Indiana Vassilev

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In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Denchev and the family name is Vassilev.

Indiana Vassilev
File:Indiana Vassilev Philadelphia Chicago 10.26.25-070 (cropped).jpg
Vassilev with the Philadelphia Union in 2025
Personal information
Full name Indiana Denchev Vassilev[1]
Date of birth (2001-02-16) February 16, 2001 (age 25)
Place of birth Savannah, Georgia, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Philadelphia Union
Number 19
Youth career
2005–2012 Savannah United
2013-2015 South Georgia Tormenta FC
2015–2018 IMG Academy
2018–2020 Aston Villa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 Aston Villa 4 (0)
2020–2021 → Burton Albion (loan) 12 (0)
2021 → Cheltenham Town (loan) 12 (0)
2021 → Inter Miami (loan) 21 (3)
2022 → Inter Miami (loan) 24 (2)
2023–2024 St. Louis City 63 (5)
2025– Philadelphia Union 27 (3)
International career‡
2016 United States U16 8 (0)
2016–2017 United States U17 17 (3)
2018 United States U18 6 (2)
2019 United States U20 2 (0)
2023 United States U23 1 (0)
2025– United States 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 06:14, 18 September 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of January 22, 2025

Indiana Denchev Vassilev (Bulgarian: Индиана Денчев Василев; born February 16, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer and the United States national team.

Vassilev is a product of Aston Villa who signed him from the IMG Academy in Florida. He has represented the United States internationally at a number of youth levels and made his senior debut in January 2025.

Youth career

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Vassilev started his career with Savannah United in Savannah, Georgia from 2005 to 2012.[3] He later joined South Georgia Tormenta FC Academy (then called Tormenta United) from 2013 - 2015 before switching to IMG Academy in Florida.[4] His coach at the IMG Academy, Kevin Hartman, described him as having great leadership qualities and all the attributes he thought were required for him to play at the top level.[5]

Club career

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Aston Villa

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He was first scouted by Aston Villa in November 2016 and then again while representing the United States at the 2017 U17 World Cup. He was finally offered a professional contract in 2018.[6]

Vassilev started playing for Aston Villa's U23 team in the Premier League 2, scoring 4 goals in his first 6 games of the 2019–20 season. He was rewarded with a place in Aston Villa's first team on January 4, 2020, coming off the bench to replace Marvelous Nakamba in an FA Cup tie against Fulham.[7] On January 18, 2020, Vassilev made his Premier League debut, coming on as a substitute in the 67th minute in a 1–1 draw away to Brighton & Hove Albion.[8][9] He was cited by ESPN as a Premier League youngster set for a break-through heading into the 2020-2021.[10]

Burton Albion

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On September 17, 2020, Vassilev signed for Burton Albion of EFL League One on a season-long loan.[11] He made his Burton debut on September 19, in a 2–1 home victory over Accrington Stanley.[12]

Cheltenham Town

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Aston Villa recalled Vassilev from Burton Albion on January 28, 2021. The next day, January 29, he joined League Two side Cheltenham Town on loan until the end of the season.[13][14] He made his Cheltenham debut on January 30, as a late substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Forest Green.[15] He went on to make 12 appearances for Cheltenham, as they won the League Two title on May 8, 2021 – Vassilev's first trophy.[16]

Inter Miami

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On July 7, 2021, Vassilev joined MLS side Inter Miami on loan for the remainder of their 2021 season.[17] Vassilev made his MLS debut as a substitute in a 5–0 defeat to New England Revolution on July 21, 2021.[18] On August 8, 2021, Vassilev scored his first goal in the MLS – an injury time winner against Nashville.[19] He started 7 of 21 games played, scoring 3 goals.[20] Vassilev returned to Aston Villa training in November 2021, after the Inter Miami season had finished.[21]

On May 5, 2022, Vassilev returned to Inter Miami for a second season on loan.[22] He started 13 of 24 games played, scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists.[20] He made the Team of the Week on Week 16.[23] Vassilev was out of contract following Miami's 2022 season.[24]

St. Louis City

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On November 12, 2022, Vassilev's MLS rights were acquired by St. Louis City SC as part of the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft. Inter Miami received $50,000 as part of the deal.[25] A permanent transfer for Vassilev to St. Louis City was confirmed by Aston Villa on January 17, 2023, for an undisclosed fee.[26]

On February 26, 2023, Vassilev made his debut for St. Louis in their first ever competitive game, a 3–2 MLS victory over Austin.[27] He started 23 of his 29 games played during the 2023 season, scoring 2 goals and providing 5 assists.[20] Vassilev made the MLS Team of the Matchday on Matchday 14.[28]

In the 2024 season, Vassilev started 25 of 34 games played, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists.[20]

Philadelphia Union

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On February 21, 2025, Vassilev was traded to Philadelphia Union in exchange for $1 million ($400,000 in 2025, $600,000 in 2026) in General Allocation Money, with an additional $250,000 depending on meeting certain performance targets.[29][30][31] He rejoined his former St. Louis City SC manager, Bradley Carnell, at the Union.

International career

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Due to his parents' nationality, Vassilev was eligible to represent both the United States and Bulgaria at international level. He represented the United States at the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in which he played 4 of 5 games as the team reached the quarterfinals.[32] He also made appearances for the United States men's national U16, U18 and U20 soccer teams.[33]

At the beginning of 2020, Georgi Dermendzhiev, the Bulgaria national team head coach, stated that Vassilev had politely declined a call up for the Bulgaria under-21 team to continue representing the United States.[34] In May 2023, the new Bulgaria national coach, Mladen Krstajić, reached out to Vassilev regarding a potential call-up, but was informed that the player would want to focus on his adaptation to his new club and would discuss a call-up for the next matches.[35]

On October 8, 2023, Vassilev was called up to the United States under-23 national team ahead of friendlies against Mexico and Japan, playing in the 4-1 win over Japan.[36]

On January 18, 2025, Vassilev made his senior national team debut in a 3–1 win over Venezuela. On January 22, 2025, he made his first senior team start in a 3–0 win over Costa Rica.[37]

Personal life

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Vassilev is of Bulgarian descent. His parents settled in the United States in the early 1990s. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all played soccer in their native Bulgaria. His father, Dencho Vassilev, played for FC Sliven in Bulgaria and then was a NAIA All-American in 1993 at the University of Mobile and later played for the Savannah Rug Ratz in the EISL from 1997 to 1998.[38] He is named after Indiana Jones based on his father's interest in the movie character.[39]

His former partner, Ellie Bentley, who moved to the United States from the United Kingdom when Vassilev joined St. Louis City, was involved in a near fatal hit-and-run in St. Louis on February 25, 2024.[40]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played October 6, 2024[41]
Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aston Villa 2019–20 Premier League 4 0 1 0 1 0 — 1[c] 0 7 0
2020–21 Premier League 0 0 0 0 — — 1[c] 1 1 1
2021–22 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
Total 4 0 1 0 1 0 — 2 1 8 1
Burton Albion (loan) 2020–21 League One 12 0 — — — — 12 0
Cheltenham Town (loan) 2020–21 League Two 12 0 — — — — 12 0
Inter Miami (loan) 2021 MLS 21 3 — — — — 21 3
2022 MLS 24 2 2 0 1 0 — — 27 2
Total 45 5 2 0 1 0 — — 48 5
St. Louis City 2023 MLS 34 2 2 0 2 0 — 2[d] 0 40 2
2024 MLS 29 3 — — 2[e] 0 4[d] 1 35 4
Total 63 5 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 1 75 6
Philadelphia Union 2025 MLS 0 0 — 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
Career total 136 10 5 0 4 0 2 0 8 2 155 12
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup and U.S. Open Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup and MLS Cup Playoffs
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup

International

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As of match played January 22, 2025[37]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 2025 2 0
Total 2 0

Honors

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Cheltenham Town

St. Louis City SC

Philadelphia Union

References

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  10. ^ He was cited by ESPN as a Premier League youngster set for a break-through in 2020-2021.
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  23. ^ https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/team-of-the-week-presented-by-audi-philadelphia-union-portland-timbers-awaken-in
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  28. ^ https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/team-of-the-matchday-orlando-city-st-louis-city-make-rivalry-week-statements
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  33. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).[permanent dead link]
  34. ^ Дерменджиев: Индиана Василев любезно отказа да играе за България
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  37. ^ a b Indiana Vassilev at National-Football-Teams.comLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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