FC Spartak Plovdiv

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Spartak Plovdiv
Spartak Plovdiv logo
Full name FC Spartak Plovdiv
Nickname(s) Gladiatorite (The Gladiators)
Founded 15 November 1947 (1947-11-15) (65 years ago)
Ground Todor Diev Stadium,
Plovdiv
(capacity: 3,500)
Chairman Lyudmil Bozhilov
Manager Nikolay Kirov
League East B PFG
2009-10 East B PFG, 4th
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

FC Spartak Plovdiv (ФК Спартак Пловдив) is a Bulgarian football club from the city of Plovdiv. Spartak Plovdiv currently plays its home matches at the 3,000-seat Todor Diev Stadium in the Kichuk Parizh district of Plovdiv. The stadium is named after the club's all-time greatest player Todor Diev. Currently Spartak competes in the second division of Bulgarian football, the B PFG.

Contents

[edit] History

Spartak was founded on 15 November 1947, after being evolved from three earlier Plovdiv clubs - Levski, Septemvri and Udarnik. The club is a reference to the Roman slave hero Spartacus. This reference also explains the club's nickname - The Gladiators (Bulgarian: Гладиаторите). The first team colours of the club were chosen the same year, and soon Spartak was characterized by a blue, red and white check jersey.

The 1950s and 1960s were Spartak's golden age, spending that time in the A PFG. The club has been once champions of Bulgaria (in 1963), coming second the previous year, and Bulgarian Cup winners (in 1958).

The club participated in the European Cup competition for the first time in 1963-64 vs KF Partizani Tirana (0:1, 3:1) and vs PSV (0:1, 0:0). Second continental participation was in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1966-67 vs SL Benfica (1:1, 0:3). In 1964 Spartak reached the Balkans Cup final, losing to FC Rapid Bucureşti after two legs - 1:1 at home and 0:2 away.

In 1967 Spartak was merged with SSK Akademik and Botev Plovdiv into a new club - AFD Trakia. An independent Spartak did not re-emerge until 1982. In the period from 1982 to 1994 the club spended in second and third divisions. In the 1993-94 season Spartak finished 2nd in B PFG, and qualified again for the A PFG, after 27 years break. But two seasons later, the team relegated again to B PFG. The club merged in 1998 with Komatevo Sokol`94 and were renamed Spartak-S`94. This remained club's official name till the 2001-02 season.

[edit] Honours

[edit] European matches

Season Tournament Round Team Home Away
1963-64 European Cup Q Albania Partizani Tirana 3-1 0-1
1Q Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 0-1 0-0
1966-67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1Q Portugal Benfica 1-1 0-3

[edit] Current squad

As of May 1, 2013 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Bulgaria GK Aleksandar Vitanov
Bulgaria GK Petar Ivanov
Bulgaria DF Aleksandar Shabarkov
Bulgaria DF Andon Solakov
Bulgaria DF Blagovest Saraev
Bulgaria DF Nikolay Parnarov
Bulgaria DF Rangel Kordov
Bulgaria DF Hristo Staev
Bulgaria DF Svetoslav Cholakov
Bulgaria DF Tsvetan Yotov
No. Position Player
Bulgaria MF Andon Georgiev
Bulgaria MF Vasil Cholakov
Bulgaria MF Daniel Kolev
Bulgaria MF Dimitar Yurukov
Bulgaria MF Konstantin Atanasov
Bulgaria FW Andrey Andreev
Bulgaria FW Blagovest Zaytsev
Bulgaria FW Nikolay Kemalov
Bulgaria FW Svetoslav Chitakov
Bulgaria FW Stanimir Dimitrov

[edit] Notable players

  • Todor Diev
  • Dimitar Vasilev
  • Dimitar Dimov
  • Ivan Manolov
  • Mihail Dushev
  • Hristo Dishkov
  • Tobiah Momin
  • Georgi Barbov
  • Dimitar Hubinov
  • Lyubomir Burnarski

[edit] External links