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PFC Cherno More Varna

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Cherno More
File:Cherno More Varna logo.png
Full nameProfessional football club Cherno More Varna
Nickname(s)The Sailors
Short nameCherno More
FoundedFebruary 18, 1945; 79 years ago (1945-02-18),
as Ticha-Vladislav[1]
GroundTicha Stadium
Capacity8,250
OwnerBulgaria Marin Mitev[2]
ChairmanBulgaria Marin Marinov
ManagerBulgaria Nikola Spasov
LeagueA Group
2014–15A Group, 8th
WebsiteClub website
Current season

PFC Cherno More Varna (Bulgarian: ПФК Черно Море Варна), or simply Cherno More (Bulgarian: ФК Черно Море) is a Bulgarian professional football club from the city of Varna, currently playing in Bulgaria's top football league, the A Group.

Cherno More means Black Sea in Bulgarian, and the club is nicknamed the Sailors. Cherno More's home ground is the Ticha Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 8,250 spectators. To date, the club has won one Bulgarian Cup.

History

Foundation (1945-89)

With the establishment of the Communist rule in Bulgaria after WWII, there were significant changes taking place on the country’s football map as well. Many football clubs were merged or acquired by others, others were dissolved, and new ones were created. The majority of the clubs were attached to government organizations or nationalized factories, often renamed so the new names would be suggestive of the club’s affiliation to Communist party’s institutions. Football clubs in Varna were no exception. In 1945, the two former city club rivals, SC Ticha and FC Vladislav merged to establish a new club, named TV-45 (a few years later SC Primorec was also invited to join TV-45 so the name of the association was changed to "TVP".). This marked the creation of a new sports association, which met the development requirements of the leading communist authorities at that time. In the following years, due to these requirements, the club's name was forced to be changed several times to Botev pri DNA (1948–50), VMS (1950–55), SCNA (1956–57), ASC Botev Varna (1957–59). Botev pri DNA was part of A Group’s inaugural season in 1948–49, when the team finished sixth. During the period when Varna was renamed Stalin by the Communist government,[3] the team was participating as VMS Stalin, where VMS stands for the Bulgarian Navy. In 1953 VMS finished 3rd in A Group. The club settled at the name Cherno More in 1959 and it hasn’t been changed since.

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 or "A" RFG. Botev Varna finished 6th in a group of 10 teams with centre forward Nedko Nedev ending up as top scorer of the competition with 12 goals. Some more reorganisation, in accordance with the Soviet principles, took place in the next season. The town of Varna was renamed Stalin 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 Central Army Club (CDNV, 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, VMS Stalin finished 3rd in the competition after the two leading Sofia clubs. The saddest season in the club's history is 1955. 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, 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, 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 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 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, Henry Newton, Joe Baker, 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 other two matches ended in a 1-1 draw against Coventry City 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 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 Cup. Cherno More won twice 2-0 at home against Standard Liège and the Danes from Hvidovre IF and drew 1-1 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Away, they drew 1-1 in Denmark and lost 1-3 and 0-3 in Liège and Leverkusen 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.

Cherno More spend sixteen consecutive seasons in Bulgaria’s top flight between 1961 and 1976 and 27 in total between 1961 and 1990,[4] but failed to achieve any major honors in a league heavily dominated by teams based in the country’s capital. The club’s affiliation with the Navy meant Cherno More was a satellite team to the Bulgarian Army’s poster team CSKA Sofia, and many of the club’s top players joined CSKA for their compulsory military service. As a result, despite many generations of talented footballers and the massive popularity among the fans in Varna and huge attendances, reaching 40 000 spectators for home fixtures at Yuri Gagarin Stadium, the team never qualified for European football through the league or the Cup.

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 8 out of 9 seasons of the decade in the league’s second tier. Relegated in 1990 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 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

Cherno More fans

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. Cherno More survived minor relegation scares in their first two seasons back in the A Group 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 Vutzov and signed many experienced players such as National team goalkeeper Zdravko Zdravkov, defenders Adalbert Zafirov and Georgi Gintchev. Some foreign players, Lúcio Wagner, Darko Spalević and Maltese international Daniel Bogdanović 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 the Finance and Business group TIM took control in 2004.

In the 2007-08 season, the Sailors finished 5th in A Group and qualified for the last season of the UEFA Cup due to licence problems of CSKA Sofia. Led by captain Alex they had a very successful run - they defeated UE Sant Julia of Andora in the first qualifying round (9-0 on aggregate)[5] and Maccabi Netanya from Israel in the second qualifying round (3-1 on aggregate). Cherno More than challenged German side VfB Stuttgart in the 1st round and were eliminated after a 1-2 loss at home and a surprising 2-2 draw in Stuttgart 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, and qualified for the newly created Europa League.

In the 2009-10 season Cherno More started in the UEFA Europa League by defeating Iskra-Stal from Moldavia in the second qualifying round (4-0 on aggregate) and were drawn to play against Dutch powerhouse PSV Eindhoven in the third qualifying round.[6] The team from Varna was eliminated after a 0-1[7] loss at Eindhoven and another 0-1[8] loss at the Lazur Stadium in Burgas.

After being 3rd in 2008-09, the club failed to impress in A Group but saw a successful run in the Bulgarian Cup during the 2014-15 season. The Sailors defeated Sozopol, Slavia Sofia, Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, and Lokomotiv Plovdiv on the road to the final against Levski Sofia at the Lazur Stadium in Burgas. 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's stunning strike in the 118th minute, winning the club's first post-World War II trophy.[9]

Honours

Domestic

Bulgarian A Group:

Bulgarian Cup:

Bulgarian Supercup:

Cup of the Soviet Army

Chronology of the names

Year(s)
1945–47 Ticha-Vladislav-45 (TV-45)
1948–50 Botev pri DNA
1950–55 VMS
1956–57 SCNA
1957–59 ASC Botev
1959–69 ASC Cherno More
1969–85 FSVD Cherno More
1985– Cherno More

Recent seasons

League positions

Bulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian A Football Group

[10][11]

Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Notes
2000–01 A Group 10 26 7 5 14 20 49 26 Round of 16
2001–02 A Group 11 40 12 11 17 47 51 35* Round of 16 Relegation Group
2002–03 A Group 6 26 14 6 6 42 21 48 Round of 16
2003–04 A Group 6 30 10 8 12 45 53 38 Round of 16
2004–05 A Group 8 30 10 5 15 30 38 35 Round of 32
2005–06 A Group 8 28 10 7 11 29 27 37 Runner-up
2006–07 A Group 6 30 14 5 11 37 29 47 Round of 16
2007–08 A Group 5 30 13 9 8 40 26 48 Runner-up
2008–09 A Group 3 30 18 6 6 48 19 63 Round of 32
2009–10 A Group 7 30 13 9 8 40 28 48 Quarter-finals
2010–11 A Group 6 30 15 6 9 36 28 51 Quarter-finals
2011–12 A Group 7 30 16 4 10 46 25 52 Round of 32
2012–13 A Group 10 30 9 8 13 33 39 35 Round of 16
2013–14 A Group 6 38 14 12 12 40 33 54 Round of 16 Championship Group
2014–15 A Group 8 32 15 5 12 42 36 50 Winner Relegation Group

*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 Tournaments

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1982 Intertoto Cup Group Belgium Standard Liège 2–0 1-3
Group Germany Bayer Leverkusen 1–1 0-3
Group Denmark Hvidovre IF 2–0 1–1
2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2R North Macedonia Makedonija GP 4–0 3–0 7–0
3R Italy Sampdoria 0–1 0–1 0–2
2008–09 UEFA Cup 1Q Andorra UE Sant Julià 4–0 5–0 9–0
2Q Israel Maccabi Netanya 2–0 1–1 3–1
1R Germany VfB Stuttgart 1–2 2–2 3–4
2009–10 UEFA Europa League 2Q Moldova Iskra-Stal 1–0 3–0 4–0
3Q Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 0–1 0–1 0–2
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 2Q Belarus Dinamo Minsk 1–1 0–4 1–5

Stadium

Ticha Stadium
See also: Ticha Stadium and New Varna Stadium

Ticha Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Varna, Bulgaria. It is currently used for football 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 with the help of hundreds of volunteers and fans of the club on the place of the old Reka Ticha playground.

It was officially announced, that the club will move to a new stadium,[12] which will replace the unused Yuri Gagarin Stadium and the current Ticha. The stadium will have a capacity of 30,000 spectators. The stadium, as part of Sport Complex Varna, will have an underground parking area, convertible roof covers, office lounges, two-tier stands and four 50 meter towers, which will block the pressure of the terrain and bring the stadium in a shape of 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 will be awarded with an Elite Stadium rating by UEFA.

Statistics and records

Todor Marev holds A Group'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 161 goals for the club (from 1962 to 1977). The club's second highest scorer is Nikola Dimitrov, who scored 63 goals. Bogomilov also holds the club record of 4 hat tricks. Center forward Miroslav Manolov holds the club's and A Group's record for the fastest goal - 6 seconds after the referee's first signal, against PFC Montana on 22 March 2012.

Cherno More's biggest victories in A Group are the 8-0 wins against Cherveno Zname Pavlikeni in 1955 and Maritsa Plovdiv in 1968. Cherno More's largest defeat, 1–8, was against Lokomotiv Plovdiv 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.

Current squad

As of 3 February 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 MF Bulgaria BUL Daniel Georgiev
4 DF Bulgaria BUL Mihail Venkov (captain)
5 DF Bulgaria BUL Stefan Stanchev
6 DF Mali MLI Mamoutou Coulibaly
7 MF Bulgaria BUL Bekir Rasim
8 MF Cape Verde CPV Sténio
9 FW Spain ESP Bacari
10 MF Netherlands NED Marc Klok
11 FW Bulgaria BUL Zhivko Petkov
13 MF Bulgaria BUL Simeon Raykov
15 DF Bulgaria BUL Trayan Trayanov
17 DF Bulgaria BUL Martin Kostadinov
19 MF Martinique MTQ Mathias Coureur
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF Bulgaria BUL Georgi Iliev
22 DF Bulgaria BUL Plamen Nikolov
23 MF Bulgaria BUL Ivan Valchanov
25 GK Bulgaria BUL Ivan Dyulgerov
27 MF Bulgaria BUL Iliyan Nedelchev
33 GK Bulgaria BUL Georgi Kitanov
40 GK Serbia SRB Aleksandar Čanović
70 DF Portugal POR Pedro Eugénio
73 MF Bulgaria BUL Vladislav Romanov
77 MF Bulgaria BUL Andreas Vasev
84 MF Bulgaria BUL Todor Palankov
98 FW Bulgaria BUL Valentin Yoskov

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2015 and Transfers winter 2015–16.

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
— GK Bulgaria BUL Zlati Zlatev (at Dobrudzha until 30 June 2016)
— DF Bulgaria BUL Georgi Gushlev (at Kaliakra until 30 June 2016)
— DF Bulgaria BUL Stefan Ivanov (at Dobrudzha until 30 June 2016)
— MF Bulgaria BUL Daniel Dimitrov (at Inter Plachidol until 30 June 2016)
— MF Bulgaria BUL Emil Iliev (at Kaliakra until 30 June 2016)
— MF Bulgaria BUL Nikolay Minkov (at Dobrudzha until 30 June 2016)

Foreign players

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

UEFA ranking

Rank Country Team Points
334 Azerbaijan AZAL 3.225
335 Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 3.175
336 Bulgaria Cherno More 3.125
337 Slovenia Gorica 3.125
338 Georgia (country) Chikhura Sachkhere 3.125

UEFA Club Coefficients

Last updated: 16 March 2016

Club officials

Board of directors

Position Name Nationality
Owner Marin Mitev Bulgaria
Technical director Marin Marinov Bulgaria
Director of Communications Krasimir Nikolov Bulgaria
Director of Recruitment Todor Velikov Bulgaria

Current technical body

Position Name Nationality
Manager Nikola Spasov Bulgaria
Assistant Manager Vacant
Assistant Manager Emanuil Lukanov Bulgaria
Goalkeeper Coach Stoyan Stavrev Bulgaria
Fitness coach Veselin Markov Bulgaria

Coaches history

Coach Nat From To
Ivan Mokanov Bulgaria 1948 1960
Lozan Kotsev Bulgaria 1960 1962
Manol Manolov Bulgaria 1962 1963
Ivan Mokanov (2) Bulgaria 1964 1968
Georgi Dimitrov Bulgaria 1968 1972
Spas Kirov Bulgaria 1972 1974
Stoyan Ormandzhiev Bulgaria 1974 1975
Georgi Dimitrov (2) Bulgaria 1975 1976
Kiril Rakarov Bulgaria 1976 1977
Ivan Vasilev Bulgaria 1977 1979
Ivan Mokanov (3) Bulgaria 1979 1980
Ivan Vasilev (2) Bulgaria 1980 1981
Spas Kirov (2) Bulgaria 1981 1983
Todor Velikov Bulgaria 1983 1985
Bozhil Kolev Bulgaria 1985 1989
Todor Velikov (2) Bulgaria 1989 1990
Kevork Tahmisyan Bulgaria 1990 1991
Todor Velikov (3) Bulgaria 1991 1992
Bozhil Kolev (2) Bulgaria 1992 1994
Vachko Marinov Bulgaria 1994 1995
Nikola Spasov Bulgaria 1995 1996
Coach Nat From To
Asen Milushev Bulgaria 1996 1996
Damyan Georgiev Bulgaria 1996 1996
Tsonyo Vasilev Bulgaria 1997 1997
Todor Marev Bulgaria 1997 1997
Lyudmil Goranov Bulgaria 1997 1997
Rudi Minkovski Bulgaria 1997 1998
Svetozar Svetozarov Bulgaria 1998 1999
Radi Zdravkov Bulgaria 1999 2000
Bozhil Kolev (3) Bulgaria 2000 2001
Aleksandar Stankov Bulgaria 2001 2002
Velislav Vutsov Bulgaria 2002 2004
Ilian Iliev Bulgaria 2004 2006
Yasen Petrov Bulgaria March 13, 2006 June 30, 2007
Nikola Spasov (2) Bulgaria 2007 2009
Velizar Popov Bulgaria Sept 16, 2009 Oct 29, 2010
Stefan Genov Bulgaria Oct 30, 2010 Sept 24, 2012
Adalbert Zafirov Bulgaria Sept 25, 2012 Dec 2012
Georgi Ivanov Bulgaria Dec 17, 2012 May 19, 2014
Aleksandar Stankov (2) Bulgaria May 22, 2014 Aug 18, 2014
Nikola Spasov (3) Bulgaria Aug 19, 2014 present

Notable players

References

  1. ^ http://www.varna.utre.bg/2013/09/19/186311-100_godini_futbol_s_cherno_more
  2. ^ Marin Mitev: We want the title Sportni.bg. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  3. ^ http://varna.info.bg/english/name_of_varna_en.htm
  4. ^ http://a-pfg.com/%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80/%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%BE-%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5/
  5. ^ "Cherno More with new win against Sant Julia". Football24.bg. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  6. ^ "PSV will face Cherno More from Bulgaria". psv.nl. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  7. ^ PSV Eindhoven – PFC Cherno More Varna : 1–0 Match report from Scorespro.com
  8. ^ PFC Cherno More Varna - PSV Eindhoven : 0–1 Match report from Scorespro.com
  9. ^ http://www.sportal.bg/news.php?news=549756
  10. ^ http://int.soccerway.com/national/bulgaria/a-pfg/2000-2001/round-1/r424/
  11. ^ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/bulgcuphist.html
  12. ^ "Varna Stadium". Sportcomplexvarna.com.
Official websites
Supporters websites
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