Botev ( bg, Ботев) 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 professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Vratsa
Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
...
, that competes in the
First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 1921. Since 1948, Botev have played their home games at
Stadion Hristo Botev. It is situated in the Hristo Botev sport complex, in the east part of
Vratsa
Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
...
. The stadium originally had 25 000 seats. After a recent reconstruction, which took place in the first half of 2008 and in 2009, the stadium has 7 reconstructed seated sectors with a total of 6 417 seats.
Botev's longest continuous period in the top tier was 26 consecutive seasons between 1964 and 1990. The club's highest ever league finish came in
1970–71 when it finished third in the top flight.
History
Botev Vratsa Football Club was founded in 1921 by Nikola Kunov, Ivan Abuzov, Nako Paunov, Gergo Boytchev, Todor Orozov, Hristo Lighenski and Angel Rachinski. The place of foundation is a playground near the Old market in
Vratsa
Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
...
. Between 1921 and 1956 various sport clubs were founded in the city. In 1957 most of the sport clubs in the city are joined together to form FC Botev Vratsa. Between 1957 and 1964 Botev Vratsa is a member of
Bulgarian second division. In 1964 the club entered the
Bulgarian top division and played there for 26 seasons. The team of
Vratsa
Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
...
has 788 games in the top flight of Bulgarian football.
Botev's most glorious moment came in 1971, when the team finished third in
Bulgarian top division, after
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 ...
. Botev did, however, represent
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 ...
in the 1971–72
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 ...
where they lost in the first round to
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...
from
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
2–8 on aggregate. The first game in
Vratsa
Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana.
...
, in the presence of 35 000 spectators, ended with a 2–1 loss. The second game in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
finished 6–1.
The biggest success in 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 ...
is a semi-final in 1960–61, 1974–75 and 1984–85. In 1989–90 Botev was relegated to
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
. In the next 19 years the club participated in either the second or the third Bulgarian divisions.
Botev managed to return to the top flight in 2011, after they won the
2010-11 B PFG
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit (measurement), unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment ...
, thus ending a 21-year absence from the top level of Bulgarian football. The
2011-12 A PFG was successful because Botev avoided relegation, finishing 12th, which was the main goal of the club. The next season was less successful, with Botev finishing 13th, which meant that they were relegated after a two-year spell in the top flight. In the next couple of years, Botev Vratsa bounced between the second and third leagues, until 2018, when the team managed to return to the top flight, by winning the 2017-18 Second League. This ended a 5-year absence from the top flight.
Among the club's legendary players is
Martin Petrov
Martin Petyov Petrov ( bg, Мартин Петьов Петров; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as a winger.
Club career
Petrov began his career for Botev Vratsa. After a few good seasons, he signed with CS ...
, considered by most Botev fans as the greatest player to have ever been involved with the club, and one of the greatest Bulgarian players. The list of other famous players to have come from the clubs' youth system consists of
Ilya Valov,
Valentin Iliev, and
Valentin Stanchev.
Nikolay Penkov is the player with most league appearances for the club – 334. The player with most league goals for the club is
Georgi Kamenov, with 150 goals for Botev.
Colours, signs and symbols
Botev is known as one of the "green" teams in Bulgaria, but red is just as characteristic in the club's history. Until 1971, the home colours were red and black vertical stripes. To commemorate the 50th anniversary, officials decided to re-brand the entire image of Botev by selecting green as main colour from 1972 on. At the same time, the club logo was also changed, selecting a lion as its centerpiece to commemorate the revolutionary flags of the
Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev ( bg, Христо Ботев, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and nationa ...
revolutionaries. Until that point, the portrait of Hristo Botev himself was used as club logo.
The most recent re-branding of the club was in 2009, when the fans initiated a return of the lion to the club logo, almost 15 years after it had been removed. The new logo, which incorporated the original graphic from 1971 was crafted by lifelong fan
Aleksandar Alekov.
Honours
Domestic
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 ...
:
* Third place (1):
1970–71
Bulgarian Second League
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 ...
:
* Winners (3): 1963–64,
2010–11,
2017–18
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 ...
:
* Semi-finals (2):
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
,
1974–75
European
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 ...
:
League positions
ImageSize = width:1600 height:65
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/2023
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1953
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:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1953 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1953 till:01/07/1954 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1957 till:01/07/1958 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/1958 till:01/07/1959 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1961 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1962 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1963 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/1963 till:01/07/1964 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1964 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:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1965 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift:(0,-4) text:10
from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift:(0,-4) text:10
from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1990 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:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:18
from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1994 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:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1998 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/2003 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:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2009 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2011 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:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2013 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:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2013 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:2
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V"
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:1
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2018 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " 2nd"
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:9
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:12
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2023 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " 1st League"
Players
First-team 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
*
Tom Rapnouil
* Kléri Serber
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
*
Diego Ferraresso
* Luiz Felipe
* Messie Biatoumoussoka
* Jean-Pierre Da Sylva
*
Bryan Mendoza
Non-EU Nationals
*
Brayan Perea
Brayan Andrés Perea Vargas (born 25 February 1993), nicknamed ''El Coco,'' is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bulgarian First League club Botev Vratsa.
Club career
Deportivo Cali
Perea began his career playi ...
* Federico Barrios
Managers
*
Sasho Angelov
Sasho Angelov ( bg, Сашо Ангелов; born 15 June 1969) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. Angelov played as a defender.
On the club level, Angelov played for Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, Botev Plovdiv, CSKA Sofia, Lok ...
(2009–11)
*
Atanas Dzhambazki (Sept 2011 – Oct 11)
* Todor Garev (Oct 2011 – Dec 11)
*
Antoni Zdravkov (Dec 2011 – Aug 12)
*
Giuliano Sonzogni
Giuliano Sonzogni (born 2 February 1949) is an Italian football manager.
Previously he managed the Bulgarian football club Botev Vratsa
Botev ( bg, Ботев) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Vratsa, that competes in the ...
(Aug 2012 – Sept 12)
*
Antoni Zdravkov (Sept 2012 – June 2013)
*
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 ...
(June 2013 – September 2013)
*
Boyko Velichkov (December 2013 – June 2014)
*
Viktorio Pavlov (June 2014 – November 2014)
*
Adalbert Zafirov
Adalbert Zafirov ( bg, Адалберт Зафиров; born 29 September 1969) is a Bulgarian former football centre-back who most recently managed CSKA 1948.
Club career
Zafirov was born in Sofia.
International career
He has been capped fo ...
(December 2014 – April 2015)
*
Atanas Dzhambazki (May 2015– November 2015)
*
Nikolay Todorov (December 2015–May 2016)
*
Boyko Velichkov (May 2016–November 2016)
*
Sasho Angelov
Sasho Angelov ( bg, Сашо Ангелов; born 15 June 1969) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. Angelov played as a defender.
On the club level, Angelov played for Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, Botev Plovdiv, CSKA Sofia, Lok ...
(November 2016–November 2019)
*
Antoni Zdravkov (November 2019–March 2021)
*
Veselin Velikov
Veselin Velikov ( bg, Веселин Великов; born 19 March 1977) is a former Bulgarian footballer, and currently manager.
Career
Velikov was the manager of Dunav Ruse from June 2014 till October 2017, when he left the club by mutual con ...
(March 2021–June 2021)
*
Daniel Morales (June 2021–March 2022)
* Ivaylo Dimitrov (March 2022–May 2022)
*
Gennaro Iezzo
Gennaro Iezzo (born 8 June 1973) is an Italian former football goalkeeper.
Club career
Iezzo began his career at hometown club Juve Stabia before moving on to play for Scafatese, Avellino, Nocerina, Verona, Calcio Catania and Cagliari. He spent ...
(May 2022–June 2022)
*
Rosen Kirilov
Rosen Yordanov Kirilov ( bg, Росен Йорданов Кирилов; born 4 January 1973 in Vidin) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played as a defender, and later managed various clubs.
He played as a centre-back for the ...
(June 2022–September 2022)
*
Daniel Morales (September 2022–)
Kit
References
External links
Official website – in BulgarianUnofficial website – in BulgarianBotev Vratza Picture Gallery – in Bulgarian
{{Football in Bulgaria table cells
Botev Vratsa
Botev ( bg, Ботев) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Vratsa, that competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 1921. Since 1948, Botev have played their home games at St ...
Botev Vratsa
Botev ( bg, Ботев) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Vratsa, that competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 1921. Since 1948, Botev have played their home games at St ...
Botev Vratsa
Botev ( bg, Ботев) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Vratsa, that competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 1921. Since 1948, Botev have played their home games at St ...