Ludogorets midfielder Ivaylo Chochev once again took second place in the ranking for Footballer of Bulgaria, after he ranked in the same position in 2015.
At the ceremony for Footballer of Bulgaria for 2025, he combined this achievement with the award for best midfielder, where he was a clear winner.
"I am extremely happy to win the award for best midfielder after so many quality midfielders in all clubs. For me, this is a great honor, and to be Bulgaria's No. 2 football player, it is unnecessary to comment! I am extremely proud of this and happy with this result“, shared Chochev. "So you, the journalists, have assessed what I do that way".
In 2015, he was second after Ivelin Popov, and in 2022 and 2023 he finished in third place.
"I strive to maintain a level, to perform well, even though I have already advanced over the years. But I say again – what Ludogorets provides me with in terms of conditions and as a club obliges me to show the best I am capable of", Chochev added.
The midfielder also spoke about the team's chances of winning the title again, admitting that the advantage is currently on Levski's side, and the remaining rounds are getting fewer and fewer:
"Of course, the fewer matches there are left, the less our chances are. But that doesn't mean we've given up, because in every match we go out to win, we'll fight and in the end we'll see how far our strength will take us. Yes, we also have two matches for the Cup with CSKA. That might be a plus, because these matches will keep us in good shape. We'll meet a very strong CSKA team, a very good squad. And that means we have to show our best. Because when you play such matches at a high level, the team enters every match very well prepared“.
Chochev is also fighting for a personal top scorer award, as together with Everton Bala from Levski they lead the standings with 15 goals each. Mamadou Diallo from CSKA 1948 is in third place with 14, and Leandro Godoy – with 12.
Chochev also came into the media's attention with a gesture towards his teammate Eric Bile, when in the match with Spartak (Varna) he gave the right to take a penalty. The team from Razgrad won 5:1, and Bile converted from the penalty spot in added time.
"The goal scorer award is not that important to me, because first and foremost for me is the team winning. I say it again - Eric Bile plays as a striker, he hasn't scored a goal in a long time and I think it was important for him to score. So that he can regain some self-confidence, because we have some very important matches now in which he needs to help. There were other guys who needed to take this penalty, but not everyone can. And then we gave it to him, because he plays as a striker. There are still many matches ahead and let's hope that I will continue to score, not only from penalties“, concluded Ivaylo Chochev.