2011–12 A Group
| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 August 2011 – 23 May 2012 |
| Champions | Ludogorets Razgrad (1st title) |
| Relegated | Vidima-Rakovski, Kaliakra, Svetkavitsa |
| Champions League | Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Europa League | CSKA Sofia Levski Sofia Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 643 (2.68 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Brazil Junior Moraes Ivan Stoyanov (16 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Levski 7–0 Svetkavitsa |
| Biggest away win | Minyor 0–7 Ludogorets |
| Highest scoring | Cherno More 7–1 Kaliakra Botev 6–2 Kaliakra Litex 6–2 Lokomotiv |
← 2010–11 2012–13 → | |
The 2011–12 A Group was the 88th season of the Bulgarian national top football division, and the 64th of A Group as the top tier football league in the country. The season began on 6 August 2011 and ended on 23 May 2012. Ludogorets Razgrad claimed their maiden title in their debut season, after winning the last round clash against CSKA, which were leading by 2 points prior to the match.[1] Vidima-Rakovski, Kaliakra and Svetkavitsa were relegated, after finishing at the bottom three places.
Team information
[edit ]Akademik Sofia and Sliven were directly relegated after finishing in the bottom two places of the table at the end of season 2010/11. Akademik were relegated after one year in the top league of Bulgarian football, while Sliven ended a three-year tenure in the top flight. Furthermore, Pirin (Blagoevgrad) were excluded from A Group due to financial difficulties and demoted to V Group.
The relegated teams were replaced by Botev Vratsa, champions of West B Group, Ludogorets Razgrad, champions of East B Group and promotion play-off winners Svetkavitsa. Botev Vratsa returned to A Group after twenty-two years, while Ludogorets Razgrad and Svetkavitsa both made their debut on the highest level of Bulgarian football.
There was some controversy regarding the relegation/promotion play-offs at the end of season 2010/11. In the original match-up, 14th-placed Vidima-Rakovski lost 3-0 against B Group play-off winners Chernomorets (Pomorie). However, Pomorie did not receive an A Group licence, so Vidima-Rakovski were spared from relegation. In order to fill the void, a second play-off match was scheduled between Svetkavitsa, 4th-placed team of East B Group, and Etar (Veliko Tarnovo), 3rd-placed team of West B Group. Svetkavitsa won this match by a score of 3-1.
Stadia and locations
[edit ]As in the previous year, the league comprises the best thirteen teams of season 2010-11, the champions of the two B Groups and the winners of the promotion play-offs.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | Stara Zagora | Beroe | 17,800 |
| Botev | Vratsa | Hristo Botev | 32,000 |
| Cherno More | Varna | Ticha | 8,250 |
| Chernomorets | Burgas | Lazur | 18,037 |
| CSKA | Sofia | Balgarska Armiya | 22,015 |
| Kaliakra | Kavarna | Kavarna | 5,000 |
| Levski | Sofia | Georgi Asparuhov | 29,200 |
| Litex | Lovech | Lovech | 7,050 |
| Lokomotiv | Plovdiv | Lokomotiv | 13,800 |
| Lokomotiv | Sofia | Lokomotiv Sofia 1 | 22,000 |
| Ludogorets | Razgrad | Ludogorets Arena | 6,000 |
| Minyor | Pernik | Minyor | 8,000 |
| Montana | Montana | Ogosta | 8,000 |
| Slavia | Sofia | Ovcha Kupel | 18,000 |
| Svetkavitsa | Targovishte | Dimitar Burkov | 8,000 |
| Vidima-Rakovski | Sevlievo | Rakovski | 8,816 |
- Notes
- Lokomotiv Sofia play their home matches at Vasil Levski National Stadium as their own ground, Lokomotiv Stadium, had not received approval from the BFU license committee.[citation needed ]
Personnel and sponsoring
[edit ]Managerial changes
[edit ]Note: Georgi Ivanov subsequently stepped down and was replaced by Yasen Petrov as caretaker manager at the helm of Levski, with Ilian Iliev set to take over prior to the 2012/2013 season.
League table
[edit ]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ludogorets Razgrad (C) | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 73 | 16 | +57 | 70 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | CSKA Sofia | 30 | 22 | 3 | 5 | 60 | 19 | +41 | 69 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Levski Sofia | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 61 | 28 | +33 | 62 | |
| 4 | Chernomorets Burgas | 30 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 57 | 23 | +34 | 60 | |
| 5 | Litex Lovech | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 57 | 28 | +29 | 59 | |
| 6 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 57 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round [a] |
| 7 | Cherno More | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 46 | 25 | +21 | 52 | |
| 8 | Slavia Sofia | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 51 | |
| 9 | Minyor Pernik | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 36 | |
| 10 | Beroe | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 35 | |
| 11 | Montana | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 29 | 51 | −22 | 31 | |
| 12 | Botev Vratsa | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 30 | 44 | −14 | 29 | |
| 13 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 26 | 50 | −24 | 24 | |
| 14 | Vidima-Rakovski (R) | 30 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 19 | 59 | −40 | 15 | Relegation to 2012–13 B Group |
| 15 | Kaliakra (R) | 30 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 26 | 77 | −51 | 11 | |
| 16 | Svetkavitsa (R) | 30 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 8 | 71 | −63 | 8 |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th goal difference; 7th goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Ludogorets Razgrad won the 2011–12 Bulgarian Cup competition but were qualified for 2012–13 UEFA Champions League via winning the league, hence their Europa League berth was awarded to the cup runners-up, Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
Results
[edit ]| Home \ Away | BSZ | BVR | CHM | CHB | CSK | KAV | LEV | LIT | LPL | LSO | LUD | MIN | MON | SLA | SVE | VRA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Botev Vratsa | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 6–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| Cherno More | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 7–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Chernomorets Burgas | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 6–0 | 4–0 | |
| CSKA Sofia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 4–1 | |
| Kaliakra | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| Levski Sofia | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2–1 | |
| Litex Lovech | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 3–0 | |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 [a] | 4–1 | 0–1 | |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | |
| Minyor Pernik | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–7 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | |
| Montana | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Slavia Sofia | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Svetkavitsa | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | |
| Vidima-Rakovski | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
- ^ The match between Lokomotiv Sofia and Slavia Sofia was awarded to Slavia by a score of 3–0.[citation needed ] The original fixture was not played after police security for the match could not be provided.[citation needed ]
Champions
[edit ]- Ludogorets Razgrad
| Goalkeepers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia Uroš Golubović | 28 | (0) |
| 13 | Czech Republic Radek Petr | 2 | (0) |
| 30 | Bulgaria Georgi Argilashki | 0 | (0) |
| Bulgaria Emil Mihaylov* | 0 | (0) | |
| Defenders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Slovakia Marián Jarabica | 1 | (0) |
| 4 | Finland Tero Mäntylä | 3 | (0) |
| 5 | France Alexandre Barthe | 29 | (3) |
| 20 | Brazil Guilherme Choco | 27 | (1) |
| 25 | Bulgaria Yordan Minev | 28 | (0) |
| 26 | Bulgaria Diyan Dimitrov | 0 | (0) |
| 33 | Slovakia Ľubomír Guldan | 28 | (0) |
| 77 | Portugal Vitinha | 10 | (0) |
| Slovenia Jure Travner* | 3 | (0) | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Suvad Grabus* | 1 | (0) | |
| Midfielders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Bulgaria Georgi Kostadinov | 5 | (2) |
| 7 | Bulgaria Mihail Aleksandrov | 28 | (5) |
| 8 | Bulgaria Stanislav Genchev | 27 | (6) |
| 18 | Bulgaria Svetoslav Dyakov | 29 | (1) |
| 19 | Bulgaria Dimo Bakalov | 14 | (2) |
| 22 | Bulgaria Miroslav Ivanov | 27 | (4) |
| 36 | Montenegro Mladen Kašćelan | 11 | (1) |
| 84 | Brazil Marcelinho | 25 | (9) |
| Bulgaria Shener Remzi* | 0 | (0) | |
| Bulgaria Dimo Atanasov* | 6 | (0) | |
| Bulgaria Nikolay Dyulgerov* | 2 | (0) | |
| Forwards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Brazil Juninho Quixadá | 11 | (5) |
| 23 | Bulgaria Emil Gargorov | 26 | (13) |
| 27 | Belgium Christian Kabasele | 11 | (3) |
| 73 | Bulgaria Ivan Stoyanov | 25 | (16) |
| Bulgaria Todor Kolev* | 9 | (1) | |
| Manager | |
|---|---|
| Bulgaria Ivaylo Petev | |
- Mihaylov, Travner, Grabus, Remzi, Atanasov, Dyulgerov and Kolev left the club during a season.
Season statistics
[edit ]Top goalscorers
[edit ]Below is a list of the top goalscorers at the end of the competition.[13]
Scoring
[edit ]- First goal of the season: 19:08 – Georgi Bozhilov for Cherno More against Montana (6 August 2011)[14]
- Fastest goal of the season: 6 seconds – Miroslav Manolov (Cherno More) against Montana (22 March 2012)[citation needed ]
Transfers
[edit ]- List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2011
- List of Bulgarian football transfers winter 2011–12
References
[edit ]- ^ ""Лудогорец" победи ЦСКА с 1:0 и спечели титлата при дебюта си в А група" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ "Георги Иванов-Гонзо е новият треньор на Левски" (in Bulgarian). btv.bg. 27 May 2011.
- ^ "Кушев поема Славия" (in Bulgarian). bsport.bg. 28 May 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Адалберт Зафиров пое Калиакра" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 28 May 2011.
- ^ "Dimitar Dimitrov is the new head coach of Chernomorets". chernomoretz.bg. 30 May 2011.
- ^ "Калиакра уволни Адалберт Зафиров" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Стана ясен новият старши-треньор на Калиакра" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Никола Спасов стана треньор на Светкавица" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Любо Пенев напусна Литекс - "оранжевите" представиха новия треньор, изненадата е голяма" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Официално: ЦСКА се раздели с Милен Радуканов" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 25 October 2011.
- ^ "Официално: Николай Костов ще води Левски до края на сезона" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 4 November 2011.
- ^ "Емил Велев е новият треньор на Локо Пд, помага му Ники Митов, тренировката е от 11 часа" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 8 November 2011.
- ^ "Bulgaria - A PFG Top goalscorers". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ "Честито! 53 минути за първия гол от новия сезон в А група" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 6 August 2011.
