Stoycho Ivanov's journey through soccer from Bulgaria to Wangaratta

The 35-year-old has become one of the Albury-Wodonga Football Association's most recognisable figures since entering the competition in 2015.

Ivanov joined Wangaratta having previously played in Germany and Greece as well as his native Bulgaria and while the Devils quickly embraced him, the centre-half admitted it wasn't an altogether smooth start in Australian soccer.

"In the beginning, it was a bit bad, probably, the way I was acting," Ivanov said.

"I was having in my mind that I was a bit better than the other ones but in the end, you play in the same groups so you can't be like that.

"In the beginning, there was some pretty racist stuff.

"My mindset, I'm a bit old-style, I don't like easy stuff, flicks, the young generation, the FIFA stuff, and when someone does something on the ref, it's like 'typical European, he doesn't like the referees, doesn't like the opposition' so when I play, I'm always hot-headed.

"But a few players on the other teams meet me and they're like, wow, you're totally different when you're in the pitch. In life, I'm exactly the opposite.

"You can ask Albury players if they're working with our company, they're like, mate, we can't believe you're that in real life, when you're in the pitch you're one of the worst players, always getting that fire but I'm just like that when I play, I don't want to lose, so I'm rough.

"When you go with a 30-year-old player and he's saying your wife needs money to buy the kids shoes, you bring in it your mind that you need to be rough, so you don't get beaten by the opposition.

"With time, it's staying with me as a mentality and you always do whatever you need to win. It's like you're fighting, the same thing. I don't like losing."

The towering figure of Ivanov has become a fixture at the heart of Wangaratta's defence over recent years and the more physical the contest, the more he thrives.

"If someone can respond to me, I like it," Ivanov said.

"I don't like players whinging too much.

"I don't care if someone hits me when it's a 50/50 ball. A few players have tried to provoke me, hitting me, but I just laugh at them and say they're too mentally weak.

"When someone beats me with skills, I'll say to him 'bravo' but when it's dirty, it's not good, speaking about the person you're playing against."

Starting a new life in Australia was a familiar feeling for Ivanov.

"I've worked all my life in different countries," he said.

"My family was not rich and there was no-one to push me around the squads.

"I was good enough, I reckon, for second or third division (in Bulgaria) but I just had no support from anyone and I decided to move to Greece and play semi-professional.

"I stayed six years in Greece and after that I moved two years in Germany and I was playing amateur there, some kind of Murray United level."

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Ivanov met an Australian woman and applied for a visa to move Down Under.

"I was excited," he said.

"When I've been watching TV, I've seen Australia, kangaroos and stuff, all the dangerous insects and animals and I'm like 'I'm probably never going to go in that country' so when they called and said you've been approved, it was a strange feeling."

Wangaratta has proved to be a perfect fit for Ivanov.

"It's hard to go somewhere when no-one takes you as a friend, but when I came, everyone was friends with me and I had a lot of support," he said.

"I think I was pretty lucky. I've seen players come from England, they go after one year and not many people liked them but I came here and I know, because it's a lot of Italians and Greeks, they are pretty close culturally with the Bulgarians, so for me it was a bit easier."

It's been a learning curve for Ivanov, whose red card against Myrtleford in 2018 still sticks in the memory.

"It was 2-1 for us and the stewards didn't let me see the final stage," Ivanov recalled.

"So I got inside and broke a window. I was in big emotion because this game was winning us the league.

"But when I got outside and saw there were kids under the window, I felt very stupid, a big mistake, but it was already done.

"I apologised a few times and I always say that was my biggest mistake as a soccer player."

Last weekend's 2-0 defeat to Albury United has left Wangaratta six points adrift of the leaders with four games left, starting with the visit of Wodonga Diamonds on Sunday.

"I've been the last seven years in that comp and the good thing is the top five teams have been picking up good players and they play probably on the same level," Ivanov said.

"For me, I see United as the team to win the league but I prefer to be the underdog.

"For the last four or five years, it's the most competitive year because there's been so many teams changing first, second, third and fourth place and everyone is beating each other so I think that's pretty good."

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