History PFC Botev Plovdiv

1 history

1.1 years (1912–1950)
1.2 1950–1960
1.3 dinko dermendzhiev era (1961–1980)
1.4 golden team (1981–1990)
1.5 brokers era (1991–1999)
1.6 hristolov takeover, financial implosion (1999–2010)
1.7 2010–present

history
early years (1912–1950)

botev plovdiv founded in 1912 , oldest still existing football club in bulgaria. stoyan puhtev became president, nenko penelov vice-president, petar delev secretary , tenyo rusev steward. rusev named botev in honor of bulgarian national hero hristo botev. since then, club s name has been changed political reasons several times: botev (1912–1946), dnv(1947–51), dna (1952–57), skna (1957), botev (1957–1968) , trakia (1968–1989). current name botev plovdiv. club s colours, yellow , black, adopted in 1917.

in 1920, team won unofficial football championship of plovdiv. on august 30, 1925, canaries played first official international match against turkish fenerbahçe. in next year, team led coach , captain nikola shterev, won first official trophy, cup of plovdiv.

botev plovdiv became national league champions first time in 1929, winning final against levski sofia. canaries won 1:0 final game in sofia. goal scored nikola shterev. key players during period included nikola shterev, stancho prodanov, vangel kaundzhiev , mihail kostov, played national team.

1950–1960

in 1951, botev plovdiv joined newly created bulgarian pfg. despite being relegated in 1953 bulgarian b pfg, in 1954 club won promotion top division. 1956 successful team, finished 3rd in domestic league , qualified final of bulgarian cup, botev faced levski sofia. final match lost canaries 2:5.

in next few years, local municipality decided build new venue sports club. construction sports complex, started on july 21, 1959 , built in period of 2 years. new stadium named hristo botev, in honor of national hero. sport venue inaugurated friendly match between botev , steaua bucureşti, won canaries 3:0 in front of 20,000 spectators.

dinko dermendzhiev era (1961–1980)

in 1961 botev finished 3rd in pfg, second time in club s history. championship marked first appearance of club s important player dinko dermendzhiev , beginning of botev s golden age. dermendzhiev holds botev s overall appearances record, playing in 447 matches club. second viden apostolov 429 matches , third petar zehtinski 351. botev s all-time leading scorer dermendzhiev, scored 194 goals @ period in club. kostadin kostadinov botev s second highest scorer 106 goals , third atanas pashev 100 goals.

under leadership of dinko dermendzhiev, botev won first bulgarian cup in 1962, beating dunav rousse 3–0 @ vasil levski national stadium in sofia on 12 august. in 1962–63 season botev reached quarter-final of cup winners cup eliminating steaua bucureşti , shamrock rovers before losing atlético madrid 1–5 on aggregate. in same season team finished runners-up in pfg 40 points, 3 less first, spartak plovdiv.

in 1967 botev became champions second time. championship team featured several notable players, such viden apostolov, georgi popov , rayko stoynov, vasil spasov head coach. botev represented bulgaria in 1967–68 european champions cup lost in first round rapid bucureşti after 2:0 win in plovdiv , 0–3 (a.e.t.) loss in romania. 5 years later, in 1972, team became winner of balkans cup first time, playing against yugoslavian velež mostar after 2 spectacular final matches take cup.

the golden team (1981–1990)

in 1981, club s forward georgi slavkov won club s highest individual achievement, european golden shoe after finishing europe s top domestic scorer 31 goals. same year, team won second bulgarian cup, after win against pirin blagoevgrad. period successful club. botev finished 3rd in pfg, in 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988 , 2nd in 1986. in year team finished 41 points, 2 less first, beroe, in spite of 8–1 win against beroe in direct match. many of club s notable stars played around time, such antim pehlivanov, dimitar vichev, atanas pashev, dimitar mladenov, zapryan rakov, blagoy bangev , petar zehtinski part of rank , file of notable golden team.

an important achievement of period 1985 cup winners cup campaign, when botev qualified second round of tournament. team secured 2–0 victory against german powerhouse bayern munich (with klaus augenthaler, dieter hoeneß, søren lerby, lothar matthäus , jean-marie pfaff in squad). on november 7, 1984, in front of more 45,000 spectators @ plovdiv stadium, atanas pashev , kostadin kostadinov scored win, botev eliminated after losing 1:4 in first-leg. memorable win 1:0 home victory on barcelona in cup winners cup first-leg in 1981.

brokers era (1991–1999)

in 1992, club bought conglomerate of brokers led hristo alexandrov , hristo danov. brought in players experience in bulgarian football, such nasko sirakov, bozhidar iskrenov, kostadin vidolov , borislav mihaylov. in period, botev signed first foreign player in club s history, hungarian roberto szabay. these big investments did not bring significant results , club reached third place in pfg in 1993, 1994 , 1995.

hristolov takeover, financial implosion (1999–2010)

on 19 march 1999 botev acquired dimitar hristolov. day marked beginning of difficult years club. in 2000–01 season, team relegated b pfg, after playing 47 years in pfg. botev spent 1 season in second division , returned top flight, in 2004 club relegated second time. 2005 2009 club played in pfg, in second part of league table.

in september 2009, botev plovdiv set unusual record after fielding 7 italian players in 1:2 away loss against litex lovech, becoming first pfg club feature many foreigners same nationality.

on 24 february 2010, botev plovdiv administratively relegated pfg due financial difficulties. botev s opponents awarded 3:0 wins default during second half of season.

2010–present

following financial collapse in 2010, botev plovdiv relegated third level of bulgarian football, amateur v group 2010–11 season. club rebuilt on administrative level, several bulgarian players first league , international experience helped team return b group, such striker atanas kurdov, midfielder todor timonov, captain nikolay manchev, , goalkeeper armen ambartsumyan. club went unbeaten , won regional third league, , gained promotion second level of bulgarian football.

a new coach hired 2011–12 b group season. petar houbchev, had previous international experience both player , manager, succeeded kostadin vidolov. lack of results, however, saw hubchev sacked position in october 2011. botev plovdiv reached agreement new head coach – milen radukanov, didn t show results either. therefore, kostadin vidolov returned @ helm of club , succeeded in gaining promotion first level of bulgarian football, after 2–0 win against sportist svoge in play-offs.

botev plovdiv team before 2016–17 bulgarian cup final against ludogorets razgrad

in 2012–13 group season, club showed performance , finished fourth. botev plovdiv allowed participate in 2013–14 uefa europa league, taking place of financially struggling cska sofia, marked return of team in europe, after 18 years of absence. club defeated likes of astana , zrinjski mostar, before being eliminated stuttgart in third qualifying round. in 2013–14, botev plovdiv finished fourth once more , reached 2013–14 bulgarian cup final, lost 0–1 ludogorets razgrad. club faced same opponents in 2014 bulgarian supercup match, lost 1–3. on european front, team participated in 2014–15 uefa europa league, managed eliminate libertas, before losing st. pölten. following seasons, club secured places in middle of table.

botev plovdiv celebrate winning 2016–17 bulgarian cup, balcony of city hall

on 24 may 2017, botev plovdiv won 3rd bulgarian cup title in 2–1 win against ludogorets razgrad, doing club secured spot in 2017–18 uefa europa league, met partizani tirana , beitar jerusalem, before being knocked out marítimo in third qualifying round. on 9 august 2017, club won first bulgarian supercup title, beating ludogorets razgrad 5–4 on penalties, following 1–1 draw in regular time.