2011–12 A Group

A Group
Season 2011–12
Champions Ludogorets Razgrad
(1st title)
Relegated Vidima-Rakovski, Kaliakra, Svetkavitsa
Champions League Ludogorets Razgrad
Europa League CSKA Sofia
Levski Sofia
Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Matches played 240
Goals scored 643 (2.68 per match)
Top goalscorer Junior Moraes
Ivan Stoyanov
(16 goals each)
Biggest home win Levski 7–0 Svetkavitsa
Biggest away win Minyor 0–7 Ludogorets
Highest scoring Cherno More 7–1 Kaliakra
Botev 6–2 Kaliakra
Litex 6–2 Lokomotiv

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

Team information

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

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

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

Stadia and locations

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

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

Personnel and sponsoring

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

Managerial changes

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

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

League table

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
Head-to-head
1 Ludogorets Razgrad (C) 30 22 4 4 73 16 +57 70 2012–13 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
2 CSKA Sofia 30 22 3 5 60 19 +41 69 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round
3 Levski Sofia 30 20 2 8 61 28 +33 62
4 Chernomorets Burgas 30 17 9 4 57 23 +34 60
5 Litex Lovech 30 17 8 5 57 28 +29 59
6 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 30 17 6 7 44 39 +5 57 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round 1
7 Cherno More 30 16 4 10 46 25 +21 52
8 Slavia Sofia 30 15 6 9 42 36 +6 51
9 Minyor Pernik 30 8 12 10 35 40 −5 36
10 Beroe 30 9 8 13 30 37 −7 35
11 Montana 30 8 7 15 29 51 −22 31
12 Botev Vratsa 30 7 8 15 30 44 −14 29
13 Lokomotiv Sofia 30 5 9 16 26 50 −24 24
14 Vidima-Rakovski (R) 30 3 6 21 19 59 −40 15 Relegation to 2012–13 B PFG
15 Kaliakra (R) 30 2 5 23 26 77 −51 11
16 Svetkavitsa (R) 30 1 5 24 8 71 −63 8

Updated to games played on 23 May 2012.
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th goal difference; 7th goals scored
1Ludogorets Razgrad won the 2011–12 Bulgarian Cup competition but were qualified for 2012–13 UEFA Champions League via winning the league, hence their Europa League berth was awarded to the cup runners-up, Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results

Home \ Away[1] BSZ BVR CHMCHBCSKKAVLEVLITLPLLSOLUDMINMONSLASVEVRA
Beroe 1–2 2–0 1–2 0–1 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–0
Botev Vratsa 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–2 6–2 0–2 1–3 1–1 2–0 0–1 0–0 2–4 0–1 1–0 2–2
Cherno More 2–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 7–1 3–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–1
Chernomorets Burgas 2–2 3–1 3–2 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–3 6–0 4–0
CSKA Sofia 1–0 2–0 4–1 1–0 3–1 1–0 4–1 3–0 4–0 2–2 3–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 4–1
Kaliakra 3–1 0–0 0–5 0–4 1–2 1–4 0–2 1–2 0–0 0–4 2–2 2–3 1–2 1–1 3–2
Levski Sofia 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–2 1–0 3–2 3–2 3–2 4–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 7–0 2–1
Litex Lovech 2–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 5–0 1–0 6–2 2–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–0 6–0 3–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 4–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–3 2–0 3–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 3–2
Lokomotiv Sofia 3–0 0–1 0–0 0–4 1–2 3–2 1–1 1–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–32 4–1 0–1
Ludogorets Razgrad 3–0 3–0 0–2 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 4–0 4–1 3–0 6–0 5–0 4–0
Minyor Pernik 1–1 1–3 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 0–0 1–2 0–7 3–1 1–1 3–0 1–0
Montana 0–0 2–0 1–3 2–4 0–5 2–1 0–3 1–0 2–2 1–1 1–4 1–2 1–2 0–0 1–0
Slavia Sofia 0–0 3–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–3 0–2 3–0 2–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–1
Svetkavitsa 1–3 0–0 1–3 0–3 0–3 1–0 0–1 1–3 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–2 0–3 0–0
Vidima-Rakovski 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–6 1–1 0–3 2–2 0–5 0–3 1–2 1–2 1–0

Updated to games played on 23 May 2012.
Source: Soccerway
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
2 The match between Lokomotiv Sofia and Slavia Sofia was awarded to Slavia by a score of 3–0. The original fixture was not played after police security for the match could not be provided.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Champions

Ludogorets Razgrad
Goalkeepers
1Serbia Uroš Golubović28(0)
13Czech Republic Radek Petr2(0)
30Bulgaria Georgi Argilashki0(0)
Bulgaria Emil Mihaylov*0(0)
Defenders
3Slovakia Marián Jarabica1(0)
4Finland Tero Mäntylä3(0)
5France Alexandre Barthe29(3)
20Brazil Guilherme Choco27(1)
25Bulgaria Yordan Minev28(0)
26Bulgaria Diyan Dimitrov0(0)
33Slovakia Ľubomír Guldan28(0)
77Portugal Vitinha10(0)
Slovenia Jure Travner*3(0)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Suvad Grabus*1(0)
Midfielders
6Bulgaria Georgi Kostadinov5(2)
7Bulgaria Mihail Aleksandrov28(5)
8Bulgaria Stanislav Genchev27(6)
18Bulgaria Svetoslav Dyakov29(1)
19Bulgaria Dimo Bakalov14(2)
22Bulgaria Miroslav Ivanov27(4)
36Montenegro Mladen Kašćelan11(1)
84Brazil Marcelinho25(9)
Bulgaria Shener Remzi*0(0)
Bulgaria Dimo Atanasov*6(0)
Bulgaria Nikolay Dyulgerov*2(0)
Forwards
11Brazil Juninho Quixadá11(5)
23Bulgaria Emil Gargorov26(13)
27Belgium Christian Kabasele11(3)
73Bulgaria Ivan Stoyanov25(16)
Bulgaria Todor Kolev*9(1)
Manager
Bulgaria Ivaylo Petev
  • Mihaylov, Travner, Grabus, Remzi, Atanasov, Dyulgerov and Kolev left the club during a season.

Season statistics

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