Valeri Emilov Bozhinov, born on February 15, 1986 in Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria is a football player. When he was 12, he relocated to Malta with Pepa, his mother, a former Bulgarian national basketball player, and Sasho Angelov, his stepfather, former Bulgarian national footballer.
Along with his club career, he has appeared in several international matches by being a part of several youth clubs. In his debut for the Under-21 team against Greece, he scored a stunning over-head kick. On June 22, 2004 he made his first appearance for the national team in a match against Italy at Euro 2004, and he netted his first goal on August 18, 2004 in a clash against Republic of Ireland. As of October 2006, Valeri Bojinov has represented the national team 21 times and has made 5 goals.
Valeri Bojinov started his football career in 1999 with the Pietà Hotspurs youth club, and when he was 14, he was picked out by Pantaleo Corvino, Unione Sportiva (U.S.) Lecce sports director, to become a youth player. He continued studying in Lecce while playing games for U.S Lecce club and made his first appearance in the Italian Serie A on January 22, 2002. When he was almost 16, he went on to become the youngest foreign player appearing in the top level of Italian football. In January 2004, Valeri Bojinov scored his first goal in the top division in a match against Bologna, becoming the youngest non-national to score in the Serie A. In the 2003-04 season, he started 17 games and played as a substitute in 10 more to earn the praise of Gianluca Vialli, a retired Italian football striker and manager. Under the guidance of Zden?k Zeman, former U.S. Lecce coach, Valeri Bojinov was able to showcase his proficiency in football and make 16 goals in his tenure with the club.
In January 2005, he got transferred to Fiorentina, another Italian football club, when he was just 18 years old. During the 2005-06 season, Valeri Bojinov set up a good partnership fellow-player Luca Toni and finished his stint with the club making a total of 8 goals. In July 2006, he moved on a deal to the Juventus F.C and in his spell with the club, he appeared in 18 matches and scored 5 goals.
On August 3, 2007 Valeri Bojinov signed a four-year contract with Manchester City for an undisclosed fee. Following a knee ligament injury in a match against Manchester United, he was subject to a five-month rest. On January 22, 2007, he returned to full training and made five goals in a bounce game. Valeri Bojinov came as a substitute in a reserve game against Manchester City on February 11, 2007 and scored a header from a cross provided by Emile Mpenza.
In the 2007-08 season, Valeri Bojinov made some appearances for the reserve squad and was a part of the team in the Manchester City's Asia tour. His hit a goal for Manchester City in a pre-season friendly match against Stockport County and made another goal on August 9, 2008 in a friendly match against AC Milan.
