Stoichkov (Spanish footballer)

Stoichkov
Personal information
Full name Juan Diego Molina Martínez
Date of birth (1993-11-05) 5 November 1993
Place of birth San Roque, Spain
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position Attacking midfielder
Youth career
San Roque
2011 Goyu-Ryu
2011–2012 Espanyol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2013 Cacereño B 30 (5)
2012–2013 Cacereño 3 (0)
2013–2014 San Roque 28 (8)
2014 Europa 5 (2)
2014–2016 San Roque 50 (27)
2016–2018 Linense 81 (24)
2018–2021 Mallorca 20 (3)
2019–2020 → Alcorcón (loan) 40 (16)
2020–2021 → Sabadell (loan) 37 (11)
2021–2024 Eibar 121 (46)
2024–2025 Alavés 16 (0)
2025–2026 Granada 8 (1)
2025–2026 → Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 34 (5)
2026– Johor Darul Ta'zim 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 August 2026

Juan Diego Molina Martínez (born 5 November 1993), commonly known as Stoichkov, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim. Mainly an attacking midfielder, he can also play as a winger or a forward.

He made over 170 Segunda División appearances and scored over 60 goals for Mallorca, Alcorcón, Sabadell and Eibar, having played at lower levels until nearly aged 25.

Career

Early career

Born in San Roque, Cádiz, Andalusia, Stoichkov received his nickname after FC Barcelona's 1990s forward Hristo Stoichkov. His father, who met the Bulgarian international while working at a bar in Barcelona, wanted to legally name his son Stoichkov; this decision was vetoed by his mother.[1]

Stoichkov finished his formation with RCD Espanyol, also in the Catalan capital. On 20 July 2012, he joined Segunda División B side CP Cacereño,[2] but spent the vast majority of his spell with the reserves.

On 5 September 2013, Stoichkov signed for Tercera División side CD San Roque, club he already represented as a youth.[3] Ahead of the 2014–15 campaign, he moved abroad for the first time in his career and joined Gibraltarian side Europa FC, playing in the UEFA Europa League qualifying stages before rejoining San Roque in December 2014.[4]

On 28 January 2016, Stoichkov moved to Real Balompédica Linense in the third level.[5] He immediately became a starter for the side, and scored ten goals for them in the 2017–18 campaign.

Mallorca

On 6 July 2018, Stoichkov signed a four-year contract with RCD Mallorca, newly promoted to Segunda División.[6] He made his professional debut on 7 September, coming on as a second-half substitute for Carlos Castro in a 1–0 home win against Cádiz CF.[7]

Stoichkov scored his first professional goal on 27 October 2018, netting the equaliser in a 2–2 home draw against UD Las Palmas. He contributed with three league goals during the campaign as his side achieved promotion to La Liga.

On 20 July 2019, Stoichkov joined AD Alcorcón in the second division on a one-year loan deal.[8] In his year with the team from the Community of Madrid, he finished joint fourth in the league's top scorers with 16 goals.[9]

On 5 October 2020, Stoichkov joined CE Sabadell FC on loan for the 2020–21 campaign.[10] He scored 11 goals, including both of a 2–2 home draw with neighbours Girona FC,[11] but the Catalans were relegated.[12]

Eibar

On 21 July 2021, Stoichkov moved to fellow second division side SD Eibar on a three-year deal.[13] He opened his account with two goals in a 3–2 win at Basque neighbours Real Sociedad B on 11 September,[14] adding a further brace to win at home to Sporting de Gijón by the same score eight days later.[15] He was October's Segunda División Player of the Month for three goals in five games.[16]

Stoichkov was sent off for the first time in his career on 6 March 2022, at the end of a 4–1 loss at FC Cartagena in which he opened the scoring. His suspension was overturned on appeal when the Royal Spanish Football Federation ruled that he did not deny his opponent a clear goalscoring chance.[17] He finished the campaign with 21 goals, behind joint top scorers Borja Bastón and Cristhian Stuani, while his team made the play-offs in third.[18]

On 19 December 2023, Stoichkov renewed with the Armeros until 2026.[19]

Alavés

On 17 July 2024, Stoichkov was announced at top tier side Deportivo Alavés on a three-year deal,[20] after the club paid his € 1 million release clause.[21] He made his debut in the category at the age of 31 on 16 August, playing the last 22 minutes in a 2–1 away loss to RC Celta de Vigo.

Granada

On 25 January 2025, Stoichkov returned to the second division after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Granada CF.[22] On 29 August, Deportivo de La Coruña announced that they had signed Stoichkov on a season-long loan deal,[23] with Mohamed Bouldini moving in the opposite direction also on loan.

On 31 July 2026, Stoichkov terminated his link with the Nazaríes.[24]

Johor Darul Ta'zim

On 1 August 2026, Stoichkov was announced as the latest signing for the Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim, marking his first career move outside of Europe.[25]

Career statistics

As of match played 31 May 2026[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cacereño 2012–13 Segunda División B 30———30
San Roque 2013–14 Tercera División 288———288
2014–15 Tercera División 2611———2611
Total 54190000005419
Europa 2014–15 Gibraltar Premier Division 52—2[b]0—72
San Roque 2015–16 Tercera División 2416———2416
Linense 2015–16 Segunda División B 155———155
2016–17 Segunda División B 309———309
2017–18 Segunda División B 3610———3610
Total 81240000008124
Mallorca 2018–19 Segunda División 16330—1[c]0203
2020–21 Segunda División 3000—0030
Total 193300010233
Alcorcón (loan) 2019–20 Segunda División 401600——4016
Sabadell (loan) 2020–21 Segunda División 371111——3812
Eibar 2021–22 Segunda División 392110—1[c] 04121
2022–23 Segunda División 401210—2[c] 14313
2023–24 Segunda División 391210—2[d] 04212
Total 118 45 3 0 0 0 5 1 126 46
Alavés 2024–25 La Liga 16 0 1 0 — — 17 0
Granada 2024–25 Segunda División 14 1 — — — 14 1
2025–26 Segunda División 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 1
Deportivo La Coruña (loan) 2025–26 Segunda División 34 5 0 0 — — 34 5
Johor Darul Ta'zim 2026–27 Malaysia Super League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 447142812061463144
  1. ↑ Includes Copa Del Rey
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in Promotion Playoffs
  4. ↑ pro

References

  1. ↑ Mateo, Roberto (31 October 2018). "El Stoichkov gaditano... en el nombre del padre" [The Stoichkov of Cádiz... in the name of the father]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Matías Saad y 'Stoichkov' se unen al Cacereño de Cobos" [Matías Saad and 'Stoichkov' join Cobos' Cacereño]. El Periódico de Extremadura (in Spanish). 20 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Dos incorporaciones con acento de la casa" [Two signings with a home accent] (in Spanish). CD San Roque. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "El delantero del San Roque, Stoichkov, pichichi con 10 goles, es la amenaza del San Fernando CD, que es el equipo menos goleado del grupo décimo" [San Roque's forward, Stoichkov, top goalscorer with 10 goals, is the threat of San Fernando CD, who is the team with the least goals conceded in group ten] (in Spanish). Deporte de La Isla. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "La Balona se hace con el rojillo Stoichkov" [Balona get the rojillo Stoichkov] (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  6. ↑ "RCD Mallorca signs Juan Diego Molina 'Stoichkov'". RCD Mallorca. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Álex López da una nueva victoria al Mallorca en un intenso partido" [Álex López gives a new victory to Mallorca in an intense match]. Marca (in Spanish). 7 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "Stoichkov nuevo jugador alfarero para la temporada 2019/2020" [Stoichkov new alfarero player for the 2019/2020 season] (in Spanish). AD Alcorcón. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Stuani, máximo goleador de Segunda con 29 tantos" [Stuani, top scorer in Segunda with 29 goals]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 21 July 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Stoichkov joins CE Sabadell on loan". RCD Mallorca. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "Los dos goles de Stoichkov no bastan al Sabadell para ganar en casa" [Stoichkov's two goals not enough for Sabadell to win at home]. Sport (in Spanish). 31 March 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  12. ↑ Chcáretegui, Miguel; Valero, S. (19 June 2021). "Stoichkov apunta al Eibar" [Stoichkov points to Eibar]. Diario de Mallorca (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  13. ↑ "Stoichkov, nuevo jugador armero" [Stoichkov, new armero player] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Vídeo: Un doblete de Stoichkov marca la victoria del Eibar ante la Real B" [Video: A Stoichkov brace marks Eibar's victory against Real B]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 11 September 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "El sanroqueño Stoichkov, tras otro doblete, a la cabeza de los goleadores de Segunda" [San Roque-born Stoichkov, after another brace, leads the Segunda goalscorers] (in Spanish). Andalucía Información. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Stoichkov recoge su premio al mejor jugador del mes en la Liga Smartbank" [Stoichkov takes his award for best player of the month in the Liga Smartbank]. Europa Sur (in Spanish). 15 November 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  17. ↑ "Competición anula la roja a Stoichkov, que estará ante el Amore" [Competition overturns red card for Stoichkov, who will feature against Amore]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 10 March 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "El uruguayo Stuani y Borja Bastón comparten el título de máximo goleador" [Uruguayan Stuani and Borja Bastón share the top scorer title]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 29 May 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "Stoichkov renueva con el Eibar y será jugador armero hasta 2026" [Stoichkov renews with Eibar and will be an armero player until 2026] (in Spanish). SD Eibar. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  20. ↑ "Stoichkov reforzará el ataque albiazul" [Stoichkov will bolster the white-and-blue attack] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "El Alavés paga la cláusula de Stoichkov y el gaditano deja un millón en las arcas armeras" [Alavés pay Stoichkov's release clause and the gaditano leaves one million on the armeros' vault] (in Spanish). Marca. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Comunicado Oficial | Stoichkov, nuevo jugador del Granada CF" [Official announcement | Stoichkov, new Granada CF player] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  23. ↑ "Stoichkov refuerza el ataque del Dépor" [Stoichkov bolsters Dépor's attack]. Deportivo de La Coruña (in Spanish). 29 August 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  24. ↑ "Comunicado Oficial | Stoichkov" [Official statement | Stoichkov] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 31 July 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  25. ↑ . Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. 1 August 2026 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18wAYknZ9W/. Retrieved 1 August 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ↑ Stoichkov at Soccerway
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