]] and [[FC Schalke 04]] (the latter in the stage where the club was ousted, 2–4 on aggregate<ref>{{cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/4862868.stm | title = Uefa Cup round-up | publisher = [[BBC Sport]] | date = 30 March 2006 | access-date = 15 January 2010}}</ref>).

In an interview on 16 August 2006, Borimirov stated he was attending coaching classes, intending to work in football after retiring as a player.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.sportni.bg/?tid=40&oid=923523 | title = Даниел Боримиров: Оптимист съм за мача с Киево | publisher  = Sportni | date =  16 August 2006 | language = bg  | access-date = 15 January 2010}}</ref> On 1 July of the following year, he played for a [[FIFA]] All-Star team against [[China national football team|China]] in an exhibition game as part of Hong Kong's ten-year independence anniversary celebrations. The miscellaneous side was coached by [[Gérard Houllier]], and featured players like [[Hidetoshi Nakata]], [[Stéphane Chapuisat]], [[Christian Karembeu]], [[George Weah]] and [[Brian McBride]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/worldwideprograms/news/newsid=541005.html?cid=rssfeed&att= |title=FIFA help Hong Kong celebrations |publisher=[[FIFA]].com |date=29 June 2007 |access-date=15 January 2010 }}{{dead link|date=October 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Borimirov still played an important part in the [[2006–07 A PFG|2006–07 season]], playing in 20 matches (four goals) as Levski won the league – and the cup. He ended his career at the age of 38, playing his last game on 17 May 2008 against city neighbours [[PFC Slavia Sofia]], with his team winning the match.

After retiring, Borimirov served as [[director of football]] at Levski Sofia, replacing former club and national teammate [[Nasko Sirakov]], and himself being replaced at the end of [[2008–09 A PFG|2008–09]] by [[Georgi Ivanov (footballer born 1976)|Georgi Ivanov]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://topsport.ibox.bg/news/id_416089805| title = Даниел Боримиров навършва 39 години днес | publisher = topsport.bg | date = 15 January 2009| access-date = 16 February 2013}}</ref>

===Controversy===
In 2006, still as a player, Borimirov gained notoriety in Bulgarian football circles for his violent outbursts after controversial referee decisions. One particular accident in which he was involved in resulted in him spitting in the face of the [[Referee (association football)|referee]]. Borimirov was fined 10,000 [[Bulgarian lev]] by the [[Bulgarian Football Union]], later apologizing for his behaviour.

Two years later, now in directorial capacities, he caused more controversy, following a match against [[PFC CSKA Sofia]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2009-04-07&article=27159 | title = FC Levski complain of referees | publisher = Standart News | date = 7 April 2009 | access-date = 15 January 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121006084450/http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2009-04-07&article=27159 | archive-date = 6 October 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==International career==
For [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]], Borimirov was capped 67 times, scoring five goals.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/bulg-borimirov-intl.html | title = Daniel Borimirov - International Appearances | first = Roberto | last = Mamrud | date = 2 April 2020 | access-date = 3 April 2020 | publisher = [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|RSSSF.com]]}}</ref> He made his debut in 1993, being selected for the [[1994 FIFA World Cup]], [[UEFA Euro 1996]], [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998 World Cup]] and [[UEFA Euro 2004|Euro 2004]], totalling 11 appearances, with one goal. He is the only Bulgarian to represent his Country in two Euros as well as two World Cups and the only Bulgarian from 1994 World Cup to take part in 2004 Euro.

In the first competition, as the national team finished in fourth place, Borimirov scored against [[Greece national football team|Greece]] in the group stage, for Bulgaria's first ever [[FIFA World Cup]] win (4–0, in Chicago, having played only eight minutes). He also converted his [[Penalty shootout (association football)|penalty shootout]] attempt in the [[round of 16]] win against [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]].

==Personal life==
Borimirov was born in the village of Pokrayna in [[Vidin]]. In an interview with [[Gazeta Sporturilor]], Borimirov said that his maternal grandparents are Romanian.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gsp.ro/altele/stiri/pentru-onoare-14731.html| title = Pentru onoare| language = ro |work = [[Gazeta Sporturilor]]| date=17 November 2007|access-date = 21 March 2016}}</ref> He is married to Aphrodita and they have two children.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.7sport.net/archive7ds/2008/05/24/b_grupa/d5045_7.htm| title = Футболни страсти от крайния квартал. Никос Аманатидис подготвя тима на Люлин за професионалистите| language = bg| author = Dobrev, Dobromir| publisher = 7sport.net| date = 24 May 2008| access-date = 9 October 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204358/http://www.7sport.net/archive7ds/2008/05/24/b_grupa/d5045_7.htm| archive-date = 4 March 2016| url-status = usurped| df = dmy-all}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|Cup
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[OFC Bdin Vidin|Bdin Vidin]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|B Group]]
|1987–88
|33||7||||||colspan="2"|–||33||7
|-
|1988–89
|21||0||||||colspan="2"|–||21||0
|-
|[[1989–90 B Group|1989–90]]
|37||11||||||colspan="2"|–||37||11
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!91!!18!!!!!!0!!0!!91!!18
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]]
|rowspan="5"|[[First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|A Group]]
|[[1990–91 A Group|1990–91]]
|28||3||7||1||colspan="2"|–||38||13
|-
|[[1991–92 A Group|1991–92]]
|14||0||8||2||0||0||36||14
|-
|[[1992–93 A Group|1992–93]]
|29||5||6||0||2||1||36||14
|-
|[[1993–94 A Group|1993–94]]
|23||15||6||6||4||1||12||4
|-
|[[1994–95 A Group|1994–95]]
|29||17||1||1||1||0||31||15
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!123!!40!!28!!10!!7!!2!!158!!52
|-
|rowspan="10"|[[TSV 1860 Munich|1860 Munich]]
|rowspan="9"|[[Bundesliga]]
|[[1995–96 Bundesliga|1995–96]]
|25||6||3||1||colspan="2"|–||28||7
|-
|[[1996–97 Bundesliga|1996–97]]
|31||9||3||2||1||0||35||11
|-
|[[1997–98 Bundesliga|1997–98]]
|32||3||1||0||2||1||35||4
|-
|[[1998–99 Bundesliga|1998–99]]
|23||2||2||0||colspan="2"|–||25||2
|-
|[[1999–2000 Bundesliga|1999–00]]
|20||2||2||0||colspan="2"|–||22||2
|-
|[[2000–01 Bundesliga|2000–01]]
|24||3||1||0||5||0||30||3
|-
|[[2001–02 Bundesliga|2001–02]]
|26||4||3||1||4||0||33||5
|-
|[[2002–03 Bundesliga|2002–03]]
|26||2||2||0||2||0||30||2
|-
|[[2003–04 Bundesliga|2003–04]]
|6||0||1||0||colspan="2"|–||7||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!213!!31!!18!!4!!14!!1!!245!!36
|-
|rowspan="6"|Levski Sofia
|rowspan="5"|A Group
|[[2003–04 A Group|2003–04]]
|11||3||0||0||2||0||13||3
|-
|[[2004–05 A Group|2004–05]]
|23||10||4||1||3||0||30||11
|-
|[[2005–06 A Group|2005–06]]
|22||9||1||0||13||2||36||11
|-
|[[2006–07 A Group|2006–07]]
|20||4||3||1||10||1||33||6
|-
|[[2007–08 A Group|2007–08]]
|22||3||2||0||1||0||25||3
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!98!!29!!10!!2!!29!!3!!137!!34
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!525!!118!!56!!16!!50!!6!!631!!140
|}
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="13"|[[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]]
|1993||5||1
|-
|1994||9||1
|-
|1995||5||0
|-
|1996||11||1
|-
|1997||4||1
|-
|1998||7||0
|-
|1999||7||1
|-
|2000||6||0
|-
|2001||0||0
|-
|2002||1||0
|-
|2003||7||0
|-
|2004||3||0
|-
|2005||2||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!67!!5
|}

:''Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Borimirov goal.''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=2330|title=Daniel Borimirov|publisher=EU-Football.info}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Daniel Borimirov
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || 20 February 1993 || [[Dubai]] || {{fb|UAE}} || align="center"|3–1 || align="center"|3–1 || [[Friendly match|Friendly]]
|-
| align="center"|2 || 26 June 1994 || [[Soldier Field]],  Chicago || {{fb|GRE}} || align="center"|4–0 || align="center"|4–0 || [[1994 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
| align="center"|3 || 8 November 1996 || [[Supachalasai National Stadium]], Bangkok || {{fb|THA}} || align="center"|4–0 || align="center"|4–0 || Friendly
|-
| align="center"|4 || 2 April 1997 || [[Vasil Levski National Stadium]], Sofia || {{fb|CYP|1960}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|4–1 || [[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5|FIFA World Cup 1998 Qualification]]
|-
| align="center"|5 || 10 October 1999 || [[Stadion Balgarska Armia]], Sofia || {{fb|LUX}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|3–0 || [[UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Group 5|UEFA Euro 2000 Qualification]]
|}

==Honours==
'''Levski Sofia'''
*[[First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|Bulgarian League]]: [[1992–93 A Group|1992–93]], [[1993–94 A Group|1993–94]], [[1994–95 A Group|1994–95]], [[2005–06 A Group|2005–06]], [[2006–07 A Group|2006–07]]
*[[Bulgarian Cup]]: [[1990–91 Bulgarian Cup|1990–91]], [[1991–92 Bulgarian Cup|1991–92]], [[1993–94 Bulgarian Cup|1993–94]], [[2004–05 Bulgarian Cup|2004–05]], [[2006–07 Bulgarian Cup|2006–07]]
*[[Bulgarian Supercup]]: [[2005 Bulgarian Supercup|2005]], [[2007 Bulgarian Supercup|2007]]

'''Bulgaria'''
*[[FIFA World Cup]]: fourth place [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Fussballdaten|borimirovdaniel|Daniel Borimirov}}
* {{NFT player|1126}}
* {{FIFA player|81634}}
* [http://en.levskisofia.info/player/daniel-borimirov/ Profile] at Levskisofia.info

{{Navboxes colour
|title= Bulgaria squads
|bg= white
|fg= darkgreen
|bordercolor=darkgreen
|list1=
{{Bulgaria squad 1994 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Bulgaria squad UEFA Euro 1996}}
{{Bulgaria squad 1998 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Bulgaria squad UEFA Euro 2004}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borimirov, Daniel}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Bulgarian men's footballers]]
[[Category:20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen]]
[[Category:Bulgaria men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players]]
[[Category:Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:OFC Bdin Vidin players]]
[[Category:PFC Levski Sofia players]]
[[Category:TSV 1860 Munich players]]
[[Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1996 players]]
[[Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players]]
[[Category:Bulgarian people of Romanian descent]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Germany]]
[[Category:Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Germany]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Vidin]]