FC Dobrudzha Dobrich

FC Dobrudzha () is a Bulgarian football club based in Dobrich, that competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football.

It plays its home matches at Stadion Druzhba with a capacity of 12,500 seats, and its team colours are green and yellow. The team is named after the Dobruja region, a prominent agricultural area in Northeast Bulgaria.

Honours
A PFG
 7th place: 1995–96
B PFG
  Winners (1): 1965–66
  Runners-up (2): 1990–91, 2001–02
Bulgarian Cup
 Semi-finalists: 1946, 1947, 1980

History

Dobrudzha was founded as a union of three clubs, Vihar, Orlov and Slavia, in 1916. The club assumed the names Cherveno zname, Spartak and Septemvri between 1949 and 1957, when it was renamed Dobrudzha after a few other local sport associations joined.

In 1962, Dobrudzha managed to promote to the A Group for the very first time in club history. The maiden season in the top level proved to be a challenge, however, and Dobrudzha was relegated, finishing 15th. Back into the B Group, Dobrudzha barely missed on promotion back to the A Group in 1964, finishing second. In 1966, however, Dobrudzha won the B Group and promoted back to A Group, after three years away. Two consecutive 12th place finishes during the 1966–67 and 1967-68 seasons in the elite followed, where Dobrudzha narrowly avoided relegation twice. The fairytale ended in 1968–69, however, as Dobrudzha finished 15th and was relegated, ending a three year stay in the A Group.

After the relegation in 1969, Dobrudzha spend the next two decades in the B Group, with a second-place finish in 1975 being the closest the team could get in terms of returning to the A Group. After 22 years in the B Group, Dobrudzha finished second during the 1990–91 season, and the long-awaited return to the top tier finally ended. Season 1991–92 marked what would be the golden era for Dobrudzha. After narrowly avoiding relegation and finishing 14th that season, Dobrudzha managed to stabilize in the top level and gradually improved its ranking the following years, with a 13th place finish in 1993, followed by two 12th place finishes the following years. Season 1995–96 is considered the most successful for the club in its entire history, as that is when a 7th place finish was achieved. The next three seasons produced mid-table results, and in 2000, Dobrudzha was relegated back to the B Group, ending the club’s nine consecutive years in the elite.

Dobrudzha managed to finish fifth the following season in the B Group, which was followed by a second place finish in the 2001–02 season, marking a return to the A Group after two years. However, the team was relegated back after only one season. Season 2002–03 remains the last appearance for Dobrudzha in the top tier, as of 2023.

In 2018, Dobrudzha returned to the second tier by winning the 2017–18 Northeast Third League. The team, however, struggled in the second tier, finishing last. In the 2019–20 season, Dobrudzha once more finished first in the third tier, promoting again to the second tier after the season was finished early in March, due to the COVID-19 epidemic in Bulgaria.

Current squad

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2023.

Statistics

League positions

Seasons
14 seasons in A PFG:

Best wins:

Notable persons
Players
Players with most matches played for the team in A PFG:

Players with most goals, scored in A PFG:

Former managers

  Iliya Iliev
  Petar Kirov
  Eduard Eranosyan
  Asen Milushev
  Petar Zhekov
  Hristo Milanov
  Kolyo Markov
  Yanko Dinkov
  Dimitar Aleksiev
  Vasil Velikov
  Ivan Manolov
  Boris Nikolov
  Stoyan Kotsev
  Ljubomir Veljković
  Dimcho Nenov
  Emil Velev
  Svetoslav Petrov 
  Atanas Atanasov-Orela
  Sasho Angelov
  Stefan Slavov
  Diyan Bozhilov
  Radomir Todorov

External links
 Official website (archived 7 October 2014)
 DOBRUDJA1919.COM – Fansite (archived 20 March 2007)
 Dobrudja1919.com/Gallery – Photo Gallery (archived 2 February 2015)
 Facebook Fanpage
 DDFC1919 YouTube Channel

Association football clubs established in 1916
Football clubs in Bulgaria
 
PFC Dobrudzha Dobrich
PFC Dobrudzha Dobrich