PFC Ludogorets Razgrad

Ludogorets Razgrad
Full name Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad
Nickname(s) Orlite (The Eagles)
Founded 1945 (1945)[1]
Ground Ludogorets Arena
Ground Capacity 8,808
Owner Kiril Domuschiev
Chairman Aleksandar Aleksandrov
Head coach Georgi Dermendzhiev
League Bulgarian First League
2015–16 A Group, 1st
Website Club home page

Professional Football Club Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgarian: Професионален футболен клуб Лудогорец Разград), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad, or simply as Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian association football club based in Razgrad, that competes in the Parva Liga.

In their first season in A Group, Ludogorets became only the third Bulgarian team, after CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia, to achieve a treble by winning the league, the Bulgarian Cup and the Bulgarian Supercup. Subsequently, the club also made a significant international impact in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, where it reached the round of 16 in their debut campaign. Ludogorets are the second Bulgarian team (after Levski Sofia) to reach the group stage of the Champions League, a feat which they achieved in the following 2014–15 season. During that same season they became the first Bulgarian team to score points in the modern Champions League group stages when they defeated FC Basel 1–0 in Sofia.

The club's name comes from the name of the region in which Razgrad is located – the Ludogorie region (meaning "region of wild forests") of north-eastern Bulgaria. The club is nicknamed "The Eagles", and in 2014 it was presented with a live eagle by Europa League opponents Lazio;[2] the mascot was named Fortuna.[3]

The club's home colours are green and white. Ludogorets' home ground is the Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad, a stadium with a capacity of 8,808 seats and electric floodlights with plans to expand to 12,500 seats in the near future.[4]

History

Foundation and beginning

Ludogorets was reestablished in 2001 as Ludogorie Football Club. It adopted its current name from one of the first football clubs in the town, Razgrad 2000, which was founded in 1945 and subsequently dissolved in 2006 after lack of funding, thus considering themselves as a successor to the traditions of association football played in Razgrad.

After playing for several years in the lower divisions of Bulgarian football, Ludogorets's successful campaign started in the 2009-10 season, when the team achieved promotion to the Bulgarian B Group. Shortly after, the club was acquired by the Bulgarian businessman Kiril Domuschiev and Ivaylo Petev, a former Litex Lovech player, was designated as head coach of the newly promoted second division outfit.

Domuschiev era (2010–present)

Players warming up before a domestic match between Ludogorets and CSKA Sofia at the Ludogorets Arena.

In September 2010, the club was purchased by the businessman Kiril Domuschiev, with the clear intention to bring Ludogorets to the A Group. The takeover was followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile players. In May 2011, with Ivaylo Petev at the helm as head coach, the team completed this feat in Domuschiev's first season of ownership by winning promotion to A Group for the first time in the club's history.[5]

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 Sofia and Cherno More Varna respectively), 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.[6] 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,[7] 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 and one of the few in the history of international football to do so.

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 Sofia, and Levski took the lead of A Group. On the final day of the season Ludogorets had to beat the already relegated team of Montana, in hopes that Slavia Sofia would prevent Levski from winning their match. In the last minutes of the Levski-Slavia match, Levski conceived an own goal which subsequently led to a 1–1 draw, allowing Ludogorets to win their second championship title in dramatic fashion again. 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.[8] They finished nine points ahead of runners-up CSKA Sofia. The team also secured a second domestic double, beating Botev Plovdiv 1–0 in the 2014 Bulgarian Cup Final.[9]

Ludogorets continued to dominate at domestic level in the following seasons, winning their fourth and fifth titles in 2015 and 2016 consecutively, finishing 8 points ahead of Beroe and 14 points ahead of Levski Sofia.

In Europe

Ludogorets playing Steaua București in a second leg play-off for the 2014–15 Champions League, hosted at the Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia.

After winning the 2011–12 Bulgarian title, Ludogorets entered in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League for the 2012–13 season, but were eliminated 3–4 on aggregate and with a last minute goal by Dinamo Zagreb.

As 2012–13 Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets played in the 2013–14 Champions League where they came through the qualifiers, beating subsequently Slovan Bratislava and Partizan Belgrade. Ludogorets then 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.[10] 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,[11] but then lost 0–3 at home, and 0–4 on aggregate to Valencia in the round of 16.[12]

In the 2014–15 Champions League, Ludogorets again won both their qualifiers, against F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg and Partizan Belgrade.[13][14] In the play-off they defeated Steaua București in dramatic fashion to reach the group stage for the first time.[15] Goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was dismissed for a second yellow card in the last minute of extra time in the second leg, when Ludogorets had used all their substitutes. In the penalty shoot-out, centre-back Cosmin Moți, having converted the first penalty, went in goal and made two saves to put Ludogorets through 6–5 on penalties.[16]

Ludogorets made their debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014, grabbing a 1–1 equalizer away against Liverpool in the 90th minute scored by Dani Abalo, but in an eventual 1–2 loss,[17] as the newly signed goalkeeper Milan Borjan gave away a penalty with a foul on Javi Manquillo, which Steven Gerrard later converted successfully to give Liverpool the victory.[18] Ludogorets made their home debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 1 October 2014, scoring a stunning goal in the 6th minute through Ludogorets' attacking midfielder Marcelinho against the current Champions League champion Real Madrid, but in an eventual 1–2 loss.[19] Interestingly, in this game Cristiano Ronaldo took two penalties, with first saved by the Ludogorets' goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov and second converted into goal for a 1–1 equalizer.[20] On 22 October 2014, Yordan Minev scored his first goal for Ludogorets, scoring a crucial last-minute winning goal in a 1–0 home win over Basel in the group stage of the Champions League.[21] On 26 November 2014, Dani Abalo scored in the 3rd minute and Georgi Terziev scored his first goal in the 88th minute, grabbing a 2–2 equalizer against Liverpool, in an eventual 2–2 draw.[22]

Ludogorets won their 4th consecutive A Group title, but were left by several main squad players. Also, they replaced the manager Georgi Dermendziev with Bruno Ribeiro. The late changes however led to the surprising elimination of Ludogorets in the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League by Moldovan champions Milsami Orhei.

With Georgi Dermendziev coming back as a coach, in the 2016–17 Champions League Ludogorets won the qualifiers against Mladost Podgorica and Red Star Belgrade, and the play-off against Viktoria Plzeň, respectively, thus becoming the first Bulgarian team to qualify twice for the group stage of the tournament.

Crest, shirt and mascot

Previous crest used until 2016.

Ludogorets's main colours are forest green and the away kit is white. A black alternative kit is also used in some of the domestic matches. Ludogorets's current crest was designed by the supporters and was chosen after a poll initiated by the club among the fans.

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
2006–2010 Bulgaria Tomy Sport None
2010–2012 Germany adidas Huvepharma
2012–2014 Navibulgar / Huvepharma
2014–2016 Italy Macron eCasino.bg
2016– bet365 / VIVACOM / Spetema

Since 2014, the mascot of the team has been a female eagle called Fortuna, which was originally a gift from Lazio.[23]

Honours

Domestic

Bulgarian A Group:

Bulgarian B Group:

Bulgarian Cup:

Bulgarian Supercup:

European

UEFA Europa League

UEFA Champions League

European record

Competition S P W D L GF GA
UEFA Champions League 533910144550
UEFA Europa League 110622159
Total 5 43 15 12 16 60 59

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 Romania Steaua București 1–0 0–1 1–1 (6–5 p.)
Group B Spain Real Madrid 1–2 0–4 4th
Switzerland Basel 1–0 0–4
England Liverpool 2–2 1–2
2015–16 UEFA Champions League 2Q Moldova Milsami Orhei 0–1 1–2 1–3
2016–17 UEFA Champions League 2Q Montenegro Mladost Podgorica 2–0 3–0 5–0
3Q Serbia Red Star Belgrade 2–2 4–2 6–4 (a.e.t.)
PO Czech Republic Viktoria Plzeň 2–0 2–2 4–2
Group A France Paris Saint-Germain 1–3
England Arsenal 2–3 0–6
Switzerland Basel 0–0 1–1
Notes

UEFA ranking

As of 30 November 2016[24]

Rank Team Points
57Spain Levante32.256
58England Leicester City32.249
59Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad32.075
60Greece PAOK31.800
61Spain Betis31.256

Players

First-team squad

As of 14 June 2016 [25]

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

No. Position Player
1 Canada GK Milan Borjan
4 Brazil DF Cicinho
5 Argentina DF José Palomino
6 Brazil DF Natanael
8 Brazil MF Lucas Sasha
10 Brazil MF Gustavo Campanharo
11 Brazil FW Juninho Quixadá
12 Madagascar MF Anicet Abel
17 Bulgaria FW Tsvetelin Chunchukov
18 Bulgaria MF Svetoslav Dyakov (Captain)
21 Bulgaria GK Vladislav Stoyanov (Vice-captain)
22 Brazil FW Jonathan Cafu
No. Position Player
25 Bulgaria DF Yordan Minev
27 Romania DF Cosmin Moți
28 Romania FW Claudiu Keșerü
29 Bulgaria GK Daniel Naumov
32 Ukraine DF Ihor Plastun
55 Bulgaria DF Georgi Terziev
77 Portugal DF Vitinha
84 Brazil MF Marcelinho (Vice-captain)
88 Brazil MF Wanderson
92 Democratic Republic of the Congo MF Jody Lukoki
93 Netherlands MF Virgil Misidjan
For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2016.
For reserve team players, see Ludogorets Razgrad II.

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
19 Bulgaria MF Aleksandar Vasilev (at Beroe Stara Zagora until 30 June 2017)
33 Bulgaria GK Georgi Argilashki (at Pirin Blagoevgrad until 30 June 2017)
No. Position Player
37 Bulgaria DF Ventsislav Kerchev (at Lokomotiv GO until 30 June 2017)
71 Bulgaria FW Yanaki Smirnov (at Lokomotiv GO until 30 June 2017)

Current reserve players with first-team appearances

Ludogorets Razgrad's reserve team, plays in the Bulgarian Second League. The following Ludogorets II players have made first-team appearances for the club.

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

No. Position Player
13 Bulgaria MF Veselin Lyubomirov
14 Bulgaria MF Slavcho Shokolarov
24 Bulgaria DF Preslav Petrov
34 Bulgaria MF Oleg Dimitrov
No. Position Player
38 Bulgaria MF Kristiyan Kitov
45 Bulgaria MF Ivaylo Klimentov
80 Bulgaria FW Denislav Aleksandrov
98 Bulgaria MF Svetoslav Kovachev

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

League positions

Bulgarian A Football Group Bulgarian B Football Group Bulgarian V AFG
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 2nd consecutive title
2013–14 A Group 1 38 25 9 4 74 20 84 Winner Winner Play-off round Round of 16 Achieved treble
2014–15 A Group 1 32 18 9 5 63 24 63 Semi-final Finalist Group Stage Did not participate 4th consecutive title
2015–16 A Group 1 32 21 7 4 55 21 70 Round of 16 Not held Second qualifying round Did not participate 5th consecutive title
2016–17 First League TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD Group Stage TBD

Records and notable stats

Goalscoring and appearance records

As of 30 November 2016

Most appearances for the club in First League

RankNameCareerAppearances
1BrazilBulgaria Marcelinho2011–144
2Bulgaria Svetoslav Dyakov2011–139
3Bulgaria Yordan Minev2011–115
4Brazil Juninho Quixadá2011–110
5Romania Cosmin Moți2012–109
6Bulgaria Vladislav Stoyanov2013–97
7Bulgaria Mihail Aleksandrov2010–201696
8Netherlands Virgil Misidjan2013–85
9Brazil Júnior Caiçara2012–201583
10France Alexandre Barthe2011–201573

Most goals for the club in First League

RankNameCareerGoals
1BrazilBulgaria Marcelinho2011–46
2Brazil Juninho Quixadá2011–30
3Romania Claudiu Keșerü2015–26
4Bulgaria Ivan Stoyanov2011–201325
5Brazil Wanderson2014–24
6Netherlands Virgil Misidjan2013–22
7Slovenia Roman Bezjak2012–201520
8Bulgaria Emil Gargorov2011–201319
9Bulgaria Mihail Aleksandrov2010–201615
9Romania Cosmin Moți2012–15


As of 23 November 2016

Most appearances for the club in European competitions

RankNameCareerAppearances
1Bulgaria Svetoslav Dyakov2011–40
1BrazilBulgaria Marcelinho2011–40
1Romania Cosmin Moți2012–40
4Bulgaria Vladislav Stoyanov2013–38
5Bulgaria Yordan Minev2011–35
6Netherlands Virgil Misidjan2013–32
7Brazil Júnior Caiçara2012–201528
8Bulgaria Mihail Aleksandrov2010–201627
8Portugal Fábio Espinho2013–201527
10Slovenia Roman Bezjak2011–201525

Most goals for the club in European competitions

RankNameCareerGoals
1Slovenia Roman Bezjak2012–20158
2BrazilBulgaria Marcelinho2011–7
3Spain Dani Abalo2013–20156
3Brazil Wanderson2014–6
5Brazil Jonathan Cafu2015–4
5Netherlands Virgil Misidjan2013–4
7Romania Claudiu Keșerü2015–3
7Democratic Republic of the Congo Jody Lukoki2015–3
7Brazil Juninho Quixadá2011–3
7Bulgaria Hristo Zlatinski2013–20153

All-time European performance

As of 23 November 2016

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponents Played Won Drawn Lost GD
 Croatia 4 2 1 1 8:5
 Czech Republic 2 1 1 0 4:2
 England 4 0 1 3 5:13
 France 1 0 0 1 1:3
 Italy 2 1 1 0 4:3
 Luxembourg 2 1 1 0 5:1
 Moldova 2 0 0 2 1:3
 Montenegro 2 2 0 0 5:0
 Netherlands 2 2 0 0 4:0
 Romania 2 1 0 1 1:1
 Serbia 6 3 3 0 11:7
 Slovakia 2 1 0 1 4:2
 Spain 4 0 0 4 1:10
  Switzerland 6 1 2 3 4:11
 Ukraine 2 1 1 0 2:1
Total 43 15 12 16 60:59

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Ludogorets.

Supporters

The ultras of Ludogorets Razgrad are mainly organized under the group of "Green Front". A female supporters club was also established bearing the name of "Green Ladies". Ludogorets has national fan clubs in Razgrad and Sofia, while other smaller fan clubs are also organised in cities and towns such as Popovo, Varna, Sandanski and Ruse.

Personnel

Board of directors

Position Name Nationality
OwnerKiril DomuschievBulgaria
PresidentAlexander AlexandrovBulgaria
Chairman of the Board of DirectorsTemenuga GazdovaBulgaria
Managing DirectorAngel PetrichevBulgaria
Director Youth Academy Yakov PaparkovBulgaria
Public Relations Vladislav TrifonovBulgaria

Current technical body

Position Name Nationality
Sports Director Metodi TomanovBulgaria
Head Coach Georgi Dermendzhiev Bulgaria
Assistant Coach Petko Petkov Bulgaria
Ludogorets II Coach Galin IvanovBulgaria
U19 Coach Petar PenchevBulgaria
Goalkeeper coach Milan StojkovićSerbia
Fitness Coach Sergio MatriSpain
Fitness Coach Javier CastilloSpain
Kinesiotherapist Toni TodorovBulgaria
Kinesiotherapist Dimitar StoyanovBulgaria
Physiotherapist Marco AlvesPortugal
Masseur Iulian MirceaRomania
Doctor Radu PaligoraRomania
Doctor Ivaylo YakimovBulgaria
Administrator Plamen YordanovBulgaria
Translation Stela SimeonovaBulgaria
Housekeeper Ali AliBulgaria

Managers

Dates Name Honours
2001–10 Unknown
2010–13 Bulgaria Ivaylo Petev 2 A Group titles
1 B Group
1 Bulgarian Cup
1 Bulgarian Supercup
2013–14 Bulgaria Stoycho Stoev 1 A Group title
1 Bulgarian Cup
2014–15 Bulgaria Georgi Dermendzhiev 1 A Group title
1 Bulgarian Supercup
2015 Portugal Bruno Ribeiro
2015 BulgariaPortugal Eduard Eranosyan
2015– Bulgaria Georgi Dermendzhiev 1 A Group title

References

  1. http://bgclubs.eu/teams/Ludogorets1945%28Razgrad%29
  2. Meranzov, Martin (26 March 2014). "Lazio sent an eagle to the Bulgarian Eagles". Lazioland.com. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  3. "Fortuna is the name of the Ludogorets eagle". Ludogorets.com. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  4. Ludogorets arena with the best electric floodlights in the league (in Bulgarian)
  5. "Ludogorets crash the party in Bulgaria". uefa.com. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  6. "Ludogorets celebrate maiden Bulgarian title". uefa.com. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  7. "Ludogorets clinch maiden Bulgarian Cup". uefa.com. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  8. Невиждано постижение! Лудогорец ликува! Три сезона в елита – три титли! (видео) (Sportal.bg, 7 May 2014) (in Bulgarian)
  9. "Ludogorets secure double, fans pelt players with seats and stones". uefa.com. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  10. Europa League: Ludogorets win 2–1 at Dinamo Zagreb in Group B, Sky Sports, 12 December 2013
  11. Europa League: Ludogorets progress after 4–3 victory over Lazio, Sky Sports, 27 February 2014
  12. Europa League: Valencia beat Ludogorets 1–0 to reach quarter-finals, Sky Sports, 20 March 2014
  13. Dudelange striker Turpel frustrates Ludogorets, UEFA.com, 22 July 2014
  14. Ludogorets squeeze out Partizan, UEFA.com, 6 August 2014
  15. Ludogorets Razgrad win 6–5 on penalties, BBC, 27 August 2014
  16. "Ludogorets defender Cosmin Moti stands in for sent off goalkeeper before making vital penalty shootout saves to send Bulgarians through to Champions League group stage". Daily Mail. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  17. "Liverpool 2–1 Ludo Razgd". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  18. "Liverpool 2–1 Ludo Razgd". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  19. Real Madrid recover to down dogged Ludogorets
  20. Real Madrid recover to down dogged Ludogorets
  21. "Ludogorets 1–0 Basel: Minev snatches victory at the death against 10-man Swiss champions". goal.com. 22 October 2014.
  22. "Liverpool hit by late Ludogorets leveller". UEFA.com. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  23. Орлицата Фортуна в неизвестност! Птицата с нов опит за бягство, topsport.bg, 18 April 2014
  24. UEFA Team Ranking 2017 (http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert)
  25. http://www.ludogorets.com/en/a-team/

External links

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