 Born in Varna, Iliev was taken on by Cherno More Varna at an early age and signed a professional contract in July 2000.His debut came on 14 October 2000 at Hristo Botev Stadium ending in a 1–0 defeat to Botev Plovdiv.On 21 October, he went on to score his first competitive goal for Cherno More against Litex Lovech on his 2nd appearance for the club.