PFC Lokomotiv Sofia
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Lokomotiv 1929 ( bg, Локомотив 1929) 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 currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refounded in 2015, following bankruptcy, the club has played at Stadion Lokomotiv since 1985. Lokomotiv has won four League titles and four
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 ...
s. Lokomotiv established itself as one of Bulgaria’s top clubs throughout history, performing strongly both domestically and internationally. The club has spent the majority of its history in the top tier First League (previously A Group), with brief interruptions including a short-lived merging 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 ground ...
in 1969, as well as an administrative relegation 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 ...
, due to financial problems. Lokomotiv traditionally play in red and black stripped shirts, with black shorts and red socks.


Honours


Domestic

First League: * Winners (4): 1939–40,
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...
, 1963–64, 1977–78 * Runners-up (6):
1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
,
1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
,
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
,
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
, 1964–65, 1994–95 * Third place (10): 1948–49,
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
,
1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
, 1959–60, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1995–96, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2014–15
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 ...
: * Runners-up (2): 2017–18,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
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 ...
: * Winners (4):
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
,
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
, 1981–82, 1994–95 * Runners-up (2): 1974–75, 1976–77


European

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
: * Winners:
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
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 ...
/
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 ...
* Quarter-finals:
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
European Railways Cup European Railways Cup or European Railworks Cup or International Sports Railway Workers Union Cup or Cup of the European Sport Union of Railway Workers is a defunct friendly football club tournament. Winners Notes: *Note 1: Victory awarded to Yu ...
* Winners (2): 1961, 1963


History


1929–1945: Foundation and early successes

Lokomotiv was founded on 2 September 1929 as Railway Sports Club (RSC) by a group of railway workers. RSC's first competitive game was a 2–1 victory against Zora Sofia on 3 October 1929. In the 1939–40 season, RSC won the
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
title for first time in the team's history. The team was made by: Stoyo Nedyalkov (captain), Sl. Videnov, K. Kostov, D. Marinov, St. Angelov, As. Milushev, Krum Milev, L. Hranov. In 1945, the club had already been renamed Lokomotiv Sofia and won the
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
in the first post-war championship.


1960-1990: Continued domestic and European success

During season 1963–64 after 30 games, Lokomotiv won their third title after they defeated main rivals to the title
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 ...
and
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 ground ...
. This achievement enabled Lokomotiv to participate in the 1964-65 European Cup preliminary round for the first time ever. Lokomotiv were drawn against Swedish champions
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
. In the first leg, played at 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 ...
in Sofia, Lokomotiv trashed their rivals with a score of 8-3, with
Nikola Kotkov Nikola Todorov Kotkov ( bg, Никола Тодоров Котков) (9 December 1938 – 30 June 1971), nicknamed Koteto (Котето, "The Kitten") was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker. Born in the capital Sofia, Kotkov starte ...
scoring five goals in that match. The Railroaders lost the second game in Sweden by 0-2, but still progressed to the first ground on aggregate. In the first round, Lokomotiv were drawn against Hungarian champions Gyóri ETO FC. In the first leg, played in Hungary, Lokomotiv Sofia lost by 5-3. The return leg in Sofia was crucial for Loko's progression to the next round. Lokomotiv won the game 4-3, but were eliminated on aggregate 8-7 by their Hungarian rivals, thus ending Lokomotiv's first European Cup adventure. In 1969 the club was united 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 ground ...
for a brief period to
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
and is associated with the Bulgarian railway workers. In 1978, led by
Atanas Mihaylov Atanas Hristov Mihaylov ( bg, Атанас Xpиcтов Михайлов, 5 July 1949 – 1 October 2006) was an association football former Forward (association football), forward and manager. Mihаylov is the top scorer in the history of Bulgaria ...
and Boycho Velichkov Lokomotiv won their fourth title. In Europe the club won European championship of the railwaymen two times in 1961 and 1963, and
Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
in 1973. In 1978, Lokomotiv were crowned champions for the fourth time, finishing one point above CSKA Sofia. This qualified the team for the European Cup for the second time in their history. In the first round, Lokomotiv faced Danish champions
Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...
. The first game in Denmark ended in a 2-2 tie, with Angel Kolev and Boycho Velichkov scoring important away goals. In the second game played on home soil, Lokomotiv managed to overcome a 0-1 deficit and won the game 2-1, thus progressing to the second round 4-3 on aggregate. In the second round, Lokomotiv were a drawn against a much tougher opponent, in the name of
Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
from
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
at the time. Seen as clear outsiders, Lokomotiv lost the first game in Sofia by 0-1, while they were brutally beaten 4-0 in the return leg in
Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
, thus being eliminated from the European Cup. In 1980 Lokomotiv reached a quarter final 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 ...
where they faced
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 ...
, eliminating before that
Ferencváros Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The development of Fe ...
,
AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Fre ...
and
Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...
. Against Stuttgart the team lost with 0–1 in Sofia and with 1–3 in Germany. In 1982, Lokomotiv won the Bulgarian cup for the third time in its history, qualifying for the 1982-83 European Cup Winners Cup. Lokomotiv faced French team PSG. The first leg in Sofia ended in a 1-0 win, however the return leg ended in a heavy 5-1 defeat, which eliminated Lokomotiv. Lokomotiv finished the 1984-85 season in fourth place, which enabled another UEFA Cup qualification, for season 1985-86. Lokomotiv’s first opponent was Cypriot side
APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
. After some drama in both legs, the Railroaders advanced to the second round with an aggregate score of 6-4. There, Lokomotiv faced
Neuchâtel Xamax , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France ...
from Switzerland. Lokomotiv drew 1-1 at home, but failed to find the net in the return leg, which ended in a 0-0 draw. This score was unfavorable for Lokomotiv, since the away goals rule favored their Swiss opponents in this case, and Lokomotiv was eliminated.


1994–2015, Nikolay Gigov era; From Top Tier to Third League

The new era for Lokomotiv Sofia came in 1994 with the new president Nikolay Gigov. The football club's status was turned professional. For merely one year (1994–95), from a team struggling not to lose its place in the professional league, Lokomotiv won the silver medals in the Championship and the State Cup. The club's home ground is Lokomotiv Stadium with 25,000 places, included a junior training centre: Lokomotiv has an enthusiastic and well-organized fan-club. The team came fourth in the 2005–06 season in
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 ...
and qualified for the
2006–07 UEFA Cup The 2006–07 UEFA Cup was the 36th UEFA Cup, Europe's second-tier club football tournament. On 16 May 2007, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla won their second consecutive UEFA Cup, defeating Espanyol 3–1 on penalties after the match ...
first qualifying round, where they faced
FK Makedonija Gjorče Petrov FK Makedonija Gjorče Petrov ( mk, ФК Македонија Ѓорче Петров), commonly referred to as FK Makedonija G.P. ( mk, ФК Македонија Ѓ.П.) is a football club based in the municipality of Ǵorče Petrov, in Skopje, N ...
from the
Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
. Lokomotiv beat the Macedonian side 2–0 in the first match in Sofia on 13 July 2006 and finished 1–1 as a guest in Macedonia and continued to the next round of the tournament. Next, they faced the team of
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל בני יהודה תל אביב, ''Moadon Kaduregel Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv''), commonly referred to as Bnei Yehuda (), is an Israeli football club from the Hatikva Quarter of the city of Tel ...
, which they beat twice: 2–0 on 10 August 2006 and 4–0 on 24 August 2006. Their next opponent in the first round of the tournament was the team of
Feyenoord Rotterdam Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after it ...
. The first game in Sofia ended with a 2–2 draw, after Lokomotiv went ahead 2–0 early in the first half. The second game finished 0–0 and Lokomotiv Sofia were out of the UEFA tournament. Domestically, Lokomotiv had an amazing run of 10 consecutive wins, before being stopped by
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 the direct clash for the second position. Eventually, Lokomotiv finished third with equal points with second-placed
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 ...
. The 2007–08 season started promisingly for the team. In the UEFA Cup second qualifying round Lokomotiv eliminated Romanian side Oţelul Galaţi after a 3–1 win at home and a scoreless away draw. This marked 8 European games without a loss, which was a new national record for longest streak without a loss achieved by a Bulgarian team in all European competitions. The previous record of 7 games was held by
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 next round, Lokomotiv faced the French
Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
and the loss 1–3 in the first leg in Sofia marked an end to the team's winning streak in Europe. The Bulgarian side showed a surprising rally in the second game in France, which they won 2–1 and were only a single goal short of making it to the extra time. For a second consecutive year, Lokomotiv were stopped short of entering the group stage 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 ...
, despite being the first Bulgarian club in football history to snatch a victory on French soil. The team finished third during the 2014–15 season 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 ...
, but was denied a license for the European tournaments and A Group due to unpaid debts. Lokomotiv were relegated to Bulgaria's third division, the
V Group V, or v, is the twenty-second and fifth-to-last letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''vee'' (pronounced ), plural ...
.


FC Lokomotiv 1929: Lower leagues and return to the elite

After being relegated to the third tier of Bulgarian football, Lokomotiv experienced serious financial problems and the club was disqualified from the Third League, after which it was liquidated. Shortly after, some of the legends of the team including Ivan Vasilev, Boycho Velichkov and
Anton Velkov Anton Kostadinov Velkov (born 15 July 1968) is a Bulgarian former football player and currently football manager of Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia. Career Born in Sofia, Velkov played in his career for Lokomotiv Sofia, USA football club Virginia Beach Ma ...
formed a new club in A OFG Sofia (city) - north (4th division). The new club, now called Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia, is considered the rightful successor of the previous team, and thus carries over the history and honors won from the original team. The youth academy was also moved to the new club. Some other former players went back to the club, as well as young players from the academy who were selected to the new first squad. On 29 July 2016, the team was officially approved for the new
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 ...
, skipping one level of Bulgarian football together with Tsarsko Selo Sofia. However, initially the team couldn’t get promoted to the First League until 2018-19 season due to the rule that a team can play in the highest level only after 3 seasons of existence. This was changed later, allowing Lokomotiv to promote as early as 2018, since the new team was considered to be the successor of the original Lokomotiv. The 2017-18 season was very dramatical for Lokomotiv Sofia. They finished second in the Second League, which meant that they qualified for the promotion playoffs to enter First League. However, they were denied entry to the top tier by Vitosha Bistritsa, who beat them on penalties to stay in the league. Next season wasn’t as successful, with Lokomotiv only managing a mid-table result. For the 2019-20 season, Lokomotiv finished fourth, only three points behind
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
, who qualified for the promotion playoffs. The 2020-21 season began well for Lokomotiv, as they managed to remain in first place in the league for the majority of the season before the winter break. Lokomotiv eventually managed to finish in second place, thus securing promotion to the First League after six years. The first season since returning to the top level proved to be difficult. Lokomotiv, however, managed to secure their place in the league after a lot of drama in the relegation group of the 2021-22 season. The team eventually finished above
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 ...
and Tsarsko Selo, avoiding the drop. After the season ended, Lokomotiv announced that they had parted ways with Ivan Kolev and had appointed former Ludogorets manager
Stanislav Genchev Stanislav Genchev ( bg, Станислав Генчев; born 20 March 1981) is a Bulgarian former footballer and now manager, who is currently the manager of Lokomotiv Sofia. Career SC Vaslui SC Vaslui signed Genchev as a free player, on 14 J ...
in his place, with
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 ...
as assistant coach.


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:01/07/1948 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 from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1950 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:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 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:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1952 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1953 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1953 till:01/07/1954 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1957 till:01/07/1958 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1958 till:01/07/1959 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1961 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1962 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1963 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1963 till:01/07/1964 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1965 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1969 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:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1971 color:black shift:(0,14) text: Does not exist from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift:(0,-4) text:6 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:9 from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:2 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:7 from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:8 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:10 from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/2015 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:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 color:yellow shift:(0,14) text:
Regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2021 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " 2nd League" from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:11 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: " 1st League"


Statistics and records

Lokomotiv's first competitive game was a 2–1 victory against Zora Sofia on 3 November 1929.
Atanas Mihaylov Atanas Hristov Mihaylov ( bg, Атанас Xpиcтов Михайлов, 5 July 1949 – 1 October 2006) was an association football former Forward (association football), forward and manager. Mihаylov is the top scorer in the history of Bulgaria ...
holds Lokomotiv's overall appearance record—he played 348 matches over the course of 17 seasons from 1964 to 1981. Lokomotiv's all-time leading scorer again is
Atanas Mihaylov Atanas Hristov Mihaylov ( bg, Атанас Xpиcтов Михайлов, 5 July 1949 – 1 October 2006) was an association football former Forward (association football), forward and manager. Mihаylov is the top scorer in the history of Bulgaria ...
, who scored 145 goals. The most goals scored by a player in a single match is six;
Tsvetan Genkov Tsvetan Valentinov Genkov ( bg, Цветан Валентинов Генков; born 8 February 1984) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a striker for OFK Kostinbrod. Career Lokomotiv Mezdra Born in Mezdra, Genkov began his career in the l ...
have achieved this feat in 2007. Lokomotiv's biggest victory is 11–1 against
Chavdar Byala Slatina FC Chavdar (ФК Чавдар Бяла Слатина) was a Bulgarian football club from the town of Byala Slatina. Honours * Quarterfinalist - 5th in National Championship. * Third place in North "B" Group: 1957 and 1958. * Eightfinalist in B ...
in 1991 for
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 ...
. Lokomotiv's 9–0 defeat of Chernomorets Burgas Sofia on 27 May 2007 was its largest league win. Lokomotiv's heaviest defeat, 0–8, came against
Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...
in 1994. Lokomotiv's 6–0 win against Neftchi Baku 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 ...
was the largest victory in the Europe competition's history at the time.


European record


Supporters

Lokomotiv has a group of loyal fans known as Iron Brigades (Bulgarian: Железни бригади) who supported the team in the lowest levels of the Bulgarian football. Lokomotiv's biggest rivalry is 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 ground ...
. Lokomotiv's fans maintain a friendship with Spartak Varna and Austrian club FavAC.


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 *
Celso Raposo Celso Daniel Caeiro Raposo (born 3 April 1996) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Bulgarian club Lokomotiv Sofia as a defender. Football career He made his Taça da Liga debut for Cova da Piedade on 28 July 2019 in a game agai ...
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) * Matheus Duarte * David Malembana Non-EU Nationals *
França Françoaldo Sena de Souza (born 2 March 1976), commonly known as França, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career França was born in Codó, Maranhão. After his senior beginnings with lowly Nacional ...
* Alan Dias * Kadu


Crest, shirt and mascot

Team main kit is red and black. Away kits are black and white. On 11 February 2022 Lokomotiv signed a sponsorship contract with the Greek betting company ''Betano'' for 3 years.Локомотив (София) представи новия си генерален спонсор
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Managers


Past seasons


References


External links


Official website

News website

Fans websitebgclubs.eu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia, FC Football clubs in Bulgaria Association football clubs established in 1929 1929 establishments in Bulgaria Phoenix clubs (association football) Railway association football clubs in Bulgaria