PFC Ludogorets Razgrad

Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad (Bulgarian: Професионален Футболен Клуб „Лудогорец” 1945 Разград), commonly known as Ludogorets Razgrad or simply Ludogorets, is a Bulgarian professional association football club founded in 1945 based in Razgrad which currently competes in the First Professional Football League, the top-tier of the Bulgarian football league system.

Ludogorets Razgrad

Full name	Professional Football Club Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad
Nickname(s)	Орлите (The Eagles)
Founded	18 June 1945 (1945-06-18)[1]
Ground	Huvepharma Arena
Capacity	10,500
Owner	Kiril Domuschiev
Chairman	Aleksandar Aleksandrov
Head coach	Pavel Vrba
League	Bulgarian First League
2019–20	Regular season, 1st Championship round, 1st
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

In their inaugural 2011–12 season in A Group after promotion, Ludogorets won the treble by capturing the league championship, the Bulgarian Cup and the Bulgarian Supercup. Subsequently, the club made a significant continental impact in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League when they reached the Round of 16 in only their second European run. To date they have reached the knockout stages of the Europa League four times, more than any other club in Bulgaria. Ludogorets are also only the second Bulgarian team after Levski Sofia to enter the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, a feat which they achieved in the following 2014–15 season. During that same campaign, they became the first Bulgarian team to score points in the modern Champions League group stage following a 1–0 win over Basel in Sofia.

Since their introduction to the Bulgarian top-flight in 2011, Ludogorets have established themselves as a dominant force in Bulgarian football, claiming every possible league title since then.[2] They have also won the Bulgarian Cup twice, as well as the Bulgarian Supercup on four separate occasions.[3]

Ludogorets' traditional home colours are green and white. The club's home ground is the Huvepharma Arena in Razgrad, a stadium with a capacity of 10,500 spectators.[4] Their current manager is Pavel Vrba.[5]

History

Foundation and beginning

Established in 1945 after the merging of several rural football clubs from the Ludogorie Region, Ludogorets Razgrad was initially participating in the Third football division of Bulgaria. They promoted to the Second division in 1961. In 1997 the club merged with FC Antibiotic Razgrad and was renamed to FC Antibiotic-Ludogorets. In 2005 the club defuncted. The rise of Ludogorets started in season 2009/10 when Aleksandar Aleksandrov, director of FC Razgrad 2000, inheritted the history and traditional club records of the former Antibiotic-Ludogorets, returning the name to PFC Ludogorets 1945 Razgrad. The team managed to enter Second division when Ivaylo Petev was designated as a Head Coach. [6]

Domuschiev era (2010–present)

In September 2010 the club was purchased by a Bulgarian pharmeceutical entrepreneur Kiril Domuschiev, with the clear intention of bringing Ludogorets to the top division. This happened in May 2011 with Ivaylo Petev as a Head Coach when the team promoted to top division for the first time in the club's history.[7]

First title

In May 2012, Ludogorets completed the domestic double when they won their first Bulgarian Cup title following a 2:1 victory against Lokomotiv Plovdiv at Lazur Stadium in Burgas,[8] and in August 2012, they won the Bulgarian Supercup, defeating Lokomotiv 3:1, thus becoming the first team to win a treble in its first season in A Group and one of the few in the history of international football to do so.

Second title

Ludogorets started the 2012–13 season with eight straight wins and nine matches without a loss, and finished the half-season in first place, as in the previous season, with just one loss and seven goals conceded out of 15 matches. However, in the 2012–13 Bulgarian Cup, the club was eliminated in the round of 32 by CSKA Sofia 2:2 on aggregate, losing on away goals. In the spring half-season, Ludogorets occupied the first place with just three matches to play before the end of the season. Nevertheless, they were defeated 1:0 by Levski Sofia and they took the lead of A Group. On the final day of the season, Ludogorets had to beat the already relegated team of Montana and hope that Slavia Sofia would prevent Levski from winning their match. In the last minutes of the Levski–Slavia match, Levski conceived an own goal which subsequently led to a 1:1 draw, allowing Ludogorets to win their second championship title in dramatic fashion again. In the 2013 Supercup, they lost 5:3 on penalties to Beroe Stara Zagora after a 1:1 draw in regular time.

Third title

In season 2013/14 Ludogorets became a hegemon in the Bulgarian club football. The "Eagles" earned their third consecutive title two rounds before the end of the championship on May 7, 2014. On May 15, 2014 Ludogorets achieved a treble after winning the Cup of Bulgaria against Botev (Plovdiv) 1-0 and the Super Cup. Both matches were played at the "Lazur" stadium in Burgas.[9]

Fourth title

Ludogorets’ fourth title came after a home win against Lokomotiv (Sofia) with 4:1 on May 15th, 2015. A new tribune, named after their defender Cosmin "Moti”, and the 70th anniversary of the "Eagles" were celebrated at that time.

Fifth title

On May 11, 2016 Ludogorets became the Bulgarian Champion for the fifth time in a row.

Sixth title

The 2016/2017 season was the most successful in the history of Ludogorets. They became champions of Bulgaria for the sixth consecutive time with 16 points advantage over the runner-up. For the second time in the Bulgarian's football history the team entered the Champions League groups with Georgi Dermendzhiev as a Head Coach. They ranked third in the groups by winning 2 points and continued their European tournament participation in Europa League.

Seventh title

The 2017/2018 season was another successful one for Ludogorets. The team won their domestic league Champion's Title and performed well at both European Tournaments - Champions League and Europa League.

Eighth title

Ludogorets earned their 2018/2019 season title after a home win in May 2019.

Ninth title

Ludogorets’ domination in Bulgaria continue. The champions won their record-breaking 9th consecutive title after a 2:1 win against Beroe 2:1.[10]

European

After winning the 2011–12 Bulgarian title, Ludogorets entered the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League for the 2012–13 season, but were eliminated 3:4 on aggregate with a last minute away goal by Dinamo Zagreb.

As Bulgarian champions in 2012–13 season, Ludogorets played in the UEFA Champions League where they came through the qualifiers, eliminating subsequently Slovan Bratislava and Partizan en route. Ludogorets then lost to Basel in the play-offs, but earned the right to play in the UEFA Europa League.

Ludogorets played in Group B of the 2013–14 Europa League. They were unbeaten in the group stage finishing first in the group with five wins in six games, including both home and away victories over the prominent PSV and Dinamo Zagreb.[11] Their only dropped points were a 1:1 home draw with Chornomorets Odesa. In the knockout phase, Ludogorets beat the Italian cup holders Lazio 1:0 away and drew 3:3 at home for a 4:3 aggregate win,[12] but then lost 0:3 at home and 0:4 on aggregate to Valencia in the round of 16.[13]

Stoyanov

Tero Mäntylä

Moți

Júnior Caiçara

Minev

Zlatinski

Dyakov

Alexandrov

Misidjan

Marcelinho

Bezjak

Ludogorets' 2013–14 UEFA Europa League lineup against Italian cup holders Lazio, which recorded a 1-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico.

In the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, Ludogorets again won both their qualifiers, against F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg and Partizan.[14][15] In the play-off, they defeated Steaua București to reach the group stage for the first time. Goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was dismissed for a second yellow card in the last minute of extra time in the second leg, when Ludogorets had used all their substitutes. In the penalty shoot-out, centre-back Cosmin Moți, having converted the first penalty, went in goal and made two saves to put Ludogorets through 6:5 on penalties.[16]

Ludogorets playing against Steaua in a second leg play-off for the 2014–15 Champions League at the Vasil Levski National Stadium.

Ludogorets made their debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014, grabbing a 1:1 equalizer away against Liverpool in the 90th minute scored by Dani Abalo, but in an eventual 1:2 loss,[17] as the newly signed goalkeeper Milan Borjan gave away a penalty with a foul on Javier Manquillo, which Steven Gerrard converted to give Liverpool the victory.[17] Ludogorets made their home debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 1 October 2014, scoring a stunning goal in the sixth minute through' attacking midfielder Marcelinho against Real Madrid, but in an eventual 1:2 loss.[18] In this match, Cristiano Ronaldo took two penalties – the first was saved by goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov, while the second was scored for a 1:1 equalizer.[18] On 22 October 2014, Yordan Minev scored his first goal for Ludogorets, scoring a crucial last-minute winning goal in a 1:0 home win over Basel in the group stage of the Champions League.[19] On 26 November 2014, Dani Abalo scored in the third minute and Georgi Terziev scored his first goal in the 88th minute, grabbing a 2:2 equalizer against Liverpool, in an eventual 2:2 draw.[20]

Ludogorets won their 4th consecutive A Group title, but were left by several main squad players at the end of the season. Georgi Dermendziev was also replaced with Portuguese manager Bruno Ribeiro. The late changes saw Ludogorets being eliminated in the second qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League by the underdog Moldovan champions Milsami Orhei.

With Georgi Dermendzhiev returning at the helm of the squad, during the 2016–17 Champions League, Ludogorets won the qualifiers against Mladost Podgorica and Red Star Belgrade respectively, followed by a success in the play-off against Viktoria Plzeň. Eventually, they became the first Bulgarian team to qualify twice for the group stage of the tournament. In the group stage, Ludogorets achieved two draws against Basel and one against Paris Saint-Germain, which were enough to secure them the third place and a transfer to the knockout phase of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. Ludogorets however shortly exited the competition after failing to overcome Copenhagen with an initial 1:2 home loss and a 0:0 away draw.

Ludogorets failed to qualify for the groups of the next two editions of the Champion League, but however in both cases managed to enter the groups of Europa League. In the 2017–18 season they finished second in the group behind Braga, eliminating İstanbul Başakşehir and 1899 Hoffenheim, before losing in both matches to Milan in the round of 32.

In 2019–20, they were eliminated by Ferencváros in the first Champions League qualifying round, but made their way to the group stage of the Europa League, following successful matches against Valur, The New Saints and Maribor in the qualifiers. Ludogorets were subsequently drawn again with Ferencváros, next to CSKA Moscow and Spanish club Espanyol. A 5–1 home win against CSKA Moscow was followed-up by a 3–0 away win against Ferencváros.[21][22] They lost twice to Espanyol, 1–0 at home and 6–0 away, but finished second, following two 1–1 draws against both CSKA and Ferencváros, eventually securing a place in the knockout stage.[23]

75th Anniversary

Ludogorets earned their record-breaking 9th Bulgarian Premier League Title during their 75th Anniversary celebration on July 8th 2020 after their win 3:0 vs Levski Sofia. Ludogorets wore their special green and yellow retro kit which was used in 1945 when the club was founded. The logo with the "Л" letter over a yellow background is how the original looked like. The same design was used for a couple of decades, according to the archives. A limited edition of the retro kits were available for the fans. They feature the names of all the important team players over the course of 75 years.[24]

Huvepharma Arena, the club's home ground, before a UEFA Europa League game in June 2018.

Crest, shirt and mascot

Previous crest used until 2016.

Ludogorets' main kit colour is forest green and the away kit is white. In addition, a black alternative kit is also used in some of the domestic matches. Ludogorets's current crest is designed by the supporters and was chosen after a poll in the club's website. It was introduced to the public before the start of the 2016–17 First Professional League season.

In June 2017, Ludogorets reached a sponsorship agreement with English sportswear manufacturer Umbro for the following two seasons.[25] In June 2019, they reached a new long-term agreement with American sportswear manufacturer Nike.

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt partner
2006–2010	Tomy Sport	None
2010–2012		Huvepharma
2012–2014		Navibulgar / Huvepharma
2014–2016		eCasino.bg
2016–2017		bet365 / Vivacom / Spetema
2017–2018
2018–2019		Efbet / Vivacom / Spetema
2019–

Since 2014, the mascot of the team has been a female eagle called Fortuna, which was originally a gift from Lazio.[26]

Ludogorets's mascot Fortuna

Honours

Domestic trophies

• Bulgarian First League:
  • Champions (9): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20

• Bulgarian Cup:
  • Winners (2): 2011–12, 2013–14
  • Runners-up (1): 2016–17

• Bulgarian Supercup:
  • Winners (4 times - record): 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019
  • Runners-up (4): 2013, 2015, 2017, 2020
• Bulgarian Second League:
  • Winners (1): 2010–11 (East)

Doubles and Trebles

• The Double:
  • (4 times): 2011–12, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19
• The Treble:
  • (2 times - record): 2011–12, 2013–14

European

• UEFA Champions League
  • Group stage (2): 2014–15, 2016–17
• UEFA Europa League
  • Round of 16 (1): 2013–14
  • Round of 32 (3): 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20
  • Group stage (1): 2018–19

European record

Main article: PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in European football

As of 27 February 2020

Matches	M	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
UEFA Champions League	44	14	11	19	67	64	+3
UEFA Europa League	46	17	17	12	64	45	+19
Total	90	31	28	31	131	109	+22

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2012–13	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Dinamo Zagreb	1–1	2–3	3–4
2013–14	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Slovan Bratislava	3–0	1–2	4–2
		3Q	Partizan	2–1	1–0	3–1
		PO	Basel	2–4	0–2	2–6
	UEFA Europa League	Group B	PSV	2–0	2–0	1st
			Dinamo Zagreb	3–0	2–1
			Chornomorets Odesa	1–1	1–0
		Round of 32	Lazio	3–3	1–0	4–3
		Round of 16	Valencia	0–3	0–1	0–4
2014–15	UEFA Champions League	2Q	F91 Dudelange	4–0	1–1	5–1
		3Q	Partizan	0–0	2–2	2–2 (a)
		PO	Steaua București	1–0	0–1	1–1 (6–5 p.)
		Group B	Real Madrid	1–2	0–4	4th
			Basel	1–0	0–4
			Liverpool	2–2	1–2
2015–16	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Milsami Orhei	0–1	1–2	1–3
2016–17	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Mladost Podgorica	2–0	3–0	5–0
		3Q	Red Star Belgrade	2–2	4–2	6–4
		PO	Viktoria Plzeň	2–0	2–2	4–2
		Group A	Paris Saint-Germain	1–3	2–2	3rd
			Arsenal	2–3	0–6
			Basel	0–0	1–1
	UEFA Europa League	Round of 32	Copenhagen	1–2	0–0	1–2
2017–18	UEFA Champions League	2Q	Žalgiris	4–1	1–2	5–3
		3Q	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	3–1	0–2	3–3 (a)
	UEFA Europa League	PO	Sūduva Marijampolė	2–0	0–0	2–0
		Group C	Braga	1–1	2–0	2nd
			1899 Hoffenheim	2–1	1–1
			İstanbul Başakşehir	1–2	0–0
		Round of 32	Milan	0–3	0–1	0–4
2018–19	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Crusaders	7–0	2–0	9–0
		2Q	MOL Vidi	0–0	0–1	0–1
	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Zrinjski Mostar	1–0	1–1	2–1
		PO	Torpedo Kutaisi	4–0	1–0	5–0
		Group A	Bayer Leverkusen	2–3	1–1	4th
			Zürich	1–1	0–1
			AEK Larnaca	0–0	1–1
2019–20	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Ferencváros	2−3	1−2	3−5
	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Valur	4–0	1–1	5–1
		3Q	The New Saints	5–0	4–0	9–0
		PO	Maribor	0–0	2–2	2–2 (a)
		Group H	CSKA Moscow	5–1	1–1	2nd
			Espanyol	0−1	0−6
			Ferencváros	1–1	3–0
		Round of 32	Internazionale	0−2	1−2	1–4
2020–21	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Budućnost Podgorica		N/A	N/A

Notes

• 1Q: First Qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round

UEFA ranking

See also: UEFA coefficient

As of 25 July 2020[27]

Rank	Team	Points
56	APOEL	27.500
57	Slavia Prague	27.500
58	Ludogorets Razgrad	26.000
59	Mönchengladbach	26.000
60	Young Boys	25.500

All-time European performance

As of 20 February 2020

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Opponents by country	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GD
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	1	1	0	2:1
Croatia	4	2	1	1	8:5
Cyprus	2	0	2	0	1:1
Czech Republic	2	1	1	0	4:2
Denmark	2	0	1	1	1:2
England	4	0	1	3	5:13
France	2	0	1	1	3:5
Georgia	2	2	0	0	5:0
Germany	4	1	2	1	6:6
Hungary	6	1	2	3	7:7
Iceland	2	1	1	0	5:1
Israel	2	1	0	1	3:3
Italy	6	1	1	5	5:14
Lithuania	4	2	1	1	7:3
Luxembourg	2	1	1	0	5:1
Moldova	2	0	0	2	1:3
Montenegro	2	2	0	0	5:0
Netherlands	2	2	0	0	4:0
Northern Ireland	2	2	0	0	9:0
Portugal	2	1	1	0	3:1
Romania	2	1	0	1	1:1
Russia	2	1	1	0	6:2
Serbia	6	3	3	0	11:7
Slovakia	2	1	0	1	4:2
Slovenia	2	0	2	0	2:2
Spain	6	0	0	6	1:17
Switzerland	8	1	3	4	5:13
Turkey	2	0	1	1	1:2
Ukraine	2	1	1	0	2:1
Wales	2	2	0	0	9:0
Total	90	31	28	31	131:109

Players

First-team squad

As of 12 August 2020[28]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 3 DF Anton Nedyalkov 4 DF Cicinho 5 DF Georgi Terziev 6 DF Taleb Tawatha 7 MF Alex Santana 8 MF Dan Biton 9 FW Higinio Marín 12 MF Anicet Abel 13 FW Mavis Tchibota 17 MF Jorginho 18 MF Svetoslav Dyakov (captain) 21 DF Dragoș Grigore

No. Position Player 22 DF Jordan Ikoko 23 GK Plamen Iliev 25 MF Stéphane Badji 27 GK Vladislav Stoyanov 28 FW Claudiu Keșerü 30 DF Cosmin Moți 33 GK Renan 37 FW Bernard Tekpetey (on loan from Schalke 04) 64 MF Dominik Yankov 82 MF Ivan Yordanov 88 MF Wanderson 95 MF Cauly

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2020.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player MF Svetoslav Kovachev (at Arda until 31 December 2020) MF Serkan Yusein (at CSKA 1948 until 30 June 2021)

No. Position Player FW Júnior Brandão (at Atlético Goianiense until 30 June 2020)

Foreign players

Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the First League, however only three can be used during a match day. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for five years.

EU Nationals Jakub Świerczok Claudiu Keșerü Cosmin Moți Dragoș Grigore Higinio Marín

EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) Wanderson Renan Anicet Abel Jordan Ikoko Jorginho Cauly Oliveira Souza

Non-EU Nationals Cicinho Dan Biton Mavis Tchibota Stéphane Badji Taleb Tawatha

Retired numbers

No.	Player	Nationality	Position	Ludogorets debut	Last match	Ref
84	Marcelinho	Bulgaria	Attacking midfielder	6 August 2011	21 June 2020	[29]

Second-team squad

Main article: PFC Ludogorets Razgrad II

Records and notable stats

Club Records

• Biggest home win in First League: Ludogorets 7–0 Beroe Stara Zagora (18 April 2018)
• Biggest away win in First League: Minyor Pernik 0–7 Ludogorets (18 April 2012)
• Biggest home loss in First League: Ludogorets 0–2 Cherno More Varna (29 March 2012), Ludogorets 2–4 Litex Lovech (20 October 2013), Ludogorets 0–2 Beroe Stara Zagora (20 May 2016)
• Biggest away loss in First League: Cherno More 3–1 Ludogorets (31 August 2013), Beroe 2–0 Ludogorets (25 April 2015), Litex 4–2 Ludogorets (23 May 2015), Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2–0 Ludogorets (2 November 2015), Slavia 3–1 Ludogorets (12 July 2020)
• Most consecutive matches without lost in First League: 35 (2018–19) (5), (2019–20) (30)
• Most consecutive matches without win in First League (single season): 4 (2017–18)
• Most consecutive wins in First League (single season): 14 (2017–18)
• Most consecutive losses in First League (single season): 3 (2011–12)
• Biggest European home win: Ludogorets 7–0 Crusaders (11 July 2018, UEFA Champions League First qualifying round first leg)
• Biggest European away win: The New Saints 0–4 Ludogorets (15 August 2019, UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round second leg)
• Biggest European home defeat: Ludogorets 0–3 Valencia (13 March 2014, UEFA Europa League Round of 16), Ludogorets 0–3 Milan (15 February 2018, UEFA Europa League Round of 32)
• Biggest European away defeat: Arsenal 6–0 Ludogorets (19 October 2016, UEFA Champions League group stage), Espanyol 6–0 Ludogorets (7 November 2019, UEFA Europa League group stage)

Individual Records

• Most appearances: Marcelinho (347)
• Most goals: Claudiu Keșerü (119)
• Most league appearances: Marcelinho (234)
• Most league goals: Claudiu Keșerü (95)
• Most cup appearances: Marcelinho (26)
• Most cup goals: Claudiu Keșerü (8)
• Most supercup appearances: Marcelinho (7)
• Most supercup goals: Marcelinho (2)
• Most European competition appearances: Marcelinho (80)
• Most European competition goals: Claudiu Keșerü (15) , Marcelinho (15)
• Most capped Bulgarian player: Stanislav Manolev - 51 caps
• Most capped foreign player: Milan Borjan - 49 caps
• Most trophies won by player with Ludogorets: Marcelinho, Svetoslav Dyakov (15)
• Most trophies won by player: Cosmin Moți (16)

Other Records

• Ludogorets is the second team in the world, together with Levadia Tallinn from Estonia, that after promoting from the second to the first level of the football league pyramid of its country, wins a treble, capturing all of the local trophies – the league, the national cup and the supercup.
• Ludogorets is the first team in Bulgaria to win 2 promotions in a row and then succeed in achieving a treble.
• The first active club in Bulgaria for the most consecutive domestic league titles "9 in a row". They are equal with the bankrupted in 2016 club of CSKA's record during the seasons from 1954 to 1962.
• During the 2013–14 season Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to won a group, recording 5 wins and 1 draw.
• Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to begin their group stage participation in European tournaments with 3 consecutive wins, when in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage they recorded consecutive wins against PSV (2–0), Dinamo Zagreb (3–0) and Chornomorets Odesa (1–0), without conceding a goal in any of the games.
• After the end of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage, Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to record 9 wins in European competitions in a single season, as well as the first Bulgarian team to record 5 away wins in European competitions in a single season.
• After the end of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage, Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to record points in that competition when they defeated Basel 1–0 at home. This was also the first home win for a Bulgarian team in the UEFA Champions League, and was followed by a 2–2 home draw with Liverpool.
• Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to qualify twice for the Champions League group stage, achieving the feat during the 2016–17 season of the tournament. During that season, the team set a new record for most goals scored (6), and became the first Bulgarian team to avoid finishing last in their group.
• On 19 September, 2019 Ludogorets defeated CSKA Moscow 5–1 in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage, recording the biggest group stage win by a Bulgarian team.
• On 3 October, 2019 Ludogorets defeated Ferencváros 0–3 in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage, recording the biggest away group stage win by a Bulgarian team.

Goalscoring and appearance records

As of 2 August 2020 Most appearances for the club in all competitions Rank Name Career Appearances 1 Marcelinho 2011–2020 347 2 Svetoslav Dyakov 2011– 331 3 Cosmin Moți 2012– 284 4 Wanderson 2014– 245 5 Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 204 – Claudiu Keșerü 2015– 204 7 Anicet Abel 2014– 197 8 Yordan Minev 2011–2017 174 9 Juninho Quixadá 2011–2018 170 10 Vladislav Stoyanov 2013– 164

Most goals for the club in all competitions Rank Name Career Goals 1 Claudiu Keșerü 2015– 119 2 Marcelinho 2011–2020 98 3 Wanderson 2014– 65 4 Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 49 5 Juninho Quixadá 2011–2018 42 6 Cosmin Moți 2012– 37 – Jakub Świerczok 2018– 37 8 Ivan Stoyanov 2011–2013 30 – Jody Lukoki 2015–2020 30 10 Roman Bezjak 2012–2015 29

• Includes appearances in First League, Bulgarian Cup, Bulgarian Supercup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
• Players in bold are still playing for Ludogorets.

As of 13 July 2020 Most appearances for the club in First League Rank Name Career Appearances 1 Marcelinho 2011–2020 234 2 Svetoslav Dyakov 2011– 227 3 Cosmin Moți 2012– 183 4 Wanderson 2014– 163 5 Claudiu Keșerü 2015– 142 6 Juninho Quixadá 2011–2018 132 – Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 132 8 Anicet Abel 2014– 131 9 Yordan Minev 2011–2017 117 10 Vladislav Stoyanov 2013– 114

Most goals for the club in First League Rank Name Career Goals 1 Claudiu Keșerü 2015– 95 2 Marcelinho 2011–2020 75 3 Wanderson 2014– 49 4 Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 35 5 Juninho Quixadá 2011–2018 34 6 Cosmin Moți 2012– 26 7 Ivan Stoyanov 2011–2013 25 8 Jakub Świerczok 2018– 24 9 Roman Bezjak 2012–2015 20 10 Emil Gargorov 2011–2013 19

• Players in bold are still playing for Ludogorets.

As of 27 February 2020

Most appearances for the club in European competitions Rank Name Career Appearances 1 Marcelinho 2011–2020 80 2 Svetoslav Dyakov 2011– 78 3 Cosmin Moți 2012– 76 4 Wanderson 2014– 64 5 Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 51 6 Claudiu Keșerü 2015– 48 7 Anicet Abel 2014– 46 8 Vladislav Stoyanov 2013– 41 – Jody Lukoki 2015–2020 41 – Cicinho 2015– 41

Most goals for the club in European competitions Rank Name Career Goals 1 Marcelinho 2011–2020 15 – Claudiu Keșerü 2015– 15 3 Wanderson 2014– 14 4 Jody Lukoki 2015–2020 10 – Jakub Świerczok 2018– 10 6 Roman Bezjak 2012–2015 8 7 Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 7 8 Cosmin Moți 2012– 6 8 Dani Abalo 2013–2015 6 10 Jonathan Cafú 2015–2017 4

• Includes appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
• Players in bold are still playing for Ludogorets.

As of 4 December 2019

Most appearances for the club in Bulgarian Cup Rank Name Career Appearances 1 Marcelinho 2011–2020 26 2 Svetoslav Dyakov 2011– 25 3 Cosmin Moți 2012– 24 4 Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 23 5 Juninho Quixadá 2011–2018 22 6 Georgi Terziev 2013– 18 7 Anicet Abel 2014– 17 8 Fábio Espinho 2012–2015 16 9 Mihail Aleksandrov 2010–2016 15 10 Júnior Caiçara 2012–2015 14

Most goals for the club in Bulgarian Cup Rank Name Career Goals 1 Claudiu Keșerü 2015– 8 2 Virgil Misidjan 2013–2018 7 3 Marcelinho 2011–2020 6 4 Juninho Quixadá 2011–2018 5 – Cosmin Moți 2012– 5 6 Mihail Aleksandrov 2010–2016 4 – João Paulo 2017–2020 4 8 Christian Kabasele 2011–2012 3 – Ivan Stoyanov 2011–2013 3 – Gustavo Campanharo 2016–2019 3 – Mavis Tchibota 2019– 3

• Players in bold are still playing for Ludogorets.

Recent seasons

League positions

Season	Position	GP	GW	GD	GL	G+	G–	GD	Points
2011–12	1°	30	22	4	4	73	16	+57	70
2012–13	1°	30	22	6	2	58	13	+45	72
2013–14	1°	38	25	9	4	74	20	+54	84
2014–15	1°	32	18	9	5	63	24	+39	60
2015–16	1°	32	21	7	4	55	21	+34	70
2016–17	1°	36	25	8	3	87	28	+59	83
2017–18	1°	36	27	7	2	91	22	+69	88
2018–19	1°	36	23	10	3	67	19	+48	79
2019–20	1°	31	21	9	1	59	18	+41	72
Total	9 Titles	301	204	69	28	627	181	+446	678

Season	Group	Position	M	W	D	L	G	D	P	Bulgarian Cup	Bulgarian Super Cup	UEFA Champions League	UEFA Europa League	Notes
2010–11	East B Group	1	24	12	8	4	38	16	44	Round of 32	Did not participate	Did not participate	Did not participate	Promoted
2011–12	A Group	1	30	22	4	4	73	16	70	Winner	Winner	Did not participate	Did not participate	Achieved treble
2012–13	A Group	1	30	22	6	2	58	13	72	Round of 32	Finalist	Second qualifying round	Did not participate	2nd consecutive title
2013–14	A Group	1	38	25	9	4	74	20	84	Winner	Winner	Play-off round	Round of 16	Achieved treble
2014–15	A Group	1	32	18	9	5	63	24	63	Semi-final	Finalist	Group stage	Did not participate	4th consecutive title
2015–16	A Group	1	32	21	7	4	55	21	70	Round of 16	Not held	Second qualifying round	Did not participate	5th consecutive title
2016–17	First League	1	36	25	8	3	87	28	83	Finalist	Finalist	Group stage	Round of 32	6th consecutive title
2017–18	First League	1	36	27	7	2	91	22	88	Quarter-final	Winner	Third qualifying round	Round of 32	7th consecutive title
2018–19	First League	1	36	23	10	3	67	19	79	Quarter-final	Winner	Second qualifying round	Group stage	8th consecutive title
2019–20	First League	1	31	21	9	1	59	18	72	Quarter-final	Finalist	First qualifying round	Round of 32	9th consecutive title

Rivalries

Rivalry with CSKA Sofia

As of 1 December 2019

Competition	Played	Ludogorets	Draws	CSKA
First League	26	14	11	1
Bulgarian Cup	4	1	1	2
Total	30	15	13	3

Dates are in dd/mm/yyyy form.

  Ludogorets win   Draw   CSKA win

		Ludogorets vs CSKA		CSKA vs Ludogorets
League
Season	Division / Round	Date	Score	Date	Score
2011–12	A PFG	23 May 2012	1–0	28 November 2011	2–2
2012–13		22 September 2012	1–0	11 April 2013	0–0
2013–14		10 August 2013	3–0	10 November 2013	0–2
		30 April 2014	1–0	26 March 2014	0–1
2014–15		16 August 2014	2–0	22 November 2014	1–1
		4 April 2015	4–0	9 May 2015	0–0
2016–17	First League	5 November 2016	2–1	1 April 2017	0–2
		20 May 2017	1–1	23 April 2017	0–2
2017–18		5 November 2017	1–2	22 July 2017	0–1
		6 April 2018	3–2	5 May 2018	0–0
2018–19		19 August 2018	1–0	6 December 2018	1–1
		6 April 2019	0–0	11 May 2019	0–0
2019–20		11 August 2019	0–0	1 December 2019	0–0
		–	–	5 July 2020	1–1
Bulgarian Cup
2012–13	Round of 16	31 October 2012	1–2	24 November 2012	0–1
2017–18	Quarter-final	–	–	14 December 2017	2–1 (aet)
2018–19	Quarter-final	3 April 2019	0–1	–	–

Rivalry with Levski Sofia

As of 8 July 2020

Competition	Played	Ludogorets	Draws	Levski
First League	29	19	6	4
Bulgarian Cup	2	0	2	1
Total	31	19	8	5

Dates are in dd/mm/yyyy form.

  Ludogorets win   Draw   Levski win

		Ludogorets vs Levski		Levski vs Ludogorets
League
Season	Division / Round	Date	Score	Date	Score
2011–12	A PFG	25 September 2011	2–1	2 April 2012	0–1
2012–13		18 November 2012	2–1	18 May 2013	1–0
2013–14		7 December 2013	0–1	15 September 2013	0–2
		9 April 2014	2–0	11 May 2014	2–3
2014–15		8 March 2015	1–0	27 September 2014	3–2
2015–16		1 August 2015	2–0	18 October 2015	1–1
		21 February 2016	2–1	23 April 2016	0–0
2016–17	First League	30 November 2016	2–1	13 August 2016	1–0
		14 April 2017	0–0	16 May 2017	1–3
2017–18		29 October 2017	2–0	6 September 2017	0–0
		12 May 2018	2–2	14 April 2018	0–1
2018–19		20 October 2018	2–1	9 March 2019	0–2
		18 May 2019	1–1	14 April 2019	0–2
2019–20		6 October 2019	2–0	5 June 2020	0–1
		8 July 2020	3–0	–	–
Bulgarian Cup
2014–15	Semi-final	8 April 2015	0–0	29 April 2015	1–0
2019–20	Quarter-final	–	–	5 March 2020	0–0 (6–5 p.)

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

Bulgaria Mihail Aleksandrov Marcelinho Yordan Minev Emil Gargorov Svetoslav Dyakov Ivan Stoyanov Stanislav Genchev Georgi Kostadinov Ivan Čvorović Vladislav Stoyanov Hristo Zlatinski Georgi Terziev Aleksandar Aleksandrov Wanderson Tsvetelin Chunchukov Tsvetomir Panov Anton Nedyalkov Plamen Iliev Stanislav Manolev Svetoslav Kovachev

Europe Alexandre Barthe Christian Kabasele Ľubomír Guldan Mladen Kašćelan Tero Mäntylä Cosmin Moți Claudiu Keșerü Andrei Prepeliță Dragoș Grigore Adrian Popa Roman Bezjak Fábio Espinho Dani Abalo Virgil Misidjan Igor Plastun Jacek Góralski Jakub Świerczok Dan Biton Taleb Tawatha

North America Milan Borjan

South America Juninho Quixadá Júnior Caiçara Lucas Sasha Cicinho Jonathan Cafu Natanael Gustavo Campanharo Renan dos Santos Rafael Forster Cauly Sebastián Hernández Brayan Angulo José Luis Palomino Jorge Broun

Africa Hamza Younés Anicet Abel Jody Lukoki Jordan Ikoko May Mahlangu Mavis Tchibota Stéphane Badji Jorginho Bernard Tekpetey

Notable managers

Dates	Name	Honours
2010–2013	Ivaylo Petev	99992 A Group titles 1 B Group title 1 Bulgarian Cup title 1 Bulgarian Supercup title
2013–2014	Stoycho Stoev	99991 A Group title 1 Bulgarian Cup
2014–2015 2015–2017	Georgi Dermendzhiev	99991 A Group title 2 First League titles 1 Bulgarian Supercup
2017–2018	Dimitar Dimitrov	99991 First League title
2018	Paulo Autuori	99991 Bulgarian Supercup title
2019	Stoycho Stoev	99991 First League title 1 Bulgarian Supercup title
2019–present	Pavel Vrba	99991 First League title

Captains

Years	Name	Became captain
2011–2013	Emil Gargorov	30 years
2013–	Svetoslav Dyakov	28 years

Personnel

Board of directors

Position	Name	Nationality
Owner	Kiril Domuschiev
President	Alexander Alexandrov
Chairman of the board of directors	Temenuga Gazdova
Managing Director	Angel Petrichev
Youth Academy Director	Valentin Stanchev
Sports Director	Georgi Karamandzhukov
Marketing Director	Anna Pencheva

Current technical body

Position	Name	Nationality
Team Manager	Nikolay Kirchev
Chief Scout	Yakov Paparkov
Scout	Ivan Tsvetkov
Head Coach	Pavel Vrba
Assistant Coach	Bruno Pivetti
Goalkeeper coach	Zdravko Zdravkov
Ludogorets II Head Coach	Todor Zhivondov
Ludogorets II Coach	Ivo Gradev
Ludogorets II Goalkeeper Coach	Viktor Georgiev
U19 Head Coach	Stefan Slavov
U19 Coach	Rosen Marinov
U19 Goalkeeper Coach	Zdravko Chavdarov
U17 Head Coach	Yordan Yurukov
U17 Coach	Dilyan Georgiev
U17 Goalkeeper Coach	Dobrin Dobrev
U16 Coach	Hristo Gospodinov
U15 Coach	Emil Georgiev
U14 Coach	Emilyan Petrov
Data Analyst	Lucas Oliveira
Video Analyst	Rafael Ferreira
Conditioning Coach	Ian Coll
Conditioning Coach	Ivan-Rafael Diaz
Physiotherapist	Yordan Lazarov
Physiotherapist	Marco Alves
Physiotherapist	Iulian Mircea
Doctor	Valentin Velikov
Administrator	Plamen Yordanov
Translation	Stela Simeonova
Translation	Viktor Tsvetanov
Kit Manager	Ali Ali
Videooperator	Filip Radoev

References

1. https://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/teams/club=2603104/profile/index.html
2. "Ludogorets won the sixth title with a record breaking score!". www.ludogorets.com.
3. "Achievements, records & performance - PFC Ludogorets". www.ludogorets.com.
4. ""Лудогорец Арена" с най-модерното осветление". sportal.bg. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
5. Inter opponents Ludogorets sack coach, Football Italia, 16 December 2019
6. {{cite web|publisher=bgclubs.eu|title=Ludogorets Razgrad 1945|url=http://bgclubs.eu/teams/Ludogorets1945(Razgrad)
7. "Ludogorets crash the party in Bulgaria". uefa.com. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
8. "Ludogorets clinch maiden Bulgarian Cup". uefa.com. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
9. {{cite web|publisher=ludogorets.com|title=Ludogorets 2013/14|url=https://www.ludogorets.com/en/hall-of-fame/2013-14/
10. {{cite web|publisher=ludogorets.com|title=9 Consecutive Title|url=https://www.ludogorets.com/en/news/?i=3564
11. Europa League: Ludogorets win 2:1 at Dinamo Zagreb in Group B, Sky Sports, 12 December 2013
12. Europa League: Ludogorets progress after 4:3 victory over Lazio, Sky Sports, 27 February 2014
13. Europa League: Valencia beat Ludogorets 1:0 to reach quarter-finals, Sky Sports, 20 March 2014
14. Dudelange striker Turpel frustrates Ludogorets, UEFA.com, 22 July 2014
15. Ludogorets squeeze out Partizan, UEFA.com, 6 August 2014
16. Ludogorets Razgrad win 6–5 on penalties, BBC, 27 August 2014
17. "Liverpool 2:1 Ludo Razgd". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
18. uefa.com (1 October 2014). "UEFA Champions League 2014/15 - History - Ludogorets-Real Madrid – UEFA.com". uefa.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
19. "Ludogorets 1:0 Basel: Minev snatches victory at the death against 10-man Swiss champions". goal.com. 22 October 2014.
20. "Liverpool hit by late Ludogorets leveller". UEFA.com. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
21. Ludogorets 5–1 CSKA Moskva, UEFA.com
22. Ferencváros 0–3 Ludogorets, UEFA.com
23. [https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2020/matches/round=2001150/match=2027911/ Ludogorets 1–1 Ferencváros, UEFA.com
24. https://ludogorets.com/en/news/?i=3575
25. "Лудогорец ще играе с Umbro през следващите два сезона". www.ludogorets.com.
26. Орлицата Фортуна в неизвестност! Птицата с нов опит за бягство, topsport.bg, 18 April 2014
27. Kassies, Bert. "UEFA Team Ranking 2019". kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
28. "Players : A team – PFC Ludogorets". www.ludogorets.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
29. 9 титли по-късно: Легендата Марселиньо каза "сбогом" на Лудогорец - Gol

External links

• Official website (in Bulgarian and English)
• Ludogorets at bgclubs.eu
• Ludogorets at UEFA.com