PFC Ludogorets Razgrad
Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 (), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club founded in 1945 based in Razgrad which currently competes in the First Professional Football League, the top-tier of the Bulgarian football league system. In their inaugural 2011–12 season in A Group after promotion, Ludogorets won the treble by capturing the league championship, the Bulgarian Cup and the Bulgarian Supercup. Subsequently, the club made a significant continental impact in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League when they reached the Round of 16 in only their second European run . To date they have reached the knockout stages of the Europa League four times, more than any other club in Bulgaria. Ludogorets are also only the second Bulgarian team after Levski Sofia to enter the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, a feat which they achieved in the following 2014–15 season. During that same campaign, they became the first Bulgarian team to score points in the modern Champions League group stage following a 1–0 win over Basel in Sofia. Since their introduction to the Bulgarian top-flight in 2011, Ludogorets have established themselves as a dominant force in Bulgarian  football, claiming every possible league title since then. They have also won the Bulgarian Cup twice, as well as the Bulgarian Supercup on four occasions. Ludogorets' traditional home colours are green and white. The club's home ground is the Huvepharma Arena in Razgrad, a stadium with a capacity of 10,500 spectators. Their current manager is Ante Šimundža. History. Foundation and beginning. Established in 1945 after the merging of several rural football clubs from the Ludogorie Region, Ludogorets Razgrad was initially participating in the Third football division of Bulgaria. They promoted to the Second division in 1961. In 1997 the  club merged with FC Antibiotic Razgrad and was renamed to FC Antibiotic-Ludogorets. In 2005 the club was defunct. The rise of Ludogorets started in season 2009/10 when Aleksandar Aleksandrov, director of FC Razgrad 2000, inherited the history and traditional club records of the former Antibiotic-Ludogorets, returning the name to PFC Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad. The team managed to enter Second division when Ivaylo Petev was designated as a Head Coach. Domuschiev era (2010–present). In September 2010 the club was purchased by a Bulgarian pharmeceutical entrepreneur Kiril Domuschiev, with the clear intention of bringing Ludogorets to the top division . This happened in May 2011 with Ivaylo Petev as a Head Coach when the team promoted to top division for the first time in the club's history. First title. In May 2012, Ludogorets completed the domestic double when they won their first Bulgarian Cup title following a 2:1 victory against Lokomotiv Plovdiv at Lazur Stadium in Burgas, and in August 2012, they won the Bulgarian Supercup, defeating Lokomotiv 3:1, thus becoming the first team to win a treble in its first season in A Group and one of the few in the history of international football to do so . Second title. Ludogorets started the 2012–13 season with eight straight wins and nine matches without a loss, and finished the half-season in first place, as in the previous season, with just one loss and seven goals conceded out of 15 matches. However, in the 2012–13 Bulgarian Cup, the club was eliminated in the round of 32 by CSKA Sofia 2:2 on aggregate, losing on away goals. In the spring half-season, Ludogorets occupied the first place with just three matches to play before the end of the season. Nevertheless, they were defeated 1:0 by Levski Sofia and they took  the lead of A Group. On the final day of the season, Ludogorets had to beat the already relegated team of Montana and hope that Slavia Sofia would prevent Levski from winning their match. In the last minutes of the Levski–Slavia match, Levski conceived an own goal which subsequently led to a 1:1 draw, allowing Ludogorets to win their second championship title in dramatic fashion again. In the 2013 Supercup, they lost 5:3 on penalties to Beroe Stara Zagora after a 1:1 draw in regular time. Third title. In season 2013/14 Ludogorets became a hegemon in the Bulgarian club  football. The "Eagles" earned their third consecutive title two rounds before the end of the championship on 7 May 2014. On 15 May 2014 Ludogorets achieved a treble after winning the Cup of Bulgaria against Botev (Plovdiv) 1-0 and the Super Cup. Both matches were played at the "Lazur" stadium in Burgas. Fourth title. Ludogorets' fourth title came after a home win against Lokomotiv (Sofia) with 4:1 on 15 May 2015. A new tribune, named after their defender Cosmin "Moti", and the 70th anniversary of the "Eagles" were celebrated at that time. Fifth title. On 11 May 2016 Ludogorets  became the Bulgarian Champion for the fifth time in a row. Sixth title. The 2016/2017 season was the most successful in the history of Ludogorets. They became champions of Bulgaria for the sixth consecutive time with 16 points advantage over the runner-up. For the second time in the Bulgarian's football history the team entered the Champions League groups with Georgi Dermendzhiev as a Head Coach. They ranked third in the groups by winning 2 points and continued their European tournament participation in Europa League. Seventh title. The 2017/2018 season was another successful one for Ludogorets. The team won  their domestic league Champion's Title and performed well at both European Tournaments – Champions League and Europa League. Eighth title. Ludogorets earned their 2018/2019 season title after a 4-1 home win over PFC Cherno More in May 2019. Ninth title. Ludogorets' domination in Bulgaria continue. The champions won their record-breaking 9th consecutive title after a 2:1 win against Beroe in May 2020. Tenth title. Ludogorets claimed their unprecedented record-breaking 10th consecutive title after a 3-1 home win against Beroe Stara Zagora in May 2021. This phenomenal achievement led to the club putting their first star on  the club's badge/crest to represent 10 league titles in the domestic Bulgarian football league. European. After winning the 2011–12 Bulgarian title, Ludogorets entered the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League for the 2012–13 season, but were eliminated 3:4 on aggregate with a last minute away goal by Dinamo Zagreb. As Bulgarian champions in 2012–13 season, Ludogorets played in the UEFA Champions League where they came through the qualifiers, eliminating subsequently Slovan Bratislava and Partizan en route. Ludogorets then lost to Basel in the play-offs, but earned the right to play in the UEFA Europa League . Ludogorets played in Group B of the 2013–14 Europa League. They were unbeaten in the group stage finishing first in the group with five wins in six games, including both home and away victories over the prominent PSV and Dinamo Zagreb. Their only dropped points were a 1:1 home draw with Chornomorets Odesa. In the knockout phase, Ludogorets beat the Italian cup holders Lazio 1:0 away and drew 3:3 at home for a 4:3 aggregate win, but then lost 0:3 at home and 0:4 on aggregate to Valencia in the round of 16. In the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, Ludogorets  again won both their qualifiers, against F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg and Partizan. In the play-off, they defeated Steaua București to reach the group stage for the first time. Goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was dismissed for a second yellow card in the last minute of extra time in the second leg, when Ludogorets had used all their substitutes. In the penalty shoot-out, centre-back Cosmin Moți, having converted the first penalty, went in goal and made two saves to put Ludogorets through 6:5 on penalties. Ludogorets made their debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014 , grabbing a 1:1 equalizer away against Liverpool in the 90th minute scored by Dani Abalo, but in an eventual 1:2 loss, as the newly signed goalkeeper Milan Borjan gave away a penalty with a foul on Javier Manquillo, which Steven Gerrard converted to give Liverpool the victory. Ludogorets made their home debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 1 October 2014, scoring a stunning goal in the sixth minute through' attacking midfielder Marcelinho against Real Madrid, but in an eventual 1:2 loss. In this match, Cristiano Ronaldo took two penalties – the first was saved by goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov , while the second was scored for a 1:1 equalizer. On 22 October 2014, Yordan Minev scored his first goal for Ludogorets, scoring a crucial last-minute winning goal in a 1:0 home win over Basel in the group stage of the Champions League. On 26 November 2014, Dani Abalo scored in the third minute and Georgi Terziev scored his first goal in the 88th minute, grabbing a 2:2 equalizer against Liverpool, in an eventual 2:2 draw. Ludogorets won their 4th consecutive A Group title, but were left by several main squad players at the end of the season. Georgi Dermendziev  was also replaced with Portuguese manager Bruno Ribeiro. The late changes saw Ludogorets being eliminated in the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League by the underdog Moldovan champions Milsami Orhei. With Georgi Dermendzhiev returning at the helm of the squad, during the 2016–17 Champions League, Ludogorets won the qualifiers against Mladost Podgorica and Red Star Belgrade respectively, followed by a success in the play-off against Viktoria Plzeň. Eventually, they became the first Bulgarian team to qualify twice for the group stage of the tournament. In the group stage, Ludogorets achieved two draws against Basel and one  against Paris Saint-Germain, which were enough to secure them the third place and a transfer to the knockout phase of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. Ludogorets however shortly exited the competition after failing to overcome Copenhagen with an initial 1:2 home loss and a 0:0 away draw. Ludogorets failed to qualify for the groups of the next two editions of the Champion League, but however in both cases managed to enter the groups of Europa League. In the 2017–18 season they finished second in the group behind Braga, eliminating İstanbul Başakşehir and 1899 Hoffenheim, before losing in both matches  to Milan in the round of 32. In 2019–20, they were eliminated by Ferencváros in the first Champions League qualifying round, but made their way to the group stage of the Europa League, following successful matches against Valur, The New Saints and Maribor in the qualifiers. Ludogorets were subsequently drawn again with Ferencváros, next to CSKA Moscow and Spanish club Espanyol. A 5–1 home win against CSKA Moscow was followed-up by a 3–0 away win against Ferencváros. They lost twice to Espanyol, 1–0 at home and 6–0 away, but finished second, following two 1–1 draws against both CSKA and  Ferencváros, eventually securing a place in the knockout stage. 75th Anniversary. Ludogorets earned their record-breaking 9th Bulgarian Premier League Title during their 75th Anniversary celebration on 8 July 2020 after their win 3:0 vs Levski Sofia. Ludogorets wore their special green and yellow retro kit which was used in 1945 when the club was founded. The logo with the "Л" letter over a yellow background is how the original looked like. The same design was used for a couple of decades, according to the archives. A limited edition of the retro kits were available for the fans. They feature  the names of all the important team players over the course of 75 years. Crest, shirt and mascot. Ludogorets' main kit colour is forest green and the away kit is white. In addition, a black alternative kit is also used in some domestic matches. The club's current crest was introduced for the beginning of the 2016–17 season. Ludogorets' supporters chose the new crest, after a poll held on the club's official website, a total of 130 different crest variants were present. A second poll was then held, to pick one from the five most voted logos. However, some  of Ludogorets' supporters expressed their dissent with the new crest, which they described as "lacking identity" and "unprofessional", a lack of continuity between the old and new club crests was also noted. Lastly, the supporters pointed out the striking similarity between the new crest and that of Sporting Lisbon. After winning their tenth championship title, Ludogorets added a golden star above their crest. In June 2017, Ludogorets reached a sponsorship agreement with English sportswear manufacturer Umbro for the following two seasons. In June 2019, they reached a new long-term agreement with American sportswear manufacturer Nike. Since 2014, the mascot  of the team has been a female eagle called Fortuna, which was originally a gift from Lazio. Players. First-team squad. "For recent transfers, see Transfers winter 2020–21 and Transfers summer 2021." Foreign players. Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the First League, however only five non-EU nationals can be used during a match day. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing  in Bulgaria for five years. Rivalries. Rivalry with CSKA Sofia. "Updated 30 April 2022" "Dates are in dd/mm/yyyy form." Rivalry with Levski Sofia. "Updated 13 April 2022" "Dates are in dd/mm/yyyy form." Notable players. Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.