2011–12 A Group

A Group
Season2011–12
Dates6 August 2011 – 23 May 2012
ChampionsLudogorets Razgrad
(1st title)
RelegatedVidima-Rakovski, Kaliakra, Svetkavitsa
Champions LeagueLudogorets Razgrad
Europa LeagueCSKA Sofia
Levski Sofia
Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Matches played240
Goals scored643 (2.68 per match)
Top goalscorerBrazil Junior Moraes
Ivan Stoyanov
(16 goals each)
Biggest home winLevski 7–0 Svetkavitsa
Biggest away winMinyor 0–7 Ludogorets
Highest scoringCherno More 7–1 Kaliakra
Botev 6–2 Kaliakra
Litex 6–2 Lokomotiv

The 2011–12 A Group was the 88th season of the Bulgarian national top football division, and the 64th of A Group as the top tier football league in the country. The season began on 6 August 2011 and ended on 23 May 2012. Ludogorets Razgrad claimed their maiden title in their debut season, after winning the last round clash against CSKA, which were leading by 2 points prior to the match.[1] Vidima-Rakovski, Kaliakra and Svetkavitsa were relegated, after finishing at the bottom three places.

Team information

Akademik Sofia and Sliven were directly relegated after finishing in the bottom two places of the table at the end of season 2010/11. Akademik were relegated after one year in the top league of Bulgarian football, while Sliven ended a three-year tenure in the top flight. Furthermore, Pirin (Blagoevgrad) were excluded from A Group due to financial difficulties and demoted to V Group.

The relegated teams were replaced by Botev Vratsa, champions of West B Group, Ludogorets Razgrad, champions of East B Group and promotion play-off winners Svetkavitsa. Botev Vratsa returned to A Group after twenty-two years, while Ludogorets Razgrad and Svetkavitsa both made their debut on the highest level of Bulgarian football.

There was some controversy regarding the relegation/promotion play-offs at the end of season 2010/11. In the original match-up, 14th-placed Vidima-Rakovski lost 3-0 against B Group play-off winners Chernomorets (Pomorie). However, Pomorie did not receive an A Group licence, so Vidima-Rakovski were spared from relegation. In order to fill the void, a second play-off match was scheduled between Svetkavitsa, 4th-placed team of East B Group, and Etar (Veliko Tarnovo), 3rd-placed team of West B Group. Svetkavitsa won this match by a score of 3-1.

Stadia and locations

As in the previous year, the league comprises the best thirteen teams of season 2010-11, the champions of the two B Groups and the winners of the promotion play-offs.

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in 2011–12 A Group
class=notpageimage|
Sofia 2011–12 A Group football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe 17,800
Botev Vratsa Hristo Botev 32,000
Cherno More Varna Ticha 8,250
Chernomorets Burgas Lazur 18,037
CSKA Sofia Balgarska Armiya 22,015
Kaliakra Kavarna Kavarna 5,000
Levski Sofia Georgi Asparuhov 29,200
Litex Lovech Lovech 7,050
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Lokomotiv 13,800
Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv Sofia1 22,000
Ludogorets Razgrad Ludogorets Arena 6,000
Minyor Pernik Minyor 8,000
Montana Montana Ogosta 8,000
Slavia Sofia Ovcha Kupel 18,000
Svetkavitsa Targovishte Dimitar Burkov 8,000
Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo Rakovski 8,816
Notes
  1. Lokomotiv Sofia play their home matches at Vasil Levski National Stadium as their own ground, Lokomotiv Stadium, had not received approval from the BFU license committee.[citation needed]

Personnel and sponsoring

Team Manager Captain[citation needed] Kit Manufacturer[citation needed] Shirt Sponsor[citation needed]
Beroe Stara Zagora Bulgaria Ilian Iliev Bulgaria Slavi Zhekov Uhlsport Bulsatcom
Botev Vratsa Bulgaria Sasho Angelov Bulgaria Rosen Vankov Jumper
Cherno More Varna Bulgaria Stefan Genov Bulgaria Georgi Iliev Misho Armeets
Chernomorets Burgas Bulgaria Dimitar Dimitrov Bulgaria Radostin Kishishev Macron
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria Dimitar Penev Bulgaria Todor Yanchev Kappa GLOBUL
Kaliakra Bulgaria Radostin Trifonov Bulgaria Ivan Raychev Uhlsport Municipality of Kavarna
Levski Sofia Bulgaria Nikolay Kostov Bulgaria Hristo Yovov Nike VTB Bank
Litex Lovech Bulgaria Atanas Dzhambazki Serbia Nebojša Jelenković adidas b-connect
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bulgaria Emil Velev Bulgaria Zdravko Lazarov Uhlsport Refan
Lokomotiv Sofia Bulgaria Anton Velkov Bulgaria Kristian Dobrev Puma
Ludogorets Razgrad Bulgaria Ivaylo Petev Bulgaria Todor Kolev adidas Huvepharma
Minyor Pernik Bulgaria Stoycho Stoev Bulgaria Kostadin Markov Jumper Municipal Insurance Company
Montana Bulgaria Stefan Grozdanov Bulgaria Daniel Gadzhev Jako GM Capital
Slavia Sofia Bulgaria Martin Kushev Bulgaria Bogomil Dyakov Puma
Svetkavitsa Bulgaria Nikola Spasov Bulgaria Georgi Damyanov Jako Vinprom Targovishte
Vidima-Rakovski Bulgaria Kostadin Angelov Bulgaria Georgi Stoychev Asics VIDEXIM

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager(s) Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment
Levski Sofia Bulgaria Yasen Petrov End of contract 27 May 2011 Pre-season Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov 27 May 2011[2]
Slavia Sofia Bulgaria Emil Velev Sacked 28 May 2011 Bulgaria Martin Kushev 28 May 2011[3]
Kaliakra Kavarna Bulgaria Antoni Zdravkov End of contract 28 May 2011 Bulgaria Adalbert Zafirov 28 May 2011[4]
Chernomorets Burgas Bulgaria Georgi Vasilev Sacked 30 May 2011 Bulgaria Dimitar Dimitrov 30 May 2011[5]
Montana Bulgaria Atanas Dzhambazki End of contract 2 June 2011 Bulgaria Stefan Grozdanov 11 June 2011
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Serbia Saša Nikolić Sacked 14 June 2011 North Macedonia Dragan Kanatlarovski 17 June 2011
Vidima-Rakovski Bulgaria Dimitar Todorov Sacked 16 June 2011 Bulgaria Kostadin Angelov 17 June 2011
Lokomotiv Sofia Bulgaria Dian Petkov Sacked 3 October 2011 10th Bulgaria Anton Velkov 3 October 2011
Kaliakra Kavarna Bulgaria Adalbert Zafirov Sacked 19 October 2011[6] 15th Bulgaria Radostin Trifonov 19 October 2011[7]
Svetkavitsa Targovishte Bulgaria Plamen Donev Resigned 19 October 2011 16th Bulgaria Nikola Spasov 23 October 2011[8]
Litex Lovech Bulgaria Lyuboslav Penev Resigned 24 October 2011[9] 5th Bulgaria Atanas Dzhambazki 24 October 2011
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria Milen Radukanov Sacked 25 October 2011[10] 2nd Bulgaria Dimitar Penev 25 October 2011
Levski Sofia Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov Resigned 4 November 2011 5th Bulgaria Nikolay Kostov 7 November 2011[11]
Lokomotiv Plovdiv North Macedonia Dragan Kanatlarovski Sacked 7 November 2011 6th Bulgaria Emil Velev 8 November 2011[12]
Levski Sofia Bulgaria Nikolay Kostov Resigned 26 March 2012 4th Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov (caretaker) March 2012

Note: Georgi Ivanov subsequently stepped down and was replaced by Yasen Petrov as caretaker manager at the helm of Levski, with Ilian Iliev set to take over prior to the 2012/2013 season.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Ludogorets Razgrad (C) 30 22 4 4 73 16 +57 70 Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round
2 CSKA Sofia 30 22 3 5 60 19 +41 69 Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round
3 Levski Sofia 30 20 2 8 61 28 +33 62
4 Chernomorets Burgas 30 17 9 4 57 23 +34 60
5 Litex Lovech 30 17 8 5 57 28 +29 59
6 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 30 17 6 7 44 39 +5 57 Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round[a]
7 Cherno More 30 16 4 10 46 25 +21 52
8 Slavia Sofia 30 15 6 9 42 36 +6 51
9 Minyor Pernik 30 8 12 10 35 40 −5 36
10 Beroe 30 9 8 13 30 37 −7 35
11 Montana 30 8 7 15 29 51 −22 31
12 Botev Vratsa 30 7 8 15 30 44 −14 29
13 Lokomotiv Sofia 30 5 9 16 26 50 −24 24
14 Vidima-Rakovski (R) 30 3 6 21 19 59 −40 15 Relegation to 2012–13 B Group
15 Kaliakra (R) 30 2 5 23 26 77 −51 11
16 Svetkavitsa (R) 30 1 5 24 8 71 −63 8
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th goal difference; 7th goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Ludogorets Razgrad won the 2011–12 Bulgarian Cup competition but were qualified for 2012–13 UEFA Champions League via winning the league, hence their Europa League berth was awarded to the cup runners-up, Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

Results

Home \ Away BSZ BVR CHM CHB CSK KAV LEV LIT LPL LSO LUD MIN MON SLA SVE VRA
Beroe 1–2 2–0 1–2 0–1 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–0
Botev Vratsa 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–2 6–2 0–2 1–3 1–1 2–0 0–1 0–0 2–4 0–1 1–0 2–2
Cherno More 2–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 7–1 3–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–1
Chernomorets Burgas 2–2 3–1 3–2 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–3 6–0 4–0
CSKA Sofia 1–0 2–0 4–1 1–0 3–1 1–0 4–1 3–0 4–0 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 4–1
Kaliakra 3–1 0–0 0–5 0–4 1–2 1–4 0–2 1–2 0–0 0–4 2–2 2–3 1–2 1–1 3–2
Levski Sofia 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 3–2 3–2 3–2 4–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 7–0 2–1
Litex Lovech 2–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 5–0 1–0 6–2 2–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–0 6–0 3–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 4–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–3 2–0 3–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 3–2
Lokomotiv Sofia 3–0 0–1 0–0 0–4 1–2 3–2 1–1 1–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–3[a] 4–1 0–1
Ludogorets Razgrad 3–0 3–0 0–2 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 4–0 4–1 3–0 6–0 5–0 4–0
Minyor Pernik 1–1 1–3 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 0–0 1–2 0–7 3–1 1–1 3–0 1–0
Montana 0–0 2–0 1–3 2–4 0–5 2–1 0–3 1–0 2–2 1–1 1–4 1–2 1–2 0–0 1–0
Slavia Sofia 0–0 3–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–3 0–2 3–0 2–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–1
Svetkavitsa 1–3 0–0 1–3 0–3 0–3 1–0 0–1 1–3 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–2 0–3 0–0
Vidima-Rakovski 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–6 1–1 0–3 2–2 0–5 0–3 1–2 1–2 1–0
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ The match between Lokomotiv Sofia and Slavia Sofia was awarded to Slavia by a score of 3–0.[citation needed] The original fixture was not played after police security for the match could not be provided.[citation needed]

Champions

Ludogorets Razgrad
Goalkeepers
01 Serbia Uroš Golubović 28 0(0)
13 Czech Republic Radek Petr 02 0(0)
30 Bulgaria Georgi Argilashki 00 0(0)
Bulgaria Emil Mihaylov* 00 0(0)
Defenders
03 Slovakia Marián Jarabica 01 0(0)
04 Finland Tero Mäntylä 03 0(0)
05 France Alexandre Barthe 29 0(3)
20 Brazil Guilherme Choco 27 0(1)
25 Bulgaria Yordan Minev 28 0(0)
26 Bulgaria Diyan Dimitrov 00 0(0)
33 Slovakia Ľubomír Guldan 28 0(0)
77 Portugal Vitinha 10 0(0)
Slovenia Jure Travner* 03 0(0)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Suvad Grabus* 01 0(0)
Midfielders
06 Bulgaria Georgi Kostadinov 05 0(2)
07 Bulgaria Mihail Aleksandrov 28 0(5)
08 Bulgaria Stanislav Genchev 27 0(6)
18 Bulgaria Svetoslav Dyakov 29 0(1)
19 Bulgaria Dimo Bakalov 14 0(2)
22 Bulgaria Miroslav Ivanov 27 0(4)
36 Montenegro Mladen Kašćelan 11 0(1)
84 Brazil Marcelinho 25 0(9)
Bulgaria Shener Remzi* 00 0(0)
Bulgaria Dimo Atanasov* 06 0(0)
Bulgaria Nikolay Dyulgerov* 02 0(0)
Forwards
11 Brazil Juninho Quixadá 11 0(5)
23 Bulgaria Emil Gargorov 26 (13)
27 Belgium Christian Kabasele 11 0(3)
73 Bulgaria Ivan Stoyanov 25 (16)
Bulgaria Todor Kolev* 09 0(1)
Manager
Bulgaria Ivaylo Petev
  • Mihaylov, Travner, Grabus, Remzi, Atanasov, Dyulgerov and Kolev left the club during a season.

Season statistics

Top goalscorers

Below is a list of the top goalscorers at the end of the competition.[13]

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Brazil Júnior Moraes CSKA Sofia 16
Bulgaria Ivan Stoyanov Ludogorets Razgrad 16
3 Bulgaria Emil Gargorov Ludogorets Razgrad 13
Romania Ianis Zicu CSKA Sofia 13
5 Brazil Juninho Slavia Sofia / Levski Sofia 12
6 Bulgaria Svetoslav Todorov Litex Lovech 11
Bulgaria Ivan Tsvetkov Levski Sofia 11
Bulgaria Gerasim Zakov Kaliakra Kavarna 11
9 Brazil Lourival Assis Chernomorets Burgas 10
Morocco Aatif Chahechouhe Chernomorets Burgas 10
Bulgaria Georgi Iliev Cherno More Varna 10
Brazil Marcelo Nicácio Litex Lovech 10

Scoring

Transfers

References

  1. ^ ""Лудогорец" победи ЦСКА с 1:0 и спечели титлата при дебюта си в А група" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Георги Иванов-Гонзо е новият треньор на Левски" (in Bulgarian). btv.bg. 27 May 2011.
  3. ^ "Кушев поема Славия" (in Bulgarian). bsport.bg. 28 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Адалберт Зафиров пое Калиакра" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 28 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Dimitar Dimitrov is the new head coach of Chernomorets". chernomoretz.bg. 30 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Калиакра уволни Адалберт Зафиров" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 19 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Стана ясен новият старши-треньор на Калиакра" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 19 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Никола Спасов стана треньор на Светкавица" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 23 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Любо Пенев напусна Литекс - "оранжевите" представиха новия треньор, изненадата е голяма" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 24 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Официално: ЦСКА се раздели с Милен Радуканов" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 25 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Официално: Николай Костов ще води Левски до края на сезона" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 4 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Емил Велев е новият треньор на Локо Пд, помага му Ники Митов, тренировката е от 11 часа" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 8 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Bulgaria - A PFG Top goalscorers". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Честито! 53 минути за първия гол от новия сезон в А група" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 6 August 2011.