PFC CSKA Sofia


CSKA Sofia is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. CSKA is an abbreviation for Central Sports Club of the Army, named after the Bulgarian Army. CSKA is the most successful football club of Bulgaria according to the Europe's Club of the Century ranking of the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.
Officially established on 5 May 1948, CSKA's roots date back to an army officers' club founded in 1923. The club has won a record 31 Bulgarian titles and 21 Bulgarian Cups. Internationally, CSKA are the only Bulgarian club to have reached the semi-finals of the European Cup, which they have done twice, and they have also reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once.
CSKA's home colors are red and white and its home ground is the Bulgarian Army Stadium. The club's biggest rivals are Levski Sofia and matches between the two sides are known as "The Eternal Derby of Bulgaria".

History

1923–1948

In November 1923, football clubs Athletic Sofia and Slava Sofia merged to form AS-23, short for Officers' Sports Club Athletic Slava 1923, under the patronage of the Ministry of War, which provided the equipment.
In 1931, AS-23 won their first Bulgarian championship and The Tsar's Cup, followed by another Tsar's Cup in 1941. The club's stadium was named Athletic Park and was situated where the Bulgarian Army Stadium now resides.
On 9 November 1944, with the support of Mihail Mihaylov, an accountant at the Ministry of War and a patron of Shipka Sofia, a unifying agreement was signed, merging AS-23, Shipka, and Spartak to form Chavdar Sofia. Gen. Vladimir Stoychev from AS-23, who at the time was fighting on the front in World War II, was appointed as the new club's chairman. Lawyer Ivan Bashev, a future Bulgarian foreign minister, was appointed club secretary and the person in charge of football.

1948–1962

With the help of Mihail Mihaylov again, in February 1948, Chavdar became the departmental club of the Central House of the Troops and took on the name of CDV. Looking for ways to stop the club's decline, CDV's administrators sought to merge it with another club. In May 1948, an agreement was reached between CDV and Septemvri Sofia for uniting the clubs under the name "Septemvri pri CDV". The contract was signed on 5 May 1948, which is officially considered the club's date of foundation.
The club's played its first official match on 19 May 1948 against Slavia Sofia at Yunak Stadium, a 1–1 draw. Septemvri pri CDV eliminated Aprilov and Spartak Varna en route to the final, where it faced Levski Sofia, losing 1–2 in the first leg. The decisive second match occurred on 9 September 1948. Septemvri pri CDV's lineup consisted of: Stefan Gerenski, Borislav Futekov, Manol Manolov, Dimitar Cvetkov, Nikola Aleksiev, Nako Chakmakov, Dimitar Milanov, Stoyne Minev, Stefan Bozhkov, Nikola Bozhilov and Kiril Bogdanov. The score was 3–3 on aggregate, as Septemvri pri CDV led 2–1 near the end of regulation time, when a last-minute goal by Nako Chakmakov gave the club its first ever title.
In 1950, the word "Narodna" was added to the name of the Central House of the Troops, changing it to Central House of the People's Troops, or C.D.N.V., effectively changing the club's name. The following two years, C.D.N.V. won two consecutive titles. In 1951, the club clinched their first double. In 1953, the club was again renamed by the authorities, this time to Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon, and most of the key players were illegally transferred out. The title was lost.
The following year, the club was renamed CDNA, and the years between 1954 and 1962 marked one of the most successful periods for the Reds, who won nine consecutive titles and, in 1956, took part in the second installment of the newly created European Cup competition, reaching the quarter-finals.

1960s

In 1962, CDNA was merged with DSO Cherveno Zname to form CSKA Cherveno Zname. The Central House of the People's Troops ceased its affiliation with the club, which was taken over by the Ministry of People's Defense. CSKA finished third after Spartak Plovdiv and Botev Plovdiv in the 1962–63 season. The following season, CSKA had its worst performance in the Bulgarian championship to date, finishing 11th in the final table, only three points from relegation. This led to the sacking of legendary coach Krum Milev after 16 years at the helm.
CSKA did not recapture the title until 1966. However, during the 1966–67 season, CSKA recorded its first major international achievement, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup for the first time, where they faced Italian giants Inter. After two hard-fought 1–1 draws, a third decisive match was played, which CSKA lost 0–1.
The next two seasons were unmemorable for the Army Men, finishing in fifth and second place respectively. In 1968, CSKA underwent another merger, joining with Septemvri Sofia and taking on the name of CSKA Septemvriysko Zname. The club clinched the title in 1969 with the help of recent acquisition Petar Zhekov, who would go on to become the top Bulgarian goalscorer of all time, a record Zhekov held for 52 years until he was surpassed by Martin Kamburov in 2021.

1970s

The 1970s are widely considered the period when CSKA made its name on the European stage. The club began the decade modestly, claiming second place domestically and reaching the round of 16 in 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they fell to English side Chelsea 0–2 on aggregate. However, from 1971 to 1973, CSKA won three consecutive titles and delivered one of the biggest surprises in European football when it eliminated reigning European champion Ajax – considered the finest team of all time – 2–1 on aggregate in the 1973–74 European Cup.
They then faced German champions Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. After losing 1–4 in the first leg in Munich, CSKA bowed out of the competition following a 2–1 win at home. Between 1975 and 1979, the club won two more domestic titles.

1980s

The 1980–81 season was again a memorable one for CSKA Sofia, winning the Bulgarian title once more and twice beating European champion Nottingham Forest, both times with 1–0 scorelines, before being stopped by the future European champions Liverpool with a 6–1 defeat on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the European Cup.
The next season, CSKA reached their second-straight European Cup semi-final, eliminating Spanish champions Real Sociedad, Glentoran and Liverpool after losing 0–1 in England and winning 2–0 at home with two goals by Stoycho Mladenov. In the semi-final, the Reds again faced Bayern Munich. The first leg was held in Sofia and started with a full dominance over Bayern, as by the 16th minute, CSKA were leading 3–0 in front of 85,000 jubilant spectators who saw the European final in their dreams. But the final score was 4–3 for CSKA. In Munich, the club suffered a 4–0 defeat, ending what is still the deepest run by a Bulgarian side in the European Cup or UEFA Champions League.
In the domestic league, CSKA did not let go of the title until the 1984–85 season, where they finished second behind arch-rivals Levski, but still managed to reach the Bulgarian Cup final.
On 18 June 1985, the final for the Bulgarian Cup was held at the Vasil Levski National Stadium between CSKA and Levski Sofia. The match was marked by many questionable referee decisions and saw several brutal fights, including an assault on a referee by some of Levski's players. CSKA won the match 2–1, even though they had missed a penalty when the score was 2–0. By decree of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, both teams were disbanded and re-founded under new management. CSKA was renamed Sredets while Levski was renamed Vitosha. Several players were banned from participating in official matches for varying periods of time, including Hristo Stoichkov and Kostadin Yanchev from CSKA. One year later, the committee's decision was reversed and the players were reinstated.
As Sredets, the club finished in fourth place in the 1985–86 season. In 1987, the club was renamed CFKA Sredets, and the following three years were marked by a formidable performance, even as Septemvri Sofia ended their 20-year partnership with CFKA in 1988 and became an independent club again. Coached by Dimitar Penev, CFKA won the title in 1987 and 1989 and reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals against Barcelona in 1989. In reaching this stage in the tournament, CFKA had eliminated Roda JC after penalty kicks following a 2–1 win at home and a 1–2 loss away. Barcelona, coached by former Dutch international Johan Cruyff, won both matches and CFKA were eliminated, but Cruyff did notice the talent of Hristo Stoichkov and decided to bring him to Barcelona the following year, effectively launching Stoichkov's international career.

1990s

The decade, immediately following the fall of communism, brought turbulent changes to Bulgarian football, and the club was not spared. The CSKA name was restored starting with the 1989–90 season and they won the title again. In March 1991, former footballer and administrator Valentin Mihov was chosen as president of CSKA. The club bought some of the most talented Bulgarian players, including Yordan Letchkov, Ivaylo Andonov and Stoycho Stoilov, among others. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense concluded their affiliation with the club. Despite the uncertainty and the numerous problems that followed, CSKA won the title again in 1992. They were later eliminated in the first round of the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League by Austria Wien after losing 1–3 in Vienna and winning 3–2 in Sofia.
In the meantime, Valentin Mihov was appointed president of the Bulgarian Football Union and Petar Kalpakchiev was chosen as his replacement. However, Kalpakchiev wrangled with the club's administration over their decisions to replace several coaches, one of which was Gjoko Hadžievski, considered to be leading the club in the right direction, and eventually he was fired.
The owner of the Multigroup conglomerate, Iliya Pavlov, took over as president, but ultimately his sponsorship proved insufficient to overcome the club's ineffective management. Five coaches were changed in just one season, with Tsvetan Yonchev being coach for just one day. In Europe, CSKA nevertheless defeated Juventus 3–2 in the first round of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, but the result was annulled by UEFA because of the delayed player-indexing of forward Petar Mihtarski, and Juventus were awarded a 3–0 victory by default. In the second leg in Turin, CSKA succumbed to a 5–1 defeat.
In the summer of 1995, CSKA made a strong selection and eventually the club included half of the youth national football team of Bulgaria. Plamen Markov was appointed head coach, but after a disappointing first half of the season, he was replaced by Georgi Vasilev, who had previously won three Bulgarian titles. Vasilev managed to win a double with CSKA for the 1996–97 season, entering the second qualifying round of the Champions League against Steaua București. After a dramatic 3–3 in Bucharest, CSKA fell 0–2 at home.
Vasilev was unexpectedly released from the club at the beginning of the second half of the 1997–98 season after a 3–0 win over Spartak Pleven. Coach Petar Zehtinski took his place. That year, the club saw the return of Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov and Trifon Ivanov, but the three of them challenged each other for the captain's band. Stoichkov played in only four matches and left CSKA right before the derby with Levski to play for a club in Saudi Arabia. After the end of the season, Ivanov also left the club. CSKA finished in third place.
In the summer of 1998, Dimitar Penev took the lead as head coach for the second time. CSKA reached the second round of the UEFA Cup and won the Bulgarian Cup, but disappointed in the domestic league, finishing in fifth place in 1999. That season, the young talents of Martin Petrov, Stilian Petrov, Dimitar Berbatov and Vladimir Manchev started to play a bigger role in the team. There were problems with player-indexing due to some unpaid obligations to Neftochimik. In the domestic championship, CSKA had only 16 players registered for the 1999–2000 season and some un-indexed players took part in official UEFA games. Consequently, at the shareholders meeting at the end of 1999, the club ownership was transferred to businessman Vasil Bozhkov.