Bulgarian Football Season 2020-2021

[levski.bg]

Toothless Roma left frustrated by CSKA Sofia stalemate



A second string Roma side failed to impress in a disappointing 0-0 Europa League draw against CSKA Sofia at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.

Paulo Fonseca heavily rotated his side for the visit of the Bulgarians but they couldn’t break down a resolute defence and risked going behind against the counter-attacking visitors.

Cluj’s 1-1 draw with Young Boys in the other Group A encounter means Roma are level on four points with the Romanians but second on goal difference, while the other two sides have a point apiece.

Chris Smalling featured for the first time since returning from Manchester United on a permanent deal over the summer, one of eight changes made by Fonseca from the 3-3 draw with AC Milan.

The defender immediately made his presence felt by volleying in a Henrikh Mkhitaryan cross inside four minutes, but the goal was chalked off as the midfielder was offside in the build-up.

CSKA responded with some threatening counter-attacks as Ali Sowe shot wide twice, but Roma created the best chance of the half when Mkhitaryan raced onto a dinked Gonzalo Villar pass and cushioned a volleyed lob onto the top of the cross bar.

The Armenian was Roma’s most dangerous player in the first half but Fonseca opted to take him and Leonardo Spinazzola off at half time for Pedro and Rick Karsdorp, and their attacking threat subsequently dropped off.

CSKA squandered a huge chance to take the lead early in the second half when Pau Lopez parried a header directly into the path of Valentin Antov, but the big centre-back blasted a shot over from seven yards.

The visitors threatened again when Sowe got in behind the Roma defence and drilled an angled finish straight at Lopez, but substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini then drew a sharp save from Gustavo Busatto at the other end and the keeper later denied replacement Edin Dzeko twice from a tight angle.

The Bosnian, who was brought on for the disappointing Borja Mayoral for the final 20 minutes, looked certain to score a late winner when he raced towards an inviting Pedro cross, but the striker missed the ball completely when he just needed to tap into a gaping net.

[levski.bg]

[levski.bg]

Ludogorets lost 1:3 to Tottenham Hotspur



The third best Premier League team defeated Ludogorets in another Europa League J group match, Ludogorets’s chance to continue ahead is slim now.

Keseru joined the team after he recovered. Kane celebrated his 300th match for Tottenham Hotspur. Bale also entered the pitch.

Kane sent the ball above the crossbar in the second minute. Iliev saved a goal attempt by Bale seconds later. The guest team took the lead in the 13th minute. Kane outplayed Verdon and scored his 200th goal for Tottenham Hotspur. The guest team won the right to a corner kick in the 23rd minute but they demanded a penalty kick later because Dier played with his hand. The referee Jovic denied. Doherty almost scored seconds later but Iliev showed his skills and saved. The Spurs added a second goal in the 32nd minute. Kane assisted Moura who made no mistake and scored. Immediately after that goal, Keseru tried to score and the ball made a ricochet which almost sent the ball in Hart’s net. Iliev saved another of Kane’s attacks in the 39th minute.

Ludogorets picked up the pace in the second half. Tekpetey sent the ball across the center of the pitch and it reached Keseru after a ricochet. He picked it up and scored. This was the 16th goal Keseru scored in European tournament matches. Mitkov replaced Keseru after that. The replacement player Son passed to Lo Celso seconds after he stepped on the pitch. The Argentinian player scored for 1:3. Mitkov passed to Yankov in the 69th minute who tried to score but sent the ball straight to Hart’s arms. Cauly had a couple of opportunities to score and used the second one but also sent the ball into the gatekeeper’s arms.

Ivan Yordanov, a Ludogorets Academy youth player, made his debut in a European tournament after he entered the pitch in the last minute of the match.

LUDOGORETS – TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1:3

0:1 Kane (13')
0:2 Moura (33')
1:2 Keseru (50')
1:3 Lo Celso (62)

LUDOGORETS: Iliev, Ikoko, Terziev, Nedyalkov, Verdon, Anicet (59 – Santana), Badji, Manu (45 – Tekpetey), Yankov (75 – Tchibota), Oliveira (93 – Yordanov), Keseru (59 – Mitkov)

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Hart, Doherty, Alderweireld, Dier, Davis, Sissoko (45 – Hojbjerg), Lo Celso (72 – Ndombele), Winks, Bale (65 – Bergwjin), Moura (61 – Son), Kane (45 – Vinisius)

Yellow cards: Anicet (Ludogorets); Doherty (Tottenham).

[levski.bg]

CSKA lost to Young Boys with 0-3

[shnura]

Hristiyana Guteva is appointed for today's cup game CSKA Sofia - Botev Ihtiman, becoming the first female refree in Bulgarian football to officiate a top tier team match.

[Todor]

Hristiyana Guteva is appointed for today's cup game CSKA Sofia - Botev Ihtiman, becoming the first female refree in Bulgarian football to officiate a top tier team match.

I hope the players and the spectators will behave like gentlemen, or this girl is going to hear a lot of stuff inappropriate for a young lady.

[levski.bg]

Bruno Akrapovic is the new coach of CSKA.

[shnura]

https://www.daily-mail.co.uk/sport/footb ... ector.html

BREAKING NEWS: Alan Pardew agrees shock move to take over as technical director of BULGARIA'S most-successful club CSKA Sofia

Alan Pardew has agreed a deal with Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia to become their new director of football.
The 59-year-old had a brief spell as head coach of ADO Den Haag in Holland prior to the Covid-19 pandemic curtailing the Dutch season and they mutually agreed to cancel his contract in April.
Pardew has vast experience coaching West Ham, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and West Brom but this would be his first director of football role.
CSKA are the most successful side in Bulgaria though they finished runners up in the league last season and are coached by Bruno Akrapovic.
The Bulgarian side are currently competing in this season's Europa League but sit bottom of Group A having picked up one points from three games.
CSKA host Swiss side Young Boys on Thursday knowing defeat will knock them out of the competition.
Former striker Hristo Stoichkov, who played over 250 times for Barcelona over two separate spells in the 1990s, is among the club’s shareholders.

[levski.bg]

The Bulgarian Cup

[levski.bg]

Ludogorets lost to Tottenham Hotspur again



Ludogorets lost 0:4 to Tottenham Hotspur in another match of the Europa League J group. The team’s training schedule was completely ruined in the last two weeks due to registered coronavirus cases.

The home team tried to apply pressure on the opponent from the very start. The referee gave Keseru a yellow card in the 6th minute. Bale performed the direct free kick but he was not accurate enough. He tried to score a few minutes later but Verdon kicked the ball out. The ball made a ricochet in Grigore’s body in the 16th minute and it reached Vinisius who scored easily. Mourinho’s players created a couple more goal situations in the following minutes. Ali had the chance to score in the 34th minute but he passed to Vinisius who added a second goal.

Ndombele was given a yellow card as soon as the second half began. He fouled Nedyalkov. Tanganga fouled Ikoko in the 54th minute and Despodov stood behind the ball at the direct free kick point. He was not accurate enough. Winks added another goal in the 63rd minute after the ball ricocheted in both the crossbar and the side gate beam. Yankov made a mistake in the 73rd minute after he slipped and Moura stole the ball. He scored the last goal in the match.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - LUDOGORETS 4:0

1:0 Vinisius (16‘)
2:0 Vinisius (34‘)
3:0 Winks (63‘)
4:0 Moura (73‘)

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Hart (81 – Whiteman), Davis, Tanganga, Sanchez, Doherty, Ndombele (61 – Heuberg), Ali (81 – White), Winks, Bale (67 – Clark), Vinisius, Moura (82 – Scarlet)

LUDOGORETS: Iliev, Moti, Grigore, Verdon, Anicet (61 – Oliveira), Badji, Yankov (89 – Mitkov), Ikoko, Nedyalkov, Despodov (64 – Tekpetey), Keseru (67 – Tchibota)

Yellow cards: Ndombele (Tottenham Hotspur), Keseru, Despodov, Yordanov (Ludogorets).

[levski.bg]

CSKA lost to Young Boys with 0-1

[levski.bg]

Despodov scored but Ludogorets lost to Royal Antwerp



Ludogorets allowed a fifth loss in a row, as the team lost 1:3 to Royal Antwerp. The Belgians qualified for the 1/16 finals and will stand against Tottenham Hotspur.

The coach Genchev decided to stick to the 4-3-2-1 configuration. Vladislav Stoyanov was the keeper after a long pause of 1,349 days without stepping on the pitch at a European match.

The home team made mistakes as soon as the match began. The guest team was lucky because Stoyanov’s gate was a target. Gerkens and De Laet almost scored in the first seven minutes of the match. Nedyalkov had the chance to score in the 8th minute but missed the gate. The Belgians continued seeking victory and Hongla eventually scored after receiving a pass and outplaying Anicet. Verdon let Miyoshi pass the ball to Benavente who missed the gate. Stoyanov saved another attempt of his just seconds later. Gerkens missed a great chance to score but he missed the gate. He tried again but this time Stoyanov intervened and saved. Ikoko was injured in the 42nd minute and Terziev replaced him.

Ludogorets showed strength in the second half. Despodov missed a chance to score and the ball went into a corner. Ludogorets had a reason to ask for a penalty kick later but the Czech referee denied it. Terziev passed to Tchibota in the 47th minute who made a mistake and sent the ball straight into the keeper’s body/ Despodov received the ball from Cauly in the 53rd minute and scored. This was his first goal since he joined Ludogorets. The team applied more pressure and their defensive line was left almost empty. Juklerod was left alone against the gatekeeper in the 60th minute but he hit the woodwork. Genchev replaced a couple of players in an attempt to change the game pace but with zero results. Rafaelov sent the ball to De Laet who outplayed Verdon and Nedyalkov and scored for 2:1. This devastated Ludogorets and they did not create new situations until the end of the match. Miyoshi passed the ball to Benson in the 87th minute who scored easily. Grigore received a second yellow card and will miss the next match.

ROYAL ANTWERP - LUDOGORETS 3:1

1:0 Hogla (20')
1:1 Despodov (53')
2:1 De Laet (72')
3:1 Benson (87')

ROYAL ANTWERP: Butez, De Laet, Seck, Juklerod (63 – Benson), Rafaelov (76 – Buta), Gerkens (84 – Mbokani), Hogla (76 – Boya), Miyoshi, Benavente (Ampoma), Gelin, Haroun

LUDOGORETS: Stoyanov, Nedyalkov, Grigore, Verdon, Ikoko (44 – Terziev), Anicet, Badji (83 – Santana), Tchibota (66 – Tekpetey), Oliveira, Despodov (83 – Mitkov), Keseru (66 – Manu)

Yellow cards: Nedyalkov, Grigore, Santana, Manu (Ludogorets);

Red card: Grigore (Ludogorets).

[levski.bg]

CSKA draw 0-0 with CFR Cluj in Romania

[levski.bg]

Bulgaria to face Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland and Lithuania in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers



The Bulgarian national team will face Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland and Lithuania in Group C of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Due to the unprecedented measures the qualifying draw was held behind closed doors in a television studio in Zürich, and former international superstars Daniele de Rossi and Rafael van der Vaart took the responsibility of allocating the various national sides in the ten groups.

All teams will play home and away between March and November 2021 and the ten group winners will automatically qualify for the final tournament in Qatar. The second-placed teams will face each other in play-offs where they will be joined by the two best UEFA Nations League group winners and the additional three European representatives will be determined in March 2022.

Based on specific criteria, including geographical and climate conditions, UEFA will finalise the match schedule in coordination with FIFA.

[levski.bg]

Chicago Fire FC sign Bulgarian winger Stanislav Ivanov



Chicago Fire FC have signed Bulgarian winger Stanislav Ivanov via transfer from Levski Sofia, the club announced Wednesday.

Ivanov, 21, is a regular with Bulgarian youth national teams and has made one cap with the senior side. He scored four goals while starting all 10 matches in qualification for the U-21 European Championship.

He broke into Levski's first team at 16 for his debut and made 85 appearances with the club, adding 13 goals and 15 assists. He has played all across the front line, including both wings and center forward.

"As we continue to build a strong and competitive roster for 2021 and beyond, it was important that we added another talented, young attacking player," sporting director Georg Heitz said in a club statement. "Stanislav is a dynamic and hard-working winger who fits our style of play extremely well. We expect him to be an integral part of the team moving forward."

Ivanov is Chicago's third acquisition of the offseason, following Nigerian forward Chinonso Offor and Ecuadorian defender Jhon Espinoza. All three players are 21 or younger.