Valery Bojinov

Valery Bojinov, born February 15, 1986, is a Bulgarian football striker who is currently playing for Fiorentina in the Italian Serie A. Bojinov moved to Malta from Bulgaria as a child with his mother, a former national team volleyball player. Valeri Bojinov was discovered at the age of 13 by U.S. Lecce sports director Pantaleo Corvino, while playing for Pietà Hotspurs, and signed for just 15,000 €. A promising young player, Bojinov debutted in Italian Serie A on January 22, 2002, at the age of 15 years and 11 months, and thus becoming the youngest foreign player to play in the Italian Serie A. Valery Bojinov played for Bulgaria at Euro 2004.

Bojinov showed his full potential for US Lecce under the guidance of coach Zdeněk Zeman; he then left Lecce for Fiorentina in January 2005, in a transfer worth approximately €13 million. Curiously, the Fiorentina team manager who actually attended and operated the bid was Pantaleo Corvino, the same one who discovered Bojinov and brought him to Italy.

In January 2006 Bojinov was rumoured to join Italian giants Inter Milan on a 6 month loan, with Internazionale goalkeeper Francesco Toldo rumoured to be going in the opposite direction. However, he remained in Florence and was re-introduced into Fiorentina's squad after a period of exclusion. Today, Valeri Bojinov is considered to be one of the highest-regarded young strikers in Europe.