Oldest capital derby
Oldest capital derby or Oldest Sofia derby is the name of the football match between the oldest still existing teams in Sofia: Levski Sofia and Slavia Sofia. Matches between the two sides have been played almost continuously ever since a football league in Bulgaria has existed. The two teams regularly competed for the title before the Second World War. Levski have never been relegated from the top flight of Bulgarian football, while Slavia have missed only one season, for political reasons.
| Other names | Oldest Sofia derby |
|---|---|
| Locale | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Teams | Levski Sofia Slavia Sofia |
| First meeting | Slavia 1–0 Levski (15 April 1915) friendly match [1] |
| Latest meeting | 1 March 2020, Levski 1−2 Slavia [2] |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Stadiums | Vasil Levski Stadium used by both clubs Stadion Slavia Slavia Georgi Asparuhov Stadium Levski |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 217 excluding friendly matches |
| Most wins | Levski Sofia (103) |
| All-time series | Slavia: 54 Drawn: 60 Levski: 103 |
| Largest victory | Levski 5–0 Slavia (28 October 2005) Levski 5–0 Slavia (1941/1942) |
History
Slavia Sofia and Levski Sofia are the two oldest, still-existing football teams from Sofia. Both Slavia and Levski won the Bulgarian Republican Championship several times prior to the Second World War. Slavia managed to win six national titles before 1945, while Levski won three.
After 1948, with the changing political situation in Bulgaria, the two teams were affected very differently. Levski Sofia became supported and financed by the ministry of internal affairs, and quickly became one of the two main contenders for the title in the upcoming years, along with rivals CSKA Sofia. Slavia, on the other hand, was not affiliated to any governmental institution, and became less prominent and successful, especially after the creation of CSKA Sofia in 1948. Nonetheless, Slavia managed to compete in the Bulgarian A PFG throughout most of its history, occasionally providing competition for CSKA and Levski Sofia.
The two teams are also among the most successful when it comes to the Bulgarian Cup. Levski has won a record 25, while Slavia has won 8. They have also played against each other twice in the finals of the competition. The first final between them occurred in 1996. The match did not even finish, with Slavia being awarded a walkover in their favor, due to Levski deciding to abandon the game in the 75th minute. 22 years later, the two sides again met in the final, in 2018. The game ended in a goalless draw, after which Slavia won on penalties, thus winning their eight title overall.
Official match statistics
- As of 1 March 2020
| Games played | Slavia wins | Draws | Levski wins | Slavia goals | Levski goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parva Liga [3] | 144 | 26 | 46 | 73 | 141 | 250 |
| Bulgarian Cup [4] | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 19 |
| Stolichno Parvenstvo (Capital Championship) [5] | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 68 | 72 |
| Natsionalna Diviziya (National Division) [6] | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Darzhavno parvenstvo (State championship) [7] | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Other cups (Ulpia Serdica Cup and Soviet Army Cup) [8] | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Total | 217 | 55 | 60 | 103 | 249 | 362 |
Head-to-head ranking in First League (1948–2019)
| P. | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | 14 | 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Total: Slavia Sofia with 11 higher finishes, Levski Sofia with 59 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2018–19 season).
Trophies
| National Competition | Slavia Sofia | Levski Sofia |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgarian Championship | 7 | 26 |
| Bulgarian Cup | 8 | 25 |
| Bulgarian Supercup | 0 | 3 |
| Balkans Cup | 2 | 0 |
| Soviet Army Cup | 0 | 3 |
| People's Republic of Bulgaria Cup | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 58 |
Notes:
- Bulgarian Cup section includes Soviet Army Cup as major Cup tournament.
- Soviet Army Cup section includes the period after 1982 as secondary Cup tournament.
- People's Republic of Bulgaria Cup section includes the period before 1982 as secondary Cup tournament.
- Italics indicates defunct tournaments.
Statistics
Biggest wins
Slavia wins
4:1 - 26 October 1958[9]
4:1 - 1925/1926
4:1 - 1931/1932
4:1 - 24 March 1990
Notes:
- Slavia walkover win with 4:0 in 1996 Bulgarian Cup Final is not included.
Levski wins
5:0 - 28 October 2005
5:0 - 1941/1942
References
- "First match". a-bulgarianhistory.org (in Bulgarian).
- "Last match". a-pfg.com (in Bulgarian).
- "A Pfg statistics". a-bulgarianhistory.org (in Bulgarian).
- "Cup statistics". a-levskisofia.info.org (in Bulgarian).
- "Cup statistics". a-levskisofia.info.org (in Bulgarian).
- "Natsionalna Diviziya statistics". a-levskisofia.info.org (in Bulgarian).
- "Darzhavno Parvenstvo statistics". a-levskisofia.info.org (in Bulgarian).
- "Other tournaments statistics". a-levskisofia.info.org (in Bulgarian).
- "Slavia biggest win". a-pfg.com (in Bulgarian).
External links
- Bulgaria Cups Overview - Bulgarian Cups, RSSSF.com
- Levski vs other teams full statistics - Bulgarian tournaments, levskisofia.info