2001–02 A Group

The 2001–02 A Group was the 54th season of the A Football Group, the top Bulgarian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1948.

A Group
Season2001–02
ChampionsLevski Sofia
(23rd title)
Relegated
Champions LeagueLevski
UEFA Cup
Matches played268
Goals scored681 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerVladimir Manchev
(21 goals)

Defending champions Levski Sofia won their third consecutive title, and 23rd title overall.

Overview

The format of the league was changed from last season, with the intention of making the league more competitive. This resulted in the league being divided into two groups after the regular season. The top 6 teams from the regular season would continue in the championship round, while the bottom 8 teams would play in the relegation round. It was contested by 14 teams, and Levski Sofia won the championship.[1]

Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league. The promoted teams from the 2000–01 B Group were Spartak Pleven (returning to the top flight after a three-year absence) and Marek Dupnitsa (returning after a nineteen-year absence). In the league also included Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Belasitsa Petrich after mergers with Velbazhd Kyustendil and Hebar Pazardzhik respectively.

These teams replace Botev Plovdiv and Minyor Pernik, who were relegated at the end of the last season.

Stadiums and Locations
Location of teams in 2001–02 A Group
Sofia 2001–02 A Group football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Belasitsa Petrich Tsar Samuil 9,500
Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe 22,500
Cherno More Varna Ticha 8,250
Chernomorets Burgas Chernomorets 22,000
CSKA Sofia Balgarska Armia 22,015
Levski Sofia Georgi Asparuhov 29,200
Litex Lovech Gradski 7,050
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Lokomotiv 24,000
Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv 22,000
Marek Dupnitsa Bonchuk 16,050
Naftex Burgas Lazur 18,037
Slavia Sofia Slavia 32,000
Spartak Pleven Slavi Aleksiev 21,940
Spartak Varna Spartak 7,500

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Belasitsa Mihail Valchev Vitosha AD
Beroe Venelin Sivriev Vanyo Shishkov Erima
Cherno More Aleksandar Stankov Ventsislav Marinov BURGELOF St. Elias
Chernomorets Ivan Tsvetanov Kostadin Dzhambazov
CSKA Sofia Luigi Simoni Georgi Antonov Lotto —
Levski Sofia Slavoljub Muslin Stanimir Stoilov Diadora Mobiltel
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Dimitar Dimitrov Asics VAI Holding
Lokomotiv Sofia Emil Dimitrov Adidas Delta-G
Litex Ferario Spasov Vitomir Vutov Asics Litex Commerce
Marek Dimitar Aleksiev Velizar Dimitrov Nike
Naftex Dimitar Stoychev Stanimir Dimitrov Puma Petrol AD
Slavia Sofia Žarko Olarević Veselin Vachev Adidas Sofiyski Imoti
Spartak Pleven Angel Stankov Slavcho Pavlov Asics VIS-2
Spartak Varna Stefan Grozdanov Valentin Stanchev

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Beroe Tsvetomir Parvanov Mutual consent 1 June 2001 Pre-season Ivan Vutov 21 June 2001[2]
Chernomorets Nikolay Rusev Mutual consent 1 June 2001 Pre-season Mihail Valchev 22 June 2001[3]
Marek Dupnitsa Petar Zehtinski Mutual consent 8 September 2001 12th Yanko Dinkov 10 September 2001[4]
Chernomorets Mihail Valchev Sacked 9 September 2001 14th Ivan Tsvetanov 12 September 2001[5]
Levski Sofia Ljupko Petrović Mutual consent 10 September 2001[6] 1st Georgi Todorov (caretaker) 10 September 2001
Slavia Sofia Kiril Kachamanov Sacked 25 September 2001 10th Žarko Olarević 25 September 2001
Lokomotiv Sofia Angel Kolev Sacked 28 October 2001[7] 9th Emil Dimitrov 28 October 2001
CSKA Sofia Asparuh Nikodimov Sacked 4 December 2001 3rd Luigi Simoni 10 December 2001
Marek Dupnitsa Yanko Dinkov Mutual consent 2 January 2002 13th Dimitar Aleksiev 2 January 2002[8]
Levski Sofia Georgi Todorov End of caretaker tenure 3 January 2002 1st Rüdiger Abramczik 3 January 2002
Beroe Ivan Vutov Mutual consent 4 January 2002 14th Tsvetomir Parvanov 4 January 2002
Levski Sofia Rüdiger Abramczik Sacked 11 March 2002[9] 1st Slavoljub Muslin 17 March 2002[10]
Beroe Tsvetomir Parvanov Sacked 12 March 2002 14th Iliya Iliev 17 March 2002
Spartak Pleven Velislav Vutsov Mutual consent 12 March 2002 7th Angel Stankov 18 March 2002
Belasitsa Voyn Voynov Sacked 12 May 2002 12th Mihail Valchev 13 May 2002[11]

First stage

League standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Levski Sofia 26 20 5 1 58 21 +37 65 Qualification for championship group
2 Litex Lovech 26 16 7 3 50 27 +23 55
3 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 26 16 5 5 42 23 +19 53
4 CSKA Sofia 26 15 7 4 48 17 +31 52
5 Naftex Burgas 26 12 6 8 35 25 +10 42
6 Slavia Sofia 26 10 7 9 30 32 −2 37
7 Spartak Pleven 26 10 3 13 40 44 −4 33 Qualification for relegation group
8 Lokomotiv Sofia 26 7 8 11 33 32 +1 29
9 Spartak Varna 26 5 11 10 29 39 −10 26
10 Chernomorets Burgas 26 7 5 14 24 54 −30 26
11 Marek 26 6 6 14 22 42 −20 24
12 Cherno More 26 6 6 14 28 36 −8 24
13 Belasitsa Petrich 26 6 5 15 21 35 −14 23
14 Beroe 26 3 5 18 13 46 −33 14
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.

Results
Home \ Away BEL BSZ CHM CHB CSK LEV LIT LPL LSO MAR NAF SLA SPL SPV
Belasitsa Petrich 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–0
Beroe 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–3[lower-alpha 1] 0–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–4 0–2 1–0
Cherno More 2–1 2–0 3–1 0–1 1–2 4–0 1–3 1–1 3–1 0–3 0–1 2–2 1–1
Chernomorets Burgas 3–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–2 2–2 0–0 1–0 3–2 0–0 1–0 2–1
CSKA Sofia 1–0 3–0 1–0 6–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 4–0 2–1 3–0 5–0 3–2 5–1
Levski Sofia 3–2 1–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 3–2 4–1 4–1 3–1 4–1 6–0
Litex Lovech 1–0 3–1 3–2 4–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 5–3 2–0 1–0 4–1 6–2 1–1
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2–0 5–0 2–1 3–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 0–0 1–1 1–2 6–1 1–0 1–2 3–1 0–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 3–0 0–0
Marek 2–2 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–5 0–0
Naftex Burgas 1–0 2–0 1–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 3–1 1–0 0–1 4–1
Slavia Sofia 1–0 3–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 2–2 3–2 1–1
Spartak Pleven 3–2 2–1 3–1 4–0 0–0 2–4 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 1–2 2–0
Spartak Varna 4–1 3–1 0–0 3–0 1–2 1–2 2–4 1–1 0–0 4–1 0–0 1–2 2–1
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. Match awarded after was not played after referee was beaten up ahead of the match.

Championship group

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Levski Sofia (C) 36 27 7 2 77 27 +50 56 Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round
2 Litex Lovech 36 23 8 5 66 34 +32 50 Qualification for UEFA Cup qualifying round
3 CSKA Sofia 36 19 7 10 60 29 +31 38
4 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 36 18 6 12 48 41 +7 34
5 Slavia Sofia 36 14 8 14 42 48 −6 32
6 Naftex Burgas 36 14 9 13 44 40 +4 30
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.
(C) Champion.

Results
Home \ Away CSK LEV LIT LPL NAF SLA
CSKA Sofia 1–0 1–2 4–0 3–2 0–2
Levski Sofia 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 3–1
Litex Lovech 1–0 2–2 3–1 1–0 2–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1–0 1–3 0–2 2–1 1–2
Naftex Burgas 1–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 2–2
Slavia Sofia 1–3 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–2
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation group

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Marek 40 14 8 18 46 57 −11 38 Qualification for Intertoto Cup first round
8 Lokomotiv Sofia 40 14 9 17 49 48 +1 37
9 Spartak Varna 40 12 13 15 50 51 −1 36
10 Chernomorets Burgas 40 13 9 18 41 69 −28 35
11 Cherno More 40 12 11 17 47 51 −4 35
12 Spartak Pleven (R) 40 15 4 21 58 66 −8 33 Relegation to 2002–03 B Group
13 Belasitsa Petrich (R) 40 12 7 21 34 50 −16 32
14 Beroe (R) 40 4 8 28 19 70 −51 13
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.
(R) Relegated.

Results
Home \ Away BEL BSZ CHM CHB LSO MAR SPL SPV
Belasitsa Petrich 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 3–2 2–1
Beroe 0–1 1–1 0–3 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–3
Cherno More 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 1–1
Chernomorets Burgas 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–4 1–0 1–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 3–0 1–0
Marek 2–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–0
Spartak Pleven 2–0 1–2 2–1 3–1 1–2 3–1 1–0
Spartak Varna 2–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 3–1 2–1 2–1
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Champions
Levski Sofia
Goalkeepers
01 Georgi Petkov270(0)
12 Georgi Sheytanov010(0)
27 Dimitar Ivankov090(0)
Defenders
02 Martin Stankov150(0)
03 Stanimir Stoilov300(0)
05 Georgi Markov*160(0)
11 Elin Topuzakov260(5)
13 Ivo Trenchev190(1)
14 Vladimir Ivanov110(0)
20 Stanislav Angelov280(5)
22 Ilian Stoyanov250(0)
23 Dalibor Dragić240(5)
26 Tsanko Tsvetanov060(0)
28 Bogomil Dyakov010(0)
Midfielders
04 Biser Ivanov240(1)
06 Stanislav Genchev210(3)
07 Péter Kabát150(5)
15 Saša Simonović060(3)
17 Konstantin Golovskoy200(0)
18 Brent Rahim110(0)
21 Dimitar Telkiyski300(4)
25 Yordan Terziev*040(0)
30 Dimitar Krastev030(0)
Asen Nikolov*030(0)
William Batista*010(0)
Svetoslav Barkanichkov*020(0)
Forwards
08 Georgi Bachev180(8)
09 Georgi Ivanov19(13)
10 István Ferenczi040(3)
16 Martin Kushev150(6)
19 Georgi Chilikov27(10)
24 Miodrag Pantelić290(4)
29 Dimitar Makriev010(0)
Rogério Gaúcho*080(0)
Todor Kolev*020(0)
Manager
Slavoljub Muslin
  • Markov, Terziev, Nikolov, Batista, Barkanichkov, Gaucho and Kolev left the club during a season.

Top scorers
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Vladimir Manchev CSKA Sofia 21
2 Todor Kolev Spartak Pleven 18
3 Stoyko Sakaliev Naftex Burgas 17
4 Stefan Yurukov Litex Lovech 14
Metodi Stoynev Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Boyko Velichkov Lokomotiv Sofia
Velizar Dimitrov Marek Dupnitsa
8 Georgi Ivanov Levski Sofia 13
Zoran Janković Litex Lovech
Martin Kushev Slavia Sofia
Levski Sofia

References
  1. "С 5-ма треньори Левски стига до титлата" (in Bulgarian). temasport.com. 31 August 2013.
  2. "Иван Вутов пак треньор на Берое" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 22 June 2001.
  3. "Мишо Вълчев ще поеме Черноморец" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 22 June 2001.
  4. "Янко Динков пое Марек" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 11 September 2001.
  5. "Иван Цветанов ще поеме Черноморец" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 12 September 2001.
  6. "Люпко Петрович вече не е треньор на Левски" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 10 September 2001.
  7. "Локомотив (Сф) изгони треньора Ангел Колев" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. 29 October 2001.
  8. "Димитър Алексиев пое Марек" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 2 January 2002.
  9. "Гонят Рюдигер Абрамчик" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 11 March 2002.
  10. "Славолюб Муслин поема Левски в неделя" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 13 March 2002.
  11. "М. Вълчев поема Беласица" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 14 May 2002.
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