FC Spartak Plovdiv

Spartak Plovdiv
Full name FC Spartak Plovdiv
Nickname(s) Gladiatorite (The Gladiators)
Founded November 15, 1947
Ground Todor Diev Stadium,
Plovdiv
(Capacity: 3,500)
Chairman Lyudmil Bozhilov
Manager Nikolay Kirov
League East B PFG
2009-10 East B PFG, 4th
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

FC Spartak Plovdiv (ФК Спартак Пловдив) is a Bulgarian football club from the city of Plovdiv. Spartak Plovdiv currently plays its home matches at the 3,000-seat Todor Diev Stadium in the Kichuk Parizh district of Plovdiv. The stadium is named after the club's all-time greatest player Todor Diev. Currently Spartak competes in the second division of Bulgarian football, the B PFG.

Contents

History

Spartak was founded on 15 November 1947, after being evolved from three earlier Plovdiv clubs - Levski, Septemvri and Udarnik. The club is a reference to the Roman slave hero Spartacus. This reference also explains the club's nickname - The Gladiators (Bulgarian: Гладиаторите). The first team colours of the club were chosen the same year, and soon Spartak was characterized by a blue, red and white check jersey.

The 1950s and 1960s were Spartak's golden age, spending that time in the A PFG. The club has been once champions of Bulgaria (in 1963), coming second the previous year, and Bulgarian Cup winners (in 1958).

The club participated in the European Cup competition for the first time in 1963-64 vs KF Partizani Tirana (0:1, 3:1) and vs PSV (0:1, 0:0). Second continental participation was in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1966-67 vs SL Benfica (1:1, 0:3). In 1964 Spartak reached the Balkans Cup final, losing to FC Rapid Bucureşti after two legs - 1:1 at home and 0:2 away.

In 1967 Spartak was merged with SSK Akademik and Botev Plovdiv into a new club - AFD Trakia. An independent Spartak did not re-emerge until 1982. In the period from 1982 to 1994 the club spended in second and third divisions. In the 1993-94 season Spartak finished 2nd in B PFG, and qualified again for the A PFG, after 27 years break. But two seasons later, the team relegated again to B PFG. The club merged in 1998 with Komatevo Sokol`94 and were renamed Spartak-S`94. This remained club's official name till the 2001-02 season.

Honours

European matches

Season Tournament Round Team Home Away
1963-64 European Cup Q Partizani Tirana 3-1 0-1
1Q PSV Eindhoven 0-1 0-0
1966-67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1Q Benfica 1-1 0-3

Current squad

As of March 19, 2011 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 Stefan Stoychev
2 MF Ivan Mekikov
3 DF Chudomir Grigorov
4 MF Kamen Apostolov
5 DF Ivan Dimov
6 DF Todor Simeonov
7 DF Vasil Stefanov
8 MF Yordan Hristov
9 FW Martin Stefanov
10 FW Georgi Stoyanov
11 MF Lachezar Angelov
12 GK Stoyan Zdravkov
13 DF Teodor Banev
No. Position Player
14 DF Svetoslav Slavov
15 DF Rangel Kordov
16 FW Denis Genchev
17 MF Plamen Kolarov
18 FW Filip Chipchev
19 FW Denis Genchev
20 DF Asen Valchev
21 MF Hristo Staev
22 GK Tsvetan Todorov
23 MF Ivan Karamanov
24 MF Andrei Andreev
25 DF Tsvetan Yotov

Notable players

External links