PFC CSKA Sofia

CSKA Sofia

Nickname(s)	Chervenite (The Reds) Armeytsite (The Army Men)
Founded	May 5, 1948
Ground	Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia (Capacity: 43,632)
Owner	Titan-AS
Chairman	Dimitar Borisov Ivo Ivanov
Manager	Gjore Jovanovski[1]
League	TBI A Football Group
2009-10	TBI A Football Group, 2nd
Home colours Away colours
Current season

PFC CSKA Sofia (Bulgarian: ПФК ЦСКА София), otherwise simply known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia (internationally) is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was founded on May 5, 1948, and its abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army. (Bulgarian: Централен спортен клуб на армията, Tsentralen sporten klub na armiyata) At present, however, the club doesn't have any direct links to the Bulgarian Army.

Since its formation, CSKA is one of the two most successful teams in Bulgaria, having won 31 A PFG titles and 23 national cups and is the best performing Bulgarian football club based on the all-time national statistics.^[2][3]

Internationally, CSKA has reached two European Cup semi-finals, four European Cup quarter-finals and one Cup Winners' Cup semi-final, and it is also the best performing Bulgarian club in the European club competitions.

The club's traditional home colours are red. CSKA Sofia's home ground is the Bulgarska Armia (Bulgarian Army) Stadium with a capacity of 22,015 spectators, but because of its bad condition and future reconstruction, they currently play their home matches at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. To date, the club's biggest rivals are Levski Sofia, and matches between the two capital sides are commonly referred to as The Eternal Derby in Bulgaria.

History

1923–1948

On October 28, 1923, Sofia football clubs Athletic Sofia (founded in 1910 as Klub Futbol) and Slava Sofia (founded in 1916) merged into Athletic Slava 1923, or AS-23 (short for Officer's Sports Club Athletic Slava 1923), under the patronage of the Ministry of War, which provided the equipment.^[4] In 1931, AS-23 won the Bulgarian championship and The Tsar's Cup, followed by another Tsar's Cup in 1941. The stadium of AS-23 was named Athletic Park (finished in 1938) and was on the spot where the Bulgarska Armia stadium now resides.^[5]

On November 9, 1944, with the partnership of Mihail Mihaylov, an accountant at the Ministry of War and a patron of Shipka Sofia, a unifying agreement was signed, merging AS-23, the then united team of Shipka-Podeda, and Spartak (Poduene) to form Chavdar Sofia. Gen. Vladimir Stoychev from AS-23, who at the time was fighting on the front in World War II, was appointed (by telegram) as the new club's chairman. Lawyer Ivan Bashev, a future Bulgarian foreign minister, was appointed club secretary and the person in charge of football.^[6]

The unifying protocol of Chavdar

Chavdar played at Athletic Park, which was soon after renamed Chavdar Stadium. The coaching position was given to Bulgarian middleweight boxing champion Konstantin Nikolov, who mainly oversaw the players' physical training, while team captain Nako Chakmakov was in charge of tactics. With the help of Mihail Mihaylov, on February 15^th, 1948, Chavdar became the departmental club of the Central House of the Troops ("Centralnia Dom na Voiskata") and took on the name of CDV. Major Ivan Mirski was chosen as the club chairman.

1948–1962

In May 1948, an agreement was signed between FC Septemvri Sofia and CDV for uniting under the name of "Septemvri pri CDV" (Septemvri at CDV). The board of the newly created club included the following members: Honorable Chairman - Lt. Gen. Georgi Damyanov, the Minister of Defense, Chairman - Maj. Gen. Boyan Balgaranov; Deputy Chairman - Col. Tashev, Petar Mihaylov, Aleksandar Valchev, and Lyubcho Kralev, plus five more members. The contract was signed on the 5^th of May, 1948, which is officially considered the club's date of foundation. The club's first official game took place on May 19, 1948, against Slavia Sofia at Yunak (Bulgarian: Юнак) stadium - 1:1. Septemvri pri CDV eliminated Aprilov (Gabrovo) and Spartak Varna on its way to the finals.

CSKA Sofia's roots

The team reached the national final, where it faced Levski Sofia, losing 1:2 in the first match. The decisive second match took place on September 9^th, 1948, under referee Stefan Danchev. Septemvri pri CDV consisted of: Stefan Gerenski, Borislav Futekov, Manol Manolov, Dimitar Cvetkov, Nikola Aleksiev, Nako Chakmakov (captain), Dimitar Milanov, Stoyne Minev, Stefan Bozhkov, Nikola Bozhilov, and Kiril Bogdanov. Goalscorers: Dimitar Milanov (2) and Nako Chakmakov (1). It was an emotional 3:1 victory, sealed by Nako Chakmakov with a last-minute goal, giving Septemvri pri CDV its first championship title.

In 1950, the definition of "Narodna" (People's) was added to the name of the Central House of the Troops, changing it to Central House of the People's Troops (Centralen Dom na Narodnata Voiska), or C.D.N.V. for short, effectively changing the club's name as well. The following two years, C.D.N.V. won two titles in a row. In 1951, the Army club clinched their first double. In 1953, the club was renamed by the authorities again, this time to "Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon" (Team of the Sofia Garrison), and most of the key players were illegally transferred out. The title was lost undeservedly. The following year, the club was renamed to CDNA (Central House of the People's Army), and the years between 1954 and 1962 marked one of the most successful periods for The Reds, who won 9 consecutive championship titles, an unprecedented achievement in Bulgarian football to this day.

1960s

In 1962, CDNA was united with DSO "Cherveno Zname" to form CSKA "Cherveno Zname" (Central Sports Club of the Army "Red Flag"). The Central House of the People's Troops ceased its affiliation with the club, which was taken over by the Ministry of People's Defense. CSKA finished third after Spartak Plovdiv and Botev Plovdiv in the 1962-63 season. The following season, CSKA had its worst performance in the Bulgarian championship to date, finishing 11^th in the final table. The famous coach of the Army Men, Krum Milev, was released after the end of the championship. CSKA did not recapture the title until 1966. During the 1966-67 season, CSKA reached the semi finals of the European Cup, where after two 1:1 draws with Inter Milano, a third match was played which CSKA lost 0:1. The next two seasons were again unaccomplishing for The Army Men, as they finished in fifth and second place consecutively. CSKA was again joined with Septemvri Sofia in 1968, and the club took on the name of CSKA "Septemvriysko Zname" (CSKA "September's Flag"). The team clinched the title in 1968-69 with the help of recent acquisition Petar Zhekov, who won the Golden Shoe as the top goalscorer in Bulgaria.

1970s

CSKA Sofia in 1973

From 1971 to 1973, CSKA won three consecutive titles and eliminated three-times European champion AFC Ajax 2:1 on aggregate (0:1 and 2:0) in the 1973–74 European Cup. In the 1/4 finals, the Army Men lost 1:4 to Bayern Munich in the first leg in Germany and bowed out of the competition after winning 2:1 at home. Between 1975 and 1979, the club won two more titles.

1980s

European Cup Quarter final match line-up against Liverpool, 17 March 1982

Season 1980-81 was again a memorable one for CSKA Sofia, winning the Bulgarian championship once more and twice beating European champion Nottingham Forest, both times with 1:0, before being stopped by the future European Champion Liverpool with a 6:1 on aggregate in the quarter finals of the European Cup. The very next season, CSKA reached their second European Cup semi final in a row, eliminating Spanish champions Real Sociedad, Glentoran F.C., and reigning European Champion Liverpool after losing 0:1 in England and wining 2:0 at home with two goals by Stoycho Mladenov. In the semi final, the Reds again faced Bayern Munich. The first leg was held in Sofia and started with a full dominance over Bayern, as by the 18^th minute CSKA were leading 3:0 in front of 85 000 spectators who saw the European final in their dreams. But the final result was 4:3 for CSKA. In Munich, the club suffered a 4:0 defeat and left the competition. In the domestic championship, CSKA did not let go of the title until the 1984-85 season, where they fell in second behind Levski, but managed to reach the Bulgarian Cup final.

The 1985 disbandment

On June 18, 1985, the final for the Bulgarian Cup was held at the Vasil Levski National Stadium between archrivals CSKA and Levski. The match was marked by many disputable referee decisions and saw several brutal fights, including an assault on a referee by Levski's players. CSKA won the game 2:1 even though they had missed a penalty when the score was 2:0. By decree of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, both teams were disbanded. CSKA was renamed Sredets and Levski was renamed Vitosha. Several players were banned from participating in official games for varying periods of time, including Hristo Stoichkov and Kostadin Yanchev from CSKA. One year later, the committee's decision was reversed and the players were reinstated.

As Sredets, the club finished in fourth place in 1985-86. In 1987, to the name of the club was added the abbreviation of CFKA, effectively renaming it to CFKA Sredets (Central Football Club Of The Army Sredets), and the following three years were marked by a formidable performance, even as Septemvri Sofia ended their 20-year partnership with CFKA in 1988 and became an independent club again. Coached by Dimitar Penev, CFKA won the title in 1987 and 1989 and reached the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup semi finals against FC Barcelona in 1989. In reaching this stage, CFKA had eliminated Roda JC after penalty kicks following a 2:1 win at home and a 1:2 loss away. Barcelona, coached by former Dutch international Johan Cruijff, won both matches (4:2 in Bulgaria and 2:1 in Spain) and CFKA were eliminated, but Cruijff did notice the talent of Hristo Stoichkov and decided to draw him to Barcelona the following year, effectively launching Stoichkov's international career.

1990s

The name CSKA was restored for the 1989-90 season and the club won the title again. In March 1991, Valentin Mihov was chosen as president of CSKA. The club bought some of the most talented Bulgarian players, including Yordan Letchkov, Ivaylo Andonov, Stoycho Stoilov among others. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense concluded their cooperation with the club. Despite numerous problems the club had with veterans, army officials, and fans that season, CSKA won the title again in 1992. They were later eliminated in the first round of the Champions League by Austria Vienna after losing 1:3 in Vienna and winning 3:2 in Sofia. In the meantime, Valentin Mihov became president of the Bulgarian Football Union and Petar Kalpakchiev was chosen as president of CSKA. Kalpakchiev wrangled with the club's administration over their decisions to replace several coaches, one of which was Gjoko Hadžievski, considered to be leading the club in the right direction, and eventually Kalpakchiev was fired. The owner of the Multigroup conglomerate, Iliya Pavlov, took over the chairman's position, but ultimately his sponsorship also proved insufficient to overcome the club's ineffective management. Five coaches were changed in just one season, with Tsvetan Yonchev being coach for just one day. In Europe, CSKA beat Juventus F.C. 3:2 in the first round of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, but the result was annulled by UEFA because of the delayed player-indexing of Petar Mihtarski. Juventus were awarded a 3:0 victory. In the second leg in Torino, with the consequences of that decision hanging over them, CSKA succumbed to a 5:1 defeat.

In the summer of 1995, CSKA made a strong selection and eventually the club included half of the youth national football team of Bulgaria. Plamen Markov was appointed coach, but after a disappointing first half of the season, he was replaced by Georgi Vasilev, who had previously won three Bulgarian titles (one with FC Etar Veliko Tarnovo and two with Levski Sofia). Vasilev managed to win a double with CSKA for the 1996-1997 season, entering the second qualifying round of the Champions League against Steaua Bucharest. After a dramatic 3:3 in Romania, CSKA fell 0:2 at home. Vasilev was unexpectedly released from the club at the beginning of the second half of the 1997-98 season after a 3:0 win over PFC Spartak Pleven. Coach Petar Zehtinski took his place. That year, the club saw the return of Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov, and Trifon Ivanov, but the three of them argued for the captain's band. Stoichkov played in just four matches and left CSKA right before the derby with Levski to play for a club in Saudi Arabia. After the end of the season, Trifon Ivanov also left the club. CSKA finished the season in third place.

In the summer of 1998, Dimitar Penev took the lead as coach for a second time. CSKA reached the second round of the UEFA Cup, and won the Bulgarian Cup, but disappointed in the domestic league, finishing in fifth place in 1998-99. That season, the young talents of Martin Petrov, Stilian Petrov, Dimitar Berbatov, and Vladimir Manchev started to play a bigger role in the team. There were problems with player-indexing due to some unpaid obligations to FC Neftohimik. In the domestic championship, CSKA had only 16 players registered for the 1999-00 season and some un-indexed players took part in official UEFA games. Consequently, at the shareholders meeting at the end of 1999, the club ownership was transferred to businessman Vasil Bozhkov, who became majority owner.

2000s

After the first two rounds in the spring half of 2000, Dimitar Penev was relieved as coach because of the consecutive losses and in his place was appointed Georgi Dimitrov – Dzheki, who was later replaced by Spas Dzhevizov. After a 1:1 draw with Pirin at Bulgarian Army Stadium, Dzhevizov handed in his resignation and Alexander Stankov took his place. Even though at times CSKA had fallen as far as 9 points behind the leaders Levski, the club shortened the difference to only 2 points before the decisive match for the title at Georgi Asparuhov Stadium. CSKA dominated Levski for most of the match, as Dimitar Berbatov made several serious misses, but a last-minute goal from Georgi Ivanov secured the title for Levski. In the summer of 2000, Italian coach Enrico Catuzzi was employed as head coach, who did manage to revive the team. But even though the Army Men played attractive games under his leadership, Catuzzi handed over the coach position in the winter, citing family problems. Alexander Stankov was appointed as coach again, but was replaced by Catuzzi again after two losses from Litex for the cup and the championship. The Reds finished second, seven points behind Levski.

For the new 2001-02 season, coach was Asparuh Nikodimov. He was fired during the winter break as CSKA rested 2 points behind Levski and was replaced by another Italian, Luigi Simoni. Simoni failed to make CSKA champions as the club finished third and lost the Bulgarian Cup final to Levski. Simoni left at the end of the season.

In the summer of 2002, Stoycho Mladenov was appointed as coach. With him, the team set a record with 13 consecutive wins in 13 matches in the Bulgarian Championship and CSKA became champions for the first time since 1997. However, Mladenov was fired the following season after losing to Galatasaray in the preliminary rounds of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and after giving a less than impressive performance in the first round of the UEFA Cup, where the club lost on penalty kicks to FC Torpedo Moscow. Immediately after, two of the new arrivals, Leo Lima and Rodrigo Sousa, bought for 3 million dollars the year before, left the club on the grounds that they had not received two monthly salaries. FIFA decided that they had the right to leave and that CSKA had to pay them and return the players to their former club of Vasco da Gama. Alexander Stankov was temporarily appointed as coach until the winter break, when Ferario Spasov officially took over the position. In the end of 2004, Spasov was replaced by Serbian coach Miodrag Ješić, despite the team's first place in the domestic championship. Despite problems with the selection, CSKA won their record thirtieth domestic title in 2005.

For the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, after eliminating KF Tirana in the second preliminary round, CSKA were paired against reigning European champions Liverpool. The club lost 1:3 in the first match in Sofia, but surprisingly won the second leg by 1:0 at Anfield Road.^[7][8] For the UEFA Cup, the Reds eliminated Bayer Leverkusen (with Dimitar Berbatov in the team) with two 1:0 wins and entered the group stage, where they finished fifth with 3 points from 4 matches and were eliminated. At the winter break of the 2005-06 season, the team was first with 7 points ahead of Levski in the standings. During the spring, CSKA lost the 7-point advantage and finished second with 3 points behind Levski. Club president Vassil Bozhkov blamed Serbian coach Miodrag Ješić for the failure to capture the title and fired him, while some supporters blamed Bozhkov instead. Plamen Markov was appointed in Ješić's place. Bozhkov then announced that he would restrict the finances of the club and that during the upcoming season CSKA will not be aiming at the title. In December 2006, Bozhkov sold the club to Indian steel tycoon and owner of Kremikovtzi AD, Pramod Mittal, brother of ArcelorMittal's Lakshmi Mittal. Former Bulgarian politician Alexander Tomov became president of the club and assured the supporters that CSKA would, in fact, be aiming at both the championship and the cup. After two draws in the beginning of the spring half of 2006-07, CSKA found themselves 6 points behind Levski. As a result, coach Plamen Markov was replaced by Stoycho Mladenov, who returned to the club after three and a half years. CSKA finished second.

In the beginning of the 2007-08 season, CSKA bought players for more than 2 million euro. The team was unluckily eliminated from the UEFA cup in the first round by French side Toulouse FC after a 96^th-minute goal from André-Pierre Gignac in the second leg. CSKA was also eliminated from the Bulgarian Cup at the 1/16th finals by Lokomotiv Plovdiv. The match was engulfed in a scandal because of three CSKA players who at the time were on loan at Lokomotiv (Stoyko Sakaliev, Aleksandar Branekov, and Ivan Ivanov). The players had clauses in their contracts restricting them from playing matches against CSKA, but Lokomotiv's management used the players anyway. At the end of the season, the Army Men secured the title in advance, finishing 16 points ahead of second-placed Levski. On May 5, 2008, the club marked its 60^th anniversary with big celebrations organized by the management. An alley of fame was built, comprising the names of the most successful current and former players of CSKA. On May 24, 2008, an exhibition game was played between the current squad and a mixed team of Bulgarian and foreign football stars. The mixed team was coached by former German international Lothar Matthäus, who was a special guest for the anniversary celebrations. The match ended 6:6.

The 2008 crisis

In June 2008, only days after CSKA won its 31st title, UEFA notified the Bulgarian Football Union that the club would not receive a license for participating in the UEFA Champion's League because of unpaid obligations.^[9][10] The BFU then speculated that this could also result in CSKA not being able to take part in the domestic championship, effectively turning it into an amateur club. Attempts to arrange a settlement with UEFA proved unsuccessful and CSKA lost its right to compete in the UEFA Champions League in favor of runners-up PFC Levski Sofia.^[11] The person widely blamed for the crisis was president Alexander Tomov, who resigned shortly after and was arrested and tried for embezzling millions of levs from CSKA and Kremikovtzi AD.^[12]

The problems with the license exposed the club's weak financial situation and led to chaos and panic, prompting many of the key players to flee, including coach Stoycho Mladenov himself, who left saying he was not happy with the fire sale of so many important players. The future of CSKA looked grim, its status as a professional club hanging in the balance. In the midst of the crisis, Dimitar Penev was given the coach's job for the third time and burdened with the task of saving the club. With almost all senior players gone, Penev was left to rely on members of the CSKA youth squad. Ultimately, CSKA managed to fulfill all licensing requirements set by the BFU and was allowed to compete in the A PFG.^[13] Despite all the difficulties, and to the surprise of the whole football community, Penev's young squad claimed the Bulgarian Super Cup in August 2008, overcoming PFC Litex Lovech by 1:0.^[14]

2008–2009

At the begging of the 2008-09 season, the club managed to strengthen their ranks by signing Bulgarian internationals Zdravko Lazarov and Vladimir Manchev. On December 24, 2008, owner Pramod Mittal announced that he had signed a preliminary contract with a local investor to sell the club.^[15] The deal was finalized on March 6, 2009, and the ownership of the club was transferred to Titan Sport EAD, a subsidiary of Bulgarian waste management company Titan AS.^[16] Meanwhile, coach Dimitar Penev was replaced by his nephew, Luboslav Penev, who set aggressive goals for the club.^[17] After having led the league for most of the season, CSKA finished the championship in second place, one point behind archrival Levski.

2009–2010

In 2009, CSKA earned a place in the UEFA Europa League's group stage after defeating FC Dynamo Moscow in the qualifying round and drew A.S. Roma, FC Basel, and Fulham F.C. in the group.^[18] The first match was against Fulham in Sofia, where CSKA took the lead thanks to a beautiful goal by newly signed Brazilian Michel Platini. However, a simple goalkeeper mistake at the end of the match allowed Fulham to score, ending the game in a 1:1 draw. Despite the strong start, CSKA did not manage to earn any more points in the group and exited the competition at fourth place.^[19] In November 2009, coach Luboslav Penev threatened to resign following a squabble with the club's management after they had reversed his decision to reprimand several players for disciplinary reasons, but decided to carry on with the job. Their disagreements eventually boiled over in January 2010 and the board relieved Penev of the position.^[20] Reports in the press pointed to former CSKA coach Miodrag Ješić as a possible replacement, but even though Ješić expressed a desire to come back to CSKA, his current contract with Libyan club Alittihad Tripoli S.C. ruled him out.^[21] On January 17, the club retained Romanian specialist Ioan Andone as coach. ^[22] Andone brought two Romanian players with him and set out to overhaul the team.^[23] But over the next six matches, CSKA won only two games, drew archrival Levski 0:0, and lost the second place to Lokomotiv Sofia. On March 30, after two months on the job, Andone resigned citing family reasons.^[24] Former CSKA defender Adalbert Zafirov was put in his place.^[25] At the same time, the club turned to Dimitar Penev again, naming him supervisor of the coaching staff.^[26]

Names

CSKA has carried a plethora of names throughout its history. In chronological order, they are as follows:

• Septemvri pri CDV (Bulgarian: Септември при ЦДВ), September at the Central House of the Troops in 1948 and 1948/49.
• Narodna Voiska (Bulgarian: Народна Войска), People's Army in 1950.
• C.D.N.V. (Bulgarian: Централен Дом на Народната Войска, Ц.Д.Н.В.), Central House of the People's Troops in 1951 and 1952.
• Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon (Bulgarian: Отбор на Софийския Гарнизон), Team of the Sofia Garrison in 1953.
• CDNA (Bulgarian: ЦДНА, Централен Дом на Народната Армия), Central House of the People's Army from 1954 and until the 1961/62 season.
• CSKA "Cherveno zname" (Bulgarian: ЦСКА "Червено знаме"), CSKA "Red Flag" between 1962/63 and 1967/68.
• CSKA "Septemvriysko zname" (Bulgarian: ЦСКА "Септемврийско знаме"), CSKA "Septemvriisko Zname" between 1968/69 and 1984/85.
• CFKA "Sredets" (Bulgarian: ЦФКА "Средец"), Central Football Club of the Army "Sredets" from 1985/86 and until 1988/89
• CSKA (Bulgarian: ЦСКА), CSKA - Central Sports Club Of The Army since 1989/90.

Bulgarian Army Stadium

Bulgarska Armia

The team's home stadium, Bulgarska Armia, was completed in 1967 and stands on the same spot as its predecessor, Athletic Park. It is situated in the Borisova gradina park, named after Bulgarian tsar Boris III, in the center of Sofia. The stadium has four sectors with a total of 22,015 seats, of which 2,100 are covered. The pitch length is 106 meters and the width is 66 meters. The sports complex also includes tennis courts, a basketball court, and gymnastics facilities, as well as the CSKA Sofia Museum of Glory. The press conference room has 80 seats.

In 2010, the stadium was closed and the construction of a new stadium will start soon.

Supporters

According to many surveys CSKA Sofia is one of the two most popular clubs in Bulgaria with around 180,000 organized supporters in 798 fan clubs around the world, including supporters from USA, Republic of Macedonia, Spain, Austria, UK, Canada, Italy, Sweden, Greece, Germany, and almost every country in which there is a large number of Bulgarians. The official fan club was formed in 1990, which to date is the oldest one in the capital of Bulgaria.

Sector G, the main stand for the ultras of CSKA, is located at the north side of the stadium. Inside the sector, there are several supporter groups such as "14" (Sofia), City Boys (Sofia), Torcida Plovdiv 1999 (Plovdiv), Proud ones 1999 (Sofia), Ultra Separative Front 1997 (Sofia), Ariana Boys (Sofia), Banda Sever (Sofia), Lyulin Boys '99 (Lyulin), Ultra Front Vratsa (Vratsa), UCSH (Samokov), SWCR (Razlog), and many others.

Players

Current squad

As of 1 September 2010
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Zdravko Chavdarov 2 DF Pavel Vidanov (vice-captain) 3 MF Tomislav Kostadinov 4 DF Kostadin Stoyanov 5 MF Todor Yanchev (captain) 6 DF Giuseppe Aquaro 7 FW Spas Delev 8 MF Rumen Trifonov 9 FW Dormushali Saidhodzha 10 MF Lucas Trecarichi 11 FW Michel Platini 12 GK Ivan Karadzhov 13 GK Bozhidar Stoychev 14 FW Dimitar Iliev 16 FW Christian Tiboni (on loan from Atalanta) 17 MF Atanas Zehirov

No. Position Player 18 MF Boris Galchev 19 DF Apostol Popov 20 MF Nikolay Manchev 21 MF Kosta Yanev 22 DF Marco Esposito 23 MF William Tiero 24 MF Aleksandar Tonev 25 DF Yordan Minev (third captain) 26 FW Cillian Sheridan 27 DF Martin Dechev 28 MF Marquinhos 29 MF Gregory Nelson 30 DF Fabrizio Grillo TBA GK Raïs M'Bolhi (on loan from Slavia Sofia) TBA FW Nikola Radulovich

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player DF Kristiyan Velinov (at Akademik Sofia)

For recent transfers, see the "Transfers" section of 2010–11 PFC CSKA Sofia season.

Notable players

Please do not add or remove from this list until reading the following guidelines.

• For all CSKA players with a Wikipedia article see Category:PFC CSKA Sofia players.

Managerial history

This is a list of the last ten CSKA Sofia managers:

Name	Nat	From	To	Honours
Ferario Spasov		February 2004	February 2005	–
Miodrag Ješić		February 2005	4 April 2006	1 Bulgarian League
Plamen Markov		4 April 2006	12 March 2007	2 Bulgarian Cup
Stoycho Mladenov		12 March 2007	9 July 2008	1 Bulgarian League
Dimitar Penev		9 July 2008	5 March 2009	1 Bulgarian Super Cup
Luboslav Penev		5 March 2009	13 January 2010	–
Ioan Andone		17 January 2010	30 March 2010	–
Adalbert Zafirov*		30 March 2010	14 May 2010	–
Pavel Dochev		1 June 2010	16 August 2010	–
Gjore Jovanovski		17 August 2010	-	–

Key

* Served as caretaker manager.

As of May 14, 2010.

Honours

Domestic

Bulgarian Championship – 31 (record)

• 1948, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08

Bulgarian Cup – 10

• 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2006

Cup of the Soviet Army – 13

• 1951, 1954, 1955, 1961, 1965, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990

Bulgarian Super Cup – 3

• 1989, 2006, 2008

European

UEFA European Cup/Champions League

• 1/2 Final (1966–67 vs Inter Milan, 1981–82 vs Bayern Munich)
• 1/4 Final (1956–57 vs Red Star Belgrade, 1973–74 vs Bayern Munich, 1980–81 vs Liverpool, 1989–90 vs Olympique de Marseille)

UEFA Europa League

• Group stage (2009–10)
• Group stage (2010-11)

UEFA Cup

• 1/16 Final (1999 vs Atletico Madrid)
• Group stage (2005)

UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup

• 1/2 Final (1989 vs Barcelona)

Biggest win in European tournaments:

• UEFA Champions League - 8:1 in 1956–57 vs Dinamo Bucuresti
• UEFA Cup - 8:0 in 2000–01 vs Constructorul
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup - 9:0 in 1970–71 vs Haka

Kit

Kit manufacturers

• 1948-1970s - Unknown
• 1970s-82 - Adidas
• 1982-85 - Puma
• 1985-91 - Adidas
• 1991-92 (Season's 1st part) - Abm Pro
• 1991-92 (Season's 2nd part) - Umbro
• 1992-93 - Erreà
• 1993-95 - Lotto
• 1995-00 - Puma
• 1999-00 (Season's 2nd part) - Nike
• 2000-03 - Lotto
• 2003-04 - Asics
• 2004– - Uhlsport

Shirt sponsors

• 1948-89 - No sponsor
• 1989-90 - Comco
• 1990-96 - Sintofarm
• 1996-99 - Multigroup
• 1999-05 (Bulgarian Championship) - No sponsor
• 2001-02 (UEFA Cup) - Sintofarm
• 2003-04 (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup) - Transimpex
• 2005-08 - Vivatel
• 2008-09 - No sponsor
• 2009– - Globul

References

External links

Official websites

• (Bulgarian) (English) Official website
• (English) UEFA Profile

Fan websites

• (Bulgarian) Armeici 1948
• (Bulgarian) CSKA Sofia Ultimate Internet Fan Club
• (Bulgarian) Fan Club CSKA Razgrad
• (Bulgarian) CSKA Sofia forum

Statistics websites

• (English) Current Season