PFC Levski Sofia, (Template:Lang-bg) also known simply as Levski is a Bulgarian football club founded in 1914 and based in the capital Sofia. So far, Levski has won 26 League titles and 27 National cups. Levski is the only club from Bulgaria's top division which has not been relegated since the inception of this tournament; it also has a positive balance against all teams in all national competitions. Internationally, Levski has reached three Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals and two UEFA Cup quarter-finals. In 2006, it became the first Bulgarian club to make the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Levski is one of the three Bulgarian members of the European Club Association[1].
| File:PFC Levski Sofia Logo.svg | |||
| Full name | PFC Levski Sofia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blue Avalanche, The Blues | ||
| Founded | May 24, 1914 | ||
| Ground | Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia | ||
| Capacity | 29,200 | ||
| Chairman |  Todor Batkov | ||
| Manager | Yasen Petrov | ||
| League | TBI A Football Group | ||
| 2009-10 | TBI A Football Group, 3rd | ||
|
| |||
History
[2] Sport Club Levski from Sofia was founded in 1911 by a group of students at the Second Male High School in Sofia, with football as the major sport practiced. The club was officially registered on May 24, 1914, the date now celebrated as its birthday. The club's name was chosen in honor of the Apostle of Bulgarian freedom Vasil Levski.
In 1914 Levski lost its first official match against FC 13 Sofia by 0:2. In that period (1914-1920) football wasn't a popular sport in Bulgaria, so there isn't any other information from the period concerning the club. In the summer of 1921, the Sofia Sports League was founded. It united 10 clubs from Sofia, marking the beginning of organized football competitions in the city. The Blues won the first match in the championship for the season 1921/1922, held on September 18, 1921, against Athletic Sofia with the score of 3:1. Levski captured the first place in the league in 1923 after a dramatic 3:2 win over bitter rival Slavia Sofia and successfully defended the title in the following season.
The first National Championship was held in 1924 with Levski representing Sofia. The team went on to win the title in 1933, 1937 and 1942, and established itself as the most popular football club in Bulgaria. Levski also became the holder for all times of the Ulpia Serdica Cup by virtue of winning it for the third time in a row in 1933. In 1929 Levski became the first semi-professional football club in Bulgaria, after 12 players staged a boycott of the team in demand of financial remuneration and insurance benefits. The same year Levski met its first international opponents, losing to Gallipoli Istanbul 0:1 and winning against Kuban Istanbul 6:0.
After World War II, Levski became one of the two top clubs in Bulgaria. After winning the championship in 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950 and 1953 Levski would not capture the domestic title again until the mid 1960s.
In 1949 the authorities changed the club's name to Dinamo following the Soviet traditions, but after the destalinization of Bulgaria, it was reverted back in 1957. The 1960s were marked with return to success both on the domestic and on the international stage. Levski's academy would become the most successful in national youth competitions for the years to come, and the results were first seen in the likes of Georgi Asparuhov, Georgi Sokolov, Biser Mihailov, Kiril Ivkov, Ivan Vutsov, Stefan Aladzhov and Aleksandar Kostov, assisted by experienced veterans like Stefan Abadzhiev, Dimo Pechenikov and Hristo Iliev, who celebrated winning the championship in 1965, 1968 and 1970, and the 7:2 triumph over new bitter rival CSKA in 1968. The tie against Benfica Lisbon in the European Cup in 1965 remained memorable for the Eusebio versus Georgi Asparuhov clash, and the recognition that the Portuguese great gave to his Bulgarian counterpart.
Following the new wave of political reform in the Eastern Block after the Prague Spring, in 1969 and against the wishes of the majority of its supporters, Levski was merged with Spartak Sofia and put under the auspice of the Bulgarian interior ministry. The name of the club was once again changed, this time to Levski - Spartak.
A new crop of youngsters in the likes of Kiril Milanov, Dobromir Zhechev, Pavel Panov, Todor Barzov, Voyn Voynov, Ivan Tishanski, Georgi Tsvetkov, Plamen Nikolov, and Rusi Gochev not only found their place in the first team, but brought new titles in 1974, 1977 and 1979. On the international stage the quarterfinal appearances in the Cup Winners Cup in 1970 and 1977, and in the UEFA Cup in 1976.
Levski's youth academy received the full credit of the whole Bulgarian football community by sending during the 1980s into the national team the new stars of The Blues: Petar Kurdov, Emil Spasov, Mihail Valchev, Emil Velev, Nasko Sirakov, Nikolay Iliev, Borislav Mikhailov and Bozhidar Iskrenov, who won the domestic championship in 1984 (an unprecedented domestic treble), 1985 and 1988. The back to back triumphs over VfB Stuttgart in 1983 and 1984, along with the quarterfinal appearance in the Cup Winners Cup in 1988, were especially celebrated by Levski's supporters.
The name of the team was changed to Vitosha by the authorities following the disruptions during and after the Bulgarian Cup final in 1985. The game ran on high emotions fueled by the streak of consecutive victories of Levski over CSKA in the 2 years prior to the game (though CSKA won the Bulgarian Cup game 2-1. The controversial decisions of the referee led to confrontations both on the field and on the stands. By decree of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party some of the leading players both of The Blues and the Reds were suspended from the sport for life. The championship title of the club for 1985 was suspended.
The suspensions were lifted shortly after, but regardless of the universal refusal of supporters to recognize and chant the new name of the team, it wasn't until 1989 and the Fall of the Berlin Wall that the club officially abolished the artificially imposed and hated title Vitosha and returned to being simply Levski. The normalization of sport activities in the country and the removal of the political influences on the football community were especially favorable to the results of The Blues. The team composed of the newcomers Plamen Nikolov, Petar Hubchev, Tsanko Tsvetanov, Emil Kremenliev, Zlatko Yankov, Georgi Slavchev, Ilian Iliev, Daniel Borimirov, Stanimir Stoilov and Velko Yotov and the return of the veterans Plamen Getov, Nikolay Todorov and Nasko Sirakov, dictated the game in the domestic championship by winning the title in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Memorable wins by big margins over challengers Lokomotiv Sofia – 8:0, CSKA – 7:1 and Botev Plovdiv – 6:1, clearly demonstrated Levski's complete superiority. Home games in European Competitions against Rangers FC and Werder Bremen turned into true holidays for supporters. Levski contributed with 5 first team players (Petar Hubchev, Tsanko Tsvetanov, Emil Kremenliev, Zlatko Yankov and Nasko Sirakov) and three reserve players (Plamen Nikolov, Petar Aleksandrov and Daniel Borimirov) to the Bulgarian national team that ended on fourth place in the unforgettable American summer of the World Cup 1994.
Financial distress and the increasing interest of the Bulgarian mafia into the game troubled Levski in the following few years. Players like Marian Hristov and Doncho Donev did well for the club, but failed to win the domestic title or record success Aleksandar Aleksandrov and Georgi Ivanov won the title in 2000, 2001 and 2002. The club once again became a force to be reckoned with in Europe, and had memorable clashes with Hajduk Split, Juventus, Galatasaray, Dynamo Kyiv, Slavia Prague and Liverpool[3].
Another relatively unsuccessful period lasted until 2005. Then the young new manager and former player Stanimir Stoilov organized a team of Levski's academy products Zhivko Milanov, Milan Koprivarov and Valeri Domovchiyski, the experienced Elin Topuzakov, Georgi Petkov, Stanislav Angelov and Dimitar Telkiyski, the fans' favorites Hristo Yovov, Daniel Borimirov and Georgi Ivanov, who came back after spending time abroad, reached the quarterfinal stage of the UEFA Cup, knocking out AJ Auxerre, winning against Olympique de Marseille and finishing ahead of the reigning title holder CSKA Moscow in the group stage, triumphing over Champions League participants Artmedia Bratislava and Udinese Calcio, before being knocked out by Schalke 04 in a controversial tie.
Levski, as the champions of Bulgaria, started their UEFA Champions League 2006-07 participation from the second qualiftying round, where they eliminated Georgian champions Sioni Bolnisi, defeating them 2-0 both home and away. In the third round, Levski faced Italian team Chievo Verona who are taking part in the tournament because of other clubs' sanctions as part of the 2006 Serie A matchfixing scandal. Levski eliminated Chievo after a decisive 2-0 win in Sofia and a secure 2-2 draw on Italian soil, thus becoming the first Bulgarian club to ever reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League[4]. There they faced last year's winners FC Barcelona from Spain, English champions Chelsea F.C. and German powerhouse Werder Bremen[5].
In 2007/2008 Champions League Qualifiers, Levski faced Finnish champion Tampere United. United won both matches 1-0 and Levski was eliminated from the tournament.
Levski earned a spot in the UEFA Champions League 2008-09 after domestic champion CSKA Sofia failed to secure a UEFA license because of numerous debts to creditors[6]. Levski lost to FC BATE of Belarus in the third qualifying round.
During 2009/2010 season, Levski's team started their European campaign with 9:0 (on aggregate) in the second Qualifying round of Champions League against UE Sant Julià. On the next round, Levski Sofia faced FK Baku. The blues eliminated the team from Azerbaijan with 2:0 (on aggregate). In the play-off round Levski was eliminated by Debreceni VSC with 4:1 (on aggregate). However, Levski qualified for UEFA Europa League. In the group stage, Levski faced Villarreal CF, Lazio and Red Bull Salzburg. Levski achieved only one win and 5 losses. Levski took the win against SS Lazio, after Hristo Yovov scored the winning goal in the match. The match was played at Stadio Olimpico.
Levski started the 2010/2011 season with a match against Dundalk F.C. - a second qualifying round for Europa League. Levski won the first match and the result was 6:0[7]. In the return leg at Oriel Park, a confident Levski beat Dundalk FC 2-0 with two first half goals from Garra Dembele, the first on 4 mins and the second 10 mins before half-time. In the next round Levski played against Kalmar FF. The first match ended 1-1 in Sweden. In the return leg in Sofia Levski won 5:2. In between The Blues defeated their arch rival CSKA Sofia in the Eternal derby of Bulgarian football with 1:0. Their next match in the Europa League will see them play AIK Fotboll, from Stockholm, Sweden. The first match ended with a draw, 0-0 and after the game AIK-hooligans attacked the Levski players and staff.
Stadium
Initially, the club did not possess a field of its own and training was held on an empty space called The Hillock (Могилката/Mogilkata), where the National Palace of Culture was built later. In 1924 the Sofia Municipality provided the club with the rights to an empty field on the outskirts of the city, and a decade later the stadium named “Levski” was finally completed. It provided for 10,000 spectators and was regarded as the finest sport facility in the city.
In 1949 the stadium was nationalized and later the Vasil Levski National Stadium was built on the site. The team would move to the “Dinamo” ground, which was located at the site of the modern Spartak swimming complex. In 1961 after districting the team moved to “Poduyane” neighborhood. There a new stadium was completed in 1963, renamed in 1990 in honor of Levski’s most beloved former player Georgi Asparuhov.
In 1999 the stadium emerged from serious reconstruction as an all-seater for 29,280 spectators. The field measures 120x90 meters. However, the team plays most of its important games versus foreign teams on the national stadium "Vasil Levski". The club president Todor Batkov has recently demanded that Levski should receive "Rakovski" stadium on loan. This should be done on account that the first club stadium was nationalized and Levski have never been repaid.
Honors and records
Domestic competitions
Bulgarian A Professional Football Group
- Champions (26 times): 1933, 1937, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009
- Winners (27 times): 1933, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007
- Winners (3 times): 1984, 1987, 1988.
- Winners (4 times): 1926, 1930, 1931, 1932
- Winners (11 times): 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948
- Levski have completed a domestic double 13 times (in 1933, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1994, 2000, 2002 and 2007) and a treble twice (in 1984 and 2007).
International competitions
- Quarter-finalists (2 times): 1975-76 vs. FC Barcelona 5:4 0:4, 2005-06 vs. Schalke 04 1:3 1:1
- Group Stage: 2009-10 UEFA Europa League vs. Salzburg, SS Lazio, Villarreal
- Quarter-finalists (3 times): 1969-70 vs. Gornik Zabrze 3:2 1:2, 1976-77 vs. Atletico Madrid 2:1 0:2, 1986-87 vs. Real Zaragoza 0:2 0:2
- Third round: 2001–02 UEFA Champions League vs. Galatasaray 1:1 1:2, 2002-03 UEFA Champions League vs. Dynamo Kyiv 0:1 0:1, 2008–09 UEFA Champions League vs. BATE Borisov 0:1 1:1, 2009–10 UEFA Champions League vs. Debrecen 1:2 0:2
- Group Stage: 2006–07 UEFA Champions League vs. FC Barcelona, Chelsea, Werder Bremen
Current squad
First team
As of August 20, 2010 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
For recent transfers, see List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2010.
Reserves
The following players are registered with the Europa League and are listed by club's website as reserve players. They are eligible to play for the first team. UEFA list. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Players out on loan
As of August 3, 2010 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Technical staff
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Yasen Petrov
|
Coach |
| Miroslav Kosev
|
Assistant Coach |
| Ruslan Mihaylov
|
Goalkeeping Coach |
| Yasen Ekimov
|
Fitness Coach |
| Georgi Ivanov
|
Manager / Head of the sport technical issues in Levski |
| Konstantin Bazdhekov
|
Manager / Head of financial issues in Levski |
| Kiril Ivkov, Biser Hazday
|
Academy Technical Manager |
| Aleksandar Kostov, Georgi Tzvetkov
|
Scouts |
| Tatyana Yancheva
|
Psychologist |
| Jan Filipov
|
Doctor |
Player records
Players in bold are currently playing for the team. Statistic is correct as of match played 11 August 2010.
Most appearances for Levski
| # | Name | Career | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Aladzhov
|
1967-81 | 483 | 4 |
| 2 | Emil Spasov
|
1974-90 | 415 | 111 |
| 3 | Pavel Panov
|
1969-81 | 383 | 177 |
| 4 | Kiril Ivkov
|
1967-78 | 375 | 15 |
| 5 | Aleksandar Kostov
|
1956-71 | 344 | 85 |
| 6 | Elin Topuzakov
|
1996-08 2009-10 |
335 | 23 |
| 7 | Hristo Iliev
|
1954-68 | 326 | 132 |
| 8 | Dimitar Telkiyski
|
1999-08 2009-10 |
309 | 64 |
| 9 | Stefan Abadzhiev
|
1953-68 | 299 | 45 |
| 10 | Plamen Nikolov
|
1977-92 | 296 | 6 |
Most goals scored for Levski
| # | Name | Career | Appearances | Goals | Goals/Game Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nasko Sirakov
|
1981-94 | 258 | 206 | 0.80 |
| 2 | Pavel Panov
|
1969-81 | 383 | 177 | 0.46 |
| 3 | Georgi Asparuhov
|
1959-71 | 238 | 153 | 0.64 |
| 4 | Georgi Ivanov
|
1997-09 | 204 | 122 | 0.60 |
| 6 | Emil Spasov
|
1974-90 | 415 | 111 | 0.27 |
| 7 | Dimitar Yordanov
|
1956-65 | 207 | 104 | 0.50 |
| 8 | Mihail Valchev
|
1981-87 | 169 | 102 | 0.60 |
| 9 | Georgi Sokolov
|
1958-69 | 237 | 83 | 0.35 |
| 10 | Hristo Yovov
|
1995-97 2004-07 2009- |
220 | 68 | 0.31 |
UEFA ranking
As of 30 May 2010
- 81
Levski Sofia - 82
AS Saint-Étienne - 83
Metalist Kharkiv - 84
FC Twente Enschede - 85
AaB Aalborg - Full List
Notable managers
Notable players
The following players included were either playing for their respective national teams or left good impression among the fans.
Note: For a complete list of Levski Sofia players, see Category:PFC Levski Sofia players.
Bulgarian Footballer of the Year winners
- 1965 - Georgi Asparuhov
- 1970 - Stefan Aladzhov
- 1974 - Kiril Ivkov
- 1975 - Kiril Ivkov
- 1977 - Pavel Panov
- 1984 - Plamen Nikolov
- 1986 - Borislav Mikhailov
- 1999 - Aleksandar Aleksandrov
- 2000 - Georgi Ivanov
- 2001 - Georgi Ivanov
Trivia
In September 2009, Levski were involved in a bizarre incident, which captured European headlines. The club received a fax, supposedly from the Russian champions FC Rubin Kazan, offering to buy four of their players (Zhivko Milanov, Youssef Rabeh, Darko Tasevski and Ze Soares). On 20 September 2009, the players travelled to Moscow for a physical in a local clinic, all four missing the Eternal derby league game against PFC CSKA Sofia, which Levski subsequently lost 0:2. The negotiator from the Russian side offered players much lower salaries than originally indicated and the players and club representatives returned to Bulgaria. It turned out that FC Rubin never targeted the players and Levski fell victims of imposters. The phone number listed on the fax turned out to be a cell phone number that had nothing to do with Rubin. It is speculated that the incident was masterminded to defraud bookmakers by placing large bets against Levski in their game against CSKA Sofia. Levski president, attorney Todor Batkov, stated that he had brought the matter to the attention of FIFA and Interpol[8][9].
References
- ^ "Club facts: Levski". Uefa.com. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- ^ "Levski – 94 years of joy, pains and hopes". Levski.bg.
- ^ "Liverpool brush aside Levski". bbc.co.uk. 2004-03-03. Retrieved 2004-03-03.
- ^ "Levski make Bulgarian history". Uefa.com. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
- ^ "Levski land to heroes' welcome". Uefa.com. Retrieved 2006-08-24.
- ^ "Levski set to replace CSKA in Champions League". Football24.bg. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
- ^ "Dundalk way out of depth in Sofia". irishtimes.com. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
- ^ "Levski Sofia reeling after bizarre transfer saga". reuters.com. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
- ^ "Who is behind Bulgarian derby oddity?". russiatoday.com. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
External links
- Official website
- PFC Levski.eu - The Best unofficial website entirely in English
- UltrasLevski.org - A site dedicated to the ultras history of the most numerous and strongest Bulgarian supporters
- Sector-B.com - Levski supporters site with news, photos and video from Sector B (Bulgarian)
- Levski.com - the old official site
- The biggest Levski Sofia forum with over 5000 registered users
- LevskiSofia.info
- Blue Honour - Supporters Club
- Levski's page on Football24 web site - Bulgarian and English