CSKA Sofia Ultimate Internet Fan Club

PFC CSKA Sofia is a Bulgarian Football (soccer) club from Sofia. CSKA stands for Central Sport Club of the Army . Most of its home matches take place at the Bulgarska Armia (Bulgarian Army) Stadium. The club was officially founded on May 5 1948. CSKA has won 31 Bulgarian A Professional Football Group and 23 Bulgarian Cup. Along with Celtic FC and Rangers FC, CSKA is the club that has the most domestic titles in Europe. The club boasts one of the greatest records of Bulgaria football teams in the European tournaments (2 semi-finals in the UEFA Champions League and 1 semi-final in UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup).

The History of CSKA Sofia

On October 28, 1923 in Sofia the clubs Atletik Sofia (founded in 1910 as Klub Futbol) and Slava Sofia (founded in 1916) merged into Oficerski Sporten Klub AS-23(Officer’s Sport Club Atletic Slava 1932, short AS-23 under the patronage of the Ministry of War which provided the equipment. In 1931 AS-23 won the Bulgarian championship and The Tsar’s Cup, followed by another Tsar’s Cup in 1941. The stadium of AS-23 has named ‘Atletik park’ (finished in 1938) is on the spot were is present stadium „Bulgarska Armia“.

With the partnership of Mihail Mihaylov from Shipka Sofia, The AS-23, the united team of Shipka Sofia and Spartak Orlandovtsi are merge into Chavdar Sofia. The unifying agreement was singed in November 9, 1944 in Sofia. General. Vladimir Stoychev from As-23 was appointed as the new club’s chairman. Ivan Bashev was a secretary and the person in charge of football.

‘Chavdar’ played in a blue strip. The club played at ‘Atletik park’ which was now renamed to ‘Chavdar’. The physical training was inspected by the Boxing Konstantin Nikolov. The BFU then speculated that this would mean that CSKA would not be able to take part in the A Professional Football Group of Bulgaria, effectively turning it back into an amateur team. Attempts to arrange a settlement with UEFA were unsuccessful and CSKA lost its right to compete in the UEFA Champions League in favor of the runners-up PFC Levski Sofia. Eventually CSKA managed to fulfil all requirements set by the BFU and was allowed to compete in Bulgaria’s A PFG. The person generally blamed for the situation was Alexander Tomov, chairman of the supervising council of CSKA.

The Name

CSKA has carried a plethora of names in its history. In chronological order they are:
- Септември при ЦДВ /September to Central House of the Troops/ in 1948 and 1948/49.
- Народна войска /People’s Troops/ in 1950.
- ЦДНВ /CDNV – Central House of the People’s Troops/ in 1951 and 1952.
- Отбор на софийския гарнизон /Team of the Sofian garrison/ in 1953.
- ЦДНА /CDNA – Central House of the People’s Army/ from 1954 and until the 1961/62 season.
- ЦСКА Червено знаме /CSKA Red Flag/ between 1962/63 and 1967/68.
- ЦСКА Семптемврийско знаме /CSKA September Flag/ between 1968/69 and 1984/85.
- ЦФКА Средец /CFKA Sredets – Central Football Club Of The Army/ from 1985/86 and until 1988/89
- ЦСКА София /CSKA Sofia – Central Sports Club Of The Army/ from 1989/90.

Bulgarian Army Stadium

The team’s home stadium, “Bulgarska Armia”, was completed in 1967 and stands on the same spot as its predecessor, “Atletik Park.” A plan for major renovation has been adopted.

Sector G

Sector G is the north stand of Bulgarian Army Stadium. This part of the stadium is the main stand for the supporters of CSKA.

Notable players

For the club’s 55th anniversary an extended team of the club’s best ever 55 players was chosen:

- No 1 – Georgi Velinov, Stefan Gerenski, Stoyan Yordanov, Georgi Naydenov (footballer), Yordan Filipov
- No 2 – Ivan Vasilev, Ivan Zafirov, Kiril Rakarov, Dimitar Tsvetkov, Borislav Futekov
- No 3 – Boris Gaganelov, Trifon Ivanov, Georgi Iliev – Michael, Manol Manolov, Kiril Stankov
- No 4 – Tsonyo Vasilev, Georgi Enisheynov, Nikola Kovachev, Hristo Marinchev, Georgi Tsvetkov, Krasimir Bezinski
- No 5 – Stefan Bozhkov, Georgi Dimitrov – Dzheki , Panteley Dimitrov, Radoslav Zdravkov, Bozhil Kolev
- No 6 – Nikola Aleksiev, Dimitar Penev, Boris Stankov, Gavril Stoyanov, Plamen Markov
- No 7 – Tsvetan Atanasov, Tsvetan Yonchev, Emil Kostadinov, Dimitar Milanov, Stefan T. Stefanov
- No 8 – Kiril Bogdanov, Georgi Dimitrov – Chervenia, Asparuh Nikodimov, Hristo Stoichkov, Nako Chakmakov
- No 9 – Spas Dzhevizov, Petar Zhekov, Panayot Panayotov, Lyuboslav Penev, Nikola Tsanev
- No 10 – Nikola Bozhilov, Georgi Denev, Ivan Kolev, Lachezar Tanev, Dimitar Yakimov
- No 11 – Dimitar Marashliev, Stoycho Mladenov, Vasil Romanov, Stoyne Minev, Krum Yanev

Honours and acheivements

Bulgarian Championship
- Champions (31 times) – 1948, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981,1982, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2008

Bulgarian Cup – 23

Official – 9
- 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2006
Unofficial (as Cup of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria) – 1
- 1981

Cup of the Soviet Army – 13

Official – 9
- 1951, 1954, 1955, 1961, 1965, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974
Unofficial – 4
- 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990

Bulgarian Supercup
- Winners – 1989, 2006, 2008

UEFA Champions League
- Semi-finalists – European Cup 1966-67, European Cup 1981-82

UEFA Cup – 1/16 Final
- UEFA Cup 1998-99 vs Atlético Madrid

UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
- Semi-finalists – UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup 1988-89

CSKA Sofia Kit

CSKA Sofia Kit Manufacturers

- 1948-mid 70s – ?
- mid 70s-1982 – Adidas
- 1982-1985 – Puma
- 1985-1991 – Adidas
- 1991-1992 (Season’s 1st part) – Abm Pro
- 1991-1992 (Season’s 2nd part) – Umbro
- 1992-1993 – Erreà
- 1993-1995 – Lotto
- 1995-2000 – Puma AG
- 1999-2000 (Season’s 2nd part) – Nike, Inc.
- 2000-2003 – Lotto
- 2003-2004 – Asics
- 2004-present – Uhlsport

CSKA Sofia Shirt Sponsors

- 1948-1989 – No sponsor
- 1989-1990 – Comco
- 1990-1996 – Sintofarm
- 1996-1999 – Multigroup
- 1999-2005 (Bulgarian Championship) – No sponsor
- 2001-2002 (UEFA Cup) – Sintofarm
- 2003-2004 (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup) – Transimpex
- 2005-2008 – Vivatel
- 2008-present – No sponsor

CSKA Sofia Trivia

- The first ever coach of CSKA Sofia Konstantin Nikolov – Zamorata was a heavyweight boxer.
- During the first years of the club the ball for the kick-off has been often dropped by plane over the field
- Even nowadays sometimes the team comes on field accompanied by a Bulgarian army march due to the club’s army origin and heritage
- CSKA Sofia enjoys a symbiotic relationship with FC Liverpool.
- CSKA Sofia has always played in the 1st and never in lower division
- The stand for the most loyal team supporters is the North terrace and it’s known as “Sektor G”
- CSKA Sofia has been marked several times in the Guinness World Records
- The club stadium is nicknamed “The army”
- CSKA Sofia earned the nickname “The Giants’ Killer” as it eliminated 3 acting (at the time) European Champions’ Cup holders – AFC Ajax Amsterdam, Nottingham Forest FC and Liverpool FC.
- Scotland writer Irvine Welsh appeared on Slavi’s Show with a CSKA Sofia fan club T-shirt
- There are over 1058 trophies in the CSKA Museum of glory in 29 sports; 142 of them are football trophies and awards.
- CSKA Sofia holds the largest number of football records in Bulgarian football
- Petar Zhekov has scored 144 goals for CSKA during 1968-1975
- CSKA Sofia won all possible domestic trophies during season 1988-89 : Champion title, Cup of Bulgaria, Cup of the Soviet army, Bulgarian supercup and the Republic spartakiada cup.
- CSKA Sofia is famous for winnig a lot of friendly international tournaments. Recently the club is co-promoter of Play Station tournament in Soifa.
- Dimitar Yakimov was often called “the poet of football” due to his great football techniques
- Dimitar Penev was honnored as “The coach of 20th century” for Bulgaria
- The famous offensive trio of CSKA – Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov and Luboslav Penev have played a major role in the Bulgaria national football team success in the 90s.
- According to the National fan club data CSKA Sofia has 785 fan clubs at home and abroad, with around 180 000 members
- The music group Ladytron features a song called “CSKA Sofia” on their 2001 album 604
- CSKA Sofia has more than 10 million fans all around the world
- 2 rounds before the end of the 07/08 season, CSKA Sofia made a 16 points distance over their main rival – Levski Sofia
- A cow coloured in blue and yellow paint and wearing a Levski Sofia scarf on its neck is the CSKA Sofia fans’ mascott during matches between the two teams
- Most consecutive titles – 9 (record)
- Most goals in a single match – 6 – Petar Mihaylov in 1951, vs Torpedo Ruse
- Most goals in a single season – 38 – Hristo Stoichkov in 1989/90 (record)
- Most times champion as player – 12 – Manol Manolov (record)
- Most times champion as coach – 11 – Krum Milev (record)
- Biggest win – 12:0 in 1951 vs Torpedo Ruse (record)
- Biggest win over Levski Sofia – 5:0 in 1953 and 1989
- Biggest loss – 0:8 in 1998 from Litex Lovech
- Biggest loss from Levski Sofia – 1:7 in 1994. Other memorable loses (or wins for Levski Sofia’s fans) are 3:6, 2:5, 2:7, 0:5 and several matchev where CSKA lost after leading 2:0!

Biggest win in European tournaments:

- UEFA Champions League – 8:1 in 1956/57 vs Dinamo Bucuresti
- UEFA Cup – 5:0 in 1999/2000 vs Portadown
- UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup – 9:0 in 1970/71 vs Haka

Biggest defeat in European tournaments:

- UEFA Champions League – 1:6 in 1957/58 vs Vasas Budapest
- UEFA Cup – 1:5 in 1994/95 vs Juventus
- UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup – 0:3 in 1965/66 vs Borussia Dortmund

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