How Can We Help?
You are here:
< Back

Iliya Hristov Gruev (Bulgarian: Илия Христов Груев; born 30 October 1969) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer. Until 2022 he was assistant manager at Arminia Bielefeld.

Playing career

Gruev started out at Levski Sofia. Later, he played for Slavia Sofia, Lokomotiv Sofia and Montana in his home country and Altay in Turkey. After that he spent almost five years at Neftochimic Burgas before leaving for Germany to represent MSV Duisburg from 2000 to 2004. Following that he played for KFC Uerdingen 05 before finishing his active career in Rot-Weiß Erfurt.

Gruev has 13 caps for Bulgaria, scoring once – on 11 October 1997, in the 2–4 away loss in a 1998 World Cup qualifier against Russia.

Managerial career

Assistant manager

He was assistant coach in Chernomorets Burgas, Hajduk Split, Duisburg, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Bulgaria from 2009 to 2015.[1]

MSV Duisburg

After MSV Duisburg's bad results and following the release of their manager Gino Lettieri, Gruev was announced as the new manager of the team, signing a contract until 2017, becoming a first team manager for the first time.[2][3] In the 2016–17 season, Duisburg won the 3. Liga and got promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

Gruev was sacked on 1 October 2018 after the team scored only two points out of the first eight matches.[4] Torsten Lieberknecht became the new head coach.

Werder Bremen

In summer 2019, Gruev joined Werder Bremen as an assistant coach with a focus on set pieces.[5]

Personal life

Gruev's son Ilia is also a professional footballer for Leeds United.[6]

Career statistics

International goal

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gruev goal.
List of international goals scored by Iliya Gruev
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 October 1997 Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia  Russia 1–4 2–4 1998 World Cup qualifier

Managerial statistics

As of 29 September 2018
Team From To Record
G W D L Win % GF GA GD
MSV Duisburg 6 November 2015 1 October 2018 105 38 33 34 036.19 143 139 +4

References

  1. ^ "Илия Груев стана помощник-треньор на "Дуисбург", ще спасява отбора заедно с новия наставник" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. ^ Официално: Илия Груев пое Дуисбург
  3. ^ ""Legen wir los": Gruev unterschreibt bei den Zebras" ["Let's go": Gruev signs with the zebras]. kicker.de (in German). 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. ^ "MSV entbindet Ilia Gruev und Yontcho Arsov von ihren Aufgaben – Neuer Coach zeitnah". msv-duisburg.de. 1 October 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ^ Gruev wird Co-Trainer
  6. ^ Lüddecke, Tim (27 July 2023). "Gruev im Interview: "Man muss immer Mensch bleiben"" [Gruev in an interview: ‘You always have to stay human’]. Kicker (in German). Retrieved 16 May 2024.
Categories
Table of Contents