Posts Tagged ‘Dimitar Borissov’

CSKA Sofia to return ‘exiled’ players

Club authorities have decided to end the “punishment” of nine players who were reportedly “sacked” two days ago by head coach Lyuboslav Penev, Dnevnik daily reports on November 4 2009.

The players will be reinstated in the first team after the League Europa clash with Basel on November 6. “We will return all of them, they were just temporarily ousted from the team, but I will have them back,” said club president Dimitar Borissov.

The president told Bulgarian media that late on November 3 “he had a discussion with them all until 11pm and they had sincerely apologised for their conduct”,  the report says.

Apparently this decision was taken without the knowledge of head coach Penev who had promised stiff reprisals against the players and their “irresponsible behaviour” which led to the leagee defeat against Litex on the weekend.

Penev said at the time that the rules are the same for everyone and, as such, must be applied equally.

“Discipline is essential. They can’t just talk about money, money, money… They must conduct themselves in a professional manner, they are CSKA players after all. I will not make any compromises, even if they receive offers from other clubs,” Penev said.

He had threatened to relegate the players to the reserve team and have them remain there until they “sorted out” their attitude.

On November 2 2009, Penev barred nine players from training with the first team following reports of inappropriate conduct the night before a key league match against Litex Lovech. CSKA were beaten 2-0 and a major reason for the fiasco, according to Penev, was that nine first-team players were seen partying late on the night before the match, breaking curfew.

The players are Ivan Karadjov, the starting goalkeeper for all but three league matches this season; defenders Kiril Kotev, Pavel Vidanov and Ivan Ivanov and midfielders Marquinhos, David Silva, Yordan Todorov, Todor Timonov and Svetoslav Petrov.

CSKA wants to build new stadium by 2011

CSKA Sofia football club had started work on the construction of a new club stadium, CSKA’s president Dimitar Borissov told Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily on October 14 2009.

The new sport facility will replace the club’s current pitch, the Bulgarian Army stadium in the Borissova Gradina park.

Preliminary calculations made by the CSKA owner have shown that the new stadium, with a capacity between 25 000 and 30 000 seats, could cost up to 50 million euro. It will have to be ready for the 2011/2012 season.

“We have found financing for the project,” Borissov said. The idea was that the the new venue would also include a medical centre, cinema halls and shopping facilities, although current legislation bans anything other than sport facilities to be built in parks and green areas.

“The project will happen only if the authorities allow us,” Borissov said. Of more immediate concern for CSKA was paying all of its debts to the state, which owns the club’s current stadium, the training ground in Pancharevo borough as well as the Cherveno Zname sport complex near Tsarigradsko Chaussee Boulevard.

CSKA’s debt is about 1.6 million leva, overdue leases to the Sports Ministry, which has been the subject of numerous complaints from CSKA’s arch rivals Levski Sofia, who claimed that CSKA was getting preferential treatment from authorities. On October 7, Sports Minister Svilen Neikov gave CSKA 10 days to begin paying its debts or face legal action.

The solution offered by CSKA was for the Sofia city hall to transfer the money it owed Titan refuse collection company, which owns CSKA, to the Sports Ministry. Although Neikov spoke in favour of the proposal, no transfer has been made just yet.

Once CSKA clears its debt, then it could go ahead with its plans to get the facilities it uses on concession. If this happened, Borissov said that construction of the new stadium could start as early as the spring of 2010.