![Blagoevgrad Stadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Blagoevgrad_Stadium.jpg)
Futbolen klub Pirin ( bg, Футболен клуб „Пирин“), also known as Pirin Blagoevgrad is a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n
football club
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
based in
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...
, which currently competes in the
First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 2008, after a merger between two clubs from
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...
, Pirin 1922 and
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad was a Bulgarian professional football club based in Blagoevgrad.
History Makedonska slava
Club was founded in 1928 as Makedonska Slava (" Macedonian Glory"). In 1948 the club joined the newly established FD Julius Dermendz ...
. By an official court decision later that year, the club was announced as a historical successor of the club records of the former FC Pirin, founded in 1922. In 2011, following the bankruptcy of the entity, which represented the football club, Pirin's football department was merged once again with Perun Kresna, to eventually become OFC Pirin.
The club's name is adopted from
Pirin
, photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg
, photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter
, country= Bulgaria,
, parent=
, geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone
, area_km2=2585
, range_coordinates =
, length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
, a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria. Their home ground is the
Stadion Hristo Botev in
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...
with a capacity of 7,500 spectators. Pirin's nickname is ''Orletata'' (The Eaglets) and their kit colours are green and white.
To date, the club has four domestic cup finals and most notably, enjoys high praise for its development of football players, as several noted Bulgarian footballers were produced by Pirin's youth academy. Among them are 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 ...
bronze
medal
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
lists
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 ...
and
Ivaylo Andonov, as well as former
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
striker Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Бербатов; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. A striker, he captained the Bulgaria national team from 2006 to 2010, and is the country's all-ti ...
, who won two
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 ...
titles and was the
2010-11 Premier League top goalscorer.
Pirin share a regional rivalry with
Marek Dupnitsa
FC Marek ( bg, ФК Марек) is a Bulgarian football club based in Dupnitsa, currently playing in the Third League, the third level of the Bulgarian football league system. It was founded in 1947 following the unification of four local clubs. ...
, as the two clubs are among the most successful ones from Southwestern Bulgaria.
History
FC Pirin
One of FC Pirin Blagoevgrad's predecessors, FC Pirin, was founded in 1922. FC Pirin has played more than 20 seasons in the top flight and has competed twice in the European football competitions with one participation in 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 ...
and one participation in the
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 ...
respectively. The club's first participation in the
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 ...
tournaments was not promising. In 1985, Pirin faced the then reigning
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
champion
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differe ...
. The first game in
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...
, ended with a 1–3 loss. The second game in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
was also a defeat – 0–4 and Pirin were out of the European competitions. Pirin's best season in the
Bulgarian top division was in the 1984–85 season, where they finished at 5th place at the end of the season. The club was also three times runner-up of 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 ...
. Also, Pirin's youth academy is attributed as being one of the best developers of young and unknown players in
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 ...
. Among the club's famous players are
Dimitar Berbatov
Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Бербатов; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. A striker, he captained the Bulgaria national team from 2006 to 2010, and is the country's all-ti ...
,
Spas Delev
Spas Borislavov Delev ( bg, Спас Бориславов Делев; born 22 September 1989) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for Ludogorets Razgrad and the Bulgarian national team.
Club career Youth ca ...
,
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 ...
,
Ivaylo Andonov,
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 ...
,
Vladislav Zlatinov
Vladislav Zlatinov ( bg, Владислав Златинов; born 23 March 1983) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward who plays for Bulgarian Second League club Septemvri Simitli. He is a product of CSKA Sofia's youth system and was t ...
and
Petar Zlatinov
Petar Zlatinov ( bg, Петър Златинов; born 13 March 1981) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
In early 2000, at 18 years old, Zlatinov signed with CSKA Sofia.
On 1 April 2003, Zlatinov was loaned to Be ...
.
On August 18, 2006, after failing to arrange some debts and signals of corruption, Pirin was expelled from the
A PFG
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 ...
, the team's results for the season were annulled, and the club was relegated to the
Bulgarian South-West V AFG
The Bulgarian Third Amateur Football League ( bg, Трета аматьорска футболна лига, Treta Amat'orska Futbolna Liga), commonly referred to as Third League ( bg, Трета лига) or Treta liga, is the third level of the ...
. However, after two years, Pirin won the South-West V AFG and the club returned for the upcoming season of the
Western B PFG.
Unification
In December 2008, Pirin, which competed in the
Western B PFG, was merged with
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad was a Bulgarian professional football club based in Blagoevgrad.
History Makedonska slava
Club was founded in 1928 as Makedonska Slava (" Macedonian Glory"). In 1948 the club joined the newly established FD Julius Dermendz ...
, (former FC Makedonska Slava), which played in the
A PFG
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 ...
after a significant pressure from the supporters in the town. The new club was named FC Pirin Blagoevgrad and was soon proclaimed as a holder of the club records of the former FC Pirin, which competed for more than 20 seasons in the top flight. FC Pirin's
West B PFG place was taken by
FC Bansko
Bansko ( bg, Банско) is a Bulgarian professional association football club from the town of Bansko, currently playing in the South-West Third League, the third division of Bulgarian football. Its home matches take place at the Saint Petar ...
. Then, Nikolay Galchev appointed
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 ...
as a manager of the club. A few months later, under
Naci Şensoy
Naci Şensoy ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Nađi Šensoj, Нађи Шенсој; born 20 February 1958) is a Kosovar- Turkish football manager and former player.
Playing career
Born in Prizren, Yugoslavia, he moved to Turkey where he began ...
's management, the successes followed-up and Pirin qualified for the final of 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 ...
, eliminating subsequently on their way
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
Levski Sofia
Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...
. In the final match played at the
Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
Georgi Asparuhov Stadium ( bg, Стадион „Георги Аспарухов“), due to sponsorship currently known as Vivacom Arena – Georgi Asparuhov ( bg, Виваком Арена – Георги Аспарухов), nicknamed Gerena ( ...
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 ...
, Pirin were eliminated after a 3–0 defeat against
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 ...
.
OFK Pirin
In the foremath of the 2011–12 season, Pirin Blagoevgrad failed to receive a professional license for the
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 ...
. However, due to their financial struggles they were also rejected to participate in the
South-West V AFG. Later that year, they acquired the license of Perun Kresna. The team finished 2011-12 season as Perun, but for 2012-13 the team was renamed to Obshtinski futbolen klub Pirin ( bg, Общиснки футболен клуб „Пирин“), meaning ''Pirin Minicipal Football Club'', as the club was owned by
Blagoevgrad Municipality
Blagoevgrad Municipality ( bg, Община Благоевград, ) is the most populated municipality in Blagoevgrad Province. It includes Blagoevgrad and 25 villages with population of (2011).
Geography
Blagoevgrad municipality is situate ...
.
In 2015, the club achieved promotion to the
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 ...
after a four-year absence from top-flight football. The 2015-16 season ended in a 8th place finish out of 10 teams in a modified season format. The next season (
2016–17), Pirin again managed to avoid relegation. However the team was relegated from the A Group after the 2017-18 season.
On 11 June 2019, OFK Pirin secured a one-year sponsorship agreement and advertising partnership with the investment company
Emirates Wealth EAD
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
. In July,
Blagoevgrad Municipality
Blagoevgrad Municipality ( bg, Община Благоевград, ) is the most populated municipality in Blagoevgrad Province. It includes Blagoevgrad and 25 villages with population of (2011).
Geography
Blagoevgrad municipality is situate ...
approved a business plan by the company discussing the future development of the club, in particular the partnership between the two sides, phases in acquiring participatory management, investment schemes, club finances and aims. The plan saw Emirates Wealth EAD become a majority owner, as it acquired 75% of the OFK Pirin's shares, with 25% remaining in Blagoevgrad Municipality's ownership.
Part of obtaining participatory management saw the creation of a new association, a joint-stock company named Futbolen klub Pirin
AD ( bg, Футболен клуб „Пирин“ АД), meaning ''Pirin Football Club'', where OFK Pirin, owned by the municipality, was merged into.
In 2021, Pirin managed to return to the First League after three years of absence.
Colours and badge
Currently, the team's home kit is green and the away kit is white. Various combinations of green and white have been used throughout the club's history.
Honours
Domestic
Second League:
* Winners (1):
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 ...
* Runners-up (2):
2003–04,
2014–15
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 ...
:
* Runners-up (4):
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
,
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
European Record
Players
Current squad
''For recent transfers, see
Transfers summer 2022 and
Transfers winter 2022–23.''
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 nationals can be used during a match day. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for 5 years.
EU Nationals
*
Cebrail Makreckis
Cebrail Makreckis ( lv, Čebrails Makreckis; born 10 May 2000) is a Latvian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bulgarian club Pirin Blagoevgrad.
Club career
On 19 January 2022, Makreckis joined 3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional ass ...
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
*
Vyacheslav Velyev
* Maksym Kovalyov
Non-EU Nationals
*
Yuki Aizu
is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defender for Hwaseong FC.
Youth career
Aizu started playing football in his first year at Chitose Elementary School with Seijo Champ SC and after MIP FC, he joined Kashiwa Reysol's academy ...
*
Kazuki Takahashi
, known professionally as , was a Japanese manga artist. He made his serial manga debut in 1986, and is best known as the author of ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1996 to 2004. The manga spawned a popular trading car ...
Past seasons
League positions
ImageSize = width:450 height:100
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2023
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2013
Colors =
id:bl1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5)
id:bl2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3)
id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6)
id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1)
PlotData=
bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2014 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group
The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...
"
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/2015 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 ...
"
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:10
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2018 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2021 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " Second League"
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2023 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
Last Seasons
Managers
References
External links
Official website
Pirin - news and results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirin Blagoevgrad
Football clubs in Blagoevgrad
1922 establishments in Bulgaria
Phoenix clubs (association football)