Botev Plovdiv

Botev Plovdiv was founded in 1912 and is the oldest still existing football club in Bulgaria. Stoyan Puhtev became president, Nenko Penelov was the vice-president, Petar Delev secretary and Tenyo Rusev steward. Rusev named it "Botev" in honor of the Bulgarian national hero Hristo Botev. Since then, the club's name has been changed for political reasons several times: Botev (1912–1946), DNV(1947–51), DNA (1952–57), SKNA (1957), Botev (1957–1968) and Trakia (1968–1989). The current name is Botev Plovdiv. The club's colours, yellow and black, were adopted in 1917.

In 1920, the team won the unofficial football championship of Plovdiv. On August 30, 1925, the canaries played their first official international match against the Turkish Fenerbahçe. In the next year, the team led by the coach and captain Nikola Shterev, won the first official trophy, the Cup of Plovdiv.

Botev Plovdiv became National League champions for the first time in 1929, winning the final against Levski Sofia. The canaries won with 1:0 the final game in Sofia. The goal scored Nikola Shterev. Key players during this period included Nikola Shterev, Stancho Prodanov, Vangel Kaundzhiev and Mihail Kostov, who also played for the national team.

In 1951, Botev Plovdiv joined the newly created Bulgarian A PFG. Despite being relegated in 1953 to the Bulgarian B PFG, in 1954 the club easily won promotion for the top division. 1956 was very successful for the team, which finished 3rd in the domestic league and qualified for the final of the Bulgarian Cup, where Botev faced Levski Sofia. The final match was lost by the canaries with 2:5.

In the next few years, the local municipality decided to build a new venue for the sports club. The construction for the sports complex, started on July 21, 1959 and was built in a period of two years. The new stadium was named Hristo Botev, in honor of the national hero. The sport venue was inaugurated with a friendly match between Botev and Steaua Bucureşti, which was won by the canaries with 3:0 in front of 20,000 spectators.

In 1961 Botev finished 3rd in the A PFG, for second time in the club's history. This championship also marked the first appearance of the club's most important player Dinko Dermendzhiev and the beginning of Botev's golden age. Dermendzhiev holds Botev's overall appearances record, playing in 447 matches for the club. Second is Viden Apostolov with 429 matches and third is Petar Zehtinski with 351. Botev's all-time leading scorer is also Dermendzhiev, who scored 194 goals at his period in the club. Kostadin Kostadinov is the Botev's second highest scorer with 106 goals and third is Atanas Pashev with 100 goals.

Under the leadership of Dinko Dermendzhiev, Botev won their first Bulgarian Cup in 1962, beating Dunav Rousse 3–0 at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia on 12 August. In the 1962–63 season Botev reached the quarter-final of the Cup Winners' Cup by eliminating Steaua Bucureşti and Shamrock Rovers before losing to Atlético Madrid 1–5 on aggregate. In the same season the team finished runners-up in A PFG with 40 points, only 3 less than the first, Spartak Plovdiv.

In 1967 Botev became champions for the second time. The championship team featured several notable players, such as Viden Apostolov, Georgi Popov and Rayko Stoynov, with Vasil Spasov as head coach. Botev represented Bulgaria in the 1967–68 European Champions Cup where they lost in the first round to Rapid Bucureşti after 2:0 win in Plovdiv and 0–3 (a.e.t.) loss in Romania. A five years later, in 1972, the team became winner of the Balkans Cup for the first time, playing against Yugoslavian Velež Mostar after two spectacular final matches to take the cup.

In 1981, the club's forward Georgi Slavkov won the club's highest individual achievement, the European Golden Shoe after finishing as Europe's top domestic scorer with 31 goals. The same year, the team won its second Bulgarian Cup, after a win against Pirin Blagoevgrad. This period was very successful for the club. Botev finished 3rd in the A PFG, in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 2nd in 1986. In this year the team finished with 41 points, only 2 less than the first, Beroe, in spite of the 8–1 win against Beroe in the direct match. Many of the club's most notable stars played around this time, such as Antim Pehlivanov, Dimitar Vichev, Atanas Pashev, Dimitar Mladenov, Zapryan Rakov, Blagoy Bangev and Petar Zehtinski were part of the rank and file of the notable Golden Team.

An important achievement of that period was the 1985 Cup Winners' Cup campaign, when Botev qualified for the second round of the tournament. The team secured a 2–0 victory against the German powerhouse Bayern Munich (with Klaus Augenthaler, Dieter Hoeneß, Søren Lerby, Lothar Matthäus and Jean-Marie Pfaff in their squad). On November 7, 1984, in front of more than 45,000 spectators at Plovdiv Stadium, Atanas Pashev and Kostadin Kostadinov scored for the win, but Botev were eliminated after losing 1:4 in the first-leg. Another memorable win is the 1:0 home victory over Barcelona in a Cup Winners' Cup first-leg in 1981.

In 1992, the club was bought by a conglomerate of brokers led by Hristo Alexandrov and Hristo Danov. They brought in players with experience in Bulgarian football, such as Nasko Sirakov, Bozhidar Iskrenov, Kostadin Vidolov and Borislav Mihaylov. In this period, Botev signed the first foreign player in the club's history, the Hungarian Roberto Szabay. These big investments however did not bring any significant results and the club only reached third place in the A PFG in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

On 19 March 1999 Botev was acquired by Dimitar Hristolov. This day marked the beginning of difficult years for the club. In the 2000–01 season, the team was relegated to B PFG, after playing 47 years in the A PFG. Botev spent one season in the second division and quickly returned to the top flight, but in 2004 the club was relegated for the second time. From 2005 to 2009 the club played in the A PFG, but in the second part of the league table.

In September 2009, Botev Plovdiv set an unusual record after fielding seven Italian players in the 1:2 away loss against Litex Lovech, becoming the first A PFG club to feature that many foreigners from the same nationality.[4]

On 24 February 2010, Botev Plovdiv were administratively relegated from A PFG due to financial difficulties.[5] Botev's opponents were awarded 3:0 wins by default during the second half of the season.

Following the financial collapse in 2010, Botev Plovdiv were relegated to the third level of Bulgarian football, the amateur V Group for the 2010–11 season. The club was completely rebuilt on an administrative level, several Bulgarian players with first league and international experience helped the team return to B Group, such as striker Atanas Kurdov, midfielder Todor Timonov, captain Nikolay Manchev, and goalkeeper Armen Ambartsumyan. The club went unbeaten and won their regional third league, and thus gained promotion to the second level of Bulgarian football.[6]

A new coach was hired for the 2011–12 B Group season. Petar Houbchev, who had previous international experience both as a player and manager, succeeded Kostadin Vidolov. The lack of good results, however, saw Hubchev sacked from his position in October 2011. Botev Plovdiv then reached an agreement with a new head coach – Milen Radukanov, who didn't show good results either. Therefore, Kostadin Vidolov returned at the helm of the club and succeeded in gaining promotion to the first level of Bulgarian football, after a 2–0 win against Sportist Svoge in the play-offs.[7]

Botev Plovdiv team before the 2016–17 Bulgarian Cup final against Ludogorets Razgrad

In the 2012–13 A Group season, the club showed good performance and finished fourth. Botev Plovdiv was allowed to participate in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, taking the place of the then financially struggling CSKA Sofia,[8] this marked the return of the team in Europe, after 18 years of absence.[9] The club defeated the likes of Astana and Zrinjski Mostar, before being eliminated by Stuttgart in the third qualifying round.[10] In 2013–14, Botev Plovdiv finished fourth once more and also reached the 2013–14 Bulgarian Cup final, where they lost 0–1 to Ludogorets Razgrad.[11] The club faced the same opponents in the 2014 Bulgarian Supercup match, which was lost 1–3.[12] On the European front, the team participated in 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, where they managed to eliminate Libertas, before losing to St. Pölten. The following seasons, the club frequently secured places in the middle of the table.

Botev Plovdiv celebrate winning the 2016–17 Bulgarian Cup, from the balcony of the city hall

On 24 May 2017, Botev Plovdiv won their 3rd Bulgarian cup title in a 2–1 win against Ludogorets Razgrad,[13][14][15] by doing so the club secured a spot in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League,[16] where they met Partizani Tirana and Beitar Jerusalem, before being knocked out by Marítimo in the third qualifying round.[17] On 9 August 2017, the club won its first Bulgarian Supercup title, beating Ludogorets Razgrad 5–4 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw in regular time.[18]

Bulgarian State Football Championship/A Group:

• Winners (2): 1929, 1966–67
• Runners-up (2): 1962–63, 1985–86
• Third place (10): 1956, 1960–61, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95

Bulgarian Cup:

• Winners (3): 1961–62, 1980–81, 2016–17
• Runners-up (10): 1947, 1956, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1983–84, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2013–14, 2018–19

Bulgarian Supercup:

• Winners (1): 2017
• Runners-up (1): 2014

Soviet Army Cup:

• Runners-up (1): 1990

Balkans Cup:

• Winners (1): 1972
• Runners-up (1): 1980-81

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:

• Quarter-finalists: 1962–63

As of the 2017 UEFA club coefficient.[19][20]

Rank	Club	Coeff
271	Ermis Aradippou FC	4.710
272	PFC Beroe Stara Zagora	4.675
273	PFC Botev Plovdiv	4.675
274	Aalesunds FK	4.665
275	NK Olimpija Ljubljana	4.625

• 63 seasons in A Group
• 5 seasons in B Group
• 2 season in V Group

• During the 2009/10 season, Botev was deducted 6 points because of administrative irregularities. After the first half of the season, the club was expelled from the league and all of their remaining fixtures were counted as 3-0 wins for their opponents.

Botev Plovdiv's motto is Krasota, vyara i borba (Bulgarian: Красота, вяра и борба, pronounced [crɐsɔtɐ, vʝarɐ i bɔrbɐ]; English: Beauty, faith and fight).

As of 25 January 2021[29]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BUL Yanko Georgiev 2 DF  BRA Johnathan 3 DF  GUI Pa Konate 4 DF  BUL Viktor Genev 5 DF  MKD Mario Mladenovski 8 MF  BUL Todor Nedelev (captain) 9 FW  BUL Atanas Iliev 11 FW  BUL Kristian Dobrev 13 MF  FRA Michel Espinosa 15 FW  BUL Ivo Kazakov 16 FW  BUL Georgi Trifonov 17 FW  FRA Salif Cissé 18 MF  BUL Biser Bonev 20 MF  BUL Dimitar Proychev

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  FRA Réda Rabeï 23 MF  BUL Dimitar Tonev 24 MF  SWE Kevin Höög-Jansson 25 DF  BUL Stanislav Rabotov 26 DF  MKD Mite Cikarski 27 FW  BUL Ivan Vasilev 28 DF  BUL Filip Filipov 33 GK  BUL Georgi Argilashki 39 MF  BUL Ventsislav Bogdanov 77 MF  BUL Stefan Popov 79 DF  BUL Atanas Chernev 88 MF  BUL Slavcho Shokolarov 99 MF  BUL Plamen Tsonchev — DF  NOR Anwar Elyounossi

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BUL Martin Rusev — DF  BUL Gabriel Zemyarski

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BUL Blagovest Danchev — MF  BUL Petar Itov

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

Bulgarian teams can register up to five players without EU citizenship, but can use only three of them during match days. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If an individual doesn't have European ancestry, he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for 5 years.

12 – Dedicated to the club's supporters