Association Football Club Tsarsko Selo 2015 ( bg, Сдружение Футболен Клуб Царско Село 2015), commonly referred to as Tsarsko Selo, was a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
. It played in
First League, the top tier of the
Bulgarian football league system The Bulgarian football league system or the Bulgarian football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Bulgaria. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and ...
.
Tsarsko Selo played their home matches at their
Tsarsko Selo Sports Complex in the
Dragalevtsi
Dragalevtsi ( bg, Драгалевци ) is a neighborhood of Sofia, which is located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. It is part of the administrative district "Vitosha" of Sofia Municipality. Dragalevtsi is an affluent quarter built up with luxu ...
quarter of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
.
History
2015–2016: Foundation
In the summer of 2015, the previous chairman of
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
Stoyne Manolov established a new academy called ''Football Academy Tsarsko Selo'', with a focus on scouting and developing youth football players born in 2002 to 2010. The club was initially registered and a subsequent men's team in the
A RFG Sofia South was established, with former long-time
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
captain
Todor Yanchev
Todor Dimitrov Yanchev ( bg, Тодор Янчев; born 19 May 1976) is a former Bulgarian footballer, who played as a midfielder.
Career
Playing career
Born in Kazanlak, Yanchev's first club was local club F.C. Rozova Dolina, before he moved ...
appointed as manager. On November 12, 2015 Manolov announced an academy partnership with Spanish
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
club
Málaga CF
Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...
. In the end of December 2015,
Todor Yanchev
Todor Dimitrov Yanchev ( bg, Тодор Янчев; born 19 May 1976) is a former Bulgarian footballer, who played as a midfielder.
Career
Playing career
Born in Kazanlak, Yanchev's first club was local club F.C. Rozova Dolina, before he moved ...
took over
Sofia 2010, which was bought by Manolov and was merged with Tsarsko Selo to establish a new club called Tsarsko Selo Sofia.
2016–2022: Professional levels
On 28 July 2016 the team was accepted in the newly created
Bulgarian Second Professional League. They finished their first match against
Botev Galabovo with a draw. In their first match for the
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament ...
they played against
Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...
. The match was played on 22 September 2016 at the
Lokomotiv Stadium in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
and was won by Levski by 2–0. After 2 heavy defeats, Yanchev stepped down from his position as a manager and on 29 October 2016, previous
Cherno More Varna
Cherno More ( bg, Черно Море) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in the city of Varna, which currently competes in Bulgaria's primary football competition, the First League. Founded on March 3, 1913, as an assoc ...
head coach
Nikola Spasov
Nikola Spasov ( bg, Никола Спасов; 15 December 1958 – 23 November 2020) was a Bulgarian professional footballer and coach.
Playing career
Born in Sofia, Spasov played for PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, FC Dunav Ruse, PFC Cherno More Varna an ...
was announced as the new manager of the team. The team finished their first season in Second League in 5th place.
The good start of the season for Tsarsko Selo was marked not only by the first place in the league after 8 rounds, but with their first win for the Cup, winning the first round against
Neftochimic Burgas on 19 September 2017. On 3 January 2018
Nikola Spasov
Nikola Spasov ( bg, Никола Спасов; 15 December 1958 – 23 November 2020) was a Bulgarian professional footballer and coach.
Playing career
Born in Sofia, Spasov played for PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, FC Dunav Ruse, PFC Cherno More Varna an ...
was announced as the new manager of the
Kazakhstan Premier League
The Kazakhstan Professional Football League ( kk, Қазақстан Премьер Лигасы, ''Qazaqstan Premer Ligasy''), commonly referred to as Kazakh Premier League or simply Premier League, is the top division of football in Kazakhstan ...
team
Kyzylzhar. Shortly the same day
Veselin Velikov
Veselin Velikov ( bg, Веселин Великов; born 19 March 1977) is a former Bulgarian footballer, and currently manager.
Career
Velikov was the manager of Dunav Ruse from June 2014 till October 2017, when he left the club by mutual con ...
was announced as the new manager of the club. On 8 May 2018
Velislav Vutsov
Velislav Ivanov Vutsov (Bulgarian: Велислав Иванов Вуцов) (born 19 July 1967) is a Bulgarian football manager and former footballer. He is also the son of former footballer Ivan Vutsov.
Career
Throughout his career, he has be ...
was announced as the new head coach of the team with Velikov becoming a selectionist.
![Tsarsko Selo F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Tsarsko_Selo_F.C.jpg)
On 22 April 2019 in a goalless draw against
CSKA 1948 the kings secured their first place in Second League and won promotion in the First League for first time in their history, being 18 points ahead from the second and third place five rounds before the end of the season.
Tsarsko selo's first ever match in the Bulgarian First Division resulted in a 0–2 away loss against the actual champion
Ludogorets Razgrad. This was followed by a home 0–0 draw to the other debutant
Arda Kardzhali. Tsarsko selo's first win came in the fifth round, when the team managed to beat
Botev Plovdiv
Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes ...
away with 0–2. Two goals for the win were scored by Dutch winger
Rodney Antwi
Rodney Antwi (born 3 November 1995) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Novi Pazar. Besides the Netherlands, he has played in Bulgaria, Egypt, Malta and Serbia.
Club career
Antwi is a youth exponent from FC Utrecht. He m ...
. The first home win came in the seventh round with 2–1 against
Beroe Stara Zagora
Beroe ( bg, Берое) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded in 1916 under the name ''Vere ...
. Tsarsko Selo eventually finished 13th, having to play a playoff match in order to remain in the elite. They were drawn against the second-placed team from the Second League,
Septemvri Sofia
Septemvri ( bg, Септември) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the First League, the first tier of Bulgarian football. Its home ground is the Septemvri Stadium, but due to it ...
. In a very close fought game played in Sofia, Tsarsko Selo won 2–0, securing their place in the First League for the next season.
In January 2022 an Italian Private Investment company joined the club leadership. On 21 May 2022, in the last match of the season, Tsarsko Selo got a penalty that could bring them the win.
Yusupha Yaffa
Yusupha Yaffa (born 31 December 1996) is a Gambian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
Career
As a youth player, Yaffa joined the youth academy of Serie A side Milan. Before the second half of 2014–15, Yaffa joined the youth acad ...
decided to take the penalty despite
Martin Kavdanski
Martin Kavdanski ( bg, Мартин Кавдански; born 13 February 1987) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Botev Vratsa.
Club career
On 28 June 2015, Kavdanski signed a one-year contract with the most succ ...
being the regular penalty taker. Yaffa was ready to take the penalty when the owner of the team, Stoyne Manolov, entered the pitch and fought with him. He left the pitch and Kavdanski took the penalty, but was saved. On the next day, Manolov announced that the team won't be participating in the league next season and will end their existence.
Стойне Манолов призна: Царско село приключва съществуването си!
/ref>
Honours
Second League:
* Winners (1): 2018–19
* Third Place (1): 2017–18
Fourth League:
* Runners up (1): 2015–16
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it.
The tournament ...
:
* Round of 16 (2): 2017–18, 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
Shirt and sponsor
Tsarsko Selo's main kit was initially red and white and the away kits were black and red. From 2016, the main kit has been all-red, while the reserve ones are all-white. In 2017 team main kit was changed to pink.
Records and notable stats
*Players in bold are still playing for Tsarsko Selo.
Notable players
The footballers enlisted below have international caps for their respective countries, have more than 100 caps, or hold a record for Tsarsko Selo. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.
;Bulgaria
* Lachezar Baltanov
Lachezar Baltanov ( bg, Лъчезар Балтанов; born 11 July 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Botev Plovdiv, while being a captain of Botev Plovdiv II.
Career Levski Sofia
He raised t ...
* Ivan Bandalovski
Ivan Georgiev Bandalovski ( bg, Иван Бандаловски; born 23 November 1986) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a defender.
Club career Early career
Bandalovski started playing football in the youth team of ...
* Ivan Čvorović
* Reyan Daskalov
Reyan Daskalov ( bg, Реян Даскалов; born 10 February 1995) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for CSKA 1948.
Club career
Litex Lovech
Daskalov joined Litex Academy from Levski Ruse, where h ...
* Svetoslav Dikov
* Boris Galchev
Boris Petrov Galchev ( bg, Борис Галчев; born 31 October 1983) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.
Career Early career
Born in Razlog, but raised in Dobrinishte, Galchev started his career in the youth s ...
* Antonio Georgiev
* Ventsislav Hristov
Ventsislav Hristov ( bg, Венцислав Христов; born 9 November 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Botev Vratsa.
Personal life
Hristov was born in Sofia to a Bulgarian father and a Ukrainian mothe ...
* Mihail Ivanov
* Yanis Karabelyov
* Georgi Minchev
* Veselin Minev
Veselin Minev (Bulgarian Cyrillic: Веселин Минев; born 14 October 1980) is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played as a left-back and current assistant manager of Arda Kardzhali.
He has a twin brother, Yordan, who is also a foot ...
* Yordan Minev
* Boyan Peykov
* Ventsislav Vasilev
Ventsislav Vasilev ( bg, Венцислав Василев; born 8 July 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for Minyor Pernik.
Career
He started his professional career in his former club Minyor Pernik ...
;Europe
* Artur Crăciun
* Rodney Antwi
Rodney Antwi (born 3 November 1995) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Novi Pazar. Besides the Netherlands, he has played in Bulgaria, Egypt, Malta and Serbia.
Club career
Antwi is a youth exponent from FC Utrecht. He m ...
* Dylan Mertens
Dylan Mertens (born 20 July 1995, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Botev Plovdiv in the Bulgarian First League.
Club career Youth
Mertens played for SDW, DWS and AFC before joining the FC Utrecht ...
* Alen Stevanović
Alen Stevanović ( sr-Cyrl, Ален Стевановић, ; born 7 January 1991) is a Swiss-born Serbian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Serbian First League club IMT.
A product of the Radnički Obrenovac youth academy, ...
;Africa
* Dylan Bahamboula
Dylan Ozan Moyo Bahamboula (born 22 May 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Livingston. Born in France, he represents the Republic of the Congo at international level.
Club career
Bahambou ...
* Gaëtan Missi Mezu
Gaëtan Missi Mezu Kouakou (born 4 May 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for side Martigues. Born in France, he plays for the Gabon national team.
Club career
Missi Mezu was born in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. He began ...
* Yassine Amrioui
;The Americas
* Wesley Natã
* Johny Placide
;Asia
* Khair Jones
Past seasons
ImageSize = width:500 height:60
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2022
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2016
Colors =
id:bl1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5)
id:bl2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3)
id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6)
id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1)
PlotData=
bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 color:yellow shift:(0,14) text: "Regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
"
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2019 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " Second League"
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2022 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
Manager history
References
External links
Official website
bgclubs.eu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsarsko Selo Sofia, FC
Defunct football clubs in Bulgaria
Association football clubs established in 2015
Association football clubs disestablished in 2022
2015 establishments in Bulgaria
2022 disestablishments in Bulgaria