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PFC Ludogorets Razgrad

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Ludogorets Razgrad
Full nameПрофесионален футболен клуб Разград
(Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Razgrad)
Nickname(s)Орлите от Разград
(The Eagles from Razgrad)
Founded18 June 2001; 23 years ago (2001-06-18)
GroundLudogorets Arena, Razgrad
Capacity6,000
OwnerKiril Domuschiev
ChairmanAleksandar Aleksandrov
ManagerGeorgi Dermendzhiev
LeagueA Group
2013–14A Group, 1st
Websitehttp://www.ludogorets.com/all_news.php
Current season

PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (Template:Lang-bg) or simply Ludogorets is a Bulgarian association football club based in Razgrad, which currently competes in the A Group, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded in 2001 as Ludogorie Football Club. It has adopted its current name from one of the first football clubs in the town, founded in 1945 and dissolved in 2006. In their first season in A Group, Ludogorets achieved a remarkable result by winning both the domestic league and the Bulgarian Cup. Subsequently, the club also made a significant impact in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, where it reached the round of 16.

The club's name comes from the name of the region in which Razgrad is located – the Ludogorie region of north-eastern Bulgaria. It is nicknamed the "Eagles", and in 2014 it was presented with a live eagle by Europa League rivals Lazio;[1] the mascot was named Fortuna.[2]

The club's home colors are green and white. Ludogorets' home base is the Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad, a stadium with capacity of 6,000 seats and electric floodlights.[3] After becoming champions in A Group in the first year after being promoted from B Group, Ludogorets became the third Bulgarian team after the two most prestigious clubs, CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia to achieve a treble by winning the A Group, the Bulgarian Cup and also the Bulgarian Supercup.

History

Foundation

The club was founded on 18 June 2001 as Ludogorie Football Club by Aleksandar Aleksandrov and Vladimir Dimitrov. In 2002 it was renamed to Razgrad 2000 after a merger with a youth football team. Razgrad 2000 won its group a couple of years in a row, but didn't have a big enough budget to enter the higher division. It was promoted to the top division of amateur football in Bulgaria, V Group (third division) at the end of the 2005-06 season.

Domuschiev era (2010–present)

The most frequently used lineup that won the first A PFG title in 2011–12 season.

In the 2009–10 season, Razgrad 2000 won promotion again, this time to the professional B Group (second division). In 2010, the club acquired the license of Ludogorets Razgrad, a club dating from 1945, which had been dissolved in 2006. The year 1945 still appears on the club crest. In July 2010, Ivaylo Petev was appointed as manager. In September, the club was purchased by the businessman Kiril Domuschiev, with the clear intention to bring Ludogorets to A Group. The takeover was followed by a flurry of bids for high profile players. In May 2011, the club completed this feat in Domuschiev's first season by winning promotion to A Group for the first time in the club's history.[4]

Prior to the start of season 2011–12, Ludogorets completed the transfers of Emil Gargorov, Alexandre Barthe, Stanislav Genchev, Svetoslav Dyakov, Uroš Golubović, Ľubomír Guldan and Marcelinho. Ivan Stoyanov signed during the first month of the season. Ludogorets were unbeaten in the first nine games of the season before losing 2–1 to Litex Lovech. In the last game before the winter break, Ludogorets drew 2–2 with CSKA Sofia, ending the autumn half of the season in first place. But, with three losses in a row in the middle of the spring half-season (to Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Slavia and Cherno More), Ludogorets lost their lead in the standings to CSKA Sofia up until the end of the season. On the last day of season 2011–12 they won the game with CSKA Sofia 1-0, with a goal scored by former Levski striker Miroslav Ivanov. The game was effectively a champions title match since Ludogorets were two points behind the team from Sofia, and the victory made them champions of Bulgaria in their first season in the top division, just one point ahead of CSKA.[5] In May 2012, Ludogorets completed the domestic double when they won their first Bulgarian Cup title, after a 2–1 victory against Lokomotiv Plovdiv at Lazur Stadium in Burgas,[6] and in August 2012, they won the Bulgarian Supercup, beating Lokomotiv 3–1, and becoming the first team to win a treble in its first season in A Group.

Ludogorets started the 2012–13 season with eight wins in a row and nine matches without a loss, and finished the half-season in first place, as in the previous season, with just one loss and seven goals conceded out of 15 matches. But for the Bulgarian Cup the team was eliminated in the Round of 32 by CSKA Sofia with an aggregate score of 2–2 from the two legs and CSKA continuing into the next round on away goals. In the spring half-season Ludogorets occupied the first place with just three matches to go before the end of the season. Nevertheless, they were defeated 1–0 by Levski, and Levski took the lead of A Group. On the final day of the season Ludogorets had to beat the already relegated team Montana and to hope that Slavia would prevent Levski from winning the match. In the last minutes of the Levski-Slavia match Levski conceived an own goal which making the end result a 1–1 draw, allowing Ludogorets to win their second championship title. In the 2013 Supercup, they lost 5–3 on penalties to Beroe Stara Zagora after a 1–1 draw in regular time.

In 2014 the team won their third consecutive championship title since promotion, two rounds before the end of the regular season.[7] They finished nine points ahead of runners-up CSKA Sofia. The team also secured a second domestic double, beating PFC Botev Plovdiv 1–0 in the 2014 Bulgarian Cup Final.[8]

In Europe

Ludogorets in UEFA Europa League 2013–14

After winning the 2011–12 Bulgarian first football division Ludogorets were entered in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League for the 2012–13 season, where they were beaten 3–4 on aggregate by Dinamo Zagreb.

As 2012–13 Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets played in the 2013–14 Champions League where they came through the qualifiers, beating Slovan Bratislava and Partizan Belgrade. The team lost to FC Basel in the play-offs, but earned the right to play in the Europa League.

Ludogorets played in Group B of the 2013–14 Europa League. They were unbeaten in the group stage finishing first in the group with five wins in six games, including both home and away victories over the prominent PSV Eindhoven and Dinamo Zagreb.[9] Their only dropped points were a 1–1 home draw with Chornomorets Odesa. In the knockout phase, Ludogorets beat the Italian cup holders, Lazio, 1–0 away and drew 3–3 at home, for a 4–3 aggregate win,[10] but lost 0–3 at home, 0–4 on aggregate to Valencia in the round of 16.[11]

Since 2014, the mascot of the team has been a female eagle called Fortuna, which was originally a gift from Lazio.[12]

Crest and shirt

Ludogorets colors are green and white.

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
2006–2010 Bulgaria Tomy Sport None
2010–2012 Germany Adidas Huvepharma
2012–2014 Navibulgar / Huvepharma
2014– Italy Macron

Honours

Bulgarian A Group:

Bulgarian B Group:

Bulgarian Cup:

Bulgarian Supercup:

European tournaments

UEFA Europa League

European record

Competition S P W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Champions League / European Cup 3 12 4 4 4 19 16 + 3
UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup 1 10 6 2 2 15 9 +6
Total 4 22 10 6 6 34 25 +9

Matches

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2012–13 UEFA Champions League 2Q Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 1–1 2–3 3–4
2013–14 UEFA Champions League 2Q Slovakia Slovan Bratislava 3–0 1–2 4–2
3Q Serbia Partizan 2–1 1–0 3–1
PO Switzerland Basel 2–4 0–2 2–6
UEFA Europa League Group B Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 2–0 2–0 1st
Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 3–0 2–1
Ukraine Chornomorets Odesa 1–1 1–0
Round of 32 Italy Lazio 3–3 1–0 4–3
Round of 16 Spain Valencia 0–3 0–1 0–4
2014–15 UEFA Champions League 2Q Luxembourg F91 Dudelange 4–0 1–1 5–1
3Q Serbia Partizan 0–0 2–2 2–2 (a)
PO – – –
Notes
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round

UEFA ranking

See also: UEFA coefficient
Rank Team Points
84 England Birmingham City 20.749
84 England Swansea City 20.749
86 Austria Austria Wien 20.010
87 Bulgaria PFC Ludogorets Razgrad 19.950
88 England Fulham 19.749
89 Greece Panathinaikos 18.460

Players

First-team squad

As of 3 July 2014[13]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
4 DF Finland FIN Tero Mäntylä
5 DF France FRA Alexandre Barthe
7 MF Bulgaria BUL Mihail Aleksandrov
8 MF Portugal POR Fábio Espinho
9 FW Slovenia SVN Roman Bezjak
10 MF Colombia COL Sebastián Hernández
11 FW Brazil BRA Juninho Quixadá
12 MF Madagascar MAD Anicet Abel
15 DF Bulgaria BUL Aleksandar Aleksandrov
16 DF Colombia COL Brayan Angulo
17 MF Spain ESP Dani Abalo
18 MF Bulgaria BUL Svetoslav Dyakov (captain)
19 MF Bulgaria BUL Aleksandar Vasilev
20 DF Brazil BRA Guilherme Choco
21 GK Bulgaria BUL Vladislav Stoyanov
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF Bulgaria BUL Kristiyan Kitov
23 MF Bulgaria BUL Hristo Zlatinski
24 DF Bulgaria BUL Preslav Petrov
25 DF Bulgaria BUL Yordan Minev
27 DF Romania ROU Cosmin Moți
31 GK Bulgaria BUL Georgi Argilashki
55 DF Bulgaria BUL Georgi Terziev
77 DF Portugal POR Vitinha
80 DF Brazil BRA Júnior Caiçara
84 MF Brazil BRA Marcelinho
88 MF Brazil BRA Wanderson
91 GK Serbia SRB Ivan Čvorović
93 FW Netherlands NED Virgil Misidjan
95 FW Netherlands NED Jeroen Lumu

For recent transfers, see List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2014.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
No. Pos. Nation Player

Ludogorets U21 squad

Ludogorets's reserve team play in the Bulgarian U21 League. They are coached by Georgi Dermendzhiev.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
6 DF Bulgaria BUL Teynur Marem
13 GK Bulgaria BUL Engin Mahmud
22 MF Bulgaria BUL Kristiyan Kitov
— GK Bulgaria BUL Georgi Stavrev
— DF Bulgaria BUL Denislav Aleksandrov
— DF Bulgaria BUL Preslav Petrov
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Bulgaria BUL Galin Minkov
— MF Bulgaria BUL Alexander Vasilev
— DF Bulgaria BUL Ventsislav Kerchev
— MF Bulgaria BUL Tomas Tsviatkov
— MF Bulgaria BUL Denis Tsolev

Foreign players

Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the A PFG however only three 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

EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)

Non-EU Nationals

Recent seasons

Season Group Position M W D L G D P Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Super Cup UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League Notes
2009-10 North-East V Group 2 34 26 2 6 79 28 80 Did not participate Did not participate Did not participate Did not participate Promoted
2010-11 East B Group 1 24 12 8 4 38 16 44 Round of 32 Did not participate Did not participate Did not participate Promoted
2011-12 A Group 1 30 22 4 4 73 16 70 Winner Winner Did not participate Did not participate Achieved treble
2012-13 A Group 1 30 22 6 2 58 13 72 Round of 32 Finalist First round Did not participate
2013-14 A Group 1 38 25 9 4 74 20 84 Winner Finalist Play-off round Round of 16 Achieved double

Notable players

Template:Famous players The following players included were either playing for their respective national teams or left good impression among the fans. Bold players represent their national team.

Note: For a complete list of PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players, see Category:PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players.

Personnel

Board of directors

Position Name Nationality
Owner Kiril Domuschiev Bulgaria
President Alexander Alexandrov Bulgaria
Chairman of the Board of Directors Temenuga Gazdova Bulgaria
Managing Director Angel Petrichev Bulgaria
Director Youth Academy Yakov Paparkov Bulgaria
Public Relations Vladislav Trifonov Bulgaria

Current technical body

Position Name Nationality
Sports Director Metodi Tomanov Bulgaria
Head Coach Georgi Dermendzhiev Bulgaria
Assistant Coach Vacant Bulgaria
U21 Coach Vacant Bulgaria
Goalkeeper coach Nikolay Donev Bulgaria
Physical Coach Sergio Matri Spain
Physical Coach Javier Ramos Spain
Physiotherapist Toni Todorov Bulgaria
Physiotherapist Petko Petrov Bulgaria
Physiotherapist Stoyan Aleksiev Bulgaria
Doctor Yavor Yakimov Bulgaria
Administrator Plamen Yordanov Bulgaria
Housekeeper Dimitar Mihov Bulgaria

Managers

Dates Name Honours
2001–2010 Unknown
2010–2013 Bulgaria Ivaylo Petev 99992 A Group titles
1 B Group
1 Bulgarian Cup
1 Bulgarian Supercup
2013–2014 Bulgaria Stoycho Stoev 99991 A Group title
1 Bulgarian Cup
2014– Bulgaria Georgi Dermendzhiev

Records

  • Ludogorets is the second team in the world, together with FC Levadia Tallinn from Estonia, that after promoting from the second to the first level of the football league pyramid of its country, wins a treble, capturing all of the local trophies - the league, the national cup and the supercup.
  • Ludogorets is the first team in Bulgaria, that won two promotions in a row and then succeeded in achieving a treble.
  • Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to begin their group stage participation in European tournaments with 3 consecutive wins, when in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage they recorded consecutive wins against PSV Eindhoven (2-0), Dinamo Zagreb (3-0) and Chornomorets Odesa (1-0), without conceding a goal in any of the games.
  • After the end of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage, Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to record 8 wins in European competition in a single season, as well as the first Bulgarian team to record 4 away wins in European competitions in a single season.
  • During the 2011–12 season, the club had the most effective attack in A Group, scoring a total of 73 goals.
  • During the same season, the club had the best defence in A Group, conceding 16 goals in 30 games. They bettered this in 2012–13, conceding just 13 goals in 30 games.
  • Biggest win in A group: 6-0 at home against Slavia Sofia, September 11, 2011
  • Biggest loss in A group: 0-2 at home against Cherno More Varna, March 29, 2012, 1-3 away against Cherno More, August 31, 2013, 2-4 at home against Litex Lovech, October 20, 2013

References

  1. ^ Meranzov, Martin (26 March 2014). "Lazio sent an eagle to the Bulgarian Eagles". Lazioland.com. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Fortuna is the name of the Ludogorets eagle". Ludogorets.com. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  3. ^ Ludogorets arena with the best electric floodlights in the league (in Bulgarian)
  4. ^ "Ludogorets crash the party in Bulgaria". uefa.com. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Ludogorets celebrate maiden Bulgarian title". uefa.com. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  6. ^ "Ludogorets clinch maiden Bulgarian Cup". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  7. ^ Невиждано постижение! Лудогорец ликува! Три сезона в елита - три титли! (видео) (Sportal.bg, May 7, 2014) (in Bulgarian)
  8. ^ "Ludogorets secure double, fans pelt players with seats and stones". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  9. ^ Europa League: Ludogorets win 2–1 at Dinamo Zagreb in Group B, Sky Sports, 12 December 2013
  10. ^ Europa League: Ludogorets progress after 4-3 victory over Lazio, Sky Sports, 27 February 2014
  11. ^ Europa League: Valencia beat Ludogorets 1-0 to reach quarter-finals, Sky Sports, 20 March 2014
  12. ^ Орлицата Фортуна в неизвестност! Птицата с нов опит за бягство, topsport.bg, 18 April 2014
  13. ^ "А отбор". PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. Retrieved 31 August 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
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