Levski Sofia (sports club)

Levski Sofia

Founded	1911
Location	Sofia, Bulgaria
Colours	Blue, White, Gold
Website	Club home page

Vasil Levski, club's patron

Levski Sofia (Bulgarian: Левски София) is a Bulgarian sports club based in Sofia. It was founded in 1914. The club is named after Vasil Levski, the national hero of Bulgaria.

The club develops 30 types of sports. Its football team, PFC Levski Sofia, is its most popular section. Other important sections are BC Levski Sofia, the basketball team, and VC Levski Sofia, the volleyball team. Levski is the only Bulgarian club, and one of the few in Europe, to have won the European Champions' Cup in three different team sports – basketball, volleyball and athletics.

To date, Levski has reached 27 European Finals in total (won nine titles) – one EuroLeague, one CEV Champions League, two European Champion Clubs Cup (athletics) titles, two EuroCup titles, and three Balkan League titles; and was runner-up in (18 finals) – three CEV Champions League Finals, two European Champion Clubs Cup (athletics) Finals, six CEV Cup Winners' Cup Finals, one EuroCup Final, one CELA Cup Final, two Balkan League Finals, two Balkans Cup Finals, and one Intertoto Cup Ernst Thommen Final. The athletes of Levski have won almost 1,000 medals from Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships,^[1] which makes Levski one of the most successful European sports clubs of all-time.

Football

Main article: PFC Levski Sofia

Pavel Panov, Levski's top goalscorer in European competitions

Stefan Aladzhov, Levski's most capped player

Dobromir Zhechev, played in four FIFA World Cups

Bulgarian A Group : 26

• 1933, 1937, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009

Bulgarian Cup : 26

• 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2022

Sofia Championship : 11

• 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948

Tsar's Cup / Cup of the Soviet Army / Cup of Bulgaria : 6

• 1933, 1937, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1988

Ulpia Serdika Cup : 4

• 1926, 1930, 1931, 1932

Bulgarian Supercup : 3

• 2005, 2007, 2009

Double : 13

• 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2007

Treble : 4

• 1942, 1946, 1984, 2007

UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1/4 Finals : 1969–70, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1986–87, 2005–06

UCL, UEL Group Stage : 2005–06, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11

Balkans Cup Runners-Up : 1960–61, 1961–63

Intertoto Cup Ernst Thommen Runners-Up : 1981

Basketball

Main article: BC Levski Sofia

Krassimira Banova with the European Champions Cup (1984)

Aaron Harper with the 2010 Balkan League

Vassil Evtimov representing Bulgaria

Men

National Basketball League : 16

• 1942, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2014, 2018, 2021

Bulgarian Cup : 16

• 1969, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1993, 2001, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2023

Bulgarian Basketball Super Cup : 3

• 2018, 2019, 2023

Double : 5

• 1979, 1982, 1993, 2001, 2014

Treble : 1

• 2014

Balkan League : 3

• Winners : 2010, 2014, 2018

Women

Bulgarian Champions : 8

• 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1994

Bulgarian Cup : 13

• 1969, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991

Double : 5

• 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987

EuroLeague

• Winners : 1984

Ronchetti Cup / EuroCup

• Winners : 1978, 1979
  • Runners-Up : 1975

Volleyball

Main article: Levski Volley

Vladimir Nikolov, 2006 FIVB World Championship Bronze medalist

Plamen Konstantinov, 2007 FIVB World Cup Bronze medalist

Men

Bulgarian Champions : 16

• 1945, 1959, 1980, 1985, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2024

Bulgarian Cup : 17

• 1960, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2014

Bulgarian Super Cup : 2

• 2023, 2024

Double : 7

• 1980, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006

CEV Cup Winners' Cup / CEV Cup

• Runners-Up : 6
  • 1975, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1989

Women

Bulgarian Champions : 28

• 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2014

Bulgarian Cup : 27

• 1959, 1960, 1961, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2016

Double : 17

• 1959, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1990, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2014

CEV Champions League

• Winners : 1964
  • Runners-Up : 3
    • 1975, 1976, 1981

Hockey

Main article: HC Levski Sofia

Bulgarian Hockey League : 13

• 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2003

Bulgarian Cup : 17

• 1968, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2005

Double : 8

• 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1999

Medals and athletes

Ivet Lalova

Competition	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Summer Olympics	15	42	26	83
World Championships	107	107	156	370
European Championships	159	151	164	474
Total number of medals	281	300	346	927

Levski Sofia athletes:

Boyan Radev Enyu Valchev Ivanka Khristova Yanko Rusev Valentin Raychev Vania Gesheva Yordanka Donkova Lubomir Geraskov Tanyu Kiryakov

Daniel Petrov Mariya Grozdeva Georgi Markov Ivet Lalova Aleksandar Tomov Stanka Zlateva Serafim Barzakov Yordanka Blagoeva Radoslav Velikov

Maria Petrova Lilia Ignatova Anelia Ralenkova Petkana Makaveeva Atanas Golomeev Petar Stoychev Elitsa Yankova Georgi Mladenov Tervel Pulev

Supporters

Levski is the most popular club in Bulgaria.^[2] The club has various rivalries in the domestic competitions. Levski fans maintain a friendship with Lazio fans and have Bulgarian nationalist views.^[3]

European competitions history

The Cyrillic letter L, symbol of Levski

Monument, marking the place of creation of Sport Club Levski Sofia, near the National Palace of Culture in the city center

Sport	Competition	Result	Year
Football	Balkans Cup	Runners-up	1961
Football	Balkans Cup	Runners-up	1963
Volleyball	CEV Champions League	Champions	1964
Basketball	EuroCup	Runners-up	1975
Volleyball	CEV Champions League	Runners-up	1975
Volleyball	CEV Cup	Runners-up	1975
Volleyball	CEV Champions League	Runners-up	1976
Basketball	EuroCup	Champions	1978
Volleyball	CEV Cup	Runners-up	1979
Basketball	EuroCup	Champions	1979
Volleyball	CEV Champions League	Runners-up	1981
Football	Intertoto Cup Ernst Thommen	Runners-up	1981
Volleyball	CEV Cup	Runners-up	1982
Basketball	EuroLeague	Champions	1984
Volleyball	CEV Cup	Runners-up	1985
Volleyball	CEV Cup	Runners-up	1987
Volleyball	CEV Cup	Runners-up	1989
Athletics	European Champion Clubs Cup	Champions	1992
Athletics	European Champion Clubs Cup	Runners-up	1993
Athletics	European Champion Clubs Cup	Champions	1994
Athletics	European Champion Clubs Cup	Runners-up	1995
Wrestling	CELA Cup	Runners-up	2009
Basketball	Balkan League	Champions	2010
Basketball	Balkan League	Runners-up	2012
Basketball	Balkan League	Runners-up	2013
Basketball	Balkan League	Champions	2014
Basketball	Balkan League	Champions	2018

See also

• Bulgaria men's national volleyball team
• Bulgaria women's national volleyball team
• Bulgaria men's national basketball team
• Bulgaria women's national basketball team
• Bulgaria national football team
• Bulgaria men's national ice hockey team
• Bulgaria at the Olympics

References

1. "LEVSKI – Sport For All – EMCA". European Multisport Club Association. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
2. "Concentration of people supporting the most popular clubs in Europe" (PDF). uefa.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
3. "LEVSKI SOFIA 100 YEARS CELEBRATION". ultras-tifo.net. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.

External links

• Official club website