FC Minyor Pernik

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. After World War II, as Bulgaria became a People's Republic, the club was renamed to Republikanets '46. The club finally came to be known as Minyor in 1952.

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 1962 and 2008, the club participated in the top and second divisions, regularly being promoted and relegated. 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 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 Sofia 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 Lovech 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 PFG, however due to very big financial problems, the owners of the club decided to abolish the current club and establish a new one, starting from V AFG. The new team, carrying the identity and traditions of the old one, started playing in the third tier from the 2013-14 season. Pernik 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 seven years.

Bulgarian First League:

• Fourth place (2): 1955, 1960–61

Bulgarian Cup:

• Runner-up: 1958
• Semi-finalist: 2008–09

As of 1 August 2019

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Daniel Leontiev 2 DF Viktor Raychev 3 DF Anton Slavchev 4 DF Toni Stoichkov 5 MF Veselin Vasev 6 MF Lyubomir Hristov 7 FW Kaloyan Yosifov 8 MF Kristiyan Slishkov 9 FW Borislav Budinov 10 MF Tomislav Pavlov (captain)

No. Position Player 15 MF Iliyan Iliev 17 FW Yoan Marinov 19 MF Radoy Bozhilov 21 MF Steven Milchev 23 DF Pavlin Chilikov 26 DF Anton Kirov 88 MF Daniel Gogov 99 GK Aleks Georgiev MF Aykut Ramadan MF Georgi Netov FW Redzheb Halil

Most league appearances for the club Rank Name Nat Apps 1 Pavel Vladimirov 305 2 Georgi Yordanov 243 3 Evlogi Banchev 231 4 Slave Malinov 225 Most league goals for the club Rank Name Nat Goals 1 Pavel Vladimirov 98 2 Georgi Yordanov 68 3 Ivan Danchev 56 4 Oleg Pavlov 51

Bulgarian league top scorer with the club Year Name Nat Goals 1956 Pavel Vladimirov 16

Notes:

• Bold signals active players
• Correct as of 15 May 2008

• Anton Velkov (Jul 2009–Sept 2010)
• Stoycho Stoev (Sept 2010–Sept 2012)
• Nikolay Todorov (Sept 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–)

Minyor's fans are known as the hammers or the yellow-blacks. They are famous for their passion and for the violence they cause before, during and after the matches. 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's fans are also infamous for their general hatred for Sofia. Their only friends are considered to be Botev Plovdiv, also yellow-black. The Minyor's rivals call them "orcs" due to the mining heritage of the town.

• Official site