Ivan Minchev

Defensive Midfielder - Slavia Sofia
26 Aug 2026
Wednesday
Process
Overview Personal Contract News 2 Transfers Relations Events 25 Awards 1 Matches History

Marked for Ivan Minchev

2 Edition

The Slavia Sofia Sentinel

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market10 Aug 2026

Slavia Sofia say no — this time

The offer from Septemvri for Lévi Ntumba was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Transfer targets10 Aug 2026

Slavia Sofia bid $2.9M for Pastor

The offer went to CSKA Sofia this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Player ratings10 Aug 2026

Age has not caught Ivan Minchev yet — 8.29

At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.29 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Player ratings10 Aug 2026

Kristiyan Stoyanov pops up at the right end — 7.61

7.61, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.

Transfer targets10 Aug 2026

Slavia Sofia rebuffed over Filip Kaloč

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ludogorets have kept their man, and Slavia Sofia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Boardroom10 Aug 2026

Slavia Sofia go back to the board over Pastor

The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $3.1M — a club that wants Pastor enough to be asked twice.

Squad10 Aug 2026

Vladimir Nikolov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladimir Nikolov commits to Slavia Sofia for another 4 years.

Squad10 Aug 2026

A falling-out at Slavia Sofia

Lévi Ntumba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces10 Aug 2026

Slavia Sofia supporters have found a favourite in Kristiyan Stoyanov

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Kristiyan Stoyanov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

In brief

Back issues
1 Edition

The Slavia Sofia Sentinel

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market3 Aug 2026

Slavia Sofia say no — this time

The offer from Kozármisleny for Yoan Bornosuzov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Player ratings3 Aug 2026

Up for the corner, and Kristiyan Stoyanov delivers — 7.66

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Kristiyan Stoyanov scored, was marked 7.66, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Squad3 Aug 2026

Ivan Minchev stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ivan Minchev and Slavia Sofia agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad3 Aug 2026

Words exchanged at Slavia Sofia

Ivan Minchev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Match1 Aug 2026

Septemvri take the points off Slavia Sofia

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout3 Aug 2026

Lévi Ntumba gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market3 Aug 2026

Lyubomir Kostov attracts admirers

The name of Lyubomir Kostov has come up in conversations Slavia Sofia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad3 Aug 2026

A row about effort at Slavia Sofia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Úmaro Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market3 Aug 2026

The clock runs on Emil Stoev's contract

36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.

In brief

  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Squad Slavia Sofia are still strangers to each other
  • The dugout Vladimir Nikolov knocks on the manager’s door