FC Levski Sofia
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PFC Levski Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club based in
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, which competes in the First League, the top division of the
Bulgarian football league system The Bulgarian football league system or the Bulgarian football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Bulgaria. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and ...
. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 by a group of high school students, and is named after
Vasil Levski Vasil Levski (, spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a Folk hero, national ...
, a Bulgarian
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...
renowned as the national hero of the country. Levski have won a total of 74 trophies, including 26
national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
, 26 national cups and 3 supercups, as well as 13 domestic doubles and one treble. They are the only
Bulgarian football Football (, ''futbol'') is the most popular sport in Bulgaria. It was introduced in 1893–1894 by Swiss gymnastics teachers invited to the country. A football (initially called ритнитоп, ''ritnitop'', "kickball") match was first pl ...
club to have never been relegated from the top division since the establishment of the league system in 1937. On the international stage, Levski reached the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
twice and the quarter-finals of the
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...
three times. In addition, the club finished as runners-up of the
Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being ...
twice. In
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
, Levski became the first Bulgarian club to play in the group stage of the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
. The team's home kit colour is all-blue. Levskis home ground is the
Georgi Asparuhov Stadium Georgi Asparuhov Stadium (), nicknamed Gerena (, meaning "the flood plain"), is a multi-purpose stadium situated in the Suhata reka neighbourhood of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Named after the legendary Bulgarian footballer Georgi Asparuhov ...
in Sofia, which has a capacity of 17,688 spectators. The club's fiercest rival is
CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
, and matches between the two capital sides are commonly referred to as the Eternal derby of Bulgaria. Levski also contests the
Oldest capital derby Oldest capital derby or Oldest Sofia derby () is the name of the football match between the oldest still existing teams in the capital of Bulgaria: Slavia Sofia and Levski Sofia. Matches between the two sides have been played almost continuously ...
with
Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia 1913 () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground is the Stadion Aleksandar Sh ...
. The club is a regular member of the
European Club Association The European Club Association (ECA) is an organization that is officially recognised by both UEFA and FIFA as the sole, independent body for football clubs within Europe. History Formed on the merge of the G-14 group with the European Club Fo ...
and the
European Multisport Club Association The European Multisport Club Association (EMCA) is a sports organization representing the interests of multisport clubs in Europe. It was created with an initiative of the multisport club S.S. Lazio. EMCA is also a partner of the House of Sport a ...
.


History


1914–1969: Sports Club Levski

Sports Club Levski was founded in 1911 by a group of students from the Second Male High School in
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
. The club's name was chosen in honour of the Bulgarian revolutionary
Vasil Levski Vasil Levski (, spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a Folk hero, national ...
, and the club was officially registered on 24 May 1914. In 1914, Levski lost its first official match against
FK 13 Sofia Futbol Klub 13 (), or simply FK 13 Sofia was a Bulgarian football club based in Sofia. In its history the club has won two Bulgarian Cups in 1938 and 1940. ''Football Club 13'' existed independently between 1909 and 1944. History The beginning o ...
with the score of 2–0. Between 1914 and 1920, football wasn't a popular sport in Bulgaria, and no additional information about the club exists. In the summer of 1921, the Sofia Sports League was established, which united ten clubs from Sofia and marked the beginning of organized football competitions in the city. Levski won the first match in the championship in the 1921–22 season, held on 18 September 1921, against Atletik Sofia with the score of 3–1. The team finished first in the league in 1923 after a 3–2 win over bitter rivals
Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia 1913 () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home ground is the Stadion Aleksandar Sh ...
, and successfully defended the title in the following two seasons, in 1924 and 1925. The first
National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
was held in 1924 with Levski representing Sofia. The team went on to win the title in 1933, 1937 and 1942, and established itself as the most popular football club in Bulgaria. In 1929, Levski became the first semi-professional football club in Bulgaria, after twelve players staged a boycott of the team in demand of financial remuneration and insurance benefits. The same year Levski met its first international opponents, losing to Gallipoli Istanbul 1–0 and winning against Kuban Istanbul 6–0. Between 1930 and 1932, Levski won the Ulpia Serdica Cup for three consecutive years and was permanently awarded the trophy as a result. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Levski became one of the two top clubs in Bulgaria. After winning the championship in 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950 and 1953, Levski would not capture the domestic title again until the mid-1960s. In 1949, the authorities changed the club's name to Dinamo following the Soviet traditions, but after the
de-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...
of Bulgaria, it was reverted in 1957. The 1960s were marked with return to success both on the domestic and on the international stage. Levski's academy would become the most successful in national youth competitions for the years to come, and the results were first seen in the likes of Georgi Asparuhov,
Georgi Sokolov Georgi Apostolov Sokolov (; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international footballer. A forward with remarkable ball control, imagination, dribbling skills and feints, Sokolov is regarded as one of the most talented Bulgarian footb ...
,
Biser Mihaylov Biser Mihaylov (; 30 June 1943 – 12 August 2020) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent all 14 seasons of his career at Levski Sofia, before retiring at the age of 32 in 1975. Biography Biser Mihaylov was born in Sofia ...
,
Kiril Ivkov Kiril Lozanov Ivkov (; 21 June 1946 – 24 May 2025) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. Ivkov made his Bulgaria debut in 1968, e ...
,
Ivan Vutsov Ivan Kolev Vutsov (; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgaria national team. He played in three matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup ...
,
Stefan Aladzhov Stefan Atanasov Aladzhov (, born 18 October 1947) is a former Bulgarian football defender. In his career, he played mostly for Levski Sofia. In 1970 Aladzhov was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. For the Bulgaria national football team ...
and Aleksandar Kostov, assisted by experienced veterans like Stefan Abadzhiev, Dimo Pechenikov and Hristo Iliev, which resulted in winning the championship in 1965, 1968 and 1970, including the 7–2 triumph over new bitter rivals
CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...
in 1968. In the
1965–66 European Cup The 1965–66 European Cup was the 11th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Real Madrid, winners of the first five European Cups from 1956 to 1960, who beat Partizan 2–1 in a close fi ...
, Levski was eliminated in the first round by Benfica with 5–4 on aggregate.


1969–1985: Levski-Spartak

In January 1969, Levski was forcibly merged with
Spartak Sofia FC Spartak Sofia () was a Bulgarian football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded in 1947. The team plays in the Bulgarian Regional Division. The club's home colours are blue and white. Spartak's home ground is Rakovski ...
by the
Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party ( Bulgarian: Българска комунистическа партия (БΚП), Romanised: ''Bŭlgarska komunisticheska partiya''; BKP) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria f ...
, and put under the auspice of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. The name of the club was once again changed, this time to Levski-Spartak. A new crop of youngsters in the likes of Kiril Milanov,
Dobromir Zhechev Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev (; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia. At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home town. He was also capped 93 times for the Bulgari ...
, Pavel Panov, Stefan Pavlov, Yordan Yordanov,
Stefan Staykov Stefan Georgiev Staykov (; born 3 October 1949) is a former Bulgarian football goalkeeper who played for Bulgaria in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He is a former soccer player / goalkeeper / of Spartak (Varna), Levski (Sofia), Osam (Lovech), Lokomot ...
,
Tomas Lafchis Tomas Lafchis also pronounced Thomas Laftsis (, ; born 6 August 1958) is a Bulgarian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper for clubs in Bulgaria, Greece and Belgium. Playing career Lafchis began playing football for Bulgarian clubs PFC ...
, Todor Barzov,
Voyn Voynov Voyn Yordanov Voynov (; born 7 September 1952) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a winger. Voynov started playing in 1972 and spent the whole of his career as a player in Levski Sofia until 1981. He played 226 games and scored 36 ...
, Georgi Tsvetkov, Plamen Nikolov, and
Rusi Gochev Rusi Gochev (; born 9 March 1958) is a Bulgarian retired football winger. During his club career, Gochev played for Chernomorets Burgas, Levski Sofia and LASK Linz. He also amassed 33 caps for the Bulgaria national team, scoring 3 goals. From ...
not only found their place in the first team, but brought new league titles in 1974, 1977, 1979, 1984 and 1985. On the international stage, the team reached the quarter-finals of the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
in 1969–70 and 1976–77, and the quarter-finals of the
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
in 1975–76. In the latter, Levski defeated
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
5–4 in the second leg, becoming one of the two European teams (joined by
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
in 2020) to have scored five or more goals in one match against the Spanish giants in official UEFA competitions. Additionally, Levski became the only Bulgarian club to eliminate a German champion after defeating
VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
in the first round of the
1984–85 European Cup The 1984–85 European Cup was the 30th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football competition. The tournament was won for the first time by Juventus in a 1–0 win against defending champions Liverpool Liverpool is a por ...
. They also eliminated Stuttgart a year earlier in the first round of the
1983–84 UEFA Cup The 1983–84 UEFA Cup was the 13th season of the UEFA Cup, the third-tier club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The final was played over two legs at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brus ...
.


1985–1989: Vitosha Sofia

The name of the team was changed to Vitosha by the authorities following the disruptions during and after the
Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup () is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...
final in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
. The game ran on high emotions fuelled by the streak of consecutive victories of Levski over CSKA in the two years prior to the game. During the game, which CSKA won 2–1, there were confrontations both on the field and on the stands. By decree of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, some of the leading players of both clubs were suspended from the sport for life. The championship title of the club for 1985 was suspended. However, the suspensions were lifted shortly after. Levski won another cup and league titles in 1986 and 1988, respectively. The fourth European quarter-final came in 1986–87, when Levski knocked out the 1985–86
Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...
winners
Boldklubben 1903 Boldklubben 1903 or B 1903 was a football club founded on 2 June 1903, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Seven times winner of the Danish championship (introduced 1913) in 1920, 1924, 1926, 1938, 1969, 1970 and 1976 and twice winner of the D ...
and the
1985–86 Yugoslav Cup The 1985–86 Yugoslav Cup was the 38th season of the top football knockout competition in SFR Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Cup (), also known as the "Marshal Tito Cup" (''Kup Maršala Tita''), since its establishment in 1946. It was won by Velež. ...
holders Velež Mostar, before losing to the
1985–86 Copa del Rey The 1985–86 Copa del Rey was the 84th staging of the Copa del Rey, the annual domestic cup competition in the Spanish football. The tournament was attended by 142 teams from the main categories of Spaniard football. The tournament began on 11 S ...
winners
Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...
.


1989–2009: Return of Levski Sofia and the ''Blue Tale''

After the 1989–90 season, the club regained its original name. The team was made up of players such as Plamen Nikolov,
Petar Hubchev Petar Kanchev Hubchev (; born 26 February 1964) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played for Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. Considered one of the greatest defenders in the Bulgarian football h ...
,
Tsanko Tsvetanov Tsanko Nikolaev Tsvetanov (; born 6 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. After ending his playing career he began coaching, most of the time being the assistant of manager Stanimir Stoilov. Clu ...
,
Emil Kremenliev Emil Georgiev Kremenliev (; born 13 August 1969) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Career Kremenliev played club football for Slavia Sofia, Levski Sofia, Olympiacos, again in Levski, CSKA Sofia, Union B ...
,
Zlatko Yankov Zlatko Georgiev Yankov (; born 7 June 1966) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder. Career Yankov was capped 79 times and scored four goals for the Bulgaria national team between 1986 and 1999. He played ...
, Georgi Slavchev,
Ilian Iliev Ilian Dimov Iliev (; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More and the Bulgarian national football team. He is best known for having play ...
,
Daniel Borimirov Daniel Borimirov Borisov (; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. Borimirov's professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three club ...
,
Stanimir Stoilov Stanimir Kolev Stoilov (; born 13 February 1967) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager of Süper Lig side Göztepe. He has previously coached Levski Sofia, the Bulgaria national team, FC Astana and the national team of Kazakhs ...
, Velko Yotov, Plamen Getov, Nikolay Todorov and
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
, and won three consecutive domestic national championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Levski have contributed a record seven players to the Bulgaria national team that finished fourth at the
1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
. In 2005–06, Levski reached the quarter-finals of the
2005–06 UEFA Cup The 2005–06 UEFA Cup, the 35th edition of the UEFA Cup, was won by Sevilla, beating Middlesbrough in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The ...
after knocking out the
2004–05 Coupe de France The Coupe de France 2004–05 was its 88th edition. It was won by AJ Auxerre. The cup winner qualified for UEFA Cup. Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-fi ...
winners
Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...
in the first round, finishing above
SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch professional association football, football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherla ...
,
Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...
and the reigning title holders
CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
in the group stage, triumphing over Champions League participants
Artmedia Bratislava Artmedia was one of the first scientific projects concerning the relationship between art, technology, philosophy and aesthetics. It was founded in 1985 at the University of Salerno. For over two decades, until 2009, dozens of projects, studies, e ...
and
Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...
in the knockout stages, before being eliminated by
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...
. Levski, as the champions of Bulgaria, started their
2006–07 UEFA Champions League The 2006–07 UEFA Champions League was the 15th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since it was rebranded from the European Cup, and the 52nd season overall. The final was contested by Milan ...
participation in the second qualifying round, where they eliminated Georgian champions
Sioni Bolnisi FC Sioni ('' Georgian:'' საფეხბურთო კლუბი სიონი) is a Georgian professional football club based in Bolnisi. They compete in Erovnuli Liga Liga 2, the second tier of the Georgian league system. The team ha ...
, defeating them 2–0 both home and away. In the third round, Levski faced the Italian team
Chievo Verona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo (, ), is an Italian football club named after and representing Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto. It is owned since 2024 by the team' ...
, which took part in the tournament because of other clubs' sanctions as part of the 2006 Serie A matchfixing scandal. Levski eliminated Chievo after a decisive 2–0 win in Sofia and a 2–2 draw in Verona, and thus became the first Bulgarian club to ever reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. There, they faced the title holders Barcelona,
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
champions Chelsea, and
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
runners-up
Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...
. They lost all six games and scored only one goal, in the second round against Chelsea. Levski's UEFA Cup run and the consequent participation in the Champions League group stage were considered the club's greatest European successes in the 21st century, hence the period of their occurrence (2005–2007) was informally called the ''Blue Tale''. Levski earned a place in the
2008–09 UEFA Champions League The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League was the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on 27 May 2009. ...
after the Bulgarian league champions CSKA Sofia failed to obtain a UEFA license. Levski lost to
BATE Borisov FC BATE Borisov (, ''FK BATE Borisov'' ; , ''BATE Barysaw,'' ), commonly referred to as BATE or BATE Borisov, is a Belarusian professional football team from the city of Barysaw. The club competes in the Belarusian Premier League, of which the ...
of Belarus in the third qualifying round.


2009–2020: Downfall

During the 2009–10 season, Levski's team started their European campaign with a 9–0 (on aggregate) win against
UE Sant Julià Unió Esportiva Sant Julià, also known as UE Sant Julià, is an Andorran professional Association football, football club based in the parish of Sant Julià de Lòria. The club currently competes in the Segona Divisió, but withdrew from this s ...
in the second qualifying round of the
2009–10 UEFA Champions League The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League was the 55th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 18th under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played on 22 May 2010 at the Santiago Bernabéu St ...
. In the next round, Levski Sofia faced
FK Baku FC Baku (), founded as Dinamo Baku in 1997, was an Azerbaijani football club based in Baku that had been an amateur club since 2016. Prior to that, Baku played 18 seasons in the Azerbaijan Premier League, winning the championship twice and the N ...
, eliminating the team from Azerbaijan with 2–0 on aggregate. In the play-off round, Levski was eliminated by
Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...
with 4–1 on aggregate. As one of the play-off losers, Levski qualified for the
2009–10 UEFA Europa League The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years. Spai ...
. In the group stage, Levski faced
Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...
,
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
and Red Bull Salzburg. Levski achieved only one win and five defeats. Levski won against Lazio in Italy, after
Hristo Yovov Hristo Georgiev Yovov (; born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exception of his three shorter stays abroad with ...
scored the winning goal in the match. Levski started the 2010–11 season with a match against
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
, in a second qualifying round of the
2010–11 UEFA Europa League The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 1 July 2010, with ...
. Levski won the first match . In the return leg at
Oriel Park Oriel Park is a UEFA Category 2 football stadium located on the Carrickmacross Road in Dundalk, Ireland. The stadium is the home ground of Dundalk Football Club and is owned and operated by the club on land that has been leased from the Casey ...
, Levski defeated Dundalk 2–0 with two first half goals from Garra Dembélé. In the next round Levski played against
Kalmar FF Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar, Sweden. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1 ...
. The first match ended 1–1 in Sweden. In the return leg in Sofia, Levski won 5–2. In between, The Blues defeated their archrival CSKA Sofia in the Eternal derby with 1–0. Their next match in the Europa League saw them eliminate Swedish champions AIK 2–1 on aggregate, with goals scored by
Daniel Mladenov Daniel Ventsislavov Mladenov (; born 25 May 1987) is a Bulgarian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger and is currently a playing manager at FC Kyustendil, Kyustendil. Career Youth career Mladenov ...
and Garra Dembélé as Levski reached the Europa League group stage. Levski was drawn in
Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...
, facing
Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent ( Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, ...
,
Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
and
Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
. The first match was played against Gent at home, which Levski won 3–2 with the winning goal scored by
Serginho Greene Serginho Greene (; born 24 June 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Besides the Netherlands, he has played in Bulgaria, Serbia, Cyprus and India. Early life Greene's life revolved around football from a y ...
. With this win, Levski recorded eight consecutive games without a defeat in European competitions. After that, Levski lost to Sporting CP with 5–0, followed by another defeat against Lille. In Sofia, Levski played well against Lille and was leading 2–1 until Ivo Ivanov scored an own goal to make it 2–2. In the last match of the Group C, Levski took a win against Sporting CP with 1–0, with the winning goal scored by Daniel Mladenov. In the following 2011–12 season, in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, Levski were eliminated by
Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a professional football club based in Trnava, Slovakia. The club competes in Slovak First Football League, the top flight in the Slovak league system, having participated in more seasons than any other club. Founded in ...
of Slovakia, following a late game 2–1 win in Sofia, and a loss of the same scoreline in Trnava. The
penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
costed Levski a place in the play-off round. This caused an upset with the fans and players, and the team barely clinched the fourth place at the winter break in the Bulgarian league. Albeit only three points from the leaders Ludogoretz Razgrad, the acting manager Georgi Ivanov was sacked from the position, but remained at the club as a sporting director.
Nikolay Kostov Nikolay Nikolov Kostov (; born 2 July 1963) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager. Career Much of his coaching career has taken place in Cyprus. His first coaching role in the country was at Anorthosis, where he won the Cyprio ...
was appointed the new manager of the club, giving the supporters a sense of optimism, which, however, faded after a cup knock-out in the hands of
Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv (), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Stadion Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park and ha ...
and a home defeat to
Minyor Pernik FC Minyor () is a football club in Pernik, Bulgaria, currently competing in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football. Founded in 1919 as SC Krakra, the club's home ground since 1954 has been Stadion Minyor. The club's name comes ...
. Kostov handed in his resignation, leaving the managerial post once again vacant. Sporting director Georgi Ivanov once again stepped in to help the club, and accepted being the manager until the summer break, when a new one would be appointed. During the summer of 2012, former player
Ilian Iliev Ilian Dimov Iliev (; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More and the Bulgarian national football team. He is best known for having play ...
was appointed the new manager of the club. Under his management, Levski was knocked out from the Europa League by Bosnian side
FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo ( sh-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Сарајево; , English language, English: Sarajevo Football Club), is a professional Association football, football Sports club, club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosn ...
. Iliev led the team to 13 league victories and to the semi-finals of the Bulgarian Cup after eliminating
Cherno More Varna Cherno More () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in the city of Varna, which currently competes in Bulgaria's primary football competition, the First League. Founded on 3 March 1913, as an association football branch ...
and
Litex Lovech FC Lovech (; formerly Litex Lovech) is a Bulgarian professional association football, football club based in Lovech, that competes in the Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria), Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Spor ...
on the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
. Iliev however was sacked after a 1–1 away draw against Pirin Gotse Delchev. Assistant manager
Nikolay Mitov Nikolay Angelov Mitov (born 18 March 1972) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. Playing career Mitov has played for Bulgarian teams Hebar Pazardzhik, Minyor Pernik and Levski Sofia and German teams 1. FC Magdeburg and Holstein ...
took over the team until the end of the season. Under his management Levski won the derby clashes against Litex, CSKA and Ludogorets but failed to win the title after a 1–1 home draw against Slavia Sofia. Levski also reached their first Bulgarian Cup final since 2007, but lost on penalties against
Beroe Stara Zagora Professional Football Club Beroe Stara Zagora, better known as just Beroe (), is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league syst ...
. Despite the missed opportunity of winning a trophy, Mitov's contract was renewed for the 2013–14 season. However, the team made another disappointing performance in Europa League, being eliminated by the Kazakh side
Irtysh Pavlodar FC Irtysh () is a Kazakh professional football club based at the Central Stadium in Pavlodar. Irtysh won the Kazakhstan Premier league in 1993 (as ''Ansat''), 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003. The club was also founding members of the top league an ...
. As a result, Nikolay Mitov resigned as manager. In July 2013,
Slaviša Jokanović Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of UAE Pro League club Al-Nasr. A physical player considered st ...
was appointed as the new manager of the team. Despite losing only two matches in twelve games, Jokanović was released in October 2013.
Ivaylo Petev Ivaylo Bogdanov Petev (; born 9 July 1975) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Petev spent his whole career playing in Bulgaria, apart from a season at Greek club Trikala. He was most successful early i ...
was announced as his successor but during his introduction a few Levski supporters interrupted it, stating that they would not accept his appointment. The next day, Petev refused to take charge of the team and
Antoni Zdravkov Antoni Ivanov Zdravkov (born 20 August 1964) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer. As a defender, he enjoyed spells at Levski Sofia, Lokomotiv Sofia, Yantra Gabrovo, Marítimo, Nacional, Benfica Castelo Branco, Velbazhd Kyustendil an ...
was named as the new manager. Under his reign the team suffered a heavy 3–0 loss against rivals CSKA, but managed to knock them out in the Bulgarian Cup in December 2013 after penalties. Due to the difficult financial situation, a few key players, such as Antonio Vutov and Garry Rodrigues, were sold to
Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...
and
Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,
, respectively, during the winter break. This reflected on the team's performance and Levski finished fifth and got knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Bulgarian Cup by Botev Plovdiv. Antoni Zdravkov was sacked in March 2014, and Levski legend
Elin Topuzakov Elin Kalinov Topuzakov (; born 5 February 1977) is a Bulgarian former football defender and current manager. He is nicknamed ''Balls'' () because of his last name. In his career, he played as a sweeper or center back. Topuzakov also used to be ...
took charge as a caretaker until the end of the 2013–14 season. The club did not participate in European competitions for the first time since 1990–91. On 23 May 2014, the club supporters organized a
friendly game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
against Lazio, marking the 100th anniversary of the club. Club icons like Georgi Ivanov,
Dimitar Ivankov Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov ( Bulgarian: Димитър Иванов Иванков; born 30 October 1975) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. However, he is known for his goals, especially from converting penal ...
, Aleksandar Aleksandrov, Hristo Yovov, Elin Topuzakov and many other former players and celebrities took participation by playing in the game, as well as donating money for the event's organization. The next day, Levski marked 100 years since its founding. The following years were arguably the darkest in the club's history. League-wise, Levski managed to finish higher than third place only once (runners-up in 2015–16), and achieved its lowest ever ranking (seventh place in 2014–15, followed by eighth in
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
). On the stage of the Bulgarian Cup, the club lost two more finals, in
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
to Cherno More and in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
to Slavia Sofia. In European competitions, Levski faced some of its most unexpected eliminations – against Liechtenstein side
FC Vaduz Fussball Club Vaduz (En: ''Football Club Vaduz'') is a professional association football, football club from Vaduz, Liechtenstein that plays in the Challenge League (Switzerland), Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. The club pla ...
and Cypriot
AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC (, "Athletic Union Kition (ancient state), Kition of Larnaca") is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional association football, football club based in Larnaca. The club was formed in 1994 after a merger of two historical Larnaca clubs, EP ...
, the latter inflicting the largest ever European defeat on aggregate for Levski . These years were turbulent not only on the football pitch, but at the higher hierarchy of the club. In June 2015, the long-time president Todor Batkov stepped down and the club was taken over by Ivo Tonev, Aleksandar Angelov and Nikolay Ivanov. From this point onwards, Levski began to experience financial problems. Tonev, Angelov and Ivanov's reign was short-lived and in August 2016, they transferred their shares to businessman Spas Rusev. Under his governance, Levski signed players like Gabriel Obertan and
Jordi Gómez Jordi Gómez García-Penche (born 24 May 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. After playing for the reserve teams of both Barcelona and Espanyol, he went on to spend the majority of his career in Englan ...
, as well as coach
Delio Rossi Delio Rossi (born 26 January 1960) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Playing career Rossi was born in Rimini. His playing career was not a bright one, as he reached his personal top from 1981 to 198 ...
, in an attempt to return the club's glory. However, Rusev's financing was dubious, and there were complaints for delayed wages. In February 2017, Rusev admitted the club was "practically bankrupt". On 9 February 2019, Rusev stepped down as owner of Levski, leaving the club with more than 30 million BGN in debt. Four days later, businessman and former owner of archrivals CSKA
Vasil Bozhkov Vasil Krumov Bozhkov (; born July 29, 1956) is a Bulgarian people, Bulgarian politician and a businessman, once considered the richest Bulgarian with a fortune estimated at between 1 and 3 billion Bulgarian levs. Know ...
took over the club. He attempted to stabilize Levski's financial situation by immediately covering the most urgent obligations and selling or releasing the players with the highest wages, investing around 25 million BGN in total throughout his tenure. In February 2020, Bozhkov stepped down as his main business, 7777.bg (National Lottery), had its license withdrawn by the Bulgarian government. The club being left with no financing whatsoever and in a full-scale financial crisis, sparkled an unprecedented support campaign amongst the fans, who engaged in various donation initiatives, raising 2.6 million BGN in the span of five months. In 2021, former owner Vasil Bozhkov admitted that he was forced to take over Levski under the threat of business closure by prime minister
Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov (, born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on three separate occasions, serving a total of 9 years between 2009 and 2021, making him the country's longest-serving post-communi ...
. Bozhkov's confession was somewhat of a confirmation of the insinuation that the reason behind Levski's financial problems and occasional ownership changes was Borisov's idea of using the club as an instrument for political influence.


2020–present: Return of Sirakov and Stoilov

In the summer of 2020, club legend Nasko Sirakov took charge of the majority of shares and the club made some financial cuts, forcing a big part of the players (mainly foreigners) to leave. Levski also changed its transfer policy, signing mainly Bulgarian and homegrown players with lower salaries, allowing the club to start paying off some of the debt accumulated throughout the years. Sirakov set a target for the club to clear most of the debt by 2023, mostly through sponsorship deals, outgoing transfers, television rights and the fans' financial support. On 1 September 2021, Sirakov announced the return of the club's most successful manager in the 21st century, also known as the "author" of the ''Blue Tale'', Stanimir Stoilov. At that time, Levski was in 10th place in the league standings with four defeats and two wins in the first six games. With his arrival, Stoilov released three players –
Simeon Slavchev Simeon Nenchev Slavchev (; born 25 September 1993) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Lokomotiv Sofia. Slavchev began his professional career at Litex Lovech in 2010. After loan spell at Chavdar E ...
,
Valeri Bojinov Valeri Emilov Bojinov (, ; born 15 February 1986) is a retired Bulgarian professional footballer. Throughout his career, Bojinov has played for eighteen different clubs during his various spells in Italy, as well as in England, Portugal, Bulg ...
and
Hristofor Hubchev Hristofor Hubchev ( Bulgarian: Христофор Хубчев; born 24 November 1995) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a defender for Spartak Varna. He is the nephew of Petar Hubchev. Career On 22 June 2014, Hubchev joined Montana. On 1 ...
, and signed José Córdoba from
Etar The Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex (, usually referred to as Етъра, Etara) is an open-air museum near Gabrovo in northern Bulgaria. It is on the northern edge of the Bulgarka Nature Park, between the park and the city of Gabrovo. ...
and Dimitar Kostadinov from
Septemvri Sofia Septemvri () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football. Its home ground is the Septemvri Stadium, but due to its poor condition the ...
. Under his management, the team managed to improve promptly, earning 20 points by the end of the half-season with 5 wins, 5 draws, and 3 defeats. On 15 May 2022, Levski won the
Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup () is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...
by defeating its biggest rivals CSKA 1–0 in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
, thus ending the club's longest ever trophyless period (13 years). It was a record 26th cup for the Blues. By winning the cup, the team earned a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifications. In the second qualifying round, they faced
PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
, who reached the quarter-finals of the same competition the previous season. Despite being considered underdogs, Levski managed to eliminate the Greek team 3–1 on aggregate. However, Levski crashed out of the tournament in the third qualifying round after an upsetting home defeat on penalties at the hands of Maltese side
Ħamrun Spartans Ħamrun Spartans Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in Ħamrun. Since being founded in 1907, Ħamrun Spartans have won 11 league championships, the latest one being in 2025, while being runners-up eleven times. One of t ...
.


Club symbols


Names and crests

The first club crest was designed by Mircho Kachulev in 1922. Initially in the size of a square with a blue background, it was intentionally written in a stylized letter "Л" (Bulgarian letter "L"; shortened for Levski). The inner space of the letter was filled vertically equally in yellow and red colours. In a later period of time, the Cyrillic letters "С" (Sport) and "К" (club) were added at the top of the square, while the bottom side was inscribed with the name "Sofia". This badge was used by the club until 1949, when it was renamed to Dinamo. From 1949 to 1956, the emblem of the club was an irregular hexagon filled with vertical red, white, blue and yellow colours, with an inscribed handwritten Cyrillic letter "Д", alongside a five-pointed red star above it and the word "Sofia" underneath. From 1957 to 1968 the original logo of the club was restored, however the letters "C" and "К" were replaced with "Ф" (Athletic) and "Д" (union). After the merger with Spartak Sofia in 1969, the club crest has been a shield in blue and white with a horizontal red bar above. The shield spawned the letters "Л" and "C", an abbreviation of the new name Levski-Spartak. The football club used this crest until 1985, when it was renamed Vitosha. Vitosha's crest was in the form of a stylized letter "C" surrounding the football in the upper curve of the letter, coloured in blue and white. In January 1990, the club restored its original name and original logo, and the letters "C" and "K" in the upper corner of the blue square were replaced with the initials "Ф" (football) and "K" (club). However, due to legal issues with the ownership of the rights to the historic crest, the club was forced to change it in 1998, when a brand new shield logo was introduced, entirely in blue. At its centre, an inscription of the letter "Л" was introduced, alongside the year of establishment – 1914. The dome of the shield was labelled "PFC Levski". After winning the legal dispute for the rights to the historic emblem in 2006, the club decided to use the two different crests simultaneously for a brief period of time. Later that year, the shield crest was replaced by the classic square emblem. The
Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...
letter ''Л'' (L) is used today as the club's kit crest and on its social media channels. File:Levski sofia 1914-1934.JPG, First crest (1922) File:Levski Sofia logo (1923-1944).png, Sports Club Levski Sofia (1923–1944) File:Levski sofia 1944-1949.JPG, Professional Athletic Union Levski Sofia (1944–1949) File:Levski sofia 1949-1957.JPG, Dinamo Sofia (1949–1957) File:Levski sofia 1957-1969.JPG, Athletic Union Levski Sofia (1957–1969) File:Levski sofia 1969-1985.JPG, State Athletic Union Levski-Spartak (1969–1985) File:Levski sofia 1985-1989.JPG, Vitosha Sofia (1985–1989) File:Levski sofia 1989-1990.JPG, Levski-Spartak (1989–1990) File:Levski sofia 1990-1992.JPG, Levski Sofia (1990–1992, 2006–2014) File:Levski sofia 1992-1998.JPG, Levski 1914 (1992–1998) File:PFC Levski logo 1998-2006.png, PFC Levski 1914 (1998–2006) File:Levski92.png, Centenary crest (2014) File:Levski L Logo big.png, Official kit crest


Club anthem

The first anthem of Levski was written by renowned Bulgarian poet
Dimcho Debelyanov Dimcho Debelyanov () (28 March 1887 – 2 October 1916) was a Bulgarian poet and author. Born to a prosperous tailoring family in Koprivshtitsa, Bulgaria, Debelyanov experienced financial hardship upon the death of his father in 1896, which ...
and composed by
Lyubomir Pipkov Lyubomir Panaïotov Pipkov () (September 6, 1904 – May 9, 1974) was a Bulgarian composer, pianist, and music educator. He is considered among the founders of Bulgaria's modern professional musical establishment and one of its most important com ...
. Since 1999, the club anthem is "Само Левски шампион" (''Only Levski, the champion''), composed by
Stefan Dimitrov Stefan Dimitrov may refer to: * Stefan Dimitrov (bass) (1939–2004), Bulgarian basso opera singer * Stefan Dimitrov (footballer) (born 1984), Bulgarian footballer * Stefan Dimitrov (volleyball) (born 1956), Bulgarian former volleyball player * Stef ...
.


Stadium

Initially, the club did not possess a field of its own and training was held on an empty space called ''The Hillock'' (''Могилката/Mogilkata''), where the
National Palace of Culture The National Palace of Culture (, ; abbreviated as , NDK), located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is one of the largest multifunctional conference and cultural centers in the world. It was opened in 1981 in celebration of Bulgaria's 1300th ...
was built later. In 1924, the Sofia Municipality provided the club with the rights to an empty field on what were then the outskirts of the city, and a decade later the stadium named
Levski Field Levski Playing Field () was the original stadium of Levski Sofia football club. It was commissioned in 1924 and completed in 1934. In 1944 it had a seating capacity of 10,000. The stadium was demolished after 1949 by the authorities to make pla ...
was finally completed. It provided for 10,000 spectators and was regarded as the finest sport facility in the city. In 1949, the stadium was nationalized and later the
Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium (), named after Bulgarian Folk hero, national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,230 seats and is located in the centre of Sofia, on the te ...
was built on the site. The team played in various locations (including the nearby
Yunak Stadium Yunak Stadium (Bulgarian: ''Стадион Юнак'', ''Stadion Yunak''), was a multi-use stadium in central Sofia, Bulgaria. It was located at the north-western corner of Knyaz Boris's Garden, on the southern bank of the Perlovska river. It ...
) before moving to the Dinamo ground, which was located at the site of the modern Spartak swimming complex. In 1961, after districting, the team moved to Suhata Reka neighborhood, where a new stadium was built by 1963, which was later renamed in 1990 in honour of former Levski player Georgi Asparuhov. In 1999, the stadium underwent extensive reconstruction with a capacity of 29,000 spectators. The field measures 105 x 68 metres. However, the team plays most of its important international matches on the national stadium Vasil Levski. On one occasion, the former club president Todor Batkov had demanded that Levski should receive Stadion Rakovski on loan. The demand was on grounds that the first club stadium was nationalized and Levski had never been repaid. In October 2012, it was announced that Levski would be renovating their stadium. The first phase of the planned reconstruction was to be completed in 2014, on the centennial of the club's foundation. As of 2013, the capacity was reduced to 19,000 due to the undergoing reconstruction of the main stand. On 5 July 2013, the first step was made in the construction of the main stand, which has a capacity of 6,000 spectators and meets all the requirements of UEFA for the convenience of fans. The stadium's main stand was officially opened on 23 April 2016 at a special ceremony. Since 2019, the Museum of Glory of Levski Sofia is also located at the stadium.


Supporters

Historically, Levski Sofia fans gathered in the south stand of the stadium. This tradition is believed to have its roots in the Sofia Derby, when Levski fans would meet before matches in an area near the southern end of the
Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium (), named after Bulgarian Folk hero, national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,230 seats and is located in the centre of Sofia, on the te ...
. Due to the orientation of the stadium and the naming conventions of the stands in most Bulgarian stadiums, Sector B has become synonymous with Levski fans. Recently, fans in Sector B have been seen as part of the
ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are known for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tendency ...
movement, which is popular in the Balkans. Today, Sector B initiates most of the songs, choreographies and pyrotechnics at Levski's matches. Levski supporters are organized by fan clubs, most notably the National Supporters Club, which assists and coordinates fans from all over Bulgaria and supports the organization of events. There are also notable groups from Sofia (Sofia-West, South Division, Blue Junta, HD Boys, LSL and more) and other cities across Bulgaria and globally. Ultras Levski have a long-standing friendship with Lazio fans. According to a study performed for
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
, Levski is the most popular Bulgarian club and share the sixth position in Europe with
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
, by percentage of support in its own country (31%).


Players


First team

''For recent transfers, see transfers summer 2025.''


Reserve team and Youth Academy


Out on loan


Other players under contract


Foreign players

Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the
Bulgarian First League The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...
, however only five non-EU/EEA nationals can be used during a match day. Those non-EU/EEA nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If players are not of European origin, they can claim Bulgarian citizenship after five years of playing in Bulgaria. Note: ''For a complete list of Levski Sofia players, see :PFC Levski Sofia players.''


Honours

* * Shared record


European record


Recent seasons


League positions

ImageSize = width:1600 height:70 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/2025 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1949 Colors = id:First_tier value:green legend:First_tier id:Second_tier value:white legend:Second_tier id:Third_tier value:red legend:Third_tier id:Fourth_tier value:yellow legend:Fourth_tier id:Fifth_tier value:blue legend:Fifth_tier id:Does_not_exist value:black legend:Does_not_exist PlotData= bar:Position width:20 color:green align:center from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1952 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1953 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1953 till:01/07/1954 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1957 till:01/07/1958 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1958 till:01/07/1959 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1961 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1962 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1963 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1963 till:01/07/1964 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1965 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/2016 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "
A Group The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...
" from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2024 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " First League"
;Key * G = Games played * W = Games won * D = Games drawn * L = Games lost * GS = Goals scored * GA = Goals against * P = Points


Club officials


Board of directors


First team

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" , - !colspan="2", Technical staff , - , align=left, Head coach , align=left,
Julio Velázquez Julio Velázquez Santiago (born 5 October 1981) is a Spanish football manager, currently in charge of Bulgarian First League club Levski Sofia. He began coaching at 15, and was the youngest ever Segunda División manager with Villarreal B at 30 ...
, - , align=left rowspan="2", Assistant coaches , align=left, Fernando Gaspar Laborie , - , align=left,
Darko Tasevski Darko Tasevski (; born 20 May 1984) is a Macedonian retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He holds also Bulgarian citizenship, Club career Prior to joining Levski, in the summer of 2005 he played for FK Vardar and Ukrainian ...
, - , align=left, Goalkeeper coach , align=left,
Bozhidar Mitrev Bozhidar Mitrev (; born 31 March 1987 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Mitrev began his career at Levski Sofia. In early 2013 he moved to Lokomotiv Sofia, where he made more than 60 league a ...
, - , align=left, Fitness coach , align=left, José Antonio Morga , -


Academy

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" , - !colspan="2", Technical staff , - , align=left, B team coach , align=left,
Yordan Petkov Yordan Petkov () (born 11 March 1976) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. Career Petkov was born in Veliko Tarnovo. A defender, he spent most of his career at Slavia Sofia, with a short spell at Turkish Samsunspor and Cyprus Er ...
, - , align=left, Under-17 coach , align=left, Stoyan Dimov , - , align=left, Under-16 coach , align=left, Danail Ivanov , - , align=left, Under-15 coach , align=left, Dimitar Andonov , - , align=left, Under-14 coach , align=left, Iliyan Ivanov , - , align=left, Under-13 coach , align=left, Stanislav Bogdanov , -


Youth academy

Levski's youth academy has developed some of the most successful Bulgarian footballers. Notable academy graduates are Georgi Asparuhov,
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
, Bozhidar Iskrenov, Bozhin Laskov,
Georgi Sokolov Georgi Apostolov Sokolov (; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international footballer. A forward with remarkable ball control, imagination, dribbling skills and feints, Sokolov is regarded as one of the most talented Bulgarian footb ...
,
Asen Peshev Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing. Club career He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
,
Borislav Mihaylov Borislav Biserov Mihaylov (; born 12 February 1963) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper, and Former President of the Bulgarian Football Union (2005 – 2019; 2021 – 2023). He is the longest-serving presid ...
, Emil Spasov, Nikolay Iliev,
Hristo Yovov Hristo Georgiev Yovov (; born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exception of his three shorter stays abroad with ...
,
Dimitar Ivankov Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov ( Bulgarian: Димитър Иванов Иванков; born 30 October 1975) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. However, he is known for his goals, especially from converting penal ...
, Hristo Iliev, Aleksandar Kostov, Tsvetan Veselinov,
Zdravko Zdravkov Zdravko Stoyanov Zdravkov (; born 4 October 1970 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian football goalkeeper. He ended his career at the end of 2006–07 season. Club career On the club level, Zdravkov has played for Levski Sofia (1989–1995), I ...
,
Voyn Voynov Voyn Yordanov Voynov (; born 7 September 1952) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a winger. Voynov started playing in 1972 and spent the whole of his career as a player in Levski Sofia until 1981. He played 226 games and scored 36 ...
,
Nikolay Mihaylov Nikolay Borislavov Mihaylov (; born 28 June 1988) is a Bulgarian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Personal life Mihaylov's father is former goalkeeper Borisl ...
and many others. At the
1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
, in which
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
reached the semi-finals, the Bulgarian team included four players who went through Levski's youth academy, making it the most represented club in the Bulgarian squad. In 2020, Levski was included in the
CIES Football Observatory The International Centre for Sports Studies, known mostly by the initials CIES from the French ''Centre International d'Etude du Sport'', is an independent research and education centre located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It has a research group ...
annual rankings, which ranks the clubs that trained the most players active in 31 top divisions of
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
member associations. In these countries there were 33 footballers from Levski's youth academy, and Levski was ranked 35th in Europe.


UEFA & IFFHS rankings


Club coefficients

This is the current 2024–25
UEFA coefficient In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments (country rankings only), ...
: {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - ! Rank !! Team !! Coefficient , - , 308, , align=left, Progrès Niederkorn, , align=center, 4.500 , - , 309, , align=left,
Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...
, , align=center, 4.500 , - , 310, , align=left, Velež Mostar, , align=center, 4.500 , - , 311, , align=left,
Bala Town Bala Town Football Club () is a Welsh professional football club from Bala, Gwynedd, who play in the . They play their home games at Maes Tegid. History For a full history see; '' List of Bala Town FC seasons'' Although the current Bala Tow ...
, , align=center, 4.500 , - style="background:#ffc;" , 312, , align=left, Levski Sofia, , align=center, 4.500 , - , 313, , align=left,
Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliffs, Alexan ...
, , align=center, 4.500 , - , 314, , align=left, Shakhtyor Soligorsk, , align=center, 4.500 , - , 315, , align=left,
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...
, , align=center, 4.068 , - , 316, , align=left,
Domžale Domžale (; )''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 24. is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Domžale in Slovenia. The town lies ne ...
, , align=center, 4.068
Full list


Club world ranking

These are the
IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
club's points as of 31 January 2025: {, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" , - ! Rank !! Team !! Points , - , 435, , align=left, Cherno More, , align=center, 59,25 , - , 436, , align=left, Derry City, , align=center, 59,0 , - , 437, , align=left,
Machida Zelvia commonly known as is a Japanese professional football club based in Machida, Tokyo. They currently play in the J1 League, following promotion as J2 League champions in 2023. History Formation and election to the Prefectural League (1989–2 ...
, , align=center, 58,75 , - , 437, , align=left,
Kashima Antlers The are a professional association football, football club based in Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan. They currently play in the J1 League, the top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The club has financial backing from Mercari, a Japanese ...
, , align=center, 58,75 , - style="background:#ffc;" , 437, , align=left, Levski Sofia, , align=center, 58,75 , - , 440, , align=left, Rivers United, , align=center, 58,5 , - , 440, , align=left,
Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...
, , align=center, 58,5 , - , 442, , align=left,
Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...
, , align=center, 58,25 , - , 443, , align=left, Maniema Union, , align=center, 58,0
Full list


Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" , - !Period !Kit manufacturer !Shirt sponsor , - , 1976–1991 , ,
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
, , ''None'' , - , 1991–1992 , ,
Diadora Diadora is an Italian sportswear and footwear manufacturing company based in Caerano di San Marco (Veneto), subsidiary of Geox, founded in 1948. Diadora produces football boots and athletic shoes, as well as a range of apparel that includes ...
, ,
Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
, - , 1992–1994 , rowspan=4, Adidas , , Balkanbank , - , 1994–1996 , , Balkanbank / Bulstrad , - , 1996–1998 , , VIS-2 , - , 1998–1999 , , ''None'' , - , 1999–2000 , , Reusch , rowspan=4, Mtel , - , 2000–2005 , Diadora , - , 2005–2010 ,
Uhlsport Uhlsport GmbH is a German Sports equipment, sporting goods manufacturer. Originally established in 1948 as "Haase & Uhl OHG" and later renamed "Karl Uhl GmbH", the company became "uhlsport GmbH" in 1994. It is an international company which has i ...
, - , 2010–2012 , ,
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
, - , 2012–2014 , , Puma , ,
VTB Capital VTB Capital () is a Russian investment bank. It is one of the three strategic business arms of VTB Group, along with the corporate and retail businesses. VTB Capital has been ranked among the top investment banks in Russia, the CIS and Central ...
/ Mtel , - , 2014–2015 , rowspan=2,
Joma Joma Sport, S.A. is a Spanish sports clothing and shoes brand. History Joma was founded in 1965 by Fructuoso López to produce shoes for general use. The brand name comes from the given name of Fructuoso's first born son (José Manuel). In 196 ...
, , Lev Ins / Mtel , - , 2015–2018 , rowspan=2,
Vivacom Vivacom () is a Bulgarian telecommunications company. It is the largest telecommunications company in Bulgaria by both revenue and market share, being a former state-owned operator. The company is headquartered in the capital city Sofia and employ ...
/
Strabag STRABAG SE is an Austrian international technology group for the built environment based in Spittal an der Drau, Austria, with its headquarters in Vienna. It is the largest construction company in Austria and one of the largest construction comp ...
/ efbet , - , 2018–2019 , rowspan=2, Nike , - , 2019–2020 , , 7777.bg , - , 2020–2022 , rowspan=2, Joma , , Strabag / PalmsBet , - , 2022–2023 , rowspan=2, PalmsBet , - , 2023– , Adidas , -


Club records

''As of 2025'' * Biggest
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...
win: 10–0 vs Chernomorets Burgas Sofia (3 March 2007) — 2006–07 * Biggest league defeat: 1–6 vs
Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev AD, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv (, ), or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional Association football, football club based in Plovdiv. It competes in the First Professiona ...
(7 July 1962) — 1961–62 * Biggest
cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...
win: 12–1 vs Knyaz Kiril Sofia —
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...
* Biggest cup defeat: 0–5 vs
Spartak Plovdiv PFC Spartak Plovdiv () is a Bulgarian football club based in Plovdiv, which plays in the third tier of Bulgarian football, the Third League. The club was established in 1947 and folded its senior team in 2016, before being 'refounded' in 2017. ...
1961–62 * Biggest European competition win: 12–2 vs
Reipas Lahti Reipas Lahti is a sports club based in Lahti, Finland. It is involved in various of ball games and also other sports. The club emerged in the late 1940s, when the inhabitants of Viipuri had mostly been relocated in Lahti, after evacuation during ...
(16 September 1976) —
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
, first round first leg, 1976–77 * Biggest European competition defeat: 0–5 vs
AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...
(4 November 1980) —
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
, second round second leg, 1980–81
vs
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
(12 September 2006) —
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
, group stage, 2006–07
vs
Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
(30 September 2010) —
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
, group stage,
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
* Biggest European competition win on aggregate: 19–3 vs Reipas Lahti —
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
, 1976–77 * Biggest European competition defeat on aggregate: 0–7 vs
AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC (, "Athletic Union Kition (ancient state), Kition of Larnaca") is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional association football, football club based in Larnaca. The club was formed in 1994 after a merger of two historical Larnaca clubs, EP ...
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
, 2019–20 * Most consecutive league games unbeaten at
home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...
: 203 — from 1966 to 1985 * Most consecutive league games unbeaten: 27 — from 10 September 1948 to 13 May 1950 * Most consecutive league games won: 14 — from 3 April 2004 to 19 September 2004 * Most league points in a season: : 3 for win: 79 — 1994–95 : 2 for win: 50 — 1969–70, 1971–72 * Most league goals in a season: 96 — 2006–07 * Record league home attendance: 60,000 vs
Pirin Blagoevgrad Football club Pirin (), also known as Pirin Blagoevgrad is a Bulgarian football club based in Blagoevgrad, which currently competes in the Second League, the second division of Bulgarian football. The club was founded in 2008, after a merger ...
(16 September 1973) — 1973–74 * Record European competition home attendance: 55,000 vs
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
(17 March 1976) —
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
, quarter-finals second leg, 1975–76 * Record incoming transfer: Georgi Chilikov from
Naftex Burgas PFC Naftex Burgas () is a former football club from Burgas, Bulgaria. History The club was created in 1962 by a group of workers, laying the foundations of the future Petroleum Refinery Neftochim, which had not yet been named. The team startе ...
for €1,500,000 * Record outgoing transfer: Georgi Ivanov to
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
for €4,100,000


Player records

''As of 2025''


Most appearances

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !No. !Name !Career !Appearances , - , 1 , align="left",
Stefan Aladzhov Stefan Atanasov Aladzhov (, born 18 October 1947) is a former Bulgarian football defender. In his career, he played mostly for Levski Sofia. In 1970 Aladzhov was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. For the Bulgaria national football team ...
, , 469 , - , 2 , align="left", Emil Spasov , 1974–1990 , 429 , - , 3 , align="left", Pavel Panov , 1969–1981 , 382 , - , 4 , align="left",
Kiril Ivkov Kiril Lozanov Ivkov (; 21 June 1946 – 24 May 2025) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. Ivkov made his Bulgaria debut in 1968, e ...
, 1967–1978 , 374 , - , 5 , align="left",
Elin Topuzakov Elin Kalinov Topuzakov (; born 5 February 1977) is a Bulgarian former football defender and current manager. He is nicknamed ''Balls'' () because of his last name. In his career, he played as a sweeper or center back. Topuzakov also used to be ...
, 1996–2008
2009–2010 , 347 , - , rowspan=2, 6 , align="left", Hristo Iliev , 1954–1968 , rowspan=2, 330 , - , align="left", Aleksandar Kostov , 1956–1971 , - , 8 , align="left",
Dimitar Telkiyski Dimitar Telkiyski (; born 5 May 1977) is a Bulgarian football manager and a former player. His nickname is ''Mecho'' () or 'Teddybear', was given to him by the Botev Plovdiv supporters. Career Botev Plovdiv Telkiyski developed his abilities in ...
, 1999–2008
2009–2010 , 313 , - , 9 , align="left", Plamen Nikolov , 1977–1992 , 310 , - , 10 , align="left",
Hristo Yovov Hristo Georgiev Yovov (; born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exception of his three shorter stays abroad with ...
, 1995–1997
2004–2007
2009–2013 , 306


Most goals scored

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - !No. !Name !Career !Goals !Appearances !Goals per game , - , 1 , align="left",
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
, 1981–1994 , 209 , 264 , , - , 2 , align="left", Pavel Panov , 1969–1981 , 177 , 382 , , - , 3 , align="left", Georgi Asparuhov , 1959–1971 , 153 , 239 , , - , 4 , align="left", Georgi Ivanov , 1997–2009 , 135 , 238 , , - , 5 , align="left", Hristo Iliev , 1954–1959
1961–1968 , 132 , 330 , , - , 6 , align="left", Emil Spasov , 1974–1985
1987–1988
1989–1990 , 114 , 429 , , - , 7 , align="left", Mihail Valchev , 1981–1986 , 109 , 177 , , - , 8 , align="left", Dimitar Yordanov , 1956–1965 , 100 , 201 , , - , 9 , align="left",
Hristo Yovov Hristo Georgiev Yovov (; born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exception of his three shorter stays abroad with ...
, 1995–1997
2004–2007
2009–2013 , 87 , 306 , , - , rowspan=2, 10 , align="left",
Asen Peshev Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing. Club career He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
, 1924–1937 , rowspan=2, 86 , 99 , , - , align="left",
Daniel Borimirov Daniel Borimirov Borisov (; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. Borimirov's professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three club ...
, 1990–1995
2004–2008 , 297 ,


Managerial history

* Boris Vasilev (1921–23) * Mihail Borisov (1923–24) * Boris Vasilev (1924–27) * Ivan Kachev (1927–32) * Tsvetan Genev (1932–33) * Ivan Radoev (1933) * Georgi Karaivanov (1934) * Rudolf Löwenfeld (1934–35) * Ivan Radoev (1936) * Kiril Yovovich (1936–37) * Ivan Radoev (1937–38) * Dimitar Mutafchiev (1938–39) *
Asen Panchev Asen Panchev () (1 October 1906 – 17 December 1989) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a left wing. Early life He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved to the youth club of Lev ...
(1939–40) * Miloš Strużka (1940–41) *
Asen Panchev Asen Panchev () (1 October 1906 – 17 December 1989) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a left wing. Early life He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved to the youth club of Lev ...
(1941–44) * Ivan Radoev (1944–48) *
Rezső Somlai Rezső Somlai-Stolzparth (1911 – 1983) was a Hungarian footballer, who was in Hungary squad at the 1934 FIFA World Cup. He played as a midfielder for Ferencvárosi TC, OGC Nice, Kispesti FC, Olympique Alès, Red Star and Ujvideki AC. He ...
(1948–49) * Ivan Radoev (1950–51) * Liubomir Petrov (1952) * Dimitar Mutafchiev (1953) * Vasil Spasov (1954–56) *
Georgi Pachedzhiev Georgi Pachedzhiev (; 1 March 1916 – 12 April 2005) was a Bulgarian football manager who coached Bulgaria at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the first ever time that Bulgaria did reach the finals. As a footballer, he won the most trophies while playi ...
(1956–60) * Kotse Georgiev (1960–61) * Krastio Chakarov (1961–64) *
Hristo Mladenov Hristo Stefanov Mladenov () (7 January 1928 – 24 August 1996) was a Bulgarian football player and manager. He was the manager of the Bulgaria national team during the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He coached Bulgaria three times, and narrowly failed ...
(1964–65) * Rudolf Vytlačil (1965–66) * Krastyo Chakarov (1966–69) * Vasil Spasov (1969) * Rudolf Vytlačil (1969–70) *
Yoncho Arsov Yoncho Arsov (; 12 September 1929 – 9 November 2011) was a Bulgarian football player and manager who played as a midfielder. He was a legendаry manager for AC Omonoia, winning 7 domestic trophies in total, 3 domestic leagues and 4 domestic cup ...
(1971–73) * Dimitar Doychinov (1973–75) *
Ivan Vutsov Ivan Kolev Vutsov (; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgaria national team. He played in three matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup ...
(1975–76) * Vasil Spasov (1976–77) *
Ivan Vutsov Ivan Kolev Vutsov (; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgaria national team. He played in three matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup ...
(1977–80) *
Hristo Mladenov Hristo Stefanov Mladenov () (7 January 1928 – 24 August 1996) was a Bulgarian football player and manager. He was the manager of the Bulgaria national team during the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He coached Bulgaria three times, and narrowly failed ...
(1980–82) *
Dobromir Zhechev Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev (; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia. At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home town. He was also capped 93 times for the Bulgari ...
(1982–83) * Vasil Metodiev (1983–85) *
Kiril Ivkov Kiril Lozanov Ivkov (; 21 June 1946 – 24 May 2025) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. Ivkov made his Bulgaria debut in 1968, e ...
(1985–86) * Pavel Panov (1986–87) * Vasil Metodiev (1988–89) *
Dobromir Zhechev Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev (; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia. At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home town. He was also capped 93 times for the Bulgari ...
(1989) * Pavel Panov (1989–90) * Vasil Metodiev (1991) *
Dinko Dermendzhiev Dinko Tsvetkov Dermendzhiev (; 2 June 1941 – 1 May 2019), nicknamed Chico was a Bulgarian footballer and coach. Club career Dinko Dermendzhiev began his youth career in Maritsa Plovdiv. Initially, he played as a goalkeeper, although later he ...
(1991) * Ivan Vutov (1992–93) * Georgi Vasilev (1993–95) * Ivan Kyuchukov (1995–96) * Georgi Tsvetkov (1996–97) * Stefan Grozdanov (1997) * Mihail Valchev (1998) *
Vyacheslav Hrozny Vyacheslav Viktorovych Hrozny (; born 12 July 1956) is a Ukrainian football player and manager. Career He is a holder of the 1980 KFK Cup of the Ukrainian SSR as a player of FC Nyva Ternopil when it used to play in Pidhaitsi. Hrozny is a gra ...
(1998) * Angel Stankov (1999) *
Ljupko Petrović Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport. As a manager, Petrović's biggest success wa ...
(1999–00) * Dimitar Dimitrov (2000) *
Vladimir Fedotov Vladimir Grigoryevich Fedotov (; 18 January 1943 – 29 March 2009) was a Soviet and Russian football striker and manager who holds the all-time record of caps for CSKA Moscow. He was the son of famous Soviet football and ice hockey player Grig ...
(2000) *
Ljupko Petrović Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport. As a manager, Petrović's biggest success wa ...
(2000–01) * Georgi Todorov (2001) *
Rüdiger Abramczik Rüdiger Abramczik (born 18 February 1956) is a former German football player and coach, best known for his ability to cross the ball (''"Flankengott"''). Club career Abramczik was born in Gelsenkirchen-Erle. He, whose younger brother Volker ...
(2002) *
Slavoljub Muslin Slavoljub Muslin ( sr-Cyrl, Славољуб Муслин, ; born 15 June 1953) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Muslin began his head coaching career in 1988 and has since had stints in France, Morocco, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine ...
(2002–03) * Georgi Todorov (2003) * Georgi Vasilev (2003–04) *
Stanimir Stoilov Stanimir Kolev Stoilov (; born 13 February 1967) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager of Süper Lig side Göztepe. He has previously coached Levski Sofia, the Bulgaria national team, FC Astana and the national team of Kazakhs ...
(1 June 2004 – 6 May 2008) *
Velislav Vutsov Velislav Ivanov Vutsov ( Bulgarian: Велислав Иванов Вуцов) (born 19 July 1967) is a Bulgarian football manager and former footballer. He is also the son of former footballer Ivan Vutsov. Career Throughout his career, he has ...
(2008) * Emil Velev (16 August 2008 – 23 July 2009) *
Ratko Dostanić Ratko Dostanić (; born 25 October 1959) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Playing career After coming through the youth system of Partizan, Dostanić went on to play for Timok and Rad in the Yugoslav Second League, before movi ...
(23 July 2009 – 19 October 2009) * Georgi Ivanov (19 October 2009 – 30 June 2010) *
Antoni Zdravkov Antoni Ivanov Zdravkov (born 20 August 1964) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer. As a defender, he enjoyed spells at Levski Sofia, Lokomotiv Sofia, Yantra Gabrovo, Marítimo, Nacional, Benfica Castelo Branco, Velbazhd Kyustendil an ...
(2009–10) *
Yasen Petrov Yasen Petrov Petrov (; born 23 June 1968) is a Bulgarian former football player. His nickname is ''Giuseppe Giannini, Giannini from Plovdiv''. Career Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Petrov played for the PFC Botev Plovdiv, PFC Levski Sofia, PFC Slav ...
(1 July 2010 – 28 May 2011) * Georgi Ivanov (1 June 2011 – 3 November 2011) *
Antoni Zdravkov Antoni Ivanov Zdravkov (born 20 August 1964) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer. As a defender, he enjoyed spells at Levski Sofia, Lokomotiv Sofia, Yantra Gabrovo, Marítimo, Nacional, Benfica Castelo Branco, Velbazhd Kyustendil an ...
(2011) *
Nikolay Kostov Nikolay Nikolov Kostov (; born 2 July 1963) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager. Career Much of his coaching career has taken place in Cyprus. His first coaching role in the country was at Anorthosis, where he won the Cyprio ...
(3 November 2011 – 27 March 2012) * Georgi Ivanov ''(interim)'' (27 March 2012 – 8 April 2012) *
Yasen Petrov Yasen Petrov Petrov (; born 23 June 1968) is a Bulgarian former football player. His nickname is ''Giuseppe Giannini, Giannini from Plovdiv''. Career Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Petrov played for the PFC Botev Plovdiv, PFC Levski Sofia, PFC Slav ...
(7 April 2012 – 30 May 2012) *
Ilian Iliev Ilian Dimov Iliev (; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More and the Bulgarian national football team. He is best known for having play ...
(1 July 2012 – April 2013) *
Nikolay Mitov Nikolay Angelov Mitov (born 18 March 1972) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. Playing career Mitov has played for Bulgarian teams Hebar Pazardzhik, Minyor Pernik and Levski Sofia and German teams 1. FC Magdeburg and Holstein ...
(12 April 2013 – 12 July 2013) *
Slaviša Jokanović Slaviša Jokanović ( sr-Cyrl, Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of UAE Pro League club Al-Nasr. A physical player considered st ...
(15 July 2013 – October 2013) *
Ivaylo Petev Ivaylo Bogdanov Petev (; born 9 July 1975) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Petev spent his whole career playing in Bulgaria, apart from a season at Greek club Trikala. He was most successful early i ...
(8 October 2013 – 9 October 2013) *
Antoni Zdravkov Antoni Ivanov Zdravkov (born 20 August 1964) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer. As a defender, he enjoyed spells at Levski Sofia, Lokomotiv Sofia, Yantra Gabrovo, Marítimo, Nacional, Benfica Castelo Branco, Velbazhd Kyustendil an ...
(10 October 2013 – 19 March 2014) *
Elin Topuzakov Elin Kalinov Topuzakov (; born 5 February 1977) is a Bulgarian former football defender and current manager. He is nicknamed ''Balls'' () because of his last name. In his career, he played as a sweeper or center back. Topuzakov also used to be ...
(20 March 2014 – June 2014) * José Murcia (June 2014 – 4 August 2014) * Georgi Ivanov (4 August 2014 – 22 December 2014) *
Stoycho Stoev Stoycho Zahariev Stoev (; born 15 July 1962) is a Bulgarian former footballer and manager. Managerial career On 23 July 2013, Bulgaria champions Ludogorets Razgrad replaced coach Ivaylo Petev with Stoycho Stoev, following a 1–0 defeat by L ...
(22 December 2014 – 15 May 2016) *
Ljupko Petrović Ljubomir "Ljupko" Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Љубомир "Љупко" Петровић; born 15 May 1947) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He also holds a Bosnian passport. As a manager, Petrović's biggest success wa ...
(16 May 2016 – 22 October 2016) *
Elin Topuzakov Elin Kalinov Topuzakov (; born 5 February 1977) is a Bulgarian former football defender and current manager. He is nicknamed ''Balls'' () because of his last name. In his career, he played as a sweeper or center back. Topuzakov also used to be ...
(22 October 2016 – 2 March 2017) *
Nikolay Mitov Nikolay Angelov Mitov (born 18 March 1972) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. Playing career Mitov has played for Bulgarian teams Hebar Pazardzhik, Minyor Pernik and Levski Sofia and German teams 1. FC Magdeburg and Holstein ...
(2 March 2017 – 4 August 2017) *
Delio Rossi Delio Rossi (born 26 January 1960) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Playing career Rossi was born in Rimini. His playing career was not a bright one, as he reached his personal top from 1981 to 198 ...
(4 August 2017 – 25 July 2018) * Todor Simov ''(interim)'' (25 July 2018 – 31 July 2018) *
Slaviša Stojanovič Slaviša Stojanović (born 6 December 1969) is a Slovenian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Koper. As manager, Stojanović has won the Slovenian PrvaLiga twice, with Domžale, and the Serbian SuperLiga once, ...
(31 July 2018 – 21 January 2019) *
Georgi Dermendzhiev Georgi Nikolov Dermendziev (; born 4 January 1955) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Coaching career After managing FC Spartak Plovdiv, Spartak Plovdiv as a ...
(21 January 2019 – 29 April 2019) * Georgi Todorov ''(interim)'' (29 April 2019 – 30 May 2019) *
Petar Hubchev Petar Kanchev Hubchev (; born 26 February 1964) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played for Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. Considered one of the greatest defenders in the Bulgarian football h ...
(30 May 2019 – 11 June 2020) * Georgi Todorov (11 June 2020 – 24 October 2020) *
Zhivko Milanov Zhivko Milanov (; born 15 July 1984) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. He was primarily deployed as a right back, but when needed he could also operate on the left side. Milanov was capped 28 times for the Bulgaria national team. ...
''(interim)'' (24 October 2020 – 9 November 2020) *
Slaviša Stojanovič Slaviša Stojanović (born 6 December 1969) is a Slovenian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Koper. As manager, Stojanović has won the Slovenian PrvaLiga twice, with Domžale, and the Serbian SuperLiga once, ...
(10 November 2020 – 23 May 2021) *
Zhivko Milanov Zhivko Milanov (; born 15 July 1984) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. He was primarily deployed as a right back, but when needed he could also operate on the left side. Milanov was capped 28 times for the Bulgaria national team. ...
(2021) * Todor Simov ''(interim)'' (2021) *
Stanimir Stoilov Stanimir Kolev Stoilov (; born 13 February 1967) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager of Süper Lig side Göztepe. He has previously coached Levski Sofia, the Bulgaria national team, FC Astana and the national team of Kazakhs ...
(2 September 2021 – 8 April 2023) *
Elin Topuzakov Elin Kalinov Topuzakov (; born 5 February 1977) is a Bulgarian former football defender and current manager. He is nicknamed ''Balls'' () because of his last name. In his career, he played as a sweeper or center back. Topuzakov also used to be ...
''(interim)'' (10 April 2023 – 13 June 2023) *
Nikolay Kostov Nikolay Nikolov Kostov (; born 2 July 1963) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager. Career Much of his coaching career has taken place in Cyprus. His first coaching role in the country was at Anorthosis, where he won the Cyprio ...
(13 June 2023 – 28 May 2024) *
Stanislav Genchev Stanislav Petrov Genchev (; born 20 March 1981) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager. Club career SC Vaslui SC Vaslui signed Genchev as a free player, on 14 June 2008. Genchev signed a three-year contract. He scored in his fi ...
(28 May 2024 – 16 December 2024) *
Julio Velázquez Julio Velázquez Santiago (born 5 October 1981) is a Spanish football manager, currently in charge of Bulgarian First League club Levski Sofia. He began coaching at 15, and was the youngest ever Segunda División manager with Villarreal B at 30 ...
(5 January 2025 – present)


Notable players


Bulgarian players

''Players with at least one appearance for the Bulgaria national team.'' * Kiril Yovovich * Konstantin Maznikov * Geno Mateev * Tsvetan Genev * Dimitar Mutafchiev * Nikola Mutafchiev * Ivan Radoev * Aleksandar Hristov * Petar Ivanov * Mihail Lozanov *
Asen Panchev Asen Panchev () (1 October 1906 – 17 December 1989) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a left wing. Early life He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved to the youth club of Lev ...
*
Asen Peshev Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing. Club career He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
* Bozhin Laskov * Amedeo Kleva * Vasil Spasov *
Georgi Pachedzhiev Georgi Pachedzhiev (; 1 March 1916 – 12 April 2005) was a Bulgarian football manager who coached Bulgaria at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the first ever time that Bulgaria did reach the finals. As a footballer, he won the most trophies while playi ...
* Yordan Tomov * Lyubomir Hranov * Apostol Sokolov * Stefan Abadzhiev *
Yoncho Arsov Yoncho Arsov (; 12 September 1929 – 9 November 2011) was a Bulgarian football player and manager who played as a midfielder. He was a legendаry manager for AC Omonoia, winning 7 domestic trophies in total, 3 domestic leagues and 4 domestic cup ...
* Hristo Iliev * Boris Apostolov * Dimitar Yordanov * Aleksandar Kostov *
Georgi Sokolov Georgi Apostolov Sokolov (; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international footballer. A forward with remarkable ball control, imagination, dribbling skills and feints, Sokolov is regarded as one of the most talented Bulgarian footb ...
*
Stefan Aladzhov Stefan Atanasov Aladzhov (, born 18 October 1947) is a former Bulgarian football defender. In his career, he played mostly for Levski Sofia. In 1970 Aladzhov was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. For the Bulgaria national football team ...
* Georgi Asparuhov * Tsvetan Veselinov *
Ivan Vutsov Ivan Kolev Vutsov (; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgaria national team. He played in three matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup ...
*
Georgi Kamenski Georgi Kamenski (; born 3 February 1947) is a Bulgarian former football goalkeeper who played for Bulgaria in the 1970 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Levski Sofia. Honours Club ;Levski Sofia * Bulgarian League (3): 1964–65, 1967– ...
*
Yanko Kirilov Yanko Kirilov (; born 10 March 1946) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a midfielder. Career A product of Levski Sofia's youth system, Kirilov made his A Group debut on 18 November 1961 against Minyor Pernik to become the Levski's y ...
* Nikola Kotkov *
Biser Mihaylov Biser Mihaylov (; 30 June 1943 – 12 August 2020) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent all 14 seasons of his career at Levski Sofia, before retiring at the age of 32 in 1975. Biography Biser Mihaylov was born in Sofia ...
* Mihail Gyonin * Todor Barzov *
Krasimir Borisov Krasimir Borisov Georgiev (; born 8 April 1950) is a former Bulgarian football midfielder who played for Bulgaria in the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
*
Voyn Voynov Voyn Yordanov Voynov (; born 7 September 1952) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a winger. Voynov started playing in 1972 and spent the whole of his career as a player in Levski Sofia until 1981. He played 226 games and scored 36 ...
* Milko Gaydarski * Georgi Tsvetkov *
Dobromir Zhechev Dobromir Georgiev Zhechev (; born 12 November 1942) is a Bulgarian former football player and later manager. Zhechev was born in Sofia. At club level he played Spartak and Levski in his home town. He was also capped 93 times for the Bulgari ...
*
Kiril Ivkov Kiril Lozanov Ivkov (; 21 June 1946 – 24 May 2025) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. Ivkov made his Bulgaria debut in 1968, e ...
* Kiril Milanov * Vasil Mitkov * Pavel Panov * Emil Spasov *
Stefan Staykov Stefan Georgiev Staykov (; born 3 October 1949) is a former Bulgarian football goalkeeper who played for Bulgaria in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He is a former soccer player / goalkeeper / of Spartak (Varna), Levski (Sofia), Osam (Lovech), Lokomot ...
* Ivan Stoyanov * Emil Velev * Mihail Valchev *
Rusi Gochev Rusi Gochev (; born 9 March 1958) is a Bulgarian retired football winger. During his club career, Gochev played for Chernomorets Burgas, Levski Sofia and LASK Linz. He also amassed 33 caps for the Bulgaria national team, scoring 3 goals. From ...
* Nikolay Iliev * Bozhidar Iskrenov * Krasimir Koev * Petar Kurdov *
Borislav Mihaylov Borislav Biserov Mihaylov (; born 12 February 1963) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper, and Former President of the Bulgarian Football Union (2005 – 2019; 2021 – 2023). He is the longest-serving presid ...
* Plamen Nikolov * Petar Petrov *
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
* Georgi Slavchev * Georgi Yordanov * Plamen Getov *
Georgi Donkov Georgi Donkov (; born 2 June 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career In his career Donkov played for Levski Sofia, Botev Plovdiv and CSKA Sofia. He played also in Germany for VfL Bochum, 1. FC K ...
* Velko Yotov * Aleksandar Aleksandrov *
Daniel Borimirov Daniel Borimirov Borisov (; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. Borimirov's professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years, during which he played for three club ...
*
Ilian Iliev Ilian Dimov Iliev (; born 2 July 1968) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. He is the head coach at Bulgarian First League club Cherno More and the Bulgarian national football team. He is best known for having play ...
*
Emil Kremenliev Emil Georgiev Kremenliev (; born 13 August 1969) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Career Kremenliev played club football for Slavia Sofia, Levski Sofia, Olympiacos, again in Levski, CSKA Sofia, Union B ...
*
Zdravko Zdravkov Zdravko Stoyanov Zdravkov (; born 4 October 1970 in Sofia) is a former Bulgarian football goalkeeper. He ended his career at the end of 2006–07 season. Club career On the club level, Zdravkov has played for Levski Sofia (1989–1995), I ...
* Plamen Nikolov * Petar Mihtarski * Petar Aleksandrov *
Tsanko Tsvetanov Tsanko Nikolaev Tsvetanov (; born 6 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. After ending his playing career he began coaching, most of the time being the assistant of manager Stanimir Stoilov. Clu ...
*
Zlatko Yankov Zlatko Georgiev Yankov (; born 7 June 1966) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder. Career Yankov was capped 79 times and scored four goals for the Bulgaria national team between 1986 and 1999. He played ...
*
Petar Hubchev Petar Kanchev Hubchev (; born 26 February 1964) is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who played for Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. Considered one of the greatest defenders in the Bulgarian football h ...
* Georgi Ivanov * Nikolay Todorov *
Marian Hristov Marian Georgiev Hristov () (born 29 July 1973) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Since his retirement from playing, he has worked as an assistant manager. Club career Hristov started his professional car ...
*
Stanimir Stoilov Stanimir Kolev Stoilov (; born 13 February 1967) is a Bulgarian former footballer and current manager of Süper Lig side Göztepe. He has previously coached Levski Sofia, the Bulgaria national team, FC Astana and the national team of Kazakhs ...
* Predrag Pažin *
Elin Topuzakov Elin Kalinov Topuzakov (; born 5 February 1977) is a Bulgarian former football defender and current manager. He is nicknamed ''Balls'' () because of his last name. In his career, he played as a sweeper or center back. Topuzakov also used to be ...
*
Dimitar Telkiyski Dimitar Telkiyski (; born 5 May 1977) is a Bulgarian football manager and a former player. His nickname is ''Mecho'' () or 'Teddybear', was given to him by the Botev Plovdiv supporters. Career Botev Plovdiv Telkiyski developed his abilities in ...
*
Hristo Yovov Hristo Georgiev Yovov (; born 4 November 1977) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent all of his club career in his native Bulgaria with the exception of his three shorter stays abroad with ...
*
Lúcio Wagner Lúcio Wagner Freitas de Souza (born 15 June 1976), known simply as Lúcio Wagner, is a retired Brazilian-born Bulgarian international footballer who played as a left-back. Achieving successes in Bulgaria, where he won eight major titles durin ...
*
Igor Tomašić Igor Tomašić (; ; born 14 December 1976) is a former naturalized Bulgarian footballer of Croatian ethnicity who played as a defender. Career Youth career His first club was Moslavina Kutina, where he trained his football abilities between 1 ...
* Georgi Ivanov *
Emil Angelov Emil Angelov (; born on 17 July 1980 in Haskovo) is a former Bulgarian footballer who played as a forward. Career His career began at Svilengrad, having played for Haskovo as a youth. In 2001 Angelov joined Chernomorets Burgas. In his two an ...
*
Stanislav Angelov Stanislav Angelov (; born 12 April 1978), also known as Peleto (), is a former Bulgarian footballer and currently owner and manager of Levski-Rakovski. Angelov played mainly as a defensive midfielder, but also as a full-back or centre-back. C ...
* Nikolay Dimitrov *
Vladimir Gadzhev Vladimir Gadzhev (; born 18 July 1987) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known for his goals from long distance. A product of the Levski Sofia Academy, Gadzhev joined Greek side Panathinaikos in 20 ...
* Valeri Domovchiyski *
Dimitar Ivankov Dimitar Ivanov Ivankov ( Bulgarian: Димитър Иванов Иванков; born 30 October 1975) is a former Bulgarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. However, he is known for his goals, especially from converting penal ...
*
Milan Koprivarov Milan Koprivarov (; born 20 July 1983 in Ihtiman) is a Bulgarian retired footballer and now manager, currently working as academy coach for Levski-Rakovski. Koprivarov is a left attacking midfielder. Club career A product of the PFC Levski Sof ...
*
Zhivko Milanov Zhivko Milanov (; born 15 July 1984) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. He was primarily deployed as a right back, but when needed he could also operate on the left side. Milanov was capped 28 times for the Bulgaria national team. ...
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Nikolay Mihaylov Nikolay Borislavov Mihaylov (; born 28 June 1988) is a Bulgarian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Personal life Mihaylov's father is former goalkeeper Borisl ...
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Mariyan Ognyanov Mariyan Georgiev Ognyanov (; born 30 July 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Career Levski Sofia Ognyanov played for Levski Sofia from 2004. On 27 September 2006, Ognyanov scored the first goal by a Bulgar ...
* Georgi Petkov *
Ilian Stoyanov Ilian Stoyanov (; born 20 January 1977) is a former Bulgarian football defender. In Bulgaria he is also known as Collovati, because of his haircut in the past, reminiscent of that of former Italian midfielder Fulvio Collovati. Career He was par ...
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Georgi Markov Georgi Ivanov Markov ( ; 1 March 1929 – 11 September 1978) was a Bulgarian dissident writer. He originally worked as a novelist, screenwriter and playwright in his native country, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, until his defection in 196 ...
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Ivan Tsvetkov Ivan Tsvetkov (; born 31 August 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He works as an assistant manager and is employed as a scout for Ludogorets Razgrad. Club career Born in Blagoevgrad, Tsvetkov took up f ...
* Georgi Chilikov *
Zahari Sirakov Zahari Sirakov (; born 8 October 1977) is a Bulgarian football coach and a former player. He is the manager of Ludogorets Razgrad II. Career Sirakov started his career with Levski Kyustendil, but made a name for himself in Bulgaria while playi ...
* Plamen Iliev *
Veselin Minev Veselin Minev ( Bulgarian Cyrillic: Веселин Минев; born 14 October 1980) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He has a twin brother, Yordan, who is also a footballer. Club career Minev, together ...
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Stanislav Kostov Stanislav Kostov (; born 2 October 1991) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Pirin Blagoevgrad. Club career Pirin Blagoevgrad Born in Blagoevgrad, Kostov began his career at Pirin 2001 as an important part of their ...
*
Valeri Bojinov Valeri Emilov Bojinov (, ; born 15 February 1986) is a retired Bulgarian professional footballer. Throughout his career, Bojinov has played for eighteen different clubs during his various spells in Italy, as well as in England, Portugal, Bulg ...
* Aleksandar Kolev * Iliyan Stefanov


Foreign players

''Foreign players with at least 30 games for the club or that were internationally capped. Players who were internationally capped for their country are listed in bold.'' Europe *
Dalibor Dragić Dalibor Dragić (; born 23 June 1972) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Career In 1994, Dragić was acquired by Vojvodina. He spent the next five years in Novi Sad, including a loan spell with Borac Čačak i ...
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David Jablonský David Jablonský (born 8 October 1991) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. Career On 9 January 2017, Jablonský signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Bulgarian club Levski Sofia. On 4 March, he scored his first go ...
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Cédric Bardon Cédric Daniel Franck Bardon (born 15 October 1976) is a French former footballer who played as a forward. Career In France He began his career at the local Olympique Lyonnais in 1992–93. He stayed in the team after 1997–98, having proven hi ...
* Gabriel Obertan * Péter Kabát *
Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson (born 6 August 1990) is an Icelandic association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Úrvalsdeild karla (football), Úrvalsdeild karla club Valur (men's football), Valur and the Iceland national football ...
* Milan Mijatović *
Serginho Greene Serginho Greene (; born 24 June 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Besides the Netherlands, he has played in Bulgaria, Serbia, Cyprus and India. Early life Greene's life revolved around football from a y ...
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Nigel Robertha Nigel Benjamin Robertha (born 13 February 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for FK Spartak Subotica in the Serbian SuperLiga. He has represented the Netherlands at the under-17 and under-18 levels. Club career Fey ...
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Darko Tasevski Darko Tasevski (; born 20 May 1984) is a Macedonian retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He holds also Bulgarian citizenship, Club career Prior to joining Levski, in the summer of 2005 he played for FK Vardar and Ukrainian ...
* Gjoko Zajkov *
Cristóvão Ramos Cristóvão da Silva Ramos (born 25 March 1983), known simply as Cristóvão, is a former Portuguese Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, right winger. Club career Cristóvão was born in Lyon, France. After playi ...
* João Silva * Nuno Reis * Sergiu Buș * Konstantin Golovskoy * John Inglis *
Miloš Cvetković Miloš Cvetković ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Цветковић; born 6 January 1990) is a Serbian Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back for FK Čukarički, Čukarički. Club career Ze ...
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Bojan Jorgačević Bojan Jorgačević ( sr-Cyrl, Бојан Јоргачевић, born 12 February 1982) is a Serbian retired football goalkeeper and current goalkeeping coach. Career Born in Belgrade, Jorgačević began his career in his home town with FK Rad. ...
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Miodrag Pantelić Miodrag Pantelić (, ; born September 4, 1973) is a former Serbian football player. Career Pantelić begin playing for Sloboda Novi Kozarci, then was moved to Kikinda, and continued his career playing for Serbian Vojvodina and Red Star Belgrade, ...
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Saša Simonović Saša Simonović ( sr-cyr, Саша Симоновић; born 20 July 1975) is a former Serbian footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Simonović began his career with Radnički Niš, playing for the team between 1988 and 1994. He also p ...
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Roman Procházka Roman Procházka (; born 14 March 1989) is a Slovak footballer who plays for Spartak Trnava as a midfielder. Club career Spartak Trnava Procházka began his career with his hometown club Spartak Trnava. On 13 May 2007, he made his debut for Sp ...
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Rene Mihelič Rene Mihelič (born 5 July 1988) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for USV Hengsberg. Club career Mihelič came through NK Maribor's youth academy, before making his senior team debut in September 2005. In 2010 ...
* Añete *
Jordi Gómez Jordi Gómez García-Penche (born 24 May 1985) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. After playing for the reserve teams of both Barcelona and Espanyol, he went on to spend the majority of his career in Englan ...
* Miguel Bedoya * Simon Sandberg * Davide Mariani North and Central America *
Dustley Mulder Dustley Roman Mulder (born 27 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a right back. Born in the Netherlands, he represented the Curaçao national team at international level. He works as a youth coach with NAC Breda. Clu ...
* José Córdoba South America * Zé Soares * Joãozinho *
Paulinho Paulinho is a Portuguese nickname for people named ''Paulo'' (Paulo - inho, little Paulo). People known as Paulinho include: Music *Paulinho da Costa (born 1948), Brazilian percussionist *Paulinho da Viola (born 1942), Brazilian sambista *Paulinho ...
* Welton Felipe * Jean Deza Africa * Cédric Hountondji * Garry Rodrigues *
Noah Sonko Sundberg Noah Kemeseng Sonko Sundberg (born 6 June 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Süper Lig club Sivasspor on loan from Ludogorets Razgrad. A former youth international for Sweden, he plays for the Gambia national team. ...
*
Basile de Carvalho Basile Salomon Pereira de Carvalho (born 31 October 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Senegal, he made he made six FIFA-official appearances for the Guinea-Bissau national team in 2011 and 2012, scoring ...
* Serge Yoffou * Garra Dembélé * Chakib Benzoukane * Mehdi Bourabia * Youssef Rabeh * Garba Lawal * Omonigho Temile *
Justice Christopher Justice Longs Christopher (24 December 1981 – 9 March 2022) was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Christopher played for several clubs, including Katsina United, Sharks, Bendel Insurance, Antwerp (Be ...
*
Richard Eromoigbe Richard Eromoigbe (born 26 June 1984) is a Nigerian former football midfielder. Career In January 2002 Eromoigbe signed a contract with Bulgarian club Levski Sofia and joined Cherno More Varna in a year-long loan move, alongside his compatriot ...
* Ekundayo Jayeoba * Tunde Adeniji * Khaly Thiam *
Ricardo Nunes Ricardo Nuno dos Santos Nunes (born 18 June 1986) is a South African former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Club career The son of Portuguese parents, Nunes was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and moved to Portugal whe ...


Bulgarian Footballer of the Year

* 1931 –
Asen Peshev Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing. Club career He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...
* 1942 – Lyuben Stamboliev * 1948 – Vasil Spasov * 1965 – Georgi Asparuhov * 1970 –
Stefan Aladzhov Stefan Atanasov Aladzhov (, born 18 October 1947) is a former Bulgarian football defender. In his career, he played mostly for Levski Sofia. In 1970 Aladzhov was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. For the Bulgaria national football team ...
* 1974 –
Kiril Ivkov Kiril Lozanov Ivkov (; 21 June 1946 – 24 May 2025) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. Ivkov made his Bulgaria debut in 1968, e ...
* 1975 –
Kiril Ivkov Kiril Lozanov Ivkov (; 21 June 1946 – 24 May 2025) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Levski Sofia. In 1974 and 1975 he was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year. Ivkov made his Bulgaria debut in 1968, e ...
* 1977 – Pavel Panov * 1984 – Plamen Nikolov * 1986 –
Borislav Mihaylov Borislav Biserov Mihaylov (; born 12 February 1963) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper, and Former President of the Bulgarian Football Union (2005 – 2019; 2021 – 2023). He is the longest-serving presid ...
* 1987 – Nikolay Iliev * 1999 – Aleksandar Aleksandrov * 2000 – Georgi Ivanov * 2001 – Georgi Ivanov


First division top goalscorers

* 1940 – Yanko Stoyanov (14 goals) * 1950 – Lubomir Hranov (11 goals) * 1957 – Hristo Iliev (14 goals) * 1960 – Dimitar Yordanov (12 goals) * 1965 – Georgi Asparuhov (27 goals) * 1974 – Kiril Milanov (19 goals) * 1976 – Pavel Panov (18 goals) * 1977 – Pavel Panov (20 goals) * 1979 –
Rusi Gochev Rusi Gochev (; born 9 March 1958) is a Bulgarian retired football winger. During his club career, Gochev played for Chernomorets Burgas, Levski Sofia and LASK Linz. He also amassed 33 caps for the Bulgaria national team, scoring 3 goals. From ...
(19 goals) * 1982 – Mihail Valchev (24 goals) * 1984 – Emil Spasov (19 goals) * 1987 –
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
(36 goals) * 1988 –
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
(28 goals) * 1992 –
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
(26 goals) * 1993 – Plamen Getov (26 goals) * 1994 –
Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov (; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as a forward (association football), striker. He is the major shareholder of PFC Levski Sofia, Levski Sofia. Par ...
(30 goals) * 2001 – Georgi Ivanov (21 goals) * 2003 – Georgi Chilikov (22 goals) * 2011 – Garra Dembele (26 goals) * 2013 –
Basile de Carvalho Basile Salomon Pereira de Carvalho (born 31 October 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in Senegal, he made he made six FIFA-official appearances for the Guinea-Bissau national team in 2011 and 2012, scoring ...
(19 goals) * 2015 – Añete (14 goals) * 2019 –
Stanislav Kostov Stanislav Kostov (; born 2 October 1991) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Pirin Blagoevgrad. Club career Pirin Blagoevgrad Born in Blagoevgrad, Kostov began his career at Pirin 2001 as an important part of their ...
(24 goals)


See also

* Levski Sofia (sports club) *
Bulgarian Footballer of the Year Bulgarian Footballer of the Year (, ''Futbolist №1 na Balgariya'') is an annual title awarded to the best Bulgarian association football player of the year. The award has been given since 1961, and the winner is elected by authorized journalists ...
* ECA and EMCA


References


External links

Official websites *
Levski Academy

UEFA team profile
Fan websites
Sector B website

Levski Sofia – statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levski Sofia Association football clubs established in 1914 1914 establishments in Bulgaria Football clubs in Sofia