He was part of the Golden crop of Bulgarian National team that reached the semi finals of USA 94. He is regarded as one of Bulgaria's greatest players. He has captained the team when it had likes of Hristo Stoichkov, Emile Kostadinov, Lordan Letchov and Boris Mihalyov.
Sadly, Ivanov passed on this Saturday, 13 February 2016 after suffering a heart attack. He was aged 50. Ivanov won three domestic league titles, the Bulgarian Cup and the Super Cup with CSKA Sofia between 1989-92.
He was capped 76 times and scored 6 goals including a brilliant header that gave Bulgaria a 1-0 victory over Russia in a decisive 1998 World Cup qualifier. He represented Bulgaria at USA 94, France 98 and at the Euro 96 in England.
He was named Bulgaria's Footballer of the Year in 1996, also had spells at Real Betis, Neuchatel Xamax and Rapid Vienna where he enjoyed a particularly fruitful period, winning the Austrian title, the domestic cup and the 1996 European Cup Winners' Cup.
