Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional
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 ...
, which competes in the
First League, the top division 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 ...
. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 by a group of high school students, and is named after
Vasil Levski
Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed t ...
, a Bulgarian
revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.
...
renowned as the national hero of the country.
Levski has won a total of
74 trophies, including 26
national titles, 26
national cups and 3
supercups, as well as 13 domestic
Doubles and 1
Treble. It is also the only
Bulgarian football
Football ( bg, футбол, ''futbol'') is the most popular sport in Bulgaria. It was introduced in 1893–1894 by Swiss gymnastics teachers invited to the country. A football (initially called ритнитоп, ''ritnitop'', "kickball") mat ...
club to have
never been relegated from the top division since the establishment of the league system in 1937. Levski has reached the quarter-finals of
UEFA competitions
UEFA competitions (french: competitions de l'UEFA), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur asso ...
for five times, was runner-up of the
Balkans Cup twice, and in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, it became the first Bulgarian club to reach the group stage of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
.
The team's regular kit colour is all-blue. Levskis home ground is the
Vivacom Arena - Georgi Asparuhov in Sofia, which has a capacity of 25,000 spectators. The club's biggest rivals are
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 ...
, and matches between the two capital sides are commonly referred to as the
Eternal derby of Bulgaria. Levski also contests the
Oldest capital derby
Oldest capital derby or Oldest Sofia derby is the name of the football match between the oldest still existing teams in the capital of Bulgaria: Slavia Sofia and Levski Sofia. Matches between the two sides have been played almost continuously eve ...
with
Slavia Sofia
PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home groun ...
. The club is a regular member of the
European Club Association
The European Club Association (ECA) is a body representing the interests of professional association football clubs in UEFA. It is the sole such body recognised by the confederation, and has member clubs in each UEFA member association. It was fo ...
and the
European Multisport Club Association
The European Multisport Club Association (EMCA) is a sports organization representing the interests of multisport clubs in Europe. It was created with an initiative of the multisport club S.S. Lazio.
EMCA is also a partner of the House of Sport ...
.
History
1914–1969: Sports Club Levski
Sports Club Levski was founded in 1911 by a group of students from the
Second Male High School 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 ...
. The club's name was chosen in honour of the Bulgarian revolutionary
Vasil Levski
Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed t ...
, and the club was officially registered on 24 May 1914.
In 1914, Levski lost its first official match against
FK 13 Sofia
Futbol Klub 13 ( bg, Футбол клуб 13), or simply FK 13 Sofia is a Bulgarian football club based in Sofia. In his history the club won two Bulgarian Cups in 1938 and 1940. ''Football Club 13'' is a football club in Sofia that existed inde ...
with the score of 2–0. Between 1914 and 1920, football wasn't a popular sport in Bulgaria, and no additional information about the club exists. In the summer of 1921, the Sofia Sports League was established, which united ten clubs from Sofia and marked the beginning of organized football competitions in the city. Levski won the first match in the championship in the 1921–22 season, held on 18 September 1921, against Atletik Sofia with the score of 3–1. The team captured first place in the league in 1923 after a 3–2 win over bitter rivals
Slavia Sofia
PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home groun ...
, and successfully defended the title the following season.
The first
National Championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
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. In 1929, Levski became the first semi-professional football club in Bulgaria, after twelve 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 1–0 and winning against Kuban Istanbul 6–0. Between 1930 and 1932, Levski won the Ulpia Serdica Cup for three consecutive years and was permanently awarded the trophy as a result.
![Georgi Asparuhov 1969](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Georgi_Asparuhov_1969.jpg)
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, 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
de-Stalinization
De-Stalinization (russian: десталинизация, translit=destalinizatsiya) comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and the thaw brought about by ascension ...
of Bulgaria, it was reverted 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 Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
,
Georgi Sokolov
Georgi Apostolov Sokolov ( bg, Георги Апостолов Соколов; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international Association football, footballer. A Forward (association football), forward with remarkable ball control, im ...
,
Biser Mihaylov
Biser Mihaylov ( bg, Бисер Михайлов; 30 June 1943 – 12 August 2020) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent all 14 seasons of his career at Levski Sofia, before retiring at the age of 32 in 1975.
Biography ...
,
Kiril Ivkov
Kiril Lozanov Ivkov ( bg, Кирил Лoзaнoв Ивков; born 21 June 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year.
Ivkov made ...
,
Ivan Vutsov
Ivan Kolev Vutsov ( bg, Иван Кoлeв Вуцов; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgarian national team.
He played in three mat ...
,
Stefan Aladzhov and
Aleksandar Kostov
Aleksandar Dimitrov Kostov ( bg, Александър Дми́тров Костов; 2 March 1938 – 15 April 2019) also known as Sasho, was a Bulgarian footballer and later coach.
He represented Bulgaria at the FIFA World Cups in 1962 and 19 ...
, assisted by experienced veterans like
Stefan Abadzhiev
Stefan Atanasov Abadzhiev ( bg, Стефан Атанасов Абаджиев; born 3 July 1934) is a former Bulgarian football forward who played for Bulgaria in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Abadzhiev played the majority of his club career for Lev ...
, Dimo Pechenikov and
Hristo Iliev, which resulted in winning the championship in 1965, 1968 and 1970, including the 7–2 triumph over new bitter rivals
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 ...
in 1968. In the
1965–66 European Cup, Levski was eliminated in the first round by
Benfica with 5–4 on aggregate.
1969–1985: Levski-Spartak
In January 1969, Levski was forcibly merged with
Spartak Sofia
FC Spartak Sofia ( bg, ФК Спартак София) was a Bulgarian football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded in 1947. The team plays in the Bulgarian Regional Division. The club's home colours are blue and white ...
by the
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
, and put under the auspice of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. 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
Kiril Milanov ( bg, Кирил Миланов; 17 September 1948 – 25 January 2011) was a Bulgarian football player who played as a forward.
He played in Marek Dupnitsa, Akademik Sofia and Levski Sofia. He also played for Bulgaria nati ...
,
Dobromir Zhechev
Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev ( bg, Добромир Георгиев Жечев; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia.
At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home to ...
,
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
,
Stefan Pavlov
Stefan Pavlov ( bg, Стефан Павлов; born 26 May 1945 in Godech) is a former Bulgarian Association footballer, footballer who played as а midfielder.
Honours
;Levski Sofia
* Bulgarian A PFG – 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977
* Bulgarian Cup ...
,
Yordan Yordanov,
Stefan Staykov
Stefan Georgiev Staykov ( bg, Стефан Гeopгиeв Стайков; born 3 October 1949) is a former Bulgarian association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Bulgaria national football team, Bulg ...
,
Tomas Lafchis,
Todor Barzov
Todor Barzov ( bg, Тодор Барзов; born 21 February 1953 in Dolna Mitropoliya) is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played as а midfielder.
A skillful free-kick taker, he scored numerous goals from different positions, in a career wh ...
,
Voyn Voynov
Voyn Yordanov Voynov ( bg, Войн Йорданов Войнов; born 7 September 1952) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a winger.
Voynov started playing in 1972 and spent the whole of his career as a player in Levski Sofia unt ...
,
Georgi Tsvetkov
Georgi Tsvetkov ( Bulgarian: Георги Цветков; born 10 September 1947) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a forward. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where he won a silver medal with the Bulgarian t ...
,
Plamen Nikolov, and
Rusi Gochev
Rusi Gochev ( bg, Руси Гочев; born 9 March 1958) is a Bulgarian retired football winger.
During his club career, Gochev played for Chernomorets Burgas, Levski Sofia and LASK Linz. He also amassed 33 caps for the Bulgaria national team ...
not only found their place in the first team, but brought new league titles in 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984 and 1985. On the international stage, the team reached the quarter-finals of the
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
in
1969–70 and
1976–77, and the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
in
1975–76. In the latter, Levski defeated
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
5–4 in the second leg, becoming one of the two European teams (alongside
Bayern Munich) to have scored five or more goals in one match against Barcelona in official UEFA competitions. Additionally, Levski became the only Bulgarian club to eliminate a
German champion after defeating
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
in the first round of the
1984–85 European Cup. They also eliminated Stuttgart a year earlier in the first round of the
1983–84 UEFA Cup.
1985–1989: Vitosha Sofia
The name of the team was changed to Vitosha by the authorities following the disruptions during and after 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 ...
final in
1985.
The game ran on high emotions fuelled by the streak of consecutive victories of Levski over CSKA in the two years prior to the game. During the game, which CSKA won 2–1, there were 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 of both clubs were suspended from the sport for life.
The championship title of the club for 1985 was suspended. However, the suspensions were lifted shortly after.
Levski won another cup and league titles in 1986 and 1988, respectively. The fourth European quarter-final came in
1986–87, when Levski knocked out the 1985–86
Danish Cup
The Danish Cup ( da, Landspokalturneringen; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955.
The winner will quali ...
winners
Boldklubben 1903
Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 is a football club founded on 2 June 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship (introduced 1913) in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the Dani ...
and the
1985–86 Yugoslav Cup holders
Velež Mostar, before losing to the
1985–86 Copa del Rey winners
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
.
1989–2009: Return of Levski Sofia and the ''Blue Tale''
After the 1989–90 season, the club regained its original name. The team was made up of players such as
Plamen Nikolov,
Petar Hubchev
Petar Kanchev Hubchev ( bg, Петър Кънчев Хубчев; born 26 February 1964) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played for Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. Considered one of the great ...
,
Tsanko Tsvetanov
Tsanko Nikolaev Tsvetanov ( bg, Цанко Hиколaeв Цветанов; born 6 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. After ending his playing career he began coaching.
Club career
Tsvetanov wa ...
,
Emil Kremenliev
Emil Georgiev Kremenliev ( bg, Емил Георгиев Кременлиев; born 13 August 1969) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Career
Kremenliev played club football for Slavia Sofia, Levski Sofi ...
,
Zlatko Yankov
Zlatko Georgiev Yankov ( bg, Златко Георгиев Янков; born 7 June 1966) is a Bulgarian footballer manager and former player, who played as a midfielder.
Career
Yankov was capped 79 times and scored four goals for the Bulgaria n ...
,
Georgi Slavchev
Georgi Slavchev ( bg, Георги Славчев; born 1 October 1969 in Kyustendil) is a Bulgarian former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Honours
Club
;Levski Sofia
* Bulgarian A Football Group, A Group (4): 1987 ...
,
Ilian Iliev
Ilian Dimov Iliev ( bg, Илиан Димов Илиев; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More.
He is best known for having played ...
,
Daniel Borimirov
Daniel Borimirov Borisov ( bg, Даниел Боримиров Борисов; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.
Borimirov's professional playing career spanned near ...
,
Stanimir Stoilov,
Velko Yotov
Velko Nikolaev Yotov ( bg, Велко Никола́ев Йотов; born 26 August 1970) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played as a forward.
Career
He was part of the Bulgaria national team that reached the semi-finals o ...
,
Plamen Getov,
Nikolay Todorov and
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
, and won three consecutive domestic national championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Levski contributed
seven players (Tsvetanov, Kremenliev, Yankov, Sirakov, Nikolov,
Petar Aleksandrov, and Borimirov), more than any other Bulgarian team, to the
Bulgaria national football team
The Bulgaria national football team ( bg, Български национален отбор по футбол, Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol) represents Bulgaria in men's international Association football, football and is administere ...
that finished in fourth place at the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
.
In 2005–06, Levski reached the quarter-finals of the
2005–06 UEFA Cup after knocking out the
2004–05 Coupe de France winners
Auxerre
Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...
in the first round, finishing above
SC Heerenveen
Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...
,
Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator.
Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to:
Places
* Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia
* Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...
and the reigning title holders
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...
in the group stage, triumphing over
Champions League participants
Artmedia Bratislava and
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
in the knockout stages, before being eliminated by
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
.
![Levski Werder2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Levski_Werder2.jpg)
Levski, as the champions of Bulgaria, started their
2006–07 UEFA Champions League
The 2006–07 UEFA Champions League was the 15th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since it was rebranded from the European Cup, and the 52nd season overall. The final was contested by Milan ...
participation in the second qualifying round, where they eliminated Georgian champions
Sioni Bolnisi
FC Sioni is a Georgian football club based in Bolnisi. Following the 2022 season, they were relegated to Erovnuli Liga Liga 2, the second tier of Georgian league system.
The team has once claimed the national league champion's title.
Sioni pla ...
, defeating them 2–0 both home and away. In the third round, Levski faced the Italian team
Chievo Verona
Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo , is a former professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a ...
, which took 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 2–2 draw in Verona, and thus became the first Bulgarian club to ever reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. There, they faced the title holders Barcelona,
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
champions
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, and
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
. They lost all six games and scored only one goal, in the second round against Chelsea.
Levski's 2005–06 UEFA Cup run and the participation in the Champions League group stage were considered the club's greatest European successes in the 21st century, hence the period in which this happened (2005–2007) was informally called the ''Blue Tale''.
Levski earned a place in the
2008–09 UEFA Champions League after the Bulgarian league champions CSKA Sofia failed to obtain a UEFA license. Levski lost to
BATE Borisov of Belarus in the third qualifying round.
2009–2020: Downfall
During the 2009–10 season, Levski's team started their European campaign with a 9–0 (on aggregate) win against
UE Sant Julià
Unió Esportiva Sant Julià, also known as UE Sant Julià, is an Andorran football club based in the parish of Sant Julià de Lòria. The club currently plays in Primera Divisió.
History
Founded in 1982 UE Sant Julià is the main football club ...
in the second qualifying round of the
2009–10 UEFA Champions League. In the next round, Levski Sofia faced
FK Baku
FC Baku ( az, "Bakı" Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Baku that has been an amateur club since 2016. Prior to that, Baku played 18 seasons in the Azerbaijan Premier League, winning the championship twice and earning the Na ...
, eliminating the team from Azerbaijan with 2–0 on aggregate. In the play-off round, Levski was eliminated by
Debrecen
Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...
with 4–1 on aggregate. As one of the play-off losers, Levski qualified for the
2009–10 UEFA Europa League
The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years.
Spain ...
. In the group stage, Levski faced
Villarreal
Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.
The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
,
Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and
Red Bull Salzburg. Levski achieved only one win and five defeats. Levski won against Lazio in Italy, after
Hristo Yovov
Hristo Georgiev Yovov ( bg, Христо Георгиев Йовов) (born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exc ...
scored the winning goal in the match.
Levski started the 2010–11 season with a match against
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
, in a second qualifying round of the
2010–11 UEFA Europa League
The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 1 July 2010, with ...
. Levski won the first match . In the return leg at
Oriel Park
Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey F ...
, Levski defeated Dundalk 2–0 with two first half goals from
Garra Dembélé. In the next round Levski played against
Kalmar FF
Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1910, the cl ...
. The first match ended 1–1 in Sweden. In the return leg in Sofia, Levski won 5–2. In between, The Blues defeated their archrival CSKA Sofia in the
Eternal derby with 1–0. Their next match in the Europa League saw them play against
AIK Fotboll
AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...
from
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden. The first match ended in a goalless draw, and after the game, AIK hooligans attacked the Levski players and staff. The second match ended in a 2–1 home win for Levski. Goals scored by
Daniel Mladenov
Daniel Mladenov ( bg, Даниел Младенов; born 25 May 1987) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Etar Veliko Tarnovo.
Career Youth career
Mladenov started his career in his home town Kyustendil in the lo ...
and Garra Dembélé put Levski in the Europa League group stage. Levski was drawn in
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
, facing
Gent
Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to:
* Ghent (Dutch language, Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city
** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent
** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent
** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghen ...
,
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
and
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
. The first match was played against Gent at home, which Levski won 3–2 with the winning goal scored by
Serginho Greene
Serginho Greene (; born 24 June 1982) is a Dutch professional footballer who last played for FC Lienden. Besides the Netherlands, he has played in Cyprus, India, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
Early life
Greene's life was all about football since he wa ...
. With this win, Levski recorded eight consecutive games without a defeat in European competitions. After that, Levski lost to Sporting CP with 5–0, followed by another defeat against Lille. In Sofia, Levski played well against Lille and was leading 2–1 until Ivo Ivanov scored an own goal to make it 2–2. In the last match of the Group C, Levski took a win against Sporting CP with 1–0, with the winning goal scored by Daniel Mladenov.
In the following 2011–12 season, in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, Levski were eliminated by
Spartak Trnava
FC Spartak Trnava () is a Slovak professional football club based in Trnava. Historically, it is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won the Czechoslovak First League five times and the Czechoslovak Cup on four occasions, an ...
of Slovakia, following a late game 2–1 win in Sofia, and a loss of the same scoreline in Trnava. The
penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
costed Levski a place in the play-off round. This caused an upset with the fans and players, and the team barely clinched the fourth place at the winter break in the Bulgarian league. Albeit only three points from the leaders
Ludogoretz Razgrad, the acting manager Georgi Ivanov was sacked from the position, but remained at the club as a sporting director.
Nikolay Kostov
Nikolay Kostov ( bg, Николай Костов; born 2 July 1963) is a Bulgarian football manager and former footballer who most recently managed Shakhter Karagandy.
Career
Much of his coaching career has taken place in Cyprus. His first co ...
was appointed the new manager of the club, giving the supporters a sense of optimism, which, however, faded after a cup knock-out in the hands of
Lokomotiv Plovdiv
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Локомотив Пловдив), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park ...
and a home defeat to
Minyor Pernik
FC Minyor ( bg, ФК Миньор) is a football club in Pernik, Bulgaria, that competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football. Founded in 1919 as SC Krakra, the club's home ground since 1954 has been Stadion Minyor. The ...
. Kostov handed in his resignation, leaving the managerial post once again vacant. Sporting director Georgi Ivanov once again stepped in to help the club, and accepted being the manager until the summer break, when a new one would be appointed.
![Football ultras](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Football_ultras.jpg)
During the summer of 2012, former player
Ilian Iliev
Ilian Dimov Iliev ( bg, Илиан Димов Илиев; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More.
He is best known for having played ...
was appointed the new manager of the club. Under his management, Levski was knocked out from the Europa League by Bosnian side
FK Sarajevo
Fudbalski klub Sarajevo (; English: Sarajevo Football Club) is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the most successful clubs in the country.
Founded on 24 October 1946, FK Sara ...
. Iliev led the team to 13 league victories and to the semi-finals of the Bulgarian Cup after eliminating
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 asso ...
and
Litex Lovech
Litex ( bg, Литекс) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Lovech, which currently competes in the Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Sports Club.
The club's home ground is the Gradski Stadion ...
on the
away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...
. Iliev however was sacked after a 1–1 away draw against
Pirin Gotse Delchev. Assistant manager
Nikolay Mitov
Nikolay Angelov Mitov (born 18 March 1972) is a Bulgarian former footballer and a former manager of Hebar Pazardzhik.
Club career
Mitov has played for Bulgarian teams - Hebar, Minyor and Levski, and German teams - Magdeburg and Holstein Kiel. Wi ...
took over the team until the end of the season. Under his management Levski won the derby clashes against Litex, CSKA and Ludogorets but failed to win the title after a 1–1 home draw against Slavia Sofia. Levski also reached their first Bulgarian Cup final since 2007, but lost on penalties 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 ...
. Despite the missed opportunity of winning a trophy, Mitov's contract was renewed for the 2013–14 season. However, the team made another disappointing performance in Europa League, being eliminated by the Kazakh side
Irtysh Pavlodar. As a result, Nikolay Mitov resigned as manager.
In July 2013
Slaviša Jokanović
Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Russian club Dynamo Moscow.
A physical player considered strong in the a ...
was appointed as the new manager of the team. Despite losing only two matches in twelve games, Jokanović was released in October 2013.
Ivaylo Petev
Ivaylo Bogdanov Petev ( bg, Ивайло Богданов Петев; born 9 July 1975) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
He spent his whole caree ...
was announced as his successor but during his introduction a few Levski supporters interrupted it, stating that they would not accept his appointment. The next day, Petev refused to take charge of the team and
Antoni Zdravkov was named as the new manager. Under his reign the team suffered a heavy 3–0 loss against rivals CSKA, but managed to knock them out in the Bulgarian Cup in December 2013 after penalties. Due to the difficult financial situation, a few key players, such as
Antonio Vutov and
Garry Rodrigues
Garry Mendes Rodrigues (born 27 November 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club Olympiacos and the Cape Verde national team. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Cape Verde national team.
...
, were sold to
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
and
Elche
Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,[Elin Topuzakov
Elin Kalinov Topuzakov ( bg, Елин Калинов Топузаков; born 5 February 1977 in Dimitrovgrad) is a Bulgarian former football defender and now manager.
He is nicknamed ''Balls'' ( bg, Топчо / Topcho) because of his last na ...]
took charge as a caretaker until the end of the 2013–14 season. The club did not participate in European competitions for the first time since 1990–91.
On 23 May 2014, the club supporters organized a
friendly game
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States ...
against Lazio, marking the 100th anniversary of the club. Club icons like Georgi Ivanov,
Dimitar Ivankov
Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov ( Bulgarian: Димитър Иванов Иванков; born 30 October 1975) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. However, he is known for his goals, especially from converting penal ...
,
Aleksandar Aleksandrov, Hristo Yovov, Elin Topuzakov and many other former players and celebrities took participation by playing in the game, as well as donating money for the event's organization. The next day, Levski marked 100 years since its founding.
The following years were arguably the darkest in the club's history. League-wise, Levski managed to finish higher than third place only once (runners-up in
2015–16), and achieved its lowest ever ranking (seventh place in
2014–15 and eighth in
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 ...
). On the stage of the Bulgarian Cup, the club lost two more finals, in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
to Cherno More and in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
to Slavia Sofia. In European competitions, Levski faced some of its most embarrassing eliminations – against Liechtenstein side
FC Vaduz
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
and Cypriot
AEK Larnaca
AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...
, the latter inflicting the largest ever European defeat on aggregate for Levski .
These years were turbulent not only on the football pitch, but at the higher hierarchy of the club. In June 2015, the long-time president
Todor Batkov
Todor Kostadinov Batkov (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Тодор Костадинов Батков) (born 17 October 1958 in Smolyan) is a Bulgarian businessman and lawyer who was president of the Bulgarian football club PFC Levski Sofia until l ...
stepped down and the club was taken over by Ivo Tonev, Aleksandar Angelov and Nikolay Ivanov. From this point onwards, Levski began to experience financial problems. Tonev, Angelov and Ivanov's reign was short-lived and in August 2016, they transferred their shares to businessman Spas Rusev. Under his governance, Levski signed players like
Gabriel Obertan
Gabriel Antoine Obertan (born 26 February 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for USL League One side Charlotte Independence.
A former attendee of the famous Clairefontaine academy, Obertan began his professional ca ...
and
Jordi Gómez
Jordi Gómez García-Penche (; born 24 May 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder.
After playing for the reserve teams of both Barcelona and Espanyol, he went on to spend the vast majority of his career i ...
, as well as coach
Delio Rossi
Delio Rossi (born 26 January 1960) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. He was most recently in charge as head coach of Serie B club Ascoli.
Playing career
Rossi was born in Rimini. His playing career ...
, in an attempt to return the club's glory. However, Rusev's financing was dubious, and there were complaints for delayed wages. In February 2017, Rusev admitted the club was "practically bankrupt". On 9 February 2019, Rusev stepped down as owner of Levski, leaving the club with more than 30 million
BGN in debt. Four days later, businessman and former owner of archrivals CSKA
Vasil Bozhkov
Vasil Krumov Bozhkov ( bg, Васил Крумов Божков; born July 29, 1956) is a Bulgarian people, Bulgarian politician and a businessman, considered the richest Bulgarian with a fortune estimated at between 1 and ...
took over the club. He attempted to stabilize Levski's financial situation by immediately covering the most urgent obligations and selling or releasing the players with the highest wages, investing around 25 million BGN in total throughout his tenure. In February 2020, Bozhkov stepped down as his main business, 7777.bg (National Lottery), had its license withdrawn by the Bulgarian government. The club being left with no financing whatsoever and in a full-scale financial crisis, sparkled an unprecedented support campaign amongst the fans, who engaged in various donation initiatives, raising 2.6 million BGN in the span of five months.
In 2021, former owner Vasil Bozhkov admitted that he was forced to take over Levski under the threat of business closure by prime minister
Boyko Borisov. Bozhkov's confession was somewhat of a confirmation of the insinuation that the reason behind Levski's financial problems and occasional ownership changes was Borisov's idea of using the club as an instrument for political influence.
2020–present: Return of Sirakov and Stoilov
In the summer of 2020, club legend Nasko Sirakov took charge of the majority of shares and the club made some financial cuts, forcing a big part of the players (mainly foreigners) to leave. Levski also changed its transfer policy, signing mainly Bulgarian and homegrown players with lower salaries, allowing the club to start paying off some of the debt accumulated throughout the years. Sirakov set a target for the club to clear most of the debt by 2023, mostly through sponsorship deals, outgoing transfers, television rights and the fans' financial support.
On 1 September 2021, Sirakov announced the return of the club's most successful manager in the 21st century, also known as the "author" of the ''Blue Tale'', Stanimir Stoilov. At that time, Levski was in 10th place in the league standings with 4 defeats and 2 wins in the first 6 games. With his arrival, Stoilov released three players –
Simeon Slavchev
Simeon Nenchev Slavchev ( bg, Симеон Славчев; born 25 September 1993) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Wieczysta Kraków.
Slavchev began his professional career at Litex Lovech in 2010. ...
,
Valeri Bojinov
Valeri Emilov Bojinov ( bg, Валери Емилов Божинов, ; born 15 February 1986) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a striker.
Throughout his career, Bojinov has played for seventeen different clubs during his ...
and
Hristofor Hubchev, and signed
José Córdoba
José Ángel Córdoba Chambers (born 3 June 2001) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bulgarian club Levski Sofia.
Club career
Córdoba started in the youth ranks and began his professional football career at I ...
from
Etar and
Dimitar Kostadinov
Dimitar Kostadinov (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Димитър Костадинов; born 14 August 1999) is a Bulgarian Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Italian club F ...
from
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 i ...
. Under his management, the team managed to improve promptly, earning 20 points by the end of the half-season with 5 wins, 5 draws, and 3 defeats.
On 15 May 2022, Levski won 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 ...
by defeating its biggest rivals CSKA 1–0 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, thus ending the club's longest ever trophyless period (13 years). It was a record 26th cup for the Blues. By winning the cup, the team earned a place in the
UEFA Europa Conference League qualifications. In the second qualifying round, they faced
PAOK, who reached the quarter-finals of the same competition the previous season. Despite being considered underdogs, Levski managed to eliminate the Greek team 3–1 on aggregate. However, Levski crashed out of the tournament in the third qualifying round after an upsetting home defeat on penalties at the hands of Maltese side
Ħamrun Spartans.
Honours
*
* Shared record
European record
Recent seasons
League positions
ImageSize = width:1600 height:70
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/2023
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1949
Colors =
id:First_tier value:green legend:First_tier
id:Second_tier value:white legend:Second_tier
id:Third_tier value:red legend:Third_tier
id:Fourth_tier value:yellow legend:Fourth_tier
id:Fifth_tier value:blue legend:Fifth_tier
id:Does_not_exist value:black legend:Does_not_exist
PlotData=
bar:Position width:20 color:green align:center
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from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/2016 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
"
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from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2023 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
;Key
* G = Games played
* W = Games won
* D = Games drawn
* L = Games lost
* GS = Goals scored
* GA = Goals against
* P = Points
Club symbols
Names and crests
![Vasil Levski 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Vasil_Levski_01.jpg)
The first club crest was designed by Mircho Kachulev in 1922. Initially in the size of a square with a blue background, it was intentionally written in a stylized letter "Л" (Bulgarian letter "L"; shortened for Levski). The inner space of the letter was filled vertically equally in yellow and red colours. In a later period of time, the Cyrillic letters "С" (Sport) and "К" (club) were added at the top of the square, while the bottom side was inscribed with the name "Sofia". This badge was used by the club until 1949, when it was renamed to Dinamo.
From 1949 to 1956, the emblem of the club was an irregular hexagon filled with vertical red, white, blue and yellow colours, with an inscribed handwritten Cyrillic letter "Д", alongside a five-pointed red star above it and the word "Sofia" underneath.
From 1957 to 1968 the original logo of the club was restored, however the letters C" and "К" were replaced with "Ф" (Athletic) and "Д" (union).
After the merger with Spartak Sofia in 1969, the club crest has been a shield in blue and white with a horizontal red bar above. The shield spawned the letters "Л" and "C", an abbreviation of the new name Levski-Spartak. The football club used this crest until 1985, when it was renamed Vitosha. Vitosha's crest was in the form of a stylized letter "C" surrounding the football in the upper curve of the letter, coloured in blue and white.
In January 1990, the club restored its original name and original logo, and the letters "C" and "K" in the upper corner of the blue square were replaced with the initials "Ф" (football) and "K" (club). However, due to legal issues with the ownership of the rights to the historic crest, the club was forced to change it in 1998, when a brand new shield logo was introduced, entirely in blue. At its centre, an inscription of the letter "Л" was introduced, alongside the year of establishment – 1914. The dome of the shield was labelled "PFC Levski".
After winning the legal dispute for the rights to the historic emblem in 2006, the club decided to use the two different crests simultaneously for a brief period of time. Later that year, the shield crest was replaced by the classic square emblem.
The
Cyrillic
, bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця
, fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs
, fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic
, fam3 = Phoenician
, fam4 = G ...
letter ''Л'' (L) is used today as the club's kit crest and on its social media channels.
File:Levski sofia 1914-1934.JPG, First crest (1922)
File:Levski Sofia logo (1923-1944).png, Sports Club Levski Sofia (1923–1944)
File:Levski sofia 1944-1949.JPG, Professional Athletic Union Levski Sofia (1944–1949)
File:Levski sofia 1949-1957.JPG, Dinamo Sofia (1949–1957)
File:Levski sofia 1957-1969.JPG, Athletic Union Levski Sofia (1957–1969)
File:Levski sofia 1969-1985.JPG, State Athletic Union Levski-Spartak (1969–1985)
File:Levski sofia 1985-1989.JPG, Vitosha Sofia (1985–1989)
File:Levski sofia 1989-1990.JPG, Levski-Spartak (1989–1990)
File:Levski sofia 1990-1992.JPG, Levski Sofia (1990–1992, 2006–2014)
File:Levski sofia 1992-1998.JPG, Levski 1914 (1992–1998)
File:PFC Levski logo 1998-2006.png, PFC Levski 1914 (1998–2006)
File:Levski92.png, Centenary crest (2014)
File:PFC Levski Sofia.svg, Modified version of the centenary crest (2014–present)
File:Levski L Logo big.png, Official kit crest
Club anthem
The first anthem of Levski was written by renowned Bulgarian poet
Dimcho Debelyanov and composed by
Lyubomir Pipkov
Lyubomir Panaïotov Pipkov ( bg, Любомир Панайотов Пипков) (September 6, 1904 – May 9, 1974) was a Bulgarian composer, pianist, and music educator. He is considered among the founders of Bulgaria's modern professional musi ...
. Since 1999, the club anthem is "Само Левски шампион" (''Only Levski, the champion''), composed by
Stefan Dimitrov.
Players
First team
'
''For recent transfers, see
Transfers summer 2022 and
Transfers winter 2022–23.''
Out on loan
Reserve team
Foreign players
Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the
Bulgarian First League
The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...
, however only five non-EU/EEA nationals can be used during a match day. Those non-EU/EEA nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If players are not of European origin, they can claim Bulgarian citizenship after five years of playing in Bulgaria.
Note: ''For a complete list of Levski Sofia players, see
:PFC Levski Sofia players.''
Club officials
Board of Directors
First Team
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
, -
!colspan="2", Technical staff
, -
, align=left, Head Coach
, align=left,
Stanimir Stoilov
, -
, align=left, Assistant Coach
, align=left,
Tsanko Tsvetanov
Tsanko Nikolaev Tsvetanov ( bg, Цанко Hиколaeв Цветанов; born 6 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. After ending his playing career he began coaching.
Club career
Tsvetanov wa ...
, -
, align=left, Assistant Coach
, align=left,
Dimitar Telkiyski
Dimitar Telkiyski ( bg, Димитър Телкийски; born 5 May 1977) is a Bulgarian football manager and a former player. His nickname is ''Mecho'' ( bg, Мечо) or 'Teddybear', was given to him by the Botev Plovdiv supporters.
Career ...
, -
, align=left, Assistant Coach
, align=left,
Todor Simov
, -
, align=left, Goalkeeper Coach
, align=left, Georgi Stoyanov
, -
, align=left, Fitness and Conditioning
, align=left, Mihailo Shejkeroski
, -
, align=left, Club Doctor
, align=left, Andrey Perekhod
, -
Youth Academy
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
, -
!colspan="2", Technical staff
, -
, align=left, Under-19 Coach
, align=left,
Elin Topuzakov
Elin Kalinov Topuzakov ( bg, Елин Калинов Топузаков; born 5 February 1977 in Dimitrovgrad) is a Bulgarian former football defender and now manager.
He is nicknamed ''Balls'' ( bg, Топчо / Topcho) because of his last na ...
, -
, align=left, Under-17 Coach
, align=left, Viktor Dimitrov
, -
, align=left, Under-16 Coach
, align=left,
Ahmed Hikmet
Ahmed Hikmet ( bg, Ахмед Хикмет; born 5 October 1984) is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive ...
, -
, align=left, Under-15 Coach
, align=left, Stoyan Dimov
, -
, align=left, Under-14 Coach
, align=left, Milen Gadzhev
, -
, align=left, Under-13 Coach
, align=left, Ilian Ivanov
, -
Youth academy
Levski's youth academy has developed some of the most successful Bulgarian footballers. Notable academy graduates are
Georgi Asparuhov
Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
,
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
,
Bozhidar Iskrenov
Bojidar Georgiev Iskrenov ( bg, Божидар Гeopгиeв Искренов, born 1 August 1962), nicknamed Gibona (Гибона means "The Gibbon"), Gibi (Гиби) and The Joy of the People (Радостта на народа), is a former Bu ...
,
Bozhin Laskov
Bozhin Georgiev Laskov ( bg, Божин Георгиев Ласков; (15 February 1922 – 2 April 2007) was a naturalised Slovaks, Slovak association football player of Bulgarians, Bulgarian descent and origin, who played as a Striker (associa ...
,
Georgi Sokolov
Georgi Apostolov Sokolov ( bg, Георги Апостолов Соколов; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international Association football, footballer. A Forward (association football), forward with remarkable ball control, im ...
,
Asen Peshev
Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing.
Club career
He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
,
Borislav Mihaylov,
Emil Spasov
Emil Spasov ( bg, Емил Спасов; born 1 February 1956 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder or striker.
Spasov started his career with Levski Sofia in 1974 and stayed in the club until 1988 with short br ...
,
Nikolay Iliev,
Hristo Yovov
Hristo Georgiev Yovov ( bg, Христо Георгиев Йовов) (born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exc ...
,
Dimitar Ivankov
Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov ( Bulgarian: Димитър Иванов Иванков; born 30 October 1975) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. However, he is known for his goals, especially from converting penal ...
and many others. At the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
in which
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 ...
reached the semi-finals, the Bulgarian squad included four players which came through Levski's youth system, making it
the most represented club in the Bulgarian squad. In 2020, Levski was included in the
CIES Football Observatory annual rankings, which ranks the clubs that trained the most players active in 31 top divisions of
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
member associations. In these countries there were 33 footballers from Levski's youth academy, and Levski was ranked 35th in Europe.
Stadium
![StadionGeorgiAsparuhov01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/StadionGeorgiAsparuhov01.jpg)
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
The National Palace of Culture (, ; abbreviated as , NDK), located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is the largest, multifunctional conference and exhibition centre in south-eastern Europe. It was opened in 1981 in celebration of Bulgaria's 130 ...
was built later. In 1924, the Sofia Municipality provided the club with the rights to an empty field on what were then the outskirts of the city, and a decade later the stadium named
Levski Field
Levski Playing Field ( bg, Игрище „Левски“, Igrishte Levski) was the original stadium of Levski Sofia football club. It was commissioned in 1924 and completed in 1934. In 1944 it had a seating capacity of 10,000.
The stadium was ...
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
Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,2 ...
was built on the site. The team played in various locations (including the nearby
Yunak Stadium
Yunak Stadium (Bulgarian: ''Стадион Юнак'', ''Stadion Yunak''), was a multi-use stadium in central Sofia, Bulgaria. It was located at the north-western corner of Knyaz Boris's Garden, on the southern bank of the Perlovska river. It ...
) before moving to the "Dinamo" ground, which was located at the site of the modern Spartak swimming complex. In 1961 after districting the team moved to "Suhata Reka" neighborhood. There a
new stadium was completed in 1963, renamed in 1990 in honour of Levski's most beloved former player
Georgi Asparuhov
Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
.
In 1999, the stadium emerged from serious reconstruction for 29,000 spectators. The field measures 105 x 68 metres. However, the team plays most of its important games versus foreign teams on the national stadium "Vasil Levski".
On one occasion the former club president
Todor Batkov
Todor Kostadinov Batkov (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Тодор Костадинов Батков) (born 17 October 1958 in Smolyan) is a Bulgarian businessman and lawyer who was president of the Bulgarian football club PFC Levski Sofia until l ...
had demanded that Levski should receive "Rakovski" stadium on loan. The demand was on grounds that the first club stadium was nationalized and Levski had never been repaid.
In October 2012, it was announced that Levski is rebuilding its stadium. The first phase of the planned reconstruction was to be completed in 2014, on the centennial of the club's foundation. As of 2013, the capacity was reduced to 19,000 due to the undergoing reconstruction of the main stand. On 5 July 2013, the first step was made in the construction of the main stand, which has a capacity of 6000 spectators and meets all the requirements of UEFA for the convenience of fans. Contractor of the "blue" building is the leading Bulgarian company in the construction of road infrastructure and other important rehabilitation projects, “Avtomagistrali – Tcherno more” AD. The stadium's main stand was officially opened on 23 April 2016 at a special ceremony. Since 2019, the Museum of Glory of Levski Sofia is also located at the stadium.
Supporters
![Levski Werder1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Levski_Werder1.jpg)
Historically, Levski Sofia fans gathered in the south stand of the stadium. This tradition is believed to have its roots in the Sofia Derby when Levski fans met before the games at the area close to the south end of the
Vasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,2 ...
. Due to the orientation of the stadium and the naming conventions of stands at most Bulgarian stadiums, Sector B became synonymous with Levski fans. More recently the fans in Sector B are seen as part of the
ultras
Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...
movement popular in the Balkans. Today Sector B initiates most of the songs, choreography and pyrotechnic displays at Levski games.
Levski supporters are organized by fanclubs, most notably the National Supporters Club which helps and coordinates fans from all around Bulgaria and supports the organization of events. There are also notable groups from Sofia (Sofia-West, South Division, Blue Junta, HD Boys, LSL and more) and other cities across Bulgaria and globally (such as Ultra Varna, Blue Huns Pernik, OCB Veliko Tarnovo, Torcida Kyustendil, Ultras Vidin, Iron Pazardzhik, Youth Brigade 034 Pazardzik, Blue Boys Blagoevgrad, Blue Lads Sliven, Vandals Pleven, Levski Club Dobrich, Ultras Radomir, Ultras Burgas, Levski 1914 Karlovo, Yambol Boys, Levski UK, Levski Chicago and more). Ultras Levski have a long-standing friendship with
Lazio fans. According to a study performed for
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
, Levski is the most popular Bulgarian club and share the sixth position in Europe with
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
, by percentage of support in its own country (31%).
UEFA & IFFHS rankings
Club coefficients
This is the current 2021–22
UEFA coefficient
In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments, and after applied in wome ...
:
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
, -
! Rank !! Team !! Coefficient
, -
, 290, , align=left,
La Fiorita, , align=center, 4.000
, -
, 291, , align=left,
Skënderbeu
, reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468
, predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti
, successor = Gjon Kastrioti II
, spouse = Donika Arianiti
, issue = Gjon Kastrioti II
, royal house = Kastrioti
, father ...
, , align=center, 4.000
, -
, 292, , align=left,
Arda Kardzhali, , align=center, 3.900
, -
, 293, , align=left,
Slavia Sofia
PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home groun ...
, , align=center, 3.900
, - style="background:#ffc;"
, 294, , align=left, Levski Sofia, , align=center, 3.900
, -
, 295, , align=left,
Botev Plovdiv, , align=center, 3.900
, -
, 296, , align=left,
Dunav Ruse
FC Dunav ( bg, Дунав, officially named ''"Дунав от Русе"'') is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Ruse, which currently competes in the Second League, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system.
Part o ...
, , align=center, 3.900
, -
, 297, , align=left,
Milsami Orhei
Fotbal Club Milsami Orhei, commonly known as Milsami Orhei, or simply Milsami, is a Moldovan football club based in Orhei, Moldova, currently playing in the Moldovan Super Liga.
Previously known as ''FC Viitorul Orhei'', it won its first leagu ...
, , align=center, 3.750
, -
, 298, , align=left,
Coleraine
Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...
, , align=center, 3.750
Full list
Club world ranking
These are the
IFFHS
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
club's points as of 22 January 2019:
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
, -
! Rank !! Team !! Points
, -
, 340, , align=left,
Green Eagles, , align=center, 68,5
, -
, 341, , align=left,
Ceará
Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...
, , align=center, 68,0
, -
, 341, , align=left,
Envigado
Envigado () is a town southeast of Medellín, Colombia in the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. It borders El Poblado, Medellín to the north, Sabaneta to the south, El Retiro and Caldas ...
, , align=center, 68,0
, -
, 341, , align=left,
Newell's Old Boys
Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football.
A ...
, , align=center, 68,0
, - style="background:#ffc;"
, 341, , align=left, Levski Sofia, , align=center, 68,0
, -
, 341, , align=left,
Jagiellonia Białystok
Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the Reserve Battalion in Białystok. Jagiellonia play their home g ...
, , align=center, 68,0
, -
, 341, , align=left,
Cork City
Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...
, , align=center, 68,0
, -
, 341, , align=left,
Zamora F.C., , align=center, 68,0
, -
, 348, , align=left,
Aucas, , align=center, 67,5
Full list
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
, -
!Period
!Kit manufacturer
!Shirt sponsor
, -
, 1976–1991
, ,
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
, ,
''None''
, -
, 1991–1992
, ,
Diadora
Diadora is an Italian sportswear and footwear manufacturing company based in Caerano di San Marco (Veneto), subsidiary of Geox, founded in 1948. Diadora produces football boots and athletic shoes, as well as a range of apparel that includes ...
, ,
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
, -
, 1992–1994
, rowspan=4, Adidas
, , Balkanbank
, -
, 1994–1996
, , Balkanbank / Bulstrad
, -
, 1996–1998
, ,
VIS-2
, -
, 1998–1999
, ,
''None''
, -
, 1999–2000
, ,
Reusch
, rowspan=4,
Mtel
, -
, 2000–2005
, Diadora
, -
, 2005–2010
,
Uhlsport
Uhlsport GmbH is a German sporting goods manufacturer. Originally established in 1948 as "Haase & Uhl OHG" and later renamed "Karl Uhl GmbH", the company became "uhlsport GmbH" in 1994. It is an international company which has its permanent headq ...
, -
, 2010–2012
, ,
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, -
, 2012–2014
, ,
Puma
, ,
VTB Capital
VTB Capital (russian: ВТБ Капитал) is a Russian investment bank. It is one of the three strategic business arms of VTB Group, along with the corporate and retail businesses.
VTB Capital has been ranked among the top investment banks in ...
/ Mtel
, -
, 2014–2015
, rowspan=2,
Joma
Joma () is a Spanish sports clothing manufacturer that currently produces footwear and clothing for football, futsal, handball, basketball, volleyball, running, tennis, and padel. Its headquarters are located in Portillo de Toledo, Spain.
Histor ...
, , Lev Ins / Mtel
, -
, 2015–2018
, rowspan=2,
Vivacom
Vivacom ( bg, Виваком) is the largest telecommunications company in Bulgaria and a former state-owned incumbent operator. The company is headquartered in the capital city Sofia and employs around 5,900 people, owning a mature distribution ne ...
/
Strabag /
efbet
, -
, 2018–2019
, rowspan=2, Nike
, -
, 2019–2020
, , 7777.bg
, -
, 2020–2022
, rowspan=2, Joma
, , Strabag / PalmsBet
, -
, 2022–
, PalmsBet
, -
Club records
''As of 2022''
* Biggest
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
win: 10–0 vs
Chernomorets Burgas Sofia (3 March 2007) —
2006–07
* Biggest league defeat: 1–6 vs
Botev Plovdiv (7 July 1962) —
1961–62
* Biggest
cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
win: 12–1 vs Knyaz Kiril Sofia —
1940
* Biggest cup defeat: 0–5 vs
Spartak Plovdiv
PFC Spartak Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Спартак Пловдив) is a Bulgarian football club based in Plovdiv, which currently plays in the third tier of Bulgarian football, the Third League. The club was established in 1947 and folded its seni ...
—
1961–62
* Biggest
European competition The European Competition is a student competition in which students of all ages submit creative, artistic, or written pieces of work on the activities of the European Union. Tendered by European Movement Germany, it is the oldest student competition ...
win: 12–2 vs
Reipas Lahti
Reipas Lahti is a sports club based in Lahti, Finland. It is involved in various of ball games and also other sports. The club emerged in the late 1940s, when the inhabitants of Viipuri had mostly been relocated in Lahti, after evacuation during ...
(16 September 1976) —
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
, First round 1st leg,
1976–77
* Biggest European competition defeat: 0–5 vs
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...
(4 November 1980) —
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, Second round 2nd leg,
1980–81vs
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
(12 September 2006) —
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
, Group stage,
2006–07vs
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
(30 September 2010) —
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
, Group stage,
2010–11
* Most consecutive league games unbeaten: 27 — from 10 September 1948 to 13 May 1950
* Most consecutive league games won: 14 — from 3 April 2004 to 19 September 2004
* Most league points in a season:
: 3 for win: 79 —
1994–95
: 2 for win: 50 —
1969–70,
1971–72
* Most league goals in a season: 96 —
2006–07
* Record league home attendance: 60,000 vs
Pirin Blagoevgrad
Futbolen klub Pirin ( bg, Футболен клуб „Пирин“), also known as Pirin Blagoevgrad is a Bulgarian football club based in Blagoevgrad, which currently competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
Th ...
(16 September 1973) —
1973–74
* Record European competition home attendance: 70,000 vs
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
(17 March 1976) —
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, Quarter-finals 2nd leg,
1975–76
Player records
''As of 18 July 2022.''
Most appearances
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
, -
!No.
!Name
!Career
!Appearances
, -
, 1
, align="left",
Stefan Aladzhov
,
, 469
, -
, 2
, align="left",
Emil Spasov
Emil Spasov ( bg, Емил Спасов; born 1 February 1956 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder or striker.
Spasov started his career with Levski Sofia in 1974 and stayed in the club until 1988 with short br ...
, 1974–1990
, 429
, -
, 3
, align="left",
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
, 1969–1981
, 382
, -
, 4
, align="left",
Kiril Ivkov
Kiril Lozanov Ivkov ( bg, Кирил Лoзaнoв Ивков; born 21 June 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year.
Ivkov made ...
, 1967–1978
, 374
, -
, 5
, align="left",
Elin Topuzakov
Elin Kalinov Topuzakov ( bg, Елин Калинов Топузаков; born 5 February 1977 in Dimitrovgrad) is a Bulgarian former football defender and now manager.
He is nicknamed ''Balls'' ( bg, Топчо / Topcho) because of his last na ...
, 1996–2008
2009–2010
, 347
, -
, rowspan=2, 6
, align="left",
Hristo Iliev
, 1954–1968
, rowspan=2, 330
, -
, align="left",
Aleksandar Kostov
Aleksandar Dimitrov Kostov ( bg, Александър Дми́тров Костов; 2 March 1938 – 15 April 2019) also known as Sasho, was a Bulgarian footballer and later coach.
He represented Bulgaria at the FIFA World Cups in 1962 and 19 ...
, 1956–1971
, -
, 8
, align="left",
Dimitar Telkiyski
Dimitar Telkiyski ( bg, Димитър Телкийски; born 5 May 1977) is a Bulgarian football manager and a former player. His nickname is ''Mecho'' ( bg, Мечо) or 'Teddybear', was given to him by the Botev Plovdiv supporters.
Career ...
, 1999–2008
2009–2010
, 313
, -
, 9
, align="left",
Plamen Nikolov
, 1977–1992
, 310
, -
, 10
, align="left",
Hristo Yovov
Hristo Georgiev Yovov ( bg, Христо Георгиев Йовов) (born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exc ...
, 1995–1997
2004–2007
2009–2013
, 306
Most goals scored
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
, -
!No.
!Name
!Career
!Goals
!Appearances
!Goals per game
, -
, 1
, align="left",
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
, 1981–1994
, 209
, 264
,
, -
, 2
, align="left",
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
, 1969–1981
, 177
, 382
,
, -
, 3
, align="left",
Georgi Asparuhov
Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
, 1959–1971
, 153
, 239
,
, -
, 4
, align="left",
Georgi Ivanov
, 1997–2009
, 135
, 238
,
, -
, 5
, align="left",
Hristo Iliev
, 1954–1959
1961–1968
, 132
, 330
,
, -
, 6
, align="left",
Emil Spasov
Emil Spasov ( bg, Емил Спасов; born 1 February 1956 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder or striker.
Spasov started his career with Levski Sofia in 1974 and stayed in the club until 1988 with short br ...
, 1974–1985
1987–1988
1989–1990
, 114
, 429
,
, -
, 7
, align="left",
Mihail Valchev
Mihail Valchev ( bg, Михаил Вълчев; born 13 October 1956) is a former Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In his career he played mostly for PFC Akademik Sofia, Akademik ...
, 1990–1995
, 109
, 177
,
, -
, 8
, align="left",
Dimitar Yordanov
Dimitar Yordanov ( bg, Димитър Йорданов; 1 November 1929 – 25 May 1996), commonly known as Kukusha (Bulgarian: Кукуша), was a Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a forward. He was the top scorer of the ...
, 1981–1987
, 100
, 201
,
, -
, 9
, align="left",
Hristo Yovov
Hristo Georgiev Yovov ( bg, Христо Георгиев Йовов) (born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exc ...
, 1995–1997
2004–2007
2009–2013
, 87
, 306
,
, -
, rowspan=2, 10
, align="left",
Asen Peshev
Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing.
Club career
He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
, 1924–1937
, rowspan=2, 86
, 99
,
, -
, align="left",
Daniel Borimirov
Daniel Borimirov Borisov ( bg, Даниел Боримиров Борисов; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.
Borimirov's professional playing career spanned near ...
, 1990–1995
2004–2008
, 297
,
Managerial history and notable players
Managers
*
Boris Vasilev
Boris may refer to:
People
* Boris (given name), a male given name
*:''See'': List of people with given name Boris
* Boris (surname)
* Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his ...
(1921–23)
*
Mihail Borisov (1923–24)
*
Boris Vasilev
Boris may refer to:
People
* Boris (given name), a male given name
*:''See'': List of people with given name Boris
* Boris (surname)
* Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his ...
(1924–27)
*
Ivan Kachev (1927–32)
*
Tsvetan Genev
Tsvetan Genev (13 November 1898 – 4 March 1945) was a Bulgarian footballer. He played in three matches for the Bulgaria national football team from 1924 to 1927. He was also part of Bulgaria's squad for the football tournament at the 19 ...
(1932–33)
*
Ivan Radoev (1933)
*
Georgi Karaivanov (1934)
*
Rudolf Löwenfeld (1934–35)
*
Ivan Radoev (1936)
*
Kiril Yovovich
Kiril Yovovich ( bg, Кирил Йовович) (29 December 1905 – 9 February 1976) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as an inside forward for Levski Sofia and Bulgaria during the 1920s. He was born in Sofia.
Career
Yovovich start to pl ...
(1936–37)
*
Ivan Radoev (1937–38)
*
Dimitar Mutafchiev
Dimitar Mutafchiev ( bg, Димитър Мутафчиев) (10 January 1903 – 8 September 1990) was a Bulgarian association football, footballer. He was born in Stara Zagora, and played as a forward (association football), forward for PFC L ...
(1938–39)
*
Asen Panchev
Asen Panchev ( bg, Асен Панчев) (1 October 1906 – 17 December 1989) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a left wing.
Early life
He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved ...
(1939–40)
*
Miloš Strużka (1940–41)
*
Asen Panchev
Asen Panchev ( bg, Асен Панчев) (1 October 1906 – 17 December 1989) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a left wing.
Early life
He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved ...
(1941–44)
*
Ivan Radoev (1944–48)
*
Rezső Somlai
Rezső Somlai-Stolzparth (1911 – 1983) was a Hungarian association football, footballer, who was in Hungary national football team, Hungary squad at the 1934 FIFA World Cup.
He played for Ferencvárosi TC, OGC Nice, Budapest Honvéd FC, Kis ...
(1948–49)
*
Ivan Radoev (1950–51)
*
Liubomir Petrov
Liubomir Petrov (10 January 1913 – 28 June 1999) was a Bulgarian footballer. He played in thirteen matches for the Bulgaria national football team from 1935 to 1947. He was also part of Bulgaria's team for their qualification matches for ...
(1952)
*
Dimitar Mutafchiev
Dimitar Mutafchiev ( bg, Димитър Мутафчиев) (10 January 1903 – 8 September 1990) was a Bulgarian association football, footballer. He was born in Stara Zagora, and played as a forward (association football), forward for PFC L ...
(1953)
*
Vasil Spasov (1954–56)
*
Georgi Pachedzhiev
Georgi Pachedzhiev ( bg, Γеорги Пачеджиев; 1 March 1916 – 12 April 2005) was a Bulgarian football manager who coached Bulgaria at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the first ever time that Bulgaria did reach the finals. As a footballer, ...
(1956–60)
*
Kotse Georgiev (1960–61)
*
Krastio Chakarov (1961–64)
*
Hristo Mladenov
Hristo Stefanov Mladenov ( bg, Хpиcтo Cтeфaнoв Mлaдeнoв) (7 January 1928 – 24 August 1996) was a Bulgarian football player and manager. He was the manager of the Bulgaria national football team during the 1974 FIFA World Cup
.
He c ...
(1964–65)
*
Rudolf Vytlačil
Rudolf Vytlačil (; german: Rudolf "Rudi" Vytlacil) (9 February 1912, Schwechat – 1 June 1977) was an Czechoslovak football player and manager.
Born in Schwechat on outskirts of Vienna, Vytlačil started his career at the local club Phönix ...
(1965–66)
*
Krastyo Chakarov (1966–69)
*
Vasil Spasov (1969)
*
Rudolf Vytlačil
Rudolf Vytlačil (; german: Rudolf "Rudi" Vytlacil) (9 February 1912, Schwechat – 1 June 1977) was an Czechoslovak football player and manager.
Born in Schwechat on outskirts of Vienna, Vytlačil started his career at the local club Phönix ...
(1969–70)
*
Yoncho Arsov (1971–73)
*
Dimitar Doychinov Dimitar ( bg, Димитър; Macedonian: Димитар) is a South Slavic masculine given name. It is widely found in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Dimitar is derived from Saint Demetrius (280–306), alternate form of Demetrius. Containing the ...
(1973–75)
*
Ivan Vutsov
Ivan Kolev Vutsov ( bg, Иван Кoлeв Вуцов; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgarian national team.
He played in three mat ...
(1975–76)
*
Vasil Spasov (1976–77)
*
Ivan Vutsov
Ivan Kolev Vutsov ( bg, Иван Кoлeв Вуцов; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgarian national team.
He played in three mat ...
(1977–80)
*
Hristo Mladenov
Hristo Stefanov Mladenov ( bg, Хpиcтo Cтeфaнoв Mлaдeнoв) (7 January 1928 – 24 August 1996) was a Bulgarian football player and manager. He was the manager of the Bulgaria national football team during the 1974 FIFA World Cup
.
He c ...
(1980–82)
*
Dobromir Zhechev
Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev ( bg, Добромир Георгиев Жечев; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia.
At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home to ...
(1982–83)
*
Vasil Metodiev
Vasil Metodiev ( bg, Васил Методиев; (6 January 1935 – 29 July 2019), nicknamed ''Shpaydela'', was a Bulgarian football midfielder who played for Bulgaria in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Lokomotiv Sofia. He was the ...
(1983–85)
*
Kiril Ivkov
Kiril Lozanov Ivkov ( bg, Кирил Лoзaнoв Ивков; born 21 June 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year.
Ivkov made ...
(1985–87)
*
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
(1986–87)
*
Vasil Metodiev
Vasil Metodiev ( bg, Васил Методиев; (6 January 1935 – 29 July 2019), nicknamed ''Shpaydela'', was a Bulgarian football midfielder who played for Bulgaria in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Lokomotiv Sofia. He was the ...
(1988–89)
*
Dobromir Zhechev
Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev ( bg, Добромир Георгиев Жечев; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia.
At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home to ...
(1989)
*
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
(1989–90)
*
Vasil Metodiev
Vasil Metodiev ( bg, Васил Методиев; (6 January 1935 – 29 July 2019), nicknamed ''Shpaydela'', was a Bulgarian football midfielder who played for Bulgaria in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Lokomotiv Sofia. He was the ...
(1991)
*
Dinko Dermendzhiev
Dinko Tsvetkov Dermendzhiev ( bg, Динко Цветков Дерменджиев; 2 June 1941 – 1 May 2019), nicknamed Chico was a Bulgarian footballer and coach.
Club career
Dinko Dermendzhiev began his youth career in Maritsa Plovdiv. Initi ...
(1991)
*
Ivan Vutov
Ivan Tasev Vutov ( bg, Иван Тасев Вутов, born 19 March 1944) is a Bulgarian former football manager and former footballer.
As a footballer, he played as a midfielder for various teams in the Bulgarian First Professional Football L ...
(1992–93)
*
Georgi Vasilev (1993–95)
*
Ivan Kyuchukov (1995–96)
*
Georgi Tsvetkov
Georgi Tsvetkov ( Bulgarian: Георги Цветков; born 10 September 1947) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a forward. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where he won a silver medal with the Bulgarian t ...
(1996–97)
*
Stefan Grozdanov (1997)
*
Mihail Valchev
Mihail Valchev ( bg, Михаил Вълчев; born 13 October 1956) is a former Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In his career he played mostly for PFC Akademik Sofia, Akademik ...
(1998)
*
Vyacheslav Hrozny
Vyacheslav Viktorovych Hrozny ( uk, В'ячеслав Вікторович Грозний; born 12 July 1956) is a Ukrainian football player and manager.
Career
He is a holder of the 1980 KFK Cup of the Ukrainian SSR as a player of FC Nyva Tern ...
(1998)
*
Angel Stankov (1999)
*
Ljupko Petrović
Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport.
As a manager, Petrović's biggest success wa ...
(1999–00)
*
Dimitar Dimitrov (2000)
*
Vladimir Fedotov
Vladimir Grigoryevich Fedotov (russian: Владимир Григорьевич Федотов; 18 January 1943 – 29 March 2009) was a Soviet football striker and manager who holds the all-time record of caps for CSKA Moscow. He was the son of ...
(2000)
*
Ljupko Petrović
Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport.
As a manager, Petrović's biggest success wa ...
(2000–01)
*
Georgi Todorov (2001)
*
Rüdiger Abramczik
Rüdiger Abramczik (born 18 February 1956) is a former German association football, football player and coach, best known for his ability to cross the ball (''"Flankengott"'').
Club career
Abramczik was born in Gelsenkirchen-Erle. He, whose y ...
(2002)
*
Slavoljub Muslin
Slavoljub Muslin ( sr-Cyrl, Славољуб Муслин, ; born 15 June 1953) is a Serbian football manager and former player.
Muslin began his head coaching career in 1988 and has since had stints in France, Morocco, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine ...
(2002–03)
*
Georgi Todorov (2003)
*
Georgi Vasilev (2003–04)
*
Stanimir Stoilov (1 June 2004 – 6 May 2008)
*
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 b ...
(2008)
*
Emil Velev
Emil Simeonov Velev ( bg, Емил Симеонов Велев; born 5 February 1962) is a former Bulgarian footballer and currently manager.
Career
Velev started his career in Levski Sofia. Kokala James ( bg, Кокала) ''(The bone James)'' ...
(16 August 2008 – 23 July 2009)
*
Ratko Dostanić
Ratko Dostanić (; born 25 October 1959) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a defender and current manager of Zeta.
Playing career
After coming through the youth system of Partizan, Dostanić went on to play for Timok and ...
(23 July 2009 – 19 October 2009)
*
Georgi Ivanov (19 October 2009 – 30 June 2010)
*
Antoni Zdravkov (2009–10)
*
Yasen Petrov
Yasen Petrov Petrov ( bg, Ясен Петров Петров; born 23 June 1968) is a Bulgarian former football player. His nickname is ''Giannini from Plovdiv''.
Career
Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Petrov played for the PFC Botev Plovdiv, PFC L ...
(1 July 2010 – 28 May 2011)
*
Georgi Ivanov (1 June 2011 – 3 November 2011)
*
Antoni Zdravkov (2011)
*
Nikolay Kostov
Nikolay Kostov ( bg, Николай Костов; born 2 July 1963) is a Bulgarian football manager and former footballer who most recently managed Shakhter Karagandy.
Career
Much of his coaching career has taken place in Cyprus. His first co ...
(3 November 2011 – 27 March 2012)
*
Georgi Ivanov ''(interim)'' (27 March 2012 – 8 April 2012)
*
Yasen Petrov
Yasen Petrov Petrov ( bg, Ясен Петров Петров; born 23 June 1968) is a Bulgarian former football player. His nickname is ''Giannini from Plovdiv''.
Career
Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Petrov played for the PFC Botev Plovdiv, PFC L ...
(7 April 2012 – 30 May 2012)
*
Ilian Iliev
Ilian Dimov Iliev ( bg, Илиан Димов Илиев; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More.
He is best known for having played ...
(1 July 2012 – April 2013)
*
Nikolay Mitov
Nikolay Angelov Mitov (born 18 March 1972) is a Bulgarian former footballer and a former manager of Hebar Pazardzhik.
Club career
Mitov has played for Bulgarian teams - Hebar, Minyor and Levski, and German teams - Magdeburg and Holstein Kiel. Wi ...
(12 April 2013 – 12 July 2013)
*
Slaviša Jokanović
Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Russian club Dynamo Moscow.
A physical player considered strong in the a ...
(15 July 2013 – October 2013)
*
Ivaylo Petev
Ivaylo Bogdanov Petev ( bg, Ивайло Богданов Петев; born 9 July 1975) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
He spent his whole caree ...
(8 October 2013 – 9 October 2013)
*
Antoni Zdravkov (10 October 2013 – 19 March 2014)
*
Elin Topuzakov
Elin Kalinov Topuzakov ( bg, Елин Калинов Топузаков; born 5 February 1977 in Dimitrovgrad) is a Bulgarian former football defender and now manager.
He is nicknamed ''Balls'' ( bg, Топчо / Topcho) because of his last na ...
(20 March 2014 – June 2014)
*
José Murcia
José 'Pepe' Murcia González (born 3 December 1964) is a Spanish association football, football manager (association football), manager who manages Qatari Second Division side Muaither SC.
Career
Born in Córdoba, Andalusia, Murcia never playe ...
(June 2014 – 4 August 2014)
*
Georgi Ivanov (4 August 2014 – 22 December 2014)
*
Stoycho Stoev (22 December 2014 – 15 May 2016)
*
Ljupko Petrović
Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport.
As a manager, Petrović's biggest success wa ...
(16 May 2016 – 22 October 2016)
*
Elin Topuzakov
Elin Kalinov Topuzakov ( bg, Елин Калинов Топузаков; born 5 February 1977 in Dimitrovgrad) is a Bulgarian former football defender and now manager.
He is nicknamed ''Balls'' ( bg, Топчо / Topcho) because of his last na ...
(22 October 2016 – 2 March 2017)
*
Nikolay Mitov
Nikolay Angelov Mitov (born 18 March 1972) is a Bulgarian former footballer and a former manager of Hebar Pazardzhik.
Club career
Mitov has played for Bulgarian teams - Hebar, Minyor and Levski, and German teams - Magdeburg and Holstein Kiel. Wi ...
(2 March 2017 – 4 August 2017)
*
Delio Rossi
Delio Rossi (born 26 January 1960) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. He was most recently in charge as head coach of Serie B club Ascoli.
Playing career
Rossi was born in Rimini. His playing career ...
(4 August 2017 – 25 July 2018)
*
Todor Simov ''(interim)'' (25 July 2018 – 31 July 2018)
*
Slaviša Stojanovič
Slaviša Stojanović (born 6 December 1969) is a Slovenian professional football manager and former player. As manager, Stojanović has won the Slovenian PrvaLiga twice, with Domžale, and the Serbian SuperLiga once, with Red Star Belgrade.
Mana ...
(31 July 2018 – 21 January 2019)
*
Georgi Dermendzhiev
Georgi Nikolov Dermendziev ( bg, Георги Николов Дерменджиев; born 4 January 1955) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player who played as a defender.
Coaching career
After managing Spartak Plovdiv a ...
(21 January 2019 – 29 April 2019)
*
Georgi Todorov ''(interim)'' (29 April 2019 – 30 May 2019)
*
Petar Hubchev
Petar Kanchev Hubchev ( bg, Петър Кънчев Хубчев; born 26 February 1964) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played for Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. Considered one of the great ...
(30 May 2019 – 11 June 2020)
*
Georgi Todorov (11 June 2020 – 24 October 2020)
*
Zhivko Milanov
Zhivko Milanov ( bg, Живко Миланов; born 15 July 1984) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is currently an assistant manager of Lokomotiv Sofia.
He was primarily deployed as a right back, but when needed he could also ...
''(interim)'' (24 October 2020 – 9 November 2020)
*
Slaviša Stojanovič
Slaviša Stojanović (born 6 December 1969) is a Slovenian professional football manager and former player. As manager, Stojanović has won the Slovenian PrvaLiga twice, with Domžale, and the Serbian SuperLiga once, with Red Star Belgrade.
Mana ...
(10 November 2020 – 23 May 2021)
*
Zhivko Milanov
Zhivko Milanov ( bg, Живко Миланов; born 15 July 1984) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is currently an assistant manager of Lokomotiv Sofia.
He was primarily deployed as a right back, but when needed he could also ...
(2021)
*
Todor Simov ''(interim)'' (2021)
*
Stanimir Stoilov (2 September 2021 – present)
Notable Bulgarian players
''Players with at least one appearance for the
Bulgarian national team.''
*
Kiril Yovovich
Kiril Yovovich ( bg, Кирил Йовович) (29 December 1905 – 9 February 1976) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as an inside forward for Levski Sofia and Bulgaria during the 1920s. He was born in Sofia.
Career
Yovovich start to pl ...
*
Konstantin Maznikov
Konstantin Maznikov ( bg, Константин Мазников, 5 April 1905 – 22 October 1967) was a Bulgarian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Honours
;Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia ( bg, Л ...
*
Geno Mateev
Geno Mateev ( bg, Гено Матеев; 3 January 1903 – 6 June 1966) was a Bulgarian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Honours
;Levski Sofia
* Sofia Championship – 1923, 1924, 1925
* Ulpia Serdi ...
*
Tsvetan Genev
Tsvetan Genev (13 November 1898 – 4 March 1945) was a Bulgarian footballer. He played in three matches for the Bulgaria national football team from 1924 to 1927. He was also part of Bulgaria's squad for the football tournament at the 19 ...
*
Dimitar Mutafchiev
Dimitar Mutafchiev ( bg, Димитър Мутафчиев) (10 January 1903 – 8 September 1990) was a Bulgarian association football, footballer. He was born in Stara Zagora, and played as a forward (association football), forward for PFC L ...
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Nikola Mutafchiev
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Ivan Radoev
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Aleksandar Hristov
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Mihail Lozanov
Mihail Lozanov ( bg, Михаил Лозанов; 15 June 1911 – 3 December 1994), nicknamed The Tank (Танка, ''Tanka'') was a Bulgarian footballer. A centre forward, Lozanov was a long-time player of PFC Levski Sofia in the 1930s and ca ...
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Asen Panchev
Asen Panchev ( bg, Асен Панчев) (1 October 1906 – 17 December 1989) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a left wing.
Early life
He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved ...
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Asen Peshev
Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing.
Club career
He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
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Bozhin Laskov
Bozhin Georgiev Laskov ( bg, Божин Георгиев Ласков; (15 February 1922 – 2 April 2007) was a naturalised Slovaks, Slovak association football player of Bulgarians, Bulgarian descent and origin, who played as a Striker (associa ...
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Amedeo Kleva
Amedeo Kleva (6 February 1923 – 22 June 1996) was a Bulgarian-born Italian footballer who played as a defender. He spent his career in Bulgaria and earned two caps for the Bulgarian national team. At club level, Kleva won three A Group titles ...
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Vasil Spasov
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Georgi Pachedzhiev
Georgi Pachedzhiev ( bg, Γеорги Пачеджиев; 1 March 1916 – 12 April 2005) was a Bulgarian football manager who coached Bulgaria at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the first ever time that Bulgaria did reach the finals. As a footballer, ...
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Yordan Tomov
Yordan Tomov ( bg, Йордан Томов; 8 January 1924 – 10 March 1998) was a Bulgarian footballer and coach. He usually played the position of left winger.
Honours Club
;Levski Sofia
* Republic Championship (1): 1947
* A Group (3): 194 ...
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Lyubomir Hranov
Lyubomir Hranov ( bg, Любомир Хранов; 2 July 1923 – 27 August 2011) was a Bulgaria national football team, Bulgarian international Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder for clubs in Bulgaria.
Career
Hranov beg ...
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Apostol Sokolov
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Stefan Abadzhiev
Stefan Atanasov Abadzhiev ( bg, Стефан Атанасов Абаджиев; born 3 July 1934) is a former Bulgarian football forward who played for Bulgaria in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Abadzhiev played the majority of his club career for Lev ...
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Yoncho Arsov
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Hristo Iliev
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Boris Apostolov
Boris Apostolov ( bg, Борис Апостолов, 20 January 1925 – 15 January 2009) was a Bulgarian association football, footballer. He competed in the Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics, men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics ...
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Dimitar Yordanov
Dimitar Yordanov ( bg, Димитър Йорданов; 1 November 1929 – 25 May 1996), commonly known as Kukusha (Bulgarian: Кукуша), was a Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a forward. He was the top scorer of the ...
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Aleksandar Kostov
Aleksandar Dimitrov Kostov ( bg, Александър Дми́тров Костов; 2 March 1938 – 15 April 2019) also known as Sasho, was a Bulgarian footballer and later coach.
He represented Bulgaria at the FIFA World Cups in 1962 and 19 ...
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Georgi Sokolov
Georgi Apostolov Sokolov ( bg, Георги Апостолов Соколов; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international Association football, footballer. A Forward (association football), forward with remarkable ball control, im ...
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Stefan Aladzhov
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Georgi Asparuhov
Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
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Tsvetan Veselinov
Tsvetan Veselinov ( bg, Цветан Веселинов; 27 April 1947 in Sofia – 26 February 2018) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent all 10 seasons of his career in the A Group with Levski Sofia, before retir ...
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Ivan Vutsov
Ivan Kolev Vutsov ( bg, Иван Кoлeв Вуцов; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgarian national team.
He played in three mat ...
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Georgi Kamenski
Georgi Kamenski ( bg, Гeopги Кaмeнcки; born 3 February 1947) is a Bulgarian former association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Bulgaria national football team, Bulgaria in the 1970 FIFA Worl ...
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Yanko Kirilov
Yanko Kirilov ( bg, Янко Кирилов; born 10 March 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
A product of Levski Sofia's youth system, Kirilov made his A Group debut on 18 November 1961 against Minyor Perni ...
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Nikola Kotkov
Nikola Todorov Kotkov ( bg, Никола Тодоров Котков) (9 December 1938 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Koteto (Котето, "The Kitten") was a Bulgarian football (soccer), footballer who played as a Striker (association football), ...
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Biser Mihaylov
Biser Mihaylov ( bg, Бисер Михайлов; 30 June 1943 – 12 August 2020) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent all 14 seasons of his career at Levski Sofia, before retiring at the age of 32 in 1975.
Biography ...
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Mihail Gyonin
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Todor Barzov
Todor Barzov ( bg, Тодор Барзов; born 21 February 1953 in Dolna Mitropoliya) is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played as а midfielder.
A skillful free-kick taker, he scored numerous goals from different positions, in a career wh ...
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Krasimir Borisov
Krasimir Borisov Georgiev ( bg, Кpacимиp Бopиcoв Георгиев; born 8 April 1950) is a former Bulgarian football midfielder who played for Bulgaria in the 1974 FIFA World Cup.Voyn Voynov
Voyn Yordanov Voynov ( bg, Войн Йорданов Войнов; born 7 September 1952) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a winger.
Voynov started playing in 1972 and spent the whole of his career as a player in Levski Sofia unt ...
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Milko Gaydarski
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Georgi Tsvetkov
Georgi Tsvetkov ( Bulgarian: Георги Цветков; born 10 September 1947) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a forward. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where he won a silver medal with the Bulgarian t ...
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Dobromir Zhechev
Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev ( bg, Добромир Георгиев Жечев; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia.
At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home to ...
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Kiril Ivkov
Kiril Lozanov Ivkov ( bg, Кирил Лoзaнoв Ивков; born 21 June 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year.
Ivkov made ...
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Kiril Milanov
Kiril Milanov ( bg, Кирил Миланов; 17 September 1948 – 25 January 2011) was a Bulgarian football player who played as a forward.
He played in Marek Dupnitsa, Akademik Sofia and Levski Sofia. He also played for Bulgaria nati ...
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Vasil Mitkov
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Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
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Emil Spasov
Emil Spasov ( bg, Емил Спасов; born 1 February 1956 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder or striker.
Spasov started his career with Levski Sofia in 1974 and stayed in the club until 1988 with short br ...
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Stefan Staykov
Stefan Georgiev Staykov ( bg, Стефан Гeopгиeв Стайков; born 3 October 1949) is a former Bulgarian association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Bulgaria national football team, Bulg ...
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Ivan Stoyanov
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Emil Velev
Emil Simeonov Velev ( bg, Емил Симеонов Велев; born 5 February 1962) is a former Bulgarian footballer and currently manager.
Career
Velev started his career in Levski Sofia. Kokala James ( bg, Кокала) ''(The bone James)'' ...
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Mihail Valchev
Mihail Valchev ( bg, Михаил Вълчев; born 13 October 1956) is a former Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In his career he played mostly for PFC Akademik Sofia, Akademik ...
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Rusi Gochev
Rusi Gochev ( bg, Руси Гочев; born 9 March 1958) is a Bulgarian retired football winger.
During his club career, Gochev played for Chernomorets Burgas, Levski Sofia and LASK Linz. He also amassed 33 caps for the Bulgaria national team ...
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Nikolay Iliev
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Bozhidar Iskrenov
Bojidar Georgiev Iskrenov ( bg, Божидар Гeopгиeв Искренов, born 1 August 1962), nicknamed Gibona (Гибона means "The Gibbon"), Gibi (Гиби) and The Joy of the People (Радостта на народа), is a former Bu ...
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Krasimir Koev
Krasimir Koev ( bg, Красимир Коев; born 27 August 1963) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender. He spent the most of his career at Levski Sofia, winning several domestic trophies. Koev was capped 15 times at senior ...
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Petar Kurdov
Petar Kurdov ( Bulgarian: Петър Курдов; born 13 March 1961) is a Bulgarian football player and manager. His son is the football player Atanas Kurdov.
Career
He played for Bulgarian team of Levski Sofia and during that time he made hi ...
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Borislav Mihaylov
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Plamen Nikolov
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Petar Petrov
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Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
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Georgi Slavchev
Georgi Slavchev ( bg, Георги Славчев; born 1 October 1969 in Kyustendil) is a Bulgarian former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Honours
Club
;Levski Sofia
* Bulgarian A Football Group, A Group (4): 1987 ...
*
Georgi Yordanov
Georgi Yordanov ( bg, Георги Йорданов; born 21 July 1963) is a Bulgarian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Honours
;Levski Sofia
* First Professional Football League (Bulgaria), Bulgar ...
*
Plamen Getov
*
Georgi Donkov
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Velko Yotov
Velko Nikolaev Yotov ( bg, Велко Никола́ев Йотов; born 26 August 1970) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played as a forward.
Career
He was part of the Bulgaria national team that reached the semi-finals o ...
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Aleksandar Aleksandrov
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Daniel Borimirov
Daniel Borimirov Borisov ( bg, Даниел Боримиров Борисов; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder.
Borimirov's professional playing career spanned near ...
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Ilian Iliev
Ilian Dimov Iliev ( bg, Илиан Димов Илиев; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More.
He is best known for having played ...
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Emil Kremenliev
Emil Georgiev Kremenliev ( bg, Емил Георгиев Кременлиев; born 13 August 1969) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Career
Kremenliev played club football for Slavia Sofia, Levski Sofi ...
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Zdravko Zdravkov
Zdravko Stoyanov Zdravkov ( bg, Здравко Здравков; born 4 October 1970 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian football goalkeeper. He ended his career at the end of 2006–07 season.
Club career
On the club level, Zdravkov has played fo ...
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Plamen Nikolov
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Petar Mihtarski
Petar Sotirov Mihtarski ( bg, Петър Сотиров Михтарски; born 15 July 1966) is a Bulgarian retired football player and manager, who played as a striker.
He amassed First Professional Football League totals of 303 games and 1 ...
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Petar Aleksandrov
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Tsanko Tsvetanov
Tsanko Nikolaev Tsvetanov ( bg, Цанко Hиколaeв Цветанов; born 6 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. After ending his playing career he began coaching.
Club career
Tsvetanov wa ...
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Zlatko Yankov
Zlatko Georgiev Yankov ( bg, Златко Георгиев Янков; born 7 June 1966) is a Bulgarian footballer manager and former player, who played as a midfielder.
Career
Yankov was capped 79 times and scored four goals for the Bulgaria n ...
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Petar Hubchev
Petar Kanchev Hubchev ( bg, Петър Кънчев Хубчев; born 26 February 1964) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played for Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. Considered one of the great ...
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Georgi Ivanov
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Nikolay Todorov
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Marian Hristov
Marian Georgiev Hristov ( bg, Мариян Христов) (born 29 July 1973) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Since his retirement from playing, he has worked as an assistant manager.
Career
Hristov's ...
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Stanimir Stoilov
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Predrag Pažin
Predrag Pažin (Bulgarian and Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг Пажин; born 14 March 1973) is a former footballer who played as a defender. Born in Yugoslavia, he represented Bulgaria internationally.
Club career
He signed his first profes ...
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Elin Topuzakov
Elin Kalinov Topuzakov ( bg, Елин Калинов Топузаков; born 5 February 1977 in Dimitrovgrad) is a Bulgarian former football defender and now manager.
He is nicknamed ''Balls'' ( bg, Топчо / Topcho) because of his last na ...
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Dimitar Telkiyski
Dimitar Telkiyski ( bg, Димитър Телкийски; born 5 May 1977) is a Bulgarian football manager and a former player. His nickname is ''Mecho'' ( bg, Мечо) or 'Teddybear', was given to him by the Botev Plovdiv supporters.
Career ...
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Hristo Yovov
Hristo Georgiev Yovov ( bg, Христо Георгиев Йовов) (born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exc ...
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Lúcio Wagner
Lúcio Wagner Freitas de Souza (born 15 June 1976), known simply as Lúcio Wagner, is a retired Brazilian-born Bulgarian international Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back.
Achiev ...
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Igor Tomašić
Igor Tomašić (; bg, Игор Томашич, Igor Tomashich; born 14 December 1976) is a former naturalized Bulgarian footballer of Croatian ethnicity who played as a defender.
Career Youth career
His first club was Moslavina Kutina, where ...
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Georgi Ivanov
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Emil Angelov
Emil Angelov ( bg, Емил Ангелов; born on 17 July 1980 in Haskovo) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a forward.
Career
His career began at Svilengrad, having played for Haskovo as a youth. In 2001 Angelov joined Cher ...
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Stanislav Angelov
Stanislav Angelov ( bg, Станислав Ангелов; born 12 April 1978), also known as Peleto ( bg, Пелето), is a former Bulgarian footballer and currently owner and manager of Levski-Rakovski. Angelov played as a defensive midfiel ...
*
Nikolay Dimitrov
*
Vladimir Gadzhev
*
Valeri Domovchiyski
Valeri Angelov Domovchiyski ( bg, Валери Ангелов Домовчийски; born 5 October 1986) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Maritsa Plovdiv.
Career
Youth career
Born in Plovdiv, Domovchiys ...
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Dimitar Ivankov
Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov ( Bulgarian: Димитър Иванов Иванков; born 30 October 1975) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. However, he is known for his goals, especially from converting penal ...
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Milan Koprivarov
Milan Koprivarov ( bg, Милан Коприваров; born 20 July 1983 in Ihtiman) is a Bulgarian retired Association football, footballer and now manager, currently working as academy coach for FC Levski-Rakovski Sofia, Levski-Rakovski. Kopri ...
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Zhivko Milanov
Zhivko Milanov ( bg, Живко Миланов; born 15 July 1984) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is currently an assistant manager of Lokomotiv Sofia.
He was primarily deployed as a right back, but when needed he could also ...
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Nikolay Mihaylov
Nikolay Borislavov Mihaylov ( bg, Николай Бориславов Михайлов; born 28 June 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Levski Sofia, where he is also the captain, and the Bulgarian natio ...
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Mariyan Ognyanov
*
Georgi Petkov
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Ilian Stoyanov
Ilian Stoyanov ( bg, Илиaн Стоянов; born 20 January 1977) is a former Bulgarian football defender. In Bulgaria he is also known as Collovati, because of his haircut in the past, reminiscent of that of former Italian midfielder Fulvio ...
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Georgi Markov
Georgi Ivanov Markov ( bg, Георги Иванов Марков ; 1 March 1929 – 11 September 1978) was a Bulgarian dissident writer. He originally worked as a novelist, screenwriter and playwright in his native country, the People's Repub ...
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Ivan Tsvetkov
Ivan Tsvetkov ( bg, Иван Цветков; born 31 August 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He works as an assistant manager and is employed as a scout for Ludogorets Razgrad.
Club career
Born in Bl ...
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Georgi Chilikov
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Zahari Sirakov
Zahari Sirakov ( bg, Захари Сираков; born 8 October 1977, in Smolyan) is a former Bulgarian association football, footballer who currently coaches the U-19 team of PFC Ludogorets Razgrad III.
Career
Sirakov started his career with P ...
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Plamen Iliev
*
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 ...
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Stanislav Kostov
Stanislav Kostov ( bg, Станислав Костов; born 2 October 1991) is a Bulgarian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Centre-forward, forward for Pirin Blagoevgrad.
Club career Pi ...
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Valeri Bojinov
Valeri Emilov Bojinov ( bg, Валери Емилов Божинов, ; born 15 February 1986) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a striker.
Throughout his career, Bojinov has played for seventeen different clubs during his ...
Notable foreign players
''Foreign players with at least 30 games for the club or that were internationally capped. Players who were internationally capped for their country are listed in bold.''
Europe
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Dalibor Dragić
Dalibor Dragić (Serbian Cyrillic: Далибор Драгић; born 23 June 1972) is a Bosnian retired Association football, football defender who last played for MBJB FC in the Malaysia Premier League.
Club career
Dalibor started his career pla ...
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David Jablonský
*
Cédric Bardon
Cédric Bardon (born 15 October 1976) is a former French footballer who last played for Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël. He was one of the best players for the Bulgarian Levski Sofia at the time when he played for them.
Career
In France
He bega ...
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Gabriel Obertan
Gabriel Antoine Obertan (born 26 February 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for USL League One side Charlotte Independence.
A former attendee of the famous Clairefontaine academy, Obertan began his professional ca ...
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Péter Kabát
Péter Kabát (born 25 September 1977) is a Hungary, Hungarian football (soccer), football player.
He can play as a striker or as an offensive midfielder. Kabát earned his first international cap on 15 November 2000 in a 1–0 win to Macedonia ...
*
Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson
Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson (born 6 August 1990) is an Icelandic footballer who plays as a centre-back for Úrvalsdeild karla club Valur and the Iceland national team. He is the son of Eyjólfur Sverrisson, former Iceland international and mana ...
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Milan Mijatović
Milan Mijatović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Мијатовић, ; born 26 July 1987) is a Montenegrin professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for FK Borac Banja Luka, Borac Ban ...
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Serginho Greene
Serginho Greene (; born 24 June 1982) is a Dutch professional footballer who last played for FC Lienden. Besides the Netherlands, he has played in Cyprus, India, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
Early life
Greene's life was all about football since he wa ...
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Nigel Robertha
Nigel Robertha (born 13 February 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for MLS side D.C. United. He has represented the Netherlands at the under-17 and under-18 levels.
Robertha began his career with Feyenoord, havin ...
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Darko Tasevski
Darko Tasevski ( bg, Дарко Тасевски; born 20 May 1984) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bulgarian First League club Slavia Sofia. He holds also Bulgarian citizenship.
Club career
Prior to joini ...
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João Silva
*
Nuno Reis
Nuno Miguel Pereira Reis (born 31 January 1991) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back but also as a defensive midfielder for Australian club Melbourne City FC.
Formed at Sporting, where he was only a reserve ...
*
Sergiu Buș
*
Konstantin Golovskoy
*
John Inglis
*
Miloš Cvetković
*
Bojan Jorgačević
Bojan Jorgačević ( sr-Cyrl, Бојан Јоргачевић, born 12 February 1982) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Career
Born in Belgrade, Jorgačević began his career in his home town with FK Rad.
Gent
Jorgač ...
*
Miodrag Pantelić
Miodrag Pantelić (, ; born September 4, 1973)Saša Simonović
Saša Simonović ( sr-cyr, Саша Симоновић; born 20 July 1975) is a former Serbian Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
Simonović began his career with Radnički Niš, playing for the team between 1988 ...
*
Roman Procházka
Roman Procházka (; born 14 March 1989) is a Slovakia, Slovak Association football, footballer who plays for FC Spartak Trnava, Spartak Trnava as a midfielder.
Club career Spartak Trnava
Procházka began his career with his hometown club FC Spar ...
*
Rene Mihelič
Rene Mihelič (born 5 July 1988) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for SC Kalsdorf.
Club career
Mihelič came through NK Maribor's youth academy, before making his senior team debut in September 2005. In 2010 he ...
*
Añete
Antonio Salas Quinta (born 1 October 1985), simply known as Añete, is a Spanish former professional footballer.
Club career Spain
A graduate of Real Sociedad youth academy he had a brief stint with the B team between 2006 and 2008 before playi ...
*
Jordi Gómez
Jordi Gómez García-Penche (; born 24 May 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder.
After playing for the reserve teams of both Barcelona and Espanyol, he went on to spend the vast majority of his career i ...
*
Miguel Bedoya
*
Simon Sandberg
Simon Christer Sandberg (born 25 March 1994) is a Swedish Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), right back for BK Häcken in Allsvenskan.
Early life
Sandberg grew up in Partille Municipality, Partille a ...
*
Davide Mariani
North and Central America
*
Dustley Mulder
South America
*
Zé Soares
*
Joãozinho
*
Paulinho Paulinho is a Portuguese nickname for people named ''Paulo'' (Paulo -inho, little Paulo). People known as Paulinho include:
Music
*Paulinho da Costa (born 1948), Brazilian percussionist
*Paulinho da Viola (born 1942), Brazilian sambista
*Paulinho ...
*
Jean Deza
Africa
*
Cédric Hountondji
*
Garry Rodrigues
Garry Mendes Rodrigues (born 27 November 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club Olympiacos and the Cape Verde national team. Born in the Netherlands, he represents the Cape Verde national team.
...
*
Basile de Carvalho
Basile Salomon Pereira de Carvalho (born 31 October 1981) is a Senegalese-born Guinea-Bissau, Bissau-Guinean former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 2011 and 2012 he made ...
*
Serge Yoffou
Serge Yoffou (born 24 December 1971 in Abidjan) is a former Ivorian international footballer, who played in his career as a forward.
In his career Yoffou played in his country for Stella d'Adjamé and Stade d'Abidjan, in France for Dijon FCO and ...
*
Garra Dembélé
*
Chakib Benzoukane
Chakib Benzoukane (born 7 August 1986 in Marrakech) is a Morocco, Moroccan association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender.
Career
He started his career in Kawkab Marrakech.
Levski Sofia
In the summer o ...
*
Mehdi Bourabia
*
Youssef Rabeh
*
Garba Lawal
Garba Lawal (born 22 May 1974) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. In 2014 he became general manager at Kaduna United and left his role in 2015. He is with the technical department of the Nigeria Footba ...
*
Omonigho Temile
*
Justice Christopher
Justice Longs Christopher (24 December 1981 – 9 March 2022) was a Nigerian professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
Christopher played for several clubs, including Katsina United F.C., Katsina Unit ...
*
Richard Eromoigbe
Richard Eromoigbe (born 26 June 1984) is a Nigerian former football midfielder.
Career
In January 2002 Eromoigbe signed a contract with Bulgarian club Levski Sofia and joined Cherno More Varna in a year-long loan move, alongside his compatriot ...
*
Ekundayo Jayeoba
*
Khaly Thiam
Khaly Thiam (born 7 January 1994) is a Senegalese professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Hungarian club MTK Budapest FC, MTK Budapest.
Career Club
Thiam started his senior footballing career in 20 ...
*
Ricardo Nunes
Ricardo Nuno dos Santos Nunes (born 18 June 1986) is a South African former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back.
Club career
The son of Portuguese people, Portugu ...
Bulgarian Footballer of the Year
![Kiril Ivkov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Kiril_Ivkov.jpg)
* 1931 –
Asen Peshev
Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing.
Club career
He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
* 1942 –
Lyuben Stamboliev
* 1948 –
Vasil Spasov
* 1965 –
Georgi Asparuhov
Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
* 1970 –
Stefan Aladzhov
* 1974 –
Kiril Ivkov
Kiril Lozanov Ivkov ( bg, Кирил Лoзaнoв Ивков; born 21 June 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year.
Ivkov made ...
* 1975 –
Kiril Ivkov
Kiril Lozanov Ivkov ( bg, Кирил Лoзaнoв Ивков; born 21 June 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year.
Ivkov made ...
* 1977 –
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
* 1984 –
Plamen Nikolov
* 1986 –
Borislav Mihaylov
* 1987 –
Nikolay Iliev
* 1999 –
Aleksandar Aleksandrov
* 2000 –
Georgi Ivanov
* 2001 –
Georgi Ivanov
A Group top goalscorers
![Nasko sirakov](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Nasko_sirakov.jpg)
* 1940 –
Yanko Stoyanov
Yanko Stoyanov ( bg, Янко Стоянов; 1913–1946) was a Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career
Stoyanov joined PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia from :bg:Ботев (София), Botev Sofia in 1 ...
(14 goals)
* 1950 –
Lubomir Hranov (11 goals)
* 1957 –
Hristo Iliev (14 goals)
* 1960 –
Dimitar Yordanov
Dimitar Yordanov ( bg, Димитър Йорданов; 1 November 1929 – 25 May 1996), commonly known as Kukusha (Bulgarian: Кукуша), was a Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a forward. He was the top scorer of the ...
(12 goals)
* 1965 –
Georgi Asparuhov
Georgi Asparuhov Rangelov ( bg, Георги Аспарухов Рангелов; 4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Gundi, was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned ...
(27 goals)
* 1974 –
Kiril Milanov
Kiril Milanov ( bg, Кирил Миланов; 17 September 1948 – 25 January 2011) was a Bulgarian football player who played as a forward.
He played in Marek Dupnitsa, Akademik Sofia and Levski Sofia. He also played for Bulgaria nati ...
(19 goals)
* 1976 –
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
(18 goals)
* 1977 –
Pavel Panov
Pavel Georgiev Panov ( bg, Павел Гeopгиeв Панов; 16 September 1950 – 18 February 2018) was a Bulgarian Association football, football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker.
Career
Panov started his career with ...
(20 goals)
* 1979 –
Rusi Gochev
Rusi Gochev ( bg, Руси Гочев; born 9 March 1958) is a Bulgarian retired football winger.
During his club career, Gochev played for Chernomorets Burgas, Levski Sofia and LASK Linz. He also amassed 33 caps for the Bulgaria national team ...
(19 goals)
* 1982 –
Mihail Valchev
Mihail Valchev ( bg, Михаил Вълчев; born 13 October 1956) is a former Bulgarian Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In his career he played mostly for PFC Akademik Sofia, Akademik ...
(24 goals)
* 1984 –
Emil Spasov
Emil Spasov ( bg, Емил Спасов; born 1 February 1956 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder or striker.
Spasov started his career with Levski Sofia in 1974 and stayed in the club until 1988 with short br ...
(19 goals)
* 1987 –
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
(36 goals)
* 1988 –
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
(28 goals)
* 1992 –
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
(26 goals)
* 1993 –
Plamen Getov (26 goals)
* 1994 –
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder of Levski Sofia.
Part of the Bulgaria national t ...
(30 goals)
* 2001 –
Georgi Ivanov (21 goals)
* 2003 –
Georgi Chilikov (22 goals)
* 2011 –
Garra Dembele
''Garra'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Cyprinidae. These fish are one example of the "log suckers", Suckermouth, sucker-mouthed Barb (fish), barbs and other cyprinids commonly kept in Aquarium, aquaria to keep down algae. T ...
(26 goals)
* 2013 –
Basile de Carvalho
Basile Salomon Pereira de Carvalho (born 31 October 1981) is a Senegalese-born Guinea-Bissau, Bissau-Guinean former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. In 2011 and 2012 he made ...
(19 goals)
* 2015 –
Añete
Antonio Salas Quinta (born 1 October 1985), simply known as Añete, is a Spanish former professional footballer.
Club career Spain
A graduate of Real Sociedad youth academy he had a brief stint with the B team between 2006 and 2008 before playi ...
(14 goals)
* 2019 –
Stanislav Kostov
Stanislav Kostov ( bg, Станислав Костов; born 2 October 1991) is a Bulgarian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Centre-forward, forward for Pirin Blagoevgrad.
Club career Pi ...
(24 goals)
See also
*
Levski Sofia (sports club)
Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian sports club based in Sofia. It was founded in 1911. The club is named after Vasil Levski, the national hero of Bulgaria.
The club develops 30 types of sports. Its football team, PFC Lev ...
*
Bulgarian Footballer of the Year
Bulgarian Footballer of the Year ( bg, Футболист №1 на България, ''Futbolist №1 na Balgariya'') is an annual title awarded to the best Bulgarian association football player of the year. The award has been given since 1961, an ...
*
ECA and
EMCA
References
External links
Official websites
Official websiteLevski AcademyUEFA Profile
Fan websites
Sector B websiteLevski Sofia – statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levski Sofia
Association football clubs established in 1914
1914 establishments in Bulgaria
Football clubs in Sofia