Cherno More Varna
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cherno More ( bg, Черно Море) 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 Macedo ...
n 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 the city of Varna, which currently competes in Bulgaria's primary football competition, the First League. Founded on March 3, 1913, as an association football branch of the larger sports society SC Galata, the club has spent the majority of its existence playing in the top tier of Bulgarian football. Cherno More is named after the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, and the football club is also known by its nickname The Sailors. Cherno More's home ground is the
Stadion Ticha Stadion Ticha ( bg, Стадион „Тича“, en, 'Ticha Stadium') is a multi-purpose stadium in Varna, Bulgaria, located in the Chayka district of the city. Currently, the stadium is used for football matches and is the home ground of Cher ...
, which has a seating capacity of 8,250 spectators, with plans to move to a new all-seater stadium by 2020, although due to financial issues, the construction has been put on hold. Cherno More previously hosted their games at the
Yuri Gagarin Stadium Yuri Gagarin Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Varna, Bulgaria. It was initially used as the stadium of Cherno More Varna and Spartak Varna. It was named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's fir ...
, sharing it with fellow Varna club, Spartak. As one of the relatively successful clubs in Bulgarian football outside the capital
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 h ...
, the Sailors have won the Bulgarian championship on four occasions, as well as the Bulgarian Cup once 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 April ...
. The club has a long-standing rivalry with neighbouring Spartak Varna, with matches between the two being commonly referred to as The Derby of Varna.


History


Early years

On March 3, 1913, Galata Sports Association was established in the male first high school in Varna, with association football being one of its departments. Later in 1913, Karel Škorpil, one of the founding members of the sports society and a prominent Czech-
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 Macedo ...
n archaeologist, who settled in Varna at that time, suggested the association to be renamed to Reka Ticha, in homage of the old name of the Kamchiya river. On May 24, 1914 Sportist Sports Club, which was formed by Stefan Tonchev and a group of boys in 1909, joined Reka Ticha. Many Cherno More supporters today consider the officially acknowledged founding year 1913 to be historically incorrect, believing that SC Sportist's year of establishment in 1909 should be acknowledged as the year of establishment of Cherno More. Several years later, the first international friendly in Bulgarian club football history was played in 1915 between Reka Ticha and the 21st Pomeranian Regiment of
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
, which ended in a 4–4 draw. In 1919, Reka Ticha began playing matches against different teams from the capital
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 h ...
, which ended in a success with scores of 3-0 and 1–0 against
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 ...
on a home-away basis and a 4–1 win against Levski Sofia in Varna. The away match with Levski 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 h ...
however did not take place. The subsequent growth of Bulgarian football required knowledge of the rules, and as such, in 1919, the football department of SC Reka Ticha published the first Bulgarian football rulebook titled "Football - Rules and Admonitions". It was written by the sports functionary and Reka Ticha's member Stefan Tonchev. On January 21, 1919, SC Reka Ticha shortened its name to Sports Club Ticha, and the kit colours were chosen to be red and white. In the same year, the Bulgarian musician Nikola Nitsov wrote the official anthem of the club. In 1921 Sports Club Granit left the collective membership with SK Ticha due to financial disputes, becoming SC Vladislav after Polish king Władysław of Varna. Their emblem was the four-leaf clover and the kit colours were green and white which are still today the official colours of successor Cherno More. SC Vladislav was to become the first team to win the Tsar's Cup in 1925 rendering them the first champions of the
Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...
. The captain,
Egon Egon is a variant of the male given name Eugene. It is most commonly found in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Denmark, and parts of the Netherlands and Belgium. The name can also be derived from the ...
Terzetta is revered by the Cherno More fans as the scorer in the final match, winning the cup for the green-white team. Later, in 1945 they will rejoin SK Ticha in a merger and the club will be known as Ticha-Vladislav. In 1925 SK Ticha won the București Cup, after two straight wins against Tricolor (to become later Unirea Tricolor) and Sportul Sudenesc both from
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
. This turned to be the first international football trophy won by a Bulgarian football club, making SK Ticha the most popular club in Varna at the time. In
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
and
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
SK Ticha finished as runners-up in the knockout National competition. In
1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...
the club became Bulgarian champions winning the first edition of the United National Football league. The members of the Championship winning team were: Ivan Sarajdarov, Onik Haripyan, Garabed Garabedov, Georgi Gochev, Atanas Kovachev, Georgi Radev, Willy Petkov, Panayot Rozov, Milyu Parushev, Iliya Donchev and Dobry Bajtchev. In total, 18 SK Ticha and SC Vladislav players were selected for the national team. Boyan Byanov of SK Ticha captained the National team in its first ever match against
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, played on 21 May 1924. The same year he also participated in the Olympic National team for the Paris games.


Communist era (1944-1989)

With the establishment of Communist rule in Bulgaria after WWII, significant changes took place affecting all leading clubs without exception. It was a time for mergers, splits, changing of names and in some cases closure of clubs. All this, to suit the new vision of the new communist ruled government. On 18 February 1945, SC Ticha and SC Vladislav merged with all their available assets and the new name of the club was Ticha-Vladislav. An important issue about the merger of these two teams, and the claims by Cherno More supporters who descend from them, is that it was not as a result of bankruptcy, insolvency, bad debts or any other foul play, but the result of a decision by a political party which had absolute and unchecked power, which simply decided that there were just too many clubs in the city of Varna and that their number should be reduced. On 11 May 1947 SC Primoretz also joined the club, now to be known as TVP. SC Primoretz practised basketball, tennis, athletics and swimming and did not have a football team. Chairman of the club was the long time SC Vladislav sportsman Aleksi Aleksiev who now became the chairman of TVP. In 1948–49, under the name Botev, the club took part in the highest level of the first post-war league to be known as
Bulgarian A Football 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 ...
or "A" RFG. Botev Varna finished 6th in a group of 10 teams with centre forward
Nedko Nedev Nedko Nedev ( Bulgarian: Недко Недев) (18 October 1920, Varna – 23 January 2001, Varna) was a Bulgarian football player who played for Vladislav, Ticha-Vladislav, TVP 45, Botev Stalin and VMS, (1938-1952) different names for the same ...
ending up as a joint top scorer of the competition with 11 goals, as many as Dimitar Milanov had scored for CDNV Sofia . Some more reorganisation, in accordance with the Soviet principles, took place in the next season. The town of Varna was renamed
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
in honour of the Soviet dictator and stayed that way until 1956. A departmental system was applied, placing most clubs under the umbrella of two major departments, The Ministry of Defence and The Ministry of Interior. Botev Stalin went under military command and was ordered to play in the Third division (group "V") to make place for the newly formed People's Army team (ONV, later CSKA) from Sofia which started in "A" RFG straight after being founded. Although relegated by decree, the team of Botev Stalin retained most of its players and under the leadership of trainer Ivan Mokanov was promoted back to "A" RFG in 2 successive seasons, under the name VMS (which stands for Bulgarian Navy). In
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...
, VMS Stalin finished 3rd in the competition after the two leading
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 h ...
clubs. The saddest season in the club's history is
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...
. It started with 5 consecutive wins, all against Sofia teams. The hopes of title-dreaming supporters were dashed with only 1 point in the following 10 games. The team was relegated at the end of the season to be promoted back the next year under its previous name, Botev Varna. In
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, a small team from "B" RFG by the name of Cherno More, which resulted from the merger of two other Varna teams (Lokomotiv and Korabostroitel) one year earlier, joined Botev and from this year until now, the club will go by the name Cherno More. The club stayed in "A" RFG without interruption until 1976 but did not have any major achievements. Under the control of the Ministry of Defence over the years, a number of talented players left de club for the Central Army Club (CSKA) without Cherno More receiving adequate compensation. One of them,
Bozhil Kolev Bozhil Naydenov Kolev ( bg, Божил Найденов Колев; born 20 May 1949) is a former Bulgarian football player and manager. Kolev made 60 appearances for the Bulgarian national team from 1969 to 1978. Career Born in Tsonevo, Da ...
, starred in the defence of the National team in the World Cup finals in BRD'74. Cherno More had its moments of glory in a friendly against
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
which ended in a 3–1 win on 8 June 1966, with goals from Zdravko Mitev (2) and Stefan Bogomilov. The 19 year old
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a p ...
scored for Ajax. In August 1966 the team from Varna visited England and played three matches. The most memorable was the 1–0 win against Nottingham Forest on City Ground. Nottingham fielded a strong side with Peter Grummitt, Bob McKinlay,
Alan Hinton Alan Thomas Hinton (born 6 October 1942) is an English former footballer who played at the top level of English football from 1961 to 1975. He famously wore white football boots. Playing career Wolverhampton Wanderers Hinton started his career ...
, Henry Newton,
Joe Baker Joseph Henry Baker (17 July 1940 – 6 October 2003) was an England international footballer. Born in Woolton in Liverpool, England, he spent virtually his entire childhood growing up in Motherwell, Scotland. He is notable for being the first ...
, Terry Hennessey, Jeff Whitefoot in the starting 11. The match was decided with a long range shot from defender Dimitar Bosnov in the first half. Nottingham Forest was to end the 1966-67 season as runners-up in the
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
. The other two matches ended in a 1–1 draw against
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
after Stefan Yanev had opened the score, and a 1–2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday F.C. After 16 years in the top flight, Cherno More was relegated in 1976 and won promotion the following season. A new generation of players was emerging. Defenders Todor Marev and Ivan Ivanov, midfielders Todor Atanasov and Ivan Andreev, forwards Rafi Rafiev and
Nikola Spasov Nikola Spasov ( bg, Никола Спасов; 15 December 1958 – 23 November 2020) was a Bulgarian professional footballer and coach. Playing career Born in Sofia, Spasov played for PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, FC Dunav Ruse, PFC Cherno More Varna ...
left many good memories in the late 70s and the 80s. In the 1981–82 season, the team finished 4th and therefore qualified for the
Intertoto The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foo ...
Cup. Cherno More won twice 2–0 at home against
Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...
and the Danes from Hvidovre IF and drew 1–1 against
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, ...
. Away, they drew 1–1 in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
and lost 1-3 and 0–3 in
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...
and
Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is o ...
respectively. Later in the 80s, Cherno More was relegated twice and played 3 seasons in "B" RFG. The team reached the final of The Soviet Army Cup and were runners-up twice in 1985 and 1988.


The 90s struggle

The fall of socialism in Bulgaria in 1989 and the establishment of democracy brought new hardships for Bulgarian football clubs. The transition from state backed organisations to privately owned entities saw many traditional football clubs disappear entirely, while others were forced to declare bankruptcy, only to return later by obtaining licences from smaller clubs. Cherno More avoided any administrative changes and kept its name and history, but spent six consecutive seasons in the league's second tier. Relegated in season 1989-90 and again in 1993-94 and facing immense financial difficulties, at one time during the 1998–99 season, the club came close to relegation to the 3rd division of Bulgarian football. Despite being in the "B"RFG, Cherno More sold their best player and own product
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 f ...
to Levski Sofia for a then Bulgarian record of 2 million leva (£60 000) in 1991. Things started to get better in 1998 with new chairman Krasen Kralev who turned the club into a joint-stock company.


New millennium

The new millennium saw the club establishing itself in the country's top flight. The Sailors spent the majority of the 90s in Bulgaria's second tier before securing promotion at the end of the 1999–2000 season, ending a six consecutive season spell in the
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 ...
. Cherno More survived minor relegation scares in their first two seasons back in 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 ...
and then went on to become a regular feature in the league's top half. In 2002, Kralev convinced businessman Ilia Pavlov to buy the club. Pavlov had ideas about developing the club and turning it into one of the leaders in Bulgarian football. He appointed the young and ambitious coach Velislav Vutsov and signed many experienced players such as National team goalkeeper Zdravko Zdravkov, defenders
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 for ...
and Georgi Ginchev. Some foreign players such as Lúcio Wagner, Darko Spalević and Maltese international
Daniel Bogdanović Daniel Bogdanović (born 26 March 1980) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker and coach for Għajnsielem F.C. in the Gozo Football League. Born in Libya, he represented the Malta national team. Club career Bogdanović spent ...
also made their way to Varna. The results were quick to follow. Victories against champions CSKA in Sofia and Litex in Lovech saw the team soaring up in the table. The success story came to an abrupt end with the murder of Ilia Pavlov on 7 March 2003. Months of uncertainties followed and at some point, the very existence of the club was at stake until Bulgarian holding company Chimimport acquired the club in 2004. In the 2007–08 season, the Sailors finished 5th in
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 ...
and qualified for the last season 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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
due to licence problems of
CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
. Led by captain
Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple p ...
they had a very successful run - they defeated UE Sant Julia of
Andora Andora ( lij, Andeua), or Marina di Andora, is a town on the Italian Riviera in the region of Liguria, included in the province of Savona. Geography and climate Andora is situated in the western part of the Italian Riviera between Capo Mele ...
in the first qualifying round (9-0 on aggregate) and
Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...
from
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in the second qualifying round (3-1 on aggregate). Cherno More than challenged German side
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 S ...
in the 1st round and were eliminated after a 1–2 loss at home and a surprising 2–2 draw in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
after having a 2–0 lead up until the 85th minute of the game. During the same season the team was successful finishing 3rd in
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 ...
, and qualified for the newly created European football competition, the Europa League. In the 2009–10 season, Cherno More started their
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. ...
campaign by defeating Iskra-Stal from
Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
in the second qualifying round (4-0 on aggregate). Subsequently, they were drawn to play against Dutch powerhouse
PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...
in the third qualifying round. The team from Varna was eliminated after a 0-1 loss at
Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Lazur Stadium efbet Arena ( bg, „Ефбет Арена“, en, 'efbet Arena' ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Burgas, Bulgaria. It is currently used for football matches and is the home ground of Neftochimic 1962 Burgas. The stadium holds 18,037 people a ...
in
Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a pop ...
. After finishing third in 2008–09, the club failed to impress in the domestic league in the follow-up years, but saw a successful run in the Bulgarian Cup during the 2014–15 season. The Sailors defeated Sozopol,
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 ...
, Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, and
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 a ...
on the road to the final against Levski Sofia at the
Lazur Stadium efbet Arena ( bg, „Ефбет Арена“, en, 'efbet Arena' ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Burgas, Bulgaria. It is currently used for football matches and is the home ground of Neftochimic 1962 Burgas. The stadium holds 18,037 people a ...
in
Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a pop ...
. Despite being down to ten men since the 39th minute and trailing 0–1, the team managed to equalize in added time through Bacari's volley and went on to win the Cup after
Mathias Coureur Mathias Coureur (born 22 March 1988 in Fort-de-France) is a Martiniquais professional footballer who plays as a forward for Golden Lion. Career Born in Martinique, Coureur started his professional career in France, playing for Beauvais, Nant ...
's stunning strike in the 118th minute, winning the club's first post-
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
trophy.


Honours


Domestic

Bulgarian State Football Championship The State Football Championship was the first national football competition in Bulgaria. It was organised between 1924 and 1944 by the Bulgarian National Sport Federation. The championship did not finish in years 1924, 1927 and 1944 because of ...
: * Winners (4): 1925, 1926, 1934 (as '' Vladislav''), 1937–38 (as '' Ticha'')
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 tourname ...
: * Winners (1):
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 April ...
* Runners-up (2):
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 votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match an ...
: * Winners (1):
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 April ...
Cup of the Soviet Army * Runners-up (2):
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, 1988


International

Bucharest Cup: * Winners (1): 1925 ''(as Ticha Varna)''


Chronology of the names


Recent seasons


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: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:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A" from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V" from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B" from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1952 shift:(0,-4) text:7 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:7 from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1955 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:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 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:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1957 till:01/07/1958 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1958 till:01/07/1959 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1959 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:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 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:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1961 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1962 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1963 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1963 till:01/07/1964 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1965 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1976 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:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 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:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1986 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:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1988 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:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/07/1988 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:5 from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1993 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:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 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:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/2000 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:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:10 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:8 from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2000 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:6 from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text: from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2023 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
*Points deducted from all teams after completing the first phase of campaign.
Championship/Relegation groups are constituted after all teams have played each other home and away.


European record


Matches

;Notes * 1Q: First qualifying round * 2Q: Second qualifying round * 3Q: Third qualifying round * PO: Play-off round


Stadium

Ticha Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Varna,
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 Macedo ...
. It is currently used for
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 ...
matches and is the home ground of Cherno More. It is situated in the north-eastern part of Varna. Built in 1968, the stadium currently has a capacity of 8,250 seating places, spread in two opposite stands. The main south stand has a roof cover and holds 4,250 spectators, while the opposite north stand has a seating capacity of 4,000 spectators. The north stand is commonly used by the Cherno More ultras and the away fans. The current stadium was built entirely with the help of volunteers and sports fans of the club on the place of the old Reka Ticha playground. In 2007, the local municipality governors and the owners of the club announced in an official statement, that the club would move to a new all-seater stadium, which would be built in the place of the previously unused and demolished
Yuri Gagarin Stadium Yuri Gagarin Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Varna, Bulgaria. It was initially used as the stadium of Cherno More Varna and Spartak Varna. It was named after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's fir ...
. It would also replace the current Ticha stadium, which would solve numerous problems on match day, including traffic congestion and the lack of nearby parking lots for the fans. The stadium will have a capacity of 22,000 spectators and would be part of Sport Complex Varna, which includes an underground parking area, convertible roof covers, office lounges, two-tier stands and four 50 meter towers, which would block the pressure of the terrain and bring the stadium's shape in a ship. The convertible roof covers will be made of transparent panels, which will allow the light of the floodlights to stream inside the pitch on a night match. The venue would be awarded with an Elite Stadium category ranking by
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 fo ...
. Following several delays over the next years, majorly due to the global Financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the subsequent lack of funding, in 2015 the construction of the stadium finally started and is expected to be finished by late 2019, with the first match being played on the new stadium in 2020.


Statistics and records

Todor Marev holds
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 ...
's and Cherno More's overall appearances record — 422 matches for 19 seasons (from 1971 to 1990). Cherno More's all-time leading scorer is Stefan Bogomilov, who scored 162 goals for the club (from 1962 to 1977). He also holds the club record of 4 hat tricks. The club's second highest scorer is Georgi Iliev, who scored 71 goals. Center forward Miroslav Manolov holds the club's and
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 ...
's record for the fastest goal - 6 seconds after the referee's first signal, against
FC Montana FC Montana ( bg, ФК Монтана) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Montana, which currently plays in the Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football league system. Montana plays its home matches at the Ogosta St ...
on 22 March 2012. Cherno More's biggest victories in
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 ...
are the 8-0 wins against Cherveno Zname Pavlikeni in 1955 and
Maritsa Plovdiv Maritsa ( bg, Марица) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Plovdiv, that plays in the Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football league system. It was established in 1921, after the merger of the teams Vampir and ...
in 1968. Cherno More's largest defeat, 1–8, was against
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 a ...
in 2004. Also, the club's win against UE Sant Julia, 5–0, in 2008, was the largest European win in the club's history.


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 *
Petar Bosančić Petar Bosančić (; born 19 April 1996) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Bulgarian First League club Cherno More Varna. Club career Petar Bosančić started his career in the NK Solin youth academy, moving ...
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) * Mazire Soula *
Madi Queta Madi Queta (born 21 October 1998) is a Bissau-Guinean professional footballer who plays for Portuguese club Vilafranquense and the Guinea-Bissau national team as a winger. Club career On 19 August 2017, Queta made his professional debut with ...
* Mimito Biai Non-EU Nationals * Zakaria Benchaâ * Alex Fernandes


UEFA ranking

Source
UEFA Club Coefficients
br /> Last updated: 21 July 2017


Club officials


Board of directors


Current technical body


Coaches history


References


External links

;Official websites
Official website
*http://www.uefa.com/search/video/index.html#cherno%20more%20varna *http://www.uefa.com/search/photos/index.html#cherno%20more%20varna *http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/teams/club=75787/domestic/ *http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=bul/news/newsid=2252898.html *http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2009/clubs/club=75787/matches/index.html *http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2010/clubs/club=75787/matches/index.html *http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2016/clubs/club=75787/ *http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=63807.html *http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2042576.html *http://www.afc-ajax.info/nl/wedstrijd/1966-6-8-Cherno-More-Ajax *https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185523/http://www.bfunion.bg/news/4394 ;Supporters websites
Cherno More fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherno More Varna Football clubs in Bulgaria Association football clubs established in 1913 1913 establishments in Bulgaria