PFC 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 from the fact that the area around the city of Pernik has had long traditions with mining and the mining industry.

The club's highest league finish in the top division is fourth, which was achieved in the 1955 and 1960–61 seasons. Minyor played in the Bulgarian Cup Final in 1958, finishing runners-up to Spartak Plovdiv.

Minyor has spent a total of 38 seasons in the top tier of Bulgarian football, most recently during the 2012–13 season.

History

The origins of the club date back to 1919. Minyor came into existence with the merger of several football clubs from Pernik. In 1944, SC Krakra (founded in 1919), SC Svetkavitsa (founded in 1932), SC Benkovski (founded in 1936), and ZHSK (founded in 1941) merged to form SC Rudnichar. Since SC Krakra is the oldest of the clubs, the year 1919 is generally considered to be founding date of Minyor. After World War II, as Bulgaria became a People's Republic, closely following the model for sports in the Soviet Union, the club was renamed to Republikanets '46. The club finally came to be known as Minyor in 1952, which reflected the mining history of the city of Pernik.

The club joined the Bulgarian top division in 1951. That same year, they laid the foundations of a strong team, which, until the 1961–62 season, was among the top teams in Bulgaria. The first match in the division was on March 2, 1951, against Cherveno Zname Sofia. Minyor's best seasons in the top division were in 1955 and 1961, finishing both times at fourth place.

In 1956, Minyor's forward and captain Pavel Vladimirov became the top scorer of the division with 16 goals. Vladimirov holds Minyor's overall appearance record - 305 matches. The former forward is also the all-time leading scorer for the club with 98 goals.

In 1958, the club qualified for the final of the Bulgarian Cup, where the team lost to Spartak Plovdiv. In 1962, Minyor was relegated to the second division. Between 1951 and 1994, the club participated in either the top or second divisions, regularly being promoted and relegated, but never falling below the second level. Until the 2008–09 season, Minyor has played a total of 32 seasons in the first division. Minyor's biggest victory in A PFG to date is the 6–0 win against Torpedo Pleven in 1951. Minyor's largest defeat, 0–8, was against Beroe Stara Zagora in 1973.

Minyor Pernik's latest spell in the top flight began in 2008. They managed to return to the elite rank by winning the 2007-08 promotion play-off, beating Kaliakra Kavarna after a penalty shootout. Their first season since returning to the elite was quite successful as they finished 11th, with 35 points, including an away draw to Levski Sofia, the eventual champions.

The next season, 2009–10, was better for the hammers, as they managed to finish in eight place, under the management of Anton Velkov. Minyor collected 45 points, and managed to beat CSKA 0–3 in Sofia, which was the latter's only defeat at home for the season.

For the 2010–11 season, Minyor hired Stoycho Stoev, who replaced Anton Velkov due to poor results in the beginning of the season. Minyor eventually finished the season in 9th place, with 36 points.

Minyor decided to extend Stoev's contract for the 2011–12 season. They had another relatively successful season, finishing in 9th place again, with 36 points. Highlights from the season included a home 2–0 win over CSKA Sofia and an away win against Levski Sofia, the two most decorated Bulgarian teams. Minyor also reached the quarterfinals of the Bulgarian cup for the 2011-12 season. They were, however, eliminated by Litex by a score of 2–0.

Stoycho Stoev left the club at the end of the season and was replaced by Nikolay Todorov. However, Minyor dropped their form and eventually finished 14th, meaning they were relegated after a 5-year stay in the top level.

The team was supposed to play in the 2013-14 B Group, however due to very big financial problems, the owners of the club decided to abolish the current club and, and restart from V AFG. The reformed team, which carried the identity and traditions of the old one, started playing in the third tier from the 2013–14 season. Minyor played there in the following six seasons.

Minyor finished first in the Southwest Third League for the 2019-20 season and promoted to the Second League for the first time in 12 years.

In November 2022, Minyor was left without a major financial backing, when the mayor of Pernik decided to stop his backing for the club. This was a result of a violent situation that occurred during a Bulgarian cup match between Minyor and Beroe Stara Zagora, when Minyor and Beroe fans clashed with each other on the stands of Stadion Minyor, resulting in property damage for Beroe fans after the match. Minyor lost that game 0–2.

On March 10, 2023, Minyor announced a complete overhaul of the board of directors, with the new goal of the club being promotion to the First League. Despite the change in ownership and new hopes that were set, Minyor had a turbulent 2022–23 season, culminating in relegation from the Second League. This ended the club's three-year stay in the second level.

In October 2023, Minyor announced that Velizar Dimitrov, a former Minyor player, would become the new chairman of the club. Minyor finished first in the 2023–24 season in the Third League, achieving promotion back to the Second League.

Honours

* First League:
** Fourth place (2): 1955, 1960–61
*Bulgarian Cup:
** Runner-up: 1958
* Second League:
** Winners (4): 1965–66, 1971–72, 1978–79, 1986–87
* Third League:
** Winners (4): 1994–95, 2004–05, 2019–20, 2023-24

Players

'

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

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or had more than 100 league appearances. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

;Bulgaria
* Petar Argirov
* Kalin Bankov
* Krum Bibishkov
* Georgi Borisov
* Vasil Bozhikov
* Ivan Čvorović
* Velizar Dimitrov
* Spas Dzhevizov
* Anton Evtimov
* Kamen Hadzhiev
* Kostadin Hazurov
* Dimitar Iliev

* Iliyan Iliev
* Ivan Ivanov
* Kiril Ivkov
* Georgi Karakanov
* Anton Kirov
* Yanek Kyuchukov
* Zdravko Lazarov
* Ivaylo Pargov
* Slavcho Pavlov
* Tomislav Pavlov
* Petar Petrov

* Boyan Peykov
* Viktor Raychev
* Dimitar Savov
* Anton Slavchev
* Ivo Slavchev
* Yordan Todorov
* Metodi Tomanov
* Ventsislav Vasilev
* Yordan Yordanov

;Europe
* Peter Lérant
* Vančo Trajanov
;Asia
* Samir Ayass
* Georgi Georgiev

League positions

Previous names

* Pernik - 1970–73
* Krakra - 1969–70
* Torpedo - 1948–52
* Republicanets '46 - 1946–48

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:01/07/1949 till:01/07/2026
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1950

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:16 color:white align:center
from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1952 shift:(0,-4) text:10
from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1953 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1953 till:01/07/1954 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/1957 till:01/07/1958 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/1958 till:01/07/1959 shift:(0,-4) text:10
from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1961 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1962 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1962 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1963 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1963 till:01/07/1964 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1965 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1966 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1970 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
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:1
from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1977 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1979 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1981 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
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:4
from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1984 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1987 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1989 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:10
from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1992 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1994 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/2001 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:6
from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2005 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:12
from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2008 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " B Group"
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:11
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:8
from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2013 color:green shift:(0,14) text: " A Group"
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:4
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:2
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2016 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " V Group"
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:4
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2020 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " 3rd League"
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2023 color:white shift:(0,14) text: " 2nd League"
from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 color:red shift:(0,14) text: " 3rd"
from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/2025 till:01/07/2026 shift:(0,-4) text:
from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2026 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "2nd"

Statistics and Records

Notes:
*Bold ''signals active players''
*''Correct as of 15 May 2008''

Managers

* Anton Velkov (Jul 2009–Sep 2010)
* Stoycho Stoev (Sep 2010–Sep 2012)
* Nikolay Todorov (Sep 2012–Jul 2014)
* Valeri Damyanov (Jul 2014–Dec 2014)
* Hristo Yanev (Jan 2015–Jul 2015)
* Danail Bachkov (Jun 2017–Nov 2017)
* Nikolay Todorov (Dec 2017–Sep 2018)
* Georgi Stankov (Sep 2018–Nov 2018)
* Anton Evtimov (Nov 2018–Dec 2018)
* Yuriy Vasev (Dec 2018–Oct 2020)
* Hristo Yanev (Oct 2020–Sep 2022)
* Petar Anestiev (Sep 2022)
* Emil Serafimov (Sep 2022–Mar 2023)
* Krasimir Petrov (Mar 2023–Jan 2023)
* Hristo Gospodinov (Jan 2023–Apr 2025)
* Angel Chervenkov (Apr 2025–)

Supporters

Minyor's fans are known as the hammers or the yellow-blacks. They have a legendary hatred for Levski Sofia and the fans of both teams have had some big fights over the years, some of which have even involved rifles. Minyor fans are also infamous for their general hatred for Sofia. Their only friends are considered to be Botev Plovdiv, also yellow-black. The rivals of Minyor call them "orcs" due to the mining heritage of the town.

References

External links

*

{{Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

Minyor
Pernik
1919 establishments in Bulgaria
FC Minyor Pernik
Minyor Pernik
Association football clubs established in 1919