2014–15 PFC Levski Sofia season

Levski Sofia
2014–15 season
President Bulgaria Todor Batkov
Manager Spain José Murcia (until 4 August 2014)
Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov (until 22 December 2014)
Bulgaria Stoycho Stoev (from 22 December 2014)
Stadium Georgi Asparuhov
Vasil Levski National Stadium (for derby games only)
A Group 7th
Bulgarian Cup Runners-up
Top goalscorer League: Añete (14 goals)
All: Añete (16 goals)
Highest home attendance 15 000 vs Ludogorets Razgrad (29 April)
Lowest home attendance 0 vs Botev Plovdiv (17 August)
Home colours
Away colours

Summary

June, July, August

Levski Sofia started the season with a new logo for the anniversary of the club.

After a frustrating 2013–14 season Levski found themselves in 5th position and missing participation in European competitions for the first time since 1990. The disappointing season lead to the release of a lot of players mainly foreigners with big salaries. Those releases were a result of the club's bad financial condition. Stanislav Angelov announced his retirement from professional football after a friendly game against SS Lazio which marked the 100th year anniversary of the club. Vladimir Gadzhev and Dimitar Makriev's contracts were not renewed while players like Kevin Bru, Larsen Touré, Rafael Bastos, Cristóvão da Silva Ramos, Pavel Čmovš, Ricardo Nunes and Dustley Mulder were released on free transfers.

On 19 May club legend Georgi Ivanov returned to the club as a Sports director and announced the club plans to change the transfer policy and sign only local players. As a result of that ex-Levski players Valeri Domovchiyski, Borislav Stoychev and Lachezar Baltanov returned to the club. Ivanov also made some changes in the staff releasing the chief scouts Doncho Donev and Kiril Vangelov. Club icon Daniel Borimirov was appointed as head of the Youth department.

On 5 June 2014 Georgi Ivanov announced the appointment of the Spanish manager José Murcia as the head coach of the team. The contract would be for a 2-year time. This was the first time in the club's history when a Spanish coach is in charge of Levski Sofia. 'Pepe' Murcia is going to be the 13th foreign coach to lead the Blues in their 100 years of history. The appointing of Murcia bring some more changes in the staff at Levski which included hiring methodologist David Serano for the Youth academy. As the pre-season started Pepe Murcia appointed Valeri Bojinov as the new captain of the team. Former player Dimitar Telkiyski also joined the club being appointed as youth coach and assistant of Georgi Todorov at the new formed U-21 team of the club.

Daniel Borimirov returned to the club as head of the youth department.

In the first day of July Vladimir Gadzhev returned to the club and signed a new 1-year contract after failing to find a new club abroad in which to continue his career. On 8 July attacking midfielder Miguel Bedoya signed a 2-year contract with the club. 10 days later Levski signed with another Spanish player Añete. Bedoya and Añete are the 3rd and 4th Spanish players to play for the club after Toni Calvo and Alejandro Pérez. Veselin Minev also returned to the club signing a 2-year contract which wasn't accepted well from the fans and at the friendly game against Haskovo the supporters swore at the left back.[1] In the meantime 18-year-old youngster from the Academy Deyan Ivanov signed his first professional contract with the club. The defender will stay with the Blues until 2017.[2]

Levski Sofia finished their pre-season preparation with 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. The Blues started the campaign with a home 1-1 draw against Lokomotiv Plovdiv on 19 July. On 27 July Levski suffered their 5th lost derby in-a-row after a 0-2 loss against CSKA Sofia. A week later the Blues secured their first win of the season beating Lokomotiv Sofia with 1-0 after a goal scored by Roman Procházka. However a few days later manager Pepe Murcia was released [3] and sports director Georgi Ivanov took in charge being Director and head coach at the same time. This was the 4th time in history when Ivanov is taking charge as head coach of the first team.

The first game under the management of Georgi Ivanov was away against Beroe in Stara Zagora. Levski lost 2-1 after 2 mistakes by goalkeeper Stefano Kunchev which led to his release from the club. After the match Georgi Ivanov announced that from 1 January 2015 Dimitar Dimitrov will take charge as head coach of the club. The following round Levski snatched a late 2-1 win against Botev Plovdiv with goals scored by Vladimir Gadzhev and Luis Pedro in the last seconds. The match was played in front of empty stands due to a punishment from the Bulgarian Football Union. On 25 August Levski suffered a heavy 3-0 loss in their visit against Litex Lovech. In the end of the game Levski Sofia fans clashed with the local police which led to a further 2-match ban of playing in front of an empty stadium with no spectators.

September and October

On 1 September Levski secured a second late win in-a-row after beating 1-0 Cherno More Varna with a penalty scored by Valeri Bojinov in 90+4. After the game Georgi Ivanov announced that the team needs a new central forward. During the first week of September Mauricio Gómez, Alexis Allart and Najib Ammari were offered trials at the club. All of them took part in the friendly game against Botev Vratsa won 2-0. Ammari was offered a contract while Gomez and Allart were released from their trials. In the meantime Valeri Bojinov left the club to join Serie B side Ternana. After the 2 week break Levski won another late win against Slavia Sofia followed by a 4-1 away victory against Haskovo. The team also started their campaign in the Bulgarian Cup with a smashing 7-1 away win against Spartak Varna. On 27 September Levski beat Ludogorets against the odds with 3-2 making it their 3rd ever win against the UEFA Champions League participant. Miguel Bedoya scored his first two goals for the Blues with Georgi Sarmov adding the third one. The team won 5 games in total during September.

During the month of October Levski made some disappointing results managing not to win a single game. Draws were made in the away games against Marek and Lokomotiv Plovdiv with a last minute equaliser scored by Martin Kamburov. The bad form continued with another loss in the derby against CSKA Sofia with 0-3. The disappointement for the fans continued with a shocking 0-2 loss against Second Division side Montana for the Bulgarian Cup placing the team in an uncomfortable position before the re-match in the beginning of December.

November and December

In the beginning of November Levski recorded their first win for over a month with a 1-0 away victory against Lokomotiv Sofia. In the following round The Blues were again punished to play in front of empty stands against Beroe Stara Zagora. Georgi Ivanov's side lost 0-1 finding themselves placed 5th after 18 rounds. On 23 November Levski marked their first win in Plovdiv against Botev since 2009. The 3-0 victory was followed by a 2-2 home draw against Litex. The Blues managed to come back from a 2-goal difference in the Bulgarian Cup and won against Montana 4-0 which qualify them for the Quarterfinals of the tournament. Despite that Levski finished the year 2014 with 2 losses in-a-row against Cherno More Varna and Slavia Sofia. The team finished the year 2014 placing 6th in the Championship.

In the winter break it was expected for Dimitar Dimitrov to take in charge the team as announced by the sports manager Georgi Ivanov. Eventually both sides didn't came out with an agreement and Ivanov was forced to look for another coach option. On 22 December 2014 Stoycho Stoev was announced as the new Levski Sofia manager.[4] Stoev signed a 2.5-year deal while Ivanov came back to the Sports Director position.

January and February

During the winter break Levski released several players like Plamen Krumov, Anton Ognyanov and others. While Miroslav Ivanov's contract expired and youngster Aleksandar Lyubenov was sent on loan to Septemvri Simitli. The first incoming transfer to arrive was right back Aleksandar Aleksandrov from Cherno More Varna. In the days afterwards the club signed with goalkeeper Bojan Jorgačević and defender Emil Ninu.

Goalkeeper Bojan Jorgačević signed a contract for one and a half year.

The team started the mid-season preparation with an 8-0 win against Vihren Sandanski. After that the team went to Turkey for their training camp during the winter break. They started with a draw against Vorskla Poltava and a 3-0 win against UEFA Europa League participators Qarabağ FK. The team managed to lose only once to Slovak side Spartak Myjava and made 4 more draws against Lech Poznan, Milsami Orhei, Petrolul Ploiesti and Karpaty Lviv. While the game against Armenian Ulisses was interrupted due to clashes and fights between the players of both teams.[5] The team finished the training camp in Turkey with 1 win, 5 draws and 1 loss. Valeri Domovchiyski scored 10 goals in total in the friendlies.

Somali born Liban Abdi moved on loan to Levski until the end of the season.

During the training camp the club managed to sing on loan Somali winger Liban Abdi from Turkish side Rizespor. 10 days before the renewing of the season Levski signed with Polish striker Lukasz Gikiewicz making him the first ever Polish player to play for the club.

Polish striker Lukasz Gikiewicz signed a contract with the club for 2 years.

The team started 2015 with a 3-0 win against Haskovo in a first leg Quarterfinal of the Bulgarian Cup. Valeri Domovchiyski confirmed his good form by scoring 2 goals while Tihomir Trifonov scored and own goal to fix the final score. Bojan Jorgacevic, Emil Ninu, Liban Abdi and Lukasz Gikiewicz made their official debut for the club in this match.

Levski started their campaign in A PFG with a smashing 8-0 win against Haskovo. Valeri Domovchiyski scored a brace and assisted for one more goal notching a total of 11 goals for the season . Spanish playmaker Antonio Salas Quinta also scored twice and made 2 assists, while new signing Liban Abdi made 3 assists in total. Miguel Bedoya and Bozhidar Kraev also scored and Polish striker Lukasz Gikiewicz scored his first goal for the club making the final score 8-0. This was the biggest win in the championship for Levski since 2007.

March, April and May

In March Levski played their Quarterfinal's 2nd leg against Haskovo and made a 1-1 draw. With an aggregate score of 4-1 "The Blues" qualified for the Semifinals of the Bulgarian Cup. On 8 March Levski lost 0-1 against Ludogorets Razgrad after a mistake from goalkeeper Plamen Iliev that led to the goal. Although Levski won against Marek Dupnitsa in the last round they were surpassed by Botev Plovdiv who won 3 out of 3 games and Levski played in the relegation group of the championship during the playoffs. The Blues finished 7th which equaled their anti-record. The only other time in history when Levski Sofia finished at 7th place was in season 1937-38.

Transfers

Summer transfers

See List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2014

Winter transfers

In:

No. Position Player
29 Serbia GK Bojan Jorgačević (from Turkey Erciyesspor)[19]
2 Bulgaria DF Aleksandar Aleksandrov (from Cherno More Varna)[20]
31 Romania DF Emil Ninu (from Romania Universitatea Cluj)[21]
7 Norway FW Liban Abdi (on loan from Turkey Çaykur Rizespor)[22]
9 Poland FW Łukasz Gikiewicz (from Cyprus AEL Limassol)[23]

Out:

No. Position Player
16 Bulgaria MF Miroslav Ivanov (end of contract)
1 Republic of Macedonia GK Kristijan Naumovski (released)
71 Bulgaria DF Plamen Krumov (released)
7 Bulgaria DF Anton Ognyanov (released)
35 Bulgaria DF Plamen Dimov (released)
13 Algeria MF Najib Ammari (released)
24 Bulgaria GK Aleksandar Lyubenov (on loan to Septemvri Simitli)

See List of Bulgarian football transfers winter 2014–15

Squad

Updated on 26 May 2015.
Squad No. Name Nationality Position(s) Since Date of birth (Age) Previously at Games Played Goals Scored
Goalkeepers
23 Plamen Iliev  Bulgaria GK 2011 30 November 1991 Bulgaria Vidima-Rakovski 123 0
29 Bojan Jorgačević  Serbia GK 2015 12 February 1982 Turkey Erciyesspor 11 0
Defenders
2 Aleksandar Aleksandrov  Bulgaria RB 2015 30 July 1986 Bulgaria Cherno More Varna 11 0
3 Aymen Belaïd  Tunisia CB 2014 2 January 1987 Bulgaria Lokomotiv Plovdiv 41 1
4 Miki Orachev  Bulgaria LB 19 March 1996 Bulgaria Levski Academy 19 1
5 Borislav Stoychev  Bulgaria CB 2014 26 November 1986 Bulgaria Beroe 49 2
14 Veselin Minev  Bulgaria LB 2014 14 October 1980 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv 157 1
31 Emil Ninu  Romania LB, CB, RB 2015 28 August 1986 Romania Universitatea Cluj 11 1
33 Galin Tashev  Bulgaria LB / CB 2 February 1997 Bulgaria Levski Academy 3 0
39 Deyan Ivanov  Bulgaria CB 12 April 1996 Bulgaria Levski Academy 1 0
Midfielders
8 Georgi Sarmov  Bulgaria DM / CM 2014 7 September 1985 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv 119 10
10 Miguel Bedoya  Spain AM 2014 15 April 1986 Spain Numancia 35 9
11 Luis Pedro  Netherlands LW / RW 2014 27 April 1990 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv 25 4
12 Bozhidar Kraev  Bulgaria AM 23 June 1997 Bulgaria Levski Academy 26 9
15 Roman Procházka  Slovakia CM 2012 14 March 1989 Slovakia Spartak Trnava 62 3
18 Borislav Tsonev  Bulgaria CM 29 April 1995 Bulgaria Levski Academy 32 4
21 Radoslav Tsonev  Bulgaria CM 29 April 1995 Bulgaria Levski Academy 26 4
22 Vladislav Misyak  Bulgaria LW 15 July 1995 Bulgaria Levski Academy 16 2
30 Liban Abdi  Norway LW / RW 2015 5 October 1988 Turkey Rizespor 13 2
45 Vladimir Gadzhev  Bulgaria DM / CM 2008 18 July 1987 Greece Panathinaikos 202 26
77 Stefan Velev  Bulgaria DM / CM 2013 2 May 1989 Bulgaria Beroe 48 1
Strikers
9 Łukasz Gikiewicz  Poland ST 2015 26 October 1987 Cyprus AEL Limassol 9 3
17 Valeri Domovchiyski  Bulgaria ST 2014 5 October 1986 Bulgaria Cherno More 140 67
19 Iliya Dimitrov  Bulgaria ST 10 July 1996 Bulgaria Levski Academy 4 0
20 Antonio Salas Quinta  Spain AM / FW 2014 1 October 1985 Greece Niki Volos 34 16

Statistics

Goalscorers

Player League Cup Total
Spain Añete 14 2 16
Bulgaria Valeri Domovchiyski 10 4 14
Spain Miguel Bedoya 8 1 9
Bulgaria Bozhidar Kraev 6 3 9
Bulgaria Vladimir Gadzhev 5 0 5
Slovakia Roman Prochazka 4 0 4
Poland Lukasz Gikiewicz 2 1 3
Netherlands Luis Pedro 3 0 3
Bulgaria Radoslav Tsonev 2 1 3
Bulgaria Borislav Tsonev 3 0 3
Bulgaria Miroslav Ivanov 1 1 2
Bulgaria Georgi Sarmov 2 0 2
Norway Liban Abdi 2 0 2
Bulgaria Valeri Bojinov 1 0 1
Bulgaria Vladislav Misyak 0 1 1
Tunisia Aymen Belaid 0 1 1
Romania Emil Ninu 1 0 1
Bulgaria Miki Orachev 1 0 1

Assists

Player League Cup Total
Spain Añete 11 0 11
Slovakia Roman Prochazka 5 2 7
Spain Miguel Bedoya 6 1 7
Norway Liban Abdi 5 1 6
Bulgaria Valeri Domovchiyski 4 0 4
Bulgaria Vladimir Gadzhev 3 0 3
Bulgaria Bozhidar Kraev 1 2 3
Bulgaria Veselin Minev 3 0 3
Bulgaria Plamen Krumov 2 1 3
Bulgaria Miki Orachev 1 2 3
Bulgaria Borislav Tsonev 3 0 3
Bulgaria Anton Ognyanov 0 2 2
Poland Lukasz Gikiewicz 2 0 2
Netherlands Luis Pedro 2 0 2
Bulgaria Aleksandar Aleksandrov 2 0 2
Bulgaria Radoslav Tsonev 1 0 1
Bulgaria Borislav Stoychev 0 1 1
Tunisia Aymen Belaid 1 0 1
Bulgaria Vladislav Misyak 1 0 1

Cards

Player Red card Total
Netherlands Luis Pedro 8 2 10
Slovakia Roman Prochazka 9 0 9
Bulgaria Vladimir Gadzhev 9 0 9
Tunisia Aymen Belaid 7 2 9
Bulgaria Veselin Minev 7 1 8
Bulgaria Borislav Stoychev 7 0 7
Spain Añete 6 1 7
Spain Miguel Bedoya 7 0 7
Bulgaria Plamen Krumov 6 0 6
Bulgaria Plamen Dimov 6 0 6
Bulgaria Stefan Velev 6 0 6
Bulgaria Georgi Sarmov 4 0 4
Bulgaria Miroslav Ivanov 2 1 3
Bulgaria Valeri Domovchiyski 3 0 3
Bulgaria Radoslav Tsonev 3 0 3
Bulgaria Anton Ognyanov 2 0 2
Bulgaria Aleksandar Aleksandrov 2 0 2
Poland Lukasz Gikiewicz 2 0 2
Serbia Bojan Jorgačević 2 0 2
Bulgaria Bozhidar Kraev 2 0 2
Norway Liban Abdi 2 0 2
Algeria Najib Ammari 1 0 1
Bulgaria Miki Orachev 1 0 1
Bulgaria Vladislav Misyak 1 0 1
Bulgaria Radoslav Tsonev 1 0 1
Romania Emil Ninu 1 0 1

Friendlies

Summer






Mid-season





Winter











Competitions

Overall

Competition Position
Bulgaria Bulgarian Cup Final
Bulgaria A PFG 7th

Bulgarian A PFG

Main article: 2014–15 A PFG

League table - First phase

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
Head-to-head
1 Ludogorets Razgrad (Q) 22 14 5 3 46 14 +32 47 Qualification for Championship group
2 CSKA Sofia (Q) 22 13 5 4 39 15 +24 44
3 Lokomotiv Sofia (Q) 22 12 3 7 29 24 +5 39 LSO 2–0 LIT
LIT 4–2 LSO
4 Litex Lovech (Q) 22 12 3 7 37 24 +13 39
5 Beroe Stara Zagora (Q) 22 11 5 6 34 21 +13 38
6 Botev Plovdiv (Q) 22 11 3 8 32 26 +6 36
7 Levski Sofia (RQ) 22 10 4 8 36 25 +11 34 Qualification for Relegation group
8 Cherno More Varna (RQ) 22 9 4 9 26 24 +2 31
9 Slavia Sofia (RQ) 22 6 5 11 24 30 6 23
10 Lokomotiv Plovdiv (RQ) 22 5 5 12 13 36 23 20
11 Marek Dupnitsa (RQ) 22 3 5 14 8 45 37 14
12 Haskovo (RQ) 22 2 1 19 12 52 40 7

Updated to games played on 17 March 2015.
Source: bulgarian-football.com
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 season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
22 10 4 8 36 25  +11 34 7 2 2 24 10  +14 3 2 6 12 15  −3

Source: Competitive matches

Relegation Group Table

Relegation Group Table
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
Head-to-head
7 Levski Sofia 32 17 5 10 66 33+33 56
8 Cherno More Varna 32 15 5 12 42 36+6 50 2015–16 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round 2
9 Slavia Sofia 32 12 7 13 40 38+2 43
10 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 32 9 5 18 28 5224 32
11 Marek Dupnitsa (R) 32 5 5 22 14 7157 20 Relegation to 2015–16 B PFG
12 Haskovo (R) 32 4 3 25 18 7153 15

Source: bulgarian-football.com, UEFA.com (English)
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 season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw
2Cherno More Varna qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round by winning the 2014–15 Bulgarian Cup.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
10 7 1 2 29 8  +21 22 3 1 1 19 6  +13 4 0 1 10 2  +8

Source: Competitive matches

First phase
























Relegation Group












Bulgarian Cup

First round



Levski advance to Second round.

Second round




Levski advance to Quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals




Levski advance to Semifinals.

Semifinals




Levski advance to Final.

Final



References

  1. "Левски бие с гол на Божинов, феновете псуват Минев на представянето на "сините"" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  2. "Централен защитник подписа с Левски" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  3. "Левски и Мурсия се разделиха по взаимно съгласие" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  4. "Гонзо представи новия треньор Стойчо Стоев" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-12-22.
  5. "ВИДЕО: Здраво меле прекрати Левски - Улисес" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  6. "Левски подписа с Балтанов за две години" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  7. "Левски се разбра с Домо" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
  8. "Официално: И Борислав Стойчев се завърна в Левски" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
  9. "Прохазка остава в Левски по настояване на Мурсия" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  10. "Ради Димитров подписа за 2 години с Левски" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  11. "Левски взе Стефано Кунчев" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  12. "Официално: Веско Минев в Левски" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  13. "Левски привлече испанец от Нумансия" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  14. "Левски взе вратар от Динамо Букурещ" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  15. "Георги Сърмов подписа с Левски за една година" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  16. "Луис Педро подписа с Левски, ще носи 11" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  17. "Официално: Левски подписа с Аниете" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  18. "Наджиб Аммари подписа двугодишен договор с клуба" (in Bulgarian). levski.bg. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
  19. "Йоргачевич подписа официално с Левски" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2015-01-06.
  20. "Левски търси чужденци - ето на кои постове (видео)" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  21. "Левски подписа с Нину, румънецът взе №31" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  22. "Левски привлече под наем футболист от Ризеспор" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  23. "Гикиевич подписа с Левски" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. Retrieved 2015-02-15.

External links

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