Akademik Sofia
Encyclopedia
Akademik is a Bulgaria
n football
club from the city of Sofia
, currently playing in the West B PFG
, the second division of Bulgarian football. The team's stadium
is located in the Slatina
municipality of Sofia
and its capacity is 10,000.
Akademik debuted in A PFG in 1949 and would quickly establish themselves as a top-flight team in Bulgarian football from then on. The team became one of the top Bulgarian teams in the 1950s and 1970s, especially in the domestic and European Cup competitions, having been crowned Balkans Cup
champions.
(the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888) students as a football club. A two years later, Akademik were promoted for the first time to Bulgarian A PFG
. The 1950 season
in the domestic league was very successful for the team, which finished 3rd in the top division. In the next campaign Akademik finished fourth and reached the final of Bulgarian Cup
, losing 0-1 to CSKA Sofia
. In 1952 the club's form dropped, however, and they were relegated to B PFG finishing before the last Spartak Varna
. In 1963-64 season they won a second promotion to the top division by winning the B PFG. However, the next year they were relegated again.
The third promotion to A PFG in 1969 marked the beginning of Akademik's golden age. From 1969 to 1979 they spent their longest ever period in the top division. In 1974 Akademik won first international throphy, beating Vardar Skopje
2-0 on aggregate in the final of Balkans Cup
. In the 1975-76 season the team finished 3rd in the domestic league and qualified for first time in UEFA Cup
. At the European level Akademik made a memorable appearance in the second round against Italian giants A.C. Milan
, winning 4:3 at home on 20 October 1976. Before reaching the second round of the football competition, the Students eliminated the Czech Slavia Prague respectively. In this period two players from Akademik have played for the Bulgarian national squad during at FIFA World Cup
: Ivan Dimitrov in 1970
and Mladen Vasilev
in 1974
.
In the 1978-79 season Akademik won just six games in the campaign and were relegated. In the next season the team won promotion back to the top division, scoring 100 goals in the campaign. In 1981 the Students qualified for second time in UEFA Cup
, where they lost 1-3 on aggregate in the first round against 1. FC Kaiserslautern
. In the same 1981-82 season Akademik again relegated. From 1982 to 2010 they spent their longest ever period out of the top division.
After 28 years in the lowers divisions of Bulgarian football, in 2009-10 Akademik finished 2nd in B PFG and the club managed to participate in the play-off for promotion in the A PFG. On May 23, 2010, Akademik surprisingly won the play-off against Nesebar
with a result of 2:1 and finally qualified again for the top division.
However, Akademik were relegated from A PFG at the end of the 2010/2011 season after finishing in 15th place.
Notes:
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club from the city of Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, currently playing in the West B PFG
Bulgarian B Professional Football Group
The Bulgarian B Professional Football Group or simply B PFG is the second level of the Bulgarian football league system, below the A PFG and above the Bulgarian V AFG. The B PFG is formed by two groups, running in parallel , where in each group are participating 10 teams...
, the second division of Bulgarian football. The team's stadium
Akademik Stadium
Akademik Stadium is a soccer stadium located in Sofia, Bulgaria with a capacity of 8,000 sitting and 2,000 standing for sports and expandable to 22,000 for concerts...
is located in the Slatina
Slatina, Bulgaria
Slatina is a district located in the eastern parts of the capital Sofia. it has 65,772 inhabitants. The district has an area of 13.25 km² which counts for 6.69% of the total Capital Municipality area. It is a flat country with some heights to the west....
municipality of Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
and its capacity is 10,000.
Akademik debuted in A PFG in 1949 and would quickly establish themselves as a top-flight team in Bulgarian football from then on. The team became one of the top Bulgarian teams in the 1950s and 1970s, especially in the domestic and European Cup competitions, having been crowned Balkans Cup
Balkans Cup
In 1961, a Balkans Cup for football clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia was introduced. It was played 27 times...
champions.
History
Akademik was founded in the 1947, by Sofia UniversitySofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...
(the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888) students as a football club. A two years later, Akademik were promoted for the first time to Bulgarian A PFG
Bulgarian A Professional Football Group
The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group commonly known as A PFG is the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The league is sponsored by Victoria FATA Insurance and therefore is officially known as Victoria A Football Group since 2011...
. The 1950 season
A PFG 1950
-League standings:-References:*...
in the domestic league was very successful for the team, which finished 3rd in the top division. In the next campaign Akademik finished fourth and reached the final of Bulgarian Cup
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. It is sponsored by the Bulgarian Corporate Commercial Bank....
, losing 0-1 to CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...
. In 1952 the club's form dropped, however, and they were relegated to B PFG finishing before the last Spartak Varna
PFC Spartak Varna
PFC Spartak Varna is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Varna, which currently competes in the East B PFG, the second division of the Bulgarian football league system....
. In 1963-64 season they won a second promotion to the top division by winning the B PFG. However, the next year they were relegated again.
The third promotion to A PFG in 1969 marked the beginning of Akademik's golden age. From 1969 to 1979 they spent their longest ever period in the top division. In 1974 Akademik won first international throphy, beating Vardar Skopje
FK Vardar
FK Vardar Skopje is a Macedonian football club based in the capital city of Skopje. FK Vardar is currently a member of the 1-MFL. FK Vardar is the most popular and renowned Macedonian football club both domestically and abroad, having won 6 national championships and 6 national cups...
2-0 on aggregate in the final of Balkans Cup
Balkans Cup
In 1961, a Balkans Cup for football clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia was introduced. It was played 27 times...
. In the 1975-76 season the team finished 3rd in the domestic league and qualified for first time in UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. At the European level Akademik made a memorable appearance in the second round against Italian giants A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, winning 4:3 at home on 20 October 1976. Before reaching the second round of the football competition, the Students eliminated the Czech Slavia Prague respectively. In this period two players from Akademik have played for the Bulgarian national squad during at FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
: Ivan Dimitrov in 1970
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup, the ninth staging of the World Cup, was held in Mexico, from 31 May to 21 June. The 1970 tournament was the first World Cup hosted in North America, and the first held outside South America and Europe. In a match-up of two-time World Cup champions, the final was won by...
and Mladen Vasilev
Mladen Vasilev
Mladen "Maho" Vasilev is a former Bulgarian football player, and later coach.Between 1965 and 1968, Vasilev played for F.C...
in 1974
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
.
In the 1978-79 season Akademik won just six games in the campaign and were relegated. In the next season the team won promotion back to the top division, scoring 100 goals in the campaign. In 1981 the Students qualified for second time in UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, where they lost 1-3 on aggregate in the first round against 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...
. In the same 1981-82 season Akademik again relegated. From 1982 to 2010 they spent their longest ever period out of the top division.
After 28 years in the lowers divisions of Bulgarian football, in 2009-10 Akademik finished 2nd in B PFG and the club managed to participate in the play-off for promotion in the A PFG. On May 23, 2010, Akademik surprisingly won the play-off against Nesebar
PFC Nesebar
PFC Nesebar is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Nesebar, currently playing in the East B PFG, the second division of Bulgarian football.-History:...
with a result of 2:1 and finally qualified again for the top division.
However, Akademik were relegated from A PFG at the end of the 2010/2011 season after finishing in 15th place.
European cup history
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976/77 | UEFA Cup UEFA Cup The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League... |
1 |  |
Slavia Prague | 3-0 | 0-2 | 3-2 |
| 2 |  |
A.C. Milan A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others... |
4-3 | 0-2 | 4-5 | ||
| 1981/82 | UEFA Cup UEFA Cup The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League... |
1 |  |
1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900... |
0-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 |
Current squad
As of September 1, 2011Notable stats
| # | Name | Apps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Iliya Chalev |
253 |
| 2 | Yuliyan Ivanov |
209 |
| = | Mladen Vasilev Mladen Vasilev Mladen "Maho" Vasilev is a former Bulgarian football player, and later coach.Between 1965 and 1968, Vasilev played for F.C... |
209 |
| 4 | Bogomil Simov |
177 |
| 5 | Boris Angelov |
172 |
| 6 | Lozan Lozanov |
156 |
| 7 | Stefan Parvanov |
154 |
| 8 | Milen Goranov |
147 |
| 9 | Petar Zafirov |
141 |
| 10 | Todor Paunov |
132 |
- Most g>als for the club in A PFG
# Name Gls 1 Mladen VasilevMladen VasilevMladen "Maho" Vasilev is a former Bulgarian football player, and later coach.Between 1965 and 1968, Vasilev played for F.C...68 2 Milen Goranov38 3 Alyosha Dimitrov33 4 Bogomil Simov30 5 Ivan Trendafilov26 6 Vasil Spasov21 7 Yordan Nikolov18 8 Hristo Konakov16 = Kiril MilanovKiril MilanovKiril Milanov was a Bulgarian football player.He played in Marek Dupnitsa between 1966 and 1971, Akademik Sofia between 1971 and 1973 and in Levski Sofia between 1973 and 1978. Kiril has 110 caps and 64 goals. He played for Bulgaria national football team, earning 21 caps and scored 4 goals...16 10 Plamen Tsvetkov15
Notes:
- Bold signals active players
- Correct as of 2010-05-16
Honours
- A PFG
- Third place: 1950, 1975-76
- B PFG
- Champions: 1963-64, 1979-80
- Runners-up: 2009-10
- Bulgarian CupBulgarian CupThe Bulgarian Cup is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. It is sponsored by the Bulgarian Corporate Commercial Bank....
- Runners-up: 1951
- Balkans CupBalkans CupIn 1961, a Balkans Cup for football clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia was introduced. It was played 27 times...
- Winners: 1974