Velbazhd Kyustendil

Velbazhd Kyustendil (Bulgarian: Велбъжд Кюстендил) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Kyustendil. The club currently competes in the Third League, the third tier of Bulgarian football.

Velbazhd Kyustendil
Full nameФутболен клуб „Велбъжд“ Кюстендил
(English: Velbazhd Kyustendil Football Club)
Founded1919 (1919)
GroundOsogovo Stadium
Capacity13,000
ChairmanIliyan Hadzhiyski
ManagerIvan Marinov - Maslara
LeagueThird League
2019-20A RFG Kyustendil, 1st (promoted)

The club was founded in 1919. Velbazhd have spent the majority of their playing history between the second and third tiers of the Bulgarian football league system. They won first promotion to the A Group in 1954, and have played a total of 7 seasons in the top flight, with a longest continuous spell of six seasons (1995–2001). This is generally seen as the club's most successful period. Velbazhd finished third in A Group in 1999, 2000 and 2001, competed in the Intertoto Cup in the 2000–01 season, and reached the Bulgarian Cup final in 2001.

History

Plamen Petrov is the all-time record appearance holder at the club in the A Group

Velbazhd was formed in 1919, though the club changed its name in the following year to Sport Club Motsion. In 1928 they changed their name to Sport Club Borislav. From 1940 to 1945 the club is called Pautalia. After World War II they changed their name to Cherveno zname. In 1956 the club was renamed to Levski. In 1970 the club returned to its original name Velbаzhd, but from 1995 to 1999 again called Levski, under the ownership of Georgi Iliev.

In 1953 they were promoted to Bulgarian football's top division for the first time in their history. The 1954 season saw Velbazhd make their first appearance in the top flight of Bulgarian football. This first season was less successful and they were relegated back to the B PFG, finishing on 12th place.

In 1994–95 season, Velbazhd won their second promotion to A PFG. In 1998–99 season they finished 3rd, their highest ever league finish. In the following season Velbazhd also finished 3rd. The club's forward Mihail Mihaylov became A PFG top scorer with 20 goals.

In 2001 Velbazhd reached the Bulgarian Cup Final for the first time, beating Marek Dupnitsa, Metalurg Pernik, Spartak Pleven and Lokomotiv Sofia for a place in the final. However, they lost the final 1–0 to Litex Lovech.

Following the 2000-01 season, the owner of Velbazhd, Georgi Iliev decided to merge the club with Plovdiv-based team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, and move the new club to Plovdiv, with the intention of reviving Lokomotiv Plovdiv, who were struggling in the lower leagues. Thus, starting from the 2001-02 season, Lokomotiv Plovdiv began playing in the A Group, while Velbazhd disappeared.

In 2002, local fans from the city of Kuystendil decided to re-found the club, starting from the third tier, V AFG. The club has been mostly competing at or below the third level since then.

Honours

Domestic

Bulgarian A Group:

Bulgarian Cup:

  • Runners-up (1): 2001

European record

Season Tournament Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2000 Intertoto Cup 1 UCD 0-0 3-3 3-3 (away goals rule)
2 SK Sigma Olomouc 2-0 0-8 2-8

League positions

Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)Regional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)Regional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)Bulgarian V AFG

Current squad

As of 1 September 2015 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 Kiril Kirilov (captain)
3 DF  BUL Ivo Velinov
4 DF  BUL Antonio Stilyanov
6 DF  BUL Boyan Stoynev
8 FW  BUL Denis Sharankov
9 MF  BUL Aleksandar Dimitrov
10 MF  BUL Atanas Penkov
11 MF  BUL Yordan Yovchev
13 FW  BUL Dimitar Barbulov
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF  BUL Aleksandar Handzhiyski
15 DF  BUL Nikolay Nakov
16 DF  BUL Emil Stoyanov
17 MF  BUL Martin Kaleov
21 MF  BUL Lyuboslav Aleksandrov
22 MF  BUL Kostadin Kukov
24 MF  BUL Denis Nechemski
46 GK  BUL Radoslav Dimitrov

Notable former players

The following is a list of notable footballers who have played for Velbazhd, with over 60 appearances, over 30 goals or having received recognition by their country in the form of international caps while playing for the club.

Note: For a complete list of Velbazhd Kyustendil players, see Category:PFC Velbazhd Kyustendil players.

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.