History PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv

1 history

1.1 roots of club (until 1944)

1.1.1 sportclub plovdiv
1.1.2 club of railway workers in plovdiv


1.2 creation of lokomotiv (1944-1955)

1.2.1 changes in sportclub
1.2.2 changes in zsk
1.2.3 merger of slaviya-chengelov , lokomotiv plovdiv


1.3 first relegation elite (1955-1960)
1.4 success home , abroad (1960-1985)
1.5 1985-2000
1.6 georgi iliev years (2000-2004)
1.7 recent history (2004-present)

history

description of club s history requires attention reorganisations team has undergone since creation , how members , fans of team have reacted these changes. should noted political environment in bulgaria during communist period between 1944-1989 has led forced changes in nature of sporting clubs throughout country follow soviet model . in case of pfc lokomotiv plovdiv, these changes have led merger of 2 teams, different in nature, leading misinterpretations of history of teams. said, special approach needed towards history of years of contemporary football club of lokomotiv plovdiv. in order understand origin of contemporary team official full name, colours, , supporters, examination of lokomotiv s history has undertaken in 2 major branches - 1 defined followers , recognisable features, , other functional characteristic , funding labour union team. these branches can defined of sportclub plovdiv (being fan-based team), , of club of railway workers (being team funded union).

roots of club (until 1944)
sportclub plovdiv

the crest of sportclub plovdiv

in spring of 1922 sport club karadzha founded administratively consolidation of casual football teams in 1 of districts of city of plovdiv players can compete in championship of plovdiv. 2 years later, in 1924, sport club atletik formed in same district of plovdiv karadzha.

on 26 july 1926 2 sport clubs same district, karadzha , atletik, unite form team of sportclub. football club chooses white, black , red colours of kits , crest, , year of establishment 1926 added several years later crest. nowadays, lokomotiv plovdiv still uses same colours kits , crest, while full name of team (professional football club lokomotiv 1926 plovdiv) shows year club assumes established year sportclub founded.

sportclub had home grounds in city centre. however, after disastrous earthquake in south bulgaria in 1928, team donates field people lost homes can build new ones club s grounds were. because of that, 1928 sportclub did not have own football field more 2 decades.

home , away kits of sportclub plovdiv (1939-40)

as football team, in years after sportclub created competed in championship of plovdiv. in years of bulgarian football there no national football league , championships held on regional level throughout calendar year prestigious tournaments across country. sportclub participates in second division of championship of plovdiv until 1933 when team finishes first in second division , promoted plovdiv s top tier of 1934. in 1936 sportclub becomes champion of plovdiv first time.

in 1938 team joined national football division - countrywide football league formed year earlier included bulgaria s top ten teams. however, after 3 seasons in 1940 tournament disbanded because of bulgaria s participation in world war ii (ww2). time club had changed name plovdivski sportclub (meaning sportclub of plovdiv) since several other teams in country had sportclub in name.

during years of ww2, team participates in several other tournaments including tsar s cup considered bulgaria s prestigious knock-out tournament @ time , predecessor of current domestic cup tournament. in tsar s cup team reaches finals twice - in 1940 , in 1942.

since establishment in 1926 beginning of communist rule in bulgaria in 1944 sportclub has become 1 of best performing teams in country constant participation in final phases of prestigious tournaments. 1944 team biggest in region of plovdiv in terms of members, , has dedicated following fans setting records period in attendance of football matches.

the club of railway workers in plovdiv

in mid-1930s labour union of railway workers , sailors establishes several cultural , sporting organisations across country. railway workers established sports club in plovdiv well, since city 1 of major travel centres in country. on 13 june 1935 club zsk plovdiv founded, abbreviated zheleznicharski sporten klub plovdiv meaning sporting club of railway workers in plovdiv.

the first years of team difficult performance not bring such glory of other teams of city sportclub or botev plovdiv. club accepted member of national sport federation whole 3 years after creation. nevertheless, in 1940s team betters performance , in 1944 wins championship of plovdiv.

in economical aspect railway club contributes heavily development of sports in region of plovdiv, making large inputs improvement of sporting conditions in city. notably, powerful national railway company through zsk plovdiv main benefactor creation of state-of-the-art multi-purpose stadium in city opens in 1943. stadium constructed on football pitches of team of levski plovdiv , such home grounds both zsk plovdiv , levski plovdiv. result, stadium named zsk-levski .

creation of lokomotiv (1944-1955)
changes in sportclub

the crest of slavia plovdiv

in years after 1944, newly established communist rule embarks in several campaigns reorganisation of sporting clubs in bulgaria aligned political agenda , follow soviet model . means every area should have sports club, in order make investments more efficient greater member-base few clubs allowed per area. result forceful merger of clubs , teams.

thus, starting 1944 sportclub merged numerous sports teams in same district of plovdiv due reorganization . being area population comprised variety of ethnic , religious backgrounds, club first merged several lower-division so-called aremenian , teams such shant , erevan. merger follows in 1945 catholic club parchevich. after wave of mergers, many others in country, club renamed abbreviation of biggest clubs merged - new name s.p.-45 , meaning sportclub parchevich - 1945. however, because of western phrasing ( sport , club non-slavic words) team renamed again before start of season - name of club becomes slavia plovdiv.

in 1947 new wave of consolidations of sport organisations in country sees slavia plovdiv merge team of cooperative workers - petar chengelov. merger creates club slavia-chengelov.

through these mergers, club named sportclub keeps colours , core of team, several players incorporated squads finding place in first team of new club. fans, supporters of sportclub remain loyal colours , players, , followers of assimilated clubs join them, increasing further number of fans , members of largest club in plovdiv @ time. though technically clubs merge, because of size of sportclub in terms of members, smaller clubs assimilated black-white-and-red club.

during period 1944-1955, club reaches final of domestic cup (at time being cup of soviet army) third time in history - in 1948 slavia-chengelov. in season 1948 club 1 of ten founder teams of new national top league - republican football group (a rfg) - predecessor of current bulgarian top division league .

changes in zsk

for zsk plovdiv reorganisation of sport clubs in line soviet model begins in autumn of 1944. club merged team shares stadium - levski plovdiv, forming zsk-levski in accordance trend. still, unlike other forced mergers @ time, zsk-levski merger dissolved in year.

after separation in 1945 zsk renamed lokomotiv (plovdiv) similar other teams in countries of eastern bloc connected in way railways (such lokomotiv sofia, lokomotiv moskva, lokomotiv leipzig, etc.) , lokomotiv , levski continue co-exist separate entities sharing same stadium.

although club of railway workers financially backed solid national railway company, in first years of communist rule football team competes merely on third level of formed national league. furthermore, club smallest in plovdiv in terms of members , attracts modest number of attendants games despite state-of-the-art stadium.

merger of slaviya-chengelov , lokomotiv plovdiv

in summer of 1949 bulgarian communist party adopts new principal governing construction of sports clubs. according new political agenda, clubs must serve fitness departments of politically important enterprises (such oil refineries, police, army, national railway company, , others). thus, location of club no longer important , clubs must assigned major institutions in country.

the reorganisations of 1949 assigns lokomotiv assimilate slavia-chengelov, since lokomotiv team associated significant enterprise. yet, @ time slavia-chengelov largest club in bulgaria in terms of members, larger fan-base. hence, smallest club in plovdiv (namely lokomotiv) has assimilate 1 of popular teams in country.

in october 1949, formal assimilation of slavia lokomotiv takes place form dso energiya before season 1950. club uses colours of slaviya-chengelov (white, red, , black) both kits , crest of football team, , team retains 4 players lokomotiv - core remains players of slaviya-chengelov. nevertheless, after more 2 decades after earthquake in 1928 fans of what-was-once sportclub have home grounds - stadium of lokomotiv.

dso abbreviation meaning national sports organisation. however, months after dso energiya created changes in names of clubs in soviet union take place, inspiring renaming of several clubs in bulgaria. popular @ time name eastern bloc sports clubs torpedo adapted dso energiya - renamed torpedo plovdiv.

for season 1950 torpedo plovdiv takes place of slavia-chengelov in top level of bulgarian football league system (a rfg). yet, during season becomes clear club undergo more changes because of policy part of railway union club members have entirely members of union. includes players of football team members of sport club in general - large number of members of slavia-chengelov have nothing railways. thus, in 1951 before new season begins, railway union establishes new club name of dso lokomotiv (plovdiv) use same colours football team torpedo , play on same stadium. union transfers players of torpedo in dso lokomotiv , in order make them official union members each player de jure employed in national railways. meanwhile, torpedo plovdiv taken out of labour union , no longer funded or railway company. dso lokomotiv acquires license of torpedo play in top tier of bulgarian football league, while torpedo relegated third division of league due lack of license. creating new club , employing team in railways, labour union legitimises club without need limit access of members of torpedo sports facilities. members of torpedo can still use facilities shared between 2 clubs , not necessary them members of railway union.

from start of season 1951 fans of team of torpedo plovdiv in 1950 supporting same team same colours on same grounds named dso lokomotiv plovdiv. official membership in club requires job in railways, official number of members of club drastically smaller members of torpedo in 1950. nevertheless, supporters of team remain same. hence, in 1951 dso lokomotiv effective successor of torpedo though club torpedo continues exist.

from 1951 1954 team 1 of best performers in football elite, annually reaching @ least quarter-final phase of both domestic cup competition (at time recognised cup of soviet army) , top division league.

first relegation elite (1955-1960)

in 1955 team of dso lokomotiv entirely changed - many key players sold , team seems unable collaborate. in result, in season 1955 dso lokomotiv relegated second division of bulgarian football. fans next season first time team plays outside prestigious echelon of bulgarian football.

dso lokomotiv plays in second division 5 seasons until earns promotion elite season 1961-62. in same year, 1960, team reaches final of domestic cup fourth time in history (after 1940 , 1942 sportclub, , 1948 slaviya-chengelov) fourth time - lost.

during stay in second division, club experiences again reorganisation of sports politics in people s republic of bulgaria took place in 1957. according changes, clubs no longer needed affiliated enterprises , instead emphasis turned territorial principle. thus, sport clubs no longer needed dso (abbreviation meaning voluntary sports organisation ) inside principal. rather, club many supporters in area, dso lokomotiv assimilated clubs torpedo plovdiv (with still shared stadium) , septemvri (plovdiv). club no longer needed dso changed name lokomotiv plovdiv .

success home , abroad (1960-1985)

after re-entering elite (a rfg) in 1961, takes lokomotiv 7 years reach top 3 , medal in season 1968-69.

on international level however, team achieves success quicker. in season 1964-65, lokomotiv plovdiv reaches third round of inter-cities fairs cup, after 2 draws legendary team of juventus omar sívori, luis del sol , sandro salvadore in squad (each ending score 1:1), third play-off match chosen uefa played in torino. game lost loko score of 2:1.

the №8 shirt retired in honour of hristo bonev

before reaching third round of international football competition, smurfs have eliminated serbian fk vojvodina , romanian fc petrolul ploieşti. key players during period include forward gocho vasilev, midfielder hristo bonev, defender ivan boyadzhiev , goalkeeper stancho bonchev.

in 1971, team reaches final of domestic cup again , again lost it, time levski sofia score of 3:0.

in 1973, lokomotiv wins silver medals of rfg, finishing season 43 points, 7 less first, cska sofia. following year, celebration in order - in 1974 lokomotiv finished season in third place getting league bronze. in following few years period team quite stable , standing under 6th position in league table. among team s players hristo bonev - considered loko fans being greatest player of club ever, , 1 of greatest bulgarian players.

when after season 1979-80 lokomotiv plovdiv again relegated bulgaria s second football division, takes team 3 seasons earn place in football elite.

despite being in second division between 1981 , 1983, loko reaches final of cup of soviet army twice. in 1982 sixth time team cannot win domestic cup. in 1983 however, led hristo bonev, lokomotiv won first national cup beating fc chirpan 3:1 @ vasil levski national stadium in sofia on 1 june. (be may, important note tournament of cup of soviet army, held annually between 1946-1990, recognised bulgarian football union(bfu) domestic cup tournament 1982. in 1981, tournament bulgarian cup begins take place every year , rises in prestige, overtaking significance of cup of soviet army in sequent years. @ present, bfu s official statement considers bulgarian cup represent domestic cup 1983 onwards. thus, nowadays cup of soviet army won in 1983 lokomotiv plovdiv first officially non-recognised domestic cup soviet army trophy; i.e. lokomotiv plovdiv not officially recognised bearer of domestic cup 1983 - non-official bearer. yet, @ time, soviet army cup intents , purposes, domestic football cup trophy.)

in 1982 team acquired new stadium situated in park lauta near city s newest district. lokomotiv stadium part of sports complex used other teams of sports club (such volleyball , boxing teams of lokomotiv plovdiv. in season 1983-84, though club has been promoted top division, , in defiance of being soviet army cup holder, loko plovdiv relegates again , plays season 1984-85 in lower level of bulgarian league system. in 1985 team earns promotion rfg.

1985-2000

after return top division in 1985 team makes steady performance on decade, placing in middle of league table until late 1990s. during time team finishes in top 3 once - in season 1991-92.

in late 1990s form of team worsens takes them out of elite again, , in seasons 1998-99 , 1999-00 lokomotiv plovdiv plays in b pfg.

georgi iliev years (2000-2004)

in 2000 club bought georgi iliev. @ time, iliev owns football club - velbazhd kyustendil. team kyustendil has performance in bulgarian top division (a pfg) finishing in third place 3 consecutive seasons until 2000-01 , national cup runner-up in 2001.

in season 2001-02 iliev decides merge 2 teams creating contemporary lokomotiv plovdiv (full name: professional football club lokomotiv 1926 plovdiv). new club based in grounds of lokomotiv merged velbazhd, uses same colours , official successor of club. yet, team formed entirely of players performing excellently in last years in club kyustendil. result, team finished third again @ end of season.

the successful season in club s history 2003-04 campaign. lokomotiv won title, first , far in club s history. coach, bulgarian eduard eranosyan, formerly football player of team started 2003–04 well, lokomotiv leading league 6 points halfway through season , remaining unbeaten. in penultimate, 29th round, smurfs defeated slavia sofia in plovdiv 3:2 in front of more 17,000 spectators, , lokomotiv won bulgarian championship. lokomotiv finished season 75 points, 3 more second, levski sofia. in team lines recent acquisition martin kamburov became goalscorer in bulgaria 26 goals. key players during fantastic season included vasil kamburov, georgi iliev, aleksandar tunchev, kiril kotev, vladimir ivanov, metodi stoynev , macedonians boban jančevski, vančo trajanov , robert petrov.

a few months later, team played first time in uefa champions league qualifying rounds faced club brugge belgium in second qualifying round.

the same year, lokomotiv won bulgarian supercup, after beating litex lovech. in final, ivan paskov scored brilliant header in last seconds of game 1:0 win.

recent history (2004-present)

the next 2004-05 season in domestic league successful team, finished 3rd in pfg, , qualified uefa cup. in european club competition, lokomotiv defeated serbian ofk beograd in second qualifying round (1:0 home win , 1:2 away loss) , drawn play against english bolton wanderers in first round. however, team plovdiv eliminated after 1-2 loss @ reebok stadium in bolton , 1-2 loss in match, played @ lazur stadium in burgas.

in next few months club had big financial problems. because of these problems, many of players of champions team, aleksandar tunchev, martin kamburov, ivan paskov, georgi iliev, darko spalević, kiril kotev , boban jančevski left club.

in 2005-06 season lokomotiv finished 5th in pfg , qualified intertoto cup. loko eliminated 2-3 (1-2 away loss , 1-1 home draw) on aggregate romanian farul constanţa.

in next 3 seasons, team finished in middle of table. in december 2009, businessman , ex-vihren sandanski owner konstantin dinev acquired club galina topalova in 2 million euro bid, clear intention bring loko european club competition.