Eternal derby of Bulgarian football
The Eternal derby of Bulgarian football or simply The Eternal derby () is the name of the local derby football match between the two most popular and successful football clubs in Sofia and Bulgaria: Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia. The dominant forces in Bulgarian football have won 26 and 31 national championship titles and 25 and 21 Bulgarian Cup titles, involved into 13 and 11 Doubles, respectively. The rivalry was chosen by COPA90 as the 2nd Maddest Derby in Eastern Europe. History. The rivalry started in the late 1940s when the newly founded club of CSKA  became a champion in their first year in competitive football in 1948. Both the 1948–49 and 1950 seasons ended with the two teams facing each other in Soviet Army Cup finals with Levski Sofia winning on both occasions after extra time of the second final replay, as the previous two final matches had finished as draws. During the years, as the two teams became more and more successful, they gained large supporter bases. The confrontations between the clubs and their fans became commonplace and often resulted in tense encounters on the pitch and hooligan clashes between the fans off the  pitch. The hostility reached its climax on 19 June 1985 during the Bulgarian Cup final held at Vasil Levski National Stadium when, after many disputable referee decisions, both teams demonstrated poor sportsmanship which resulted in regular fights between them on the pitch. On 21 June, the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party issued a decree that disbanded both teams. "CSKA Septemvriysko zname" had to be re-founded as "Sredets" and "Levski-Spartak" as "Vitosha". Six players (including Hristo Stoichkov and Borislav Mikhailov) were banned for life from playing competitive football; many other players and staff members were banned for  three months to one year. A year later, the decision was abolished and the players continued their sport careers. Although both Levski and CSKA are still regarded as the two most popular and supported teams in Bulgaria, neither of the two sides have been crowned champion after 2009. This has been partly because of the rise of other teams in the country, such as Litex Lovech and Ludogorets Razgrad. Litex won two consecutive titles between 2009 and 2011, while Ludogorets is currently on a streak of ten consecutive titles since 2012. This is also partly for financial reasons, which was  not the case during the communist period in Bulgaria prior to 1989, when sports teams were backed by the country itself. Despite this, the Eternal derby games are still the most attended in the league. Venues. During the years, all the matches between Levski and CSKA were held at a neutral venue, in most cases at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. During the 2000s the clubs started to play their eternal derby matches at their own stadiums Georgi Asparuhov and Balgarska Armia but soon they decided to move the matches between them back to the National Stadium because of its  higher capacity and the damages done on club stadiums by the visiting supporters. Only once in the history of the Eternal derby it was held outside Sofia – in 1991, Levski won the Bulgarian Cup quarter-final 2–0 in a match that was played at Tundzha Stadium in Yambol. Head-to-head ranking in First League (1948–2021). • Total: CSKA with 43 higher finishes, Levski with 30 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2020–21 season). Statistics. Biggest wins. Levski wins. 7–1 - 23 September 1994, A PFG 7–2 - 17 November 1968, A PFG 5–0 - 13 May 1998, Bulgarian Cup final 4–0  - 16 June 1982, Bulgarian Cup final CSKA wins. 5–0 - 23 September 1953, A PFG; 1 October 1989, A PFG 4–0 - 14 April 1957, A PFG Most derby appearances. 35 - Manol Manolov (CSKA) 32 - Stefan Bozhkov (CSKA) 31 - Emil Spasov (Levski) Most derby goals. 15 - Georgi Ivanov (Levski) 14 - Nasko Sirakov (Levski) 12 - Pavel Panov (Levski) 11 - Dimitar Milanov (CSKA) Most goals in one match. 9 - Levski 6–3 CSKA (15 July 1962, A PFG); CSKA 2–7 Levski (17 November 1968, A PFG) Record attendances. Highest attendance: 70,000 – 11 March 1967, Vasil Levski National Stadium (final score Levski 1–1 CSKA) and 31  May 1969, Vasil Levski National Stadium (final score Levski 1–3 CSKA) Lowest attendance: 8,000 – 18 November 1995, Vasil Levski National Stadium (final score Levski 3–1 CSKA) and 26 May 2002, Balgarska Armiya Stadium (final score CSKA 1–0 Levski)