Last updated: 30.09.2002

10.09.2002 - Lokomotiv (Sofia) - Dobrudzha (Dobrich) to be replayed
The match between Lokomotiv (Sofia) and Dobrudzha (Dobrich) will be replayed on 18.09.2002, 17:00 h. This is the decision of the Bulgarian Football Union because the referee of the match, which originally ended 1:0, has made a formal violation of the football league rules.
Other decisions of the BFU are connected with the championship games of the clubs participating in the European Club Tournaments. This change affects the games between Litex and Slavia and Levski - Botev form the 5th round and CSKA - Chernomorets from the 6th. As a result from this decision Litex will face Slavia on 12.09, Levski - Botev will be played on the 13.09 from 19:00 h and the 6th round clash between CSKA and Chernomorets will take place on 22.09.

07.09.2002 - Euro 2004 qual: Belgium - Bulgaria 0:2
Bulgaria kicked off their Euro 2004 qualification campaign with a good away win over one of our main rivals in the qualification group 8 - Belgium this evening. Our team showed a good performance throught the match and during most of the time were in control of the play. The goals - one in each half - came after two quick counter attacks, which where the main weapon of Plamen Markov's squad this evening. The first goal was scored by naturalized Serbian Zoran Yankovic in the 17th minute, after he outpositioned the Belgium defense and got at the end of a cross by Martin Petrov from the left flank. The second goal was courtesy fo Stilyan Petrov, it came after another Bulgarian counter attack was stopped with a foul just outside the Belgium penalty area.Following a combination from the free kick the ball was passed to Stilyan, whose fierce shot deflected off a Belgium defender and left the keeper of the home side helpless. Bulgaria's ween could have been classic, if after another quick counterattack at the end of the 1st half, a shot by Georgi Peev, hadn't met the crossbar behind the Belgium keeper.
The other result in the group from this evening is also favourable for our team, since our other main rival - Croatia recorded a surprising home draw against Estonia. Our next home is at home, at the "Vasil Levski" stadium in Sofia, against Croatia in October.

30.08.2002 - Botev (Vr) - Svetkavitsa - postponed
The FPFL 4rd round match Botev (Vratsa) - Svetkavitsa (Targovishte) due to be played on 01.09.2002, Sunday will be postponed, because of Svetkavitsa participation in a friendly tournament to mark the annivercary of the town of Kozani. Targovishte and Kozani are friendly cities, due to which Svetkavitsa are invited at the tournament. The match will be played on 04.09.2002, Wednesday at 17:00 h.

30.08.2002 - CSKA to play away against Blackburn in the 1st leg
UEFA decided that the first leg of CSKA's tie against Blackburn Rovers will take place in England at the "Ewood Park" stadium. So Blackburn will be host on 19.08, while CSKA will be hosting in the second leg on the 3rd of October.

30.08.2002 - Teams from Denmark, Greece and England to face our clubs
The draw for the 1st round of the UEFA Cup was held today in Monaco. All the three Bulgarian representatives were unseeded and were drawn against stronger opponents. Levski (Sofia) got the best of the draw and will face Brondby (Denmark), Litex (Lovech) was paired with Greek side Panathinaikos (Athens), while CSKA (Sofia) will face English Premiership side Blackburn Rovers.
The three teams are initially drawn to be hosts in their 1st legs, though this could be changed by UEFA. The first legs are on 19.09.2002, with the second legs on 03.10.2002.

30.08.2002 - The squad for the match against Belgium announced
The coach of the Bulgarian national team Plamen Markov announced the group of 19 players which will travel to Belgium for Bulgaria’s opening match for the Euro 2004 Portugal qualifications on the 7th of September. Compared to the group for the recent friendly against Germany there are only a couple of changes. Defender Iliyan Stoyanov from Levski (Sofia) is called up on the place of his teammate Danail Bachkov and midfielder Svetoslav Petrov from CSKA is called up to also substitute a teammate - Todor Yanchev. Once again there are three naturalized Yugoslav players in the squad. Defenders Pazin and Zagorcic and forward Yankovic.
Here’s the full squad:
Goalkeepers: Zdravko Zdravkov - Cherno more (Varna), Dimitar Ivankov - Levski (Sofia).
Defenders: Radostin Kishishev - Charlton Athletic (ENG), Rosen Kirilov - Liteks (Lovech), Zlatomir Zagorcic - Liteks (Lovech), Predrag Pazin - Gouan (CHI), Iliyan Stoyanov - Levski (Sofia), Georgi Petrov - Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Ivailo Petkov - Istanbulspor (Istanbul, TUR).
Midfielders: Milen Petkov - AEK (Athens, GRE), Svetoslav Petrov - CSKA (Sofia), Stilyan Petrov - Celtic (Glasgow, SCO), Georgi Peev - Dynamo (Kiev, UKR), Krasimir Balakov - Stuttgart (GER).
Forwards: Martin Petrov - Wolfsburg (GER), Zoran Yankovich - Dalien (CHI), Georgi Ivanov - Rennes (FRA), Vladimir Manchev - Lille (FRA), Dimitar Berbatov - Bayer (Leverkusen, GER).

Meanwhile the coach of the U21 national team Stoyan Kotsev also announced the group of his squad yesterday. The only new name is that of forward Marko Markov form Nafteks (Burgas), with defender Blagoi Andonov from 2nd level side Pirin (Blagoevgrad) missing from last time’s squad:
Goalkeepers: Vihren Uzunov - Levski (Sofia), Emil Petrov - Slavia (Sofia)
Defenders: Aleksandar Tunchev - Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Kiril Kotev - Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Radoslav Mitrevski - Pirin (Blagoevgrad), Iordan Todorov - Chernomorets (Burgas), Veselin Penev - Nafteks (Burgas), Yanko Valkanov - Marek (Dupnitsa)
Midfielders: Dobrin Orlovski - Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Stanislav Genchev - Levski (Sofia), Kostadin Bashov - Levski (Sofia), Blagoi Georgiev - Slavia (Sofia), Georgi Iliev - Cherno more (Varna), Emil Gargorov - CSKA (Sofia), Petar Zlatinov - CSKA (Sofia)
Forwards: Aleksandar Mladenov - Hertha (Berlin, Germany), Dimitar Rangelov - Slavia (Sofia), Marko Markov - Nafteks (Burgas)

29.08.2002 - CSKA (Sofia) sealed their place in the UEFA Cup
Bulgarian side CSKA sealed their place in the firts round of the UEFA Cup after a comfortable 1:0 win as hosts of Dinamo (Minsk). The only goal for CSKA was scored in the 64th minute of the game after a penalty kick. Velizar Dimitrov's run into the penalty area was halted illegally, leaving the Macedonian Shakiri to convert from the spot. The match ended on a sour note, however, with the dismissals of Dinamo striker Aliaksei Dobrovolski for an elbow, and CSKA's Joao Carlos for dangerous play.

29.08.2002 - Atlantas lost 3:1 at the hands of Litex
Lithuanian side Atlantas lost their second match in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup tournament 2002/2003 and were knocked-out by Bulgarian side Litex Lovech. Atlantas showed they have not given up hope despite the 5-0 in the first match and in the 12th minute Tamošauskas scored their first goal. After the break Litex scored three more and were the final winner of the match. The players on the score sheet were: Desislav Rusev (50), Hidiouad (64) - penalty and Neboisa Jelenkovich. After the match all of Litex player's explained they want a team of their capacity in the first round and that they want to repeat their good preformance from last year.

28.08.2002 - Dinamo (Kiev) - Levski (Sofia) 1:0
Levski (Sofia) were knocked out from the UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifiying round. The team from Sofia lost in Kyiv the game with Dinamo 1:0. The only player on the scoresheet was Florin Cernat. Georgi Chilikov missed a penalty and this was one of the factors for Levski's early knock-out on their third try to get trough the Groups of the Champions League. Coach Slavoljub Mulin explained that Levski played very well in the game and is leaving the tournament with self-confidence.

17.08.2002 - Markov announces the squad to face Germany
Plamen Markov, the head coach of the Bulgarian national team, announced yesterday his 19-player squad for the upcoming friendly against Germany at the “Georgi Asparuhov” stadium in Sofia. There are a few surprises in the team – with naturalized Serbian defender Zlatomir Zagorchich, who returned this summer to play his football in Bulgaria, being called up for the first time after 3 years. He, together with the now playing in China Predrag Pazhin and Zoran Yankovich form a trio of naturalized Serbs in the national team for the game against Germany. Another surprise in the team is the presence of AEK (Athens) midfielder Milen Petkov, who refused to play in the friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador in the USA this spring.
Here is the full list of players announced by Markov:
Goalkeepers: Zdravko Zdravkov – Cherno more (Varna), Dimitar Ivankov – Levski (Sofia).
Defenders: Radostin Kishishev – Charlton Athletic (ENG), Danail Bachkov – Levski (Sofia), Rosen Kirilov – Liteks (Lovech), Zlatomir Zagorchich – Liteks (Lovech), Georgi Petrov – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Predrag Pazhin – Gouan (CHI), Ivailo Petkov – Istanbulspor (Istanbul, TUR).
Midfielders: Todor Yanchev – CSKA (Sofia), Stilyan Petrov – Celtic (Glasgow, SCO), Milen Petkov – AEK (Athens, GRE), Georgi Peev – Dynamo (Kiev, UKR), Krasimir Balakov – Stuttgart (GER).
Forwards: Martin Petrov – Wolfsburg (GER), Zoran Yankovich – Dalien (CHI), Georgi Ivanov – Rennes (FRA), Vladimir Manchev – Lille (FRA), Dimitar Berbatov – Bayer (Leverkusen, GER).

14.08.2002 - Levski (Sofia) -Dinamo (Kiev) 0:1
Levski (Sofia) lost the first match in the UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round from Dinamo (Kiev) after loosing 0:1 at the "Georgi Asparuhov" stadium. The only scorer in this match was Florin Cernat who gave the Ukrainians a crucial away goal with the second leg to be played at the Olimpiyski stadium in two weeks' time. "We did not deserve to lose," said Levski coach Slavoljub Muslin. "We had more chances than Dynamo, we played better than them. I think the better team lost this game."

13.07.2002 - Stoyan Kotsev has announced the squad of Bulgaria U21
The coach of the U21 national team Stoyan Kotsev has announced the squad of his team for the upcoming friendly against Cyprus on the 20th of August. There aren’t many surprises in the squad. Only Aleksandar Mladenov from Hertha is called up from the players abroad with young hopeful Valeri Bozhinov from Italian Lecce, who has been called up for the last several friendlies, missing from the squad this time. Only Blagoi Andonov from 2nd level side Pirin (Blagoevgrad) is a player to be called up for the first time.
Here is the full list:
Goalkeepers: Vihren Uzunov – Levski (Sofia), Emil Petrov – Slavia (Sofia).
Defenders: Aleksandar Tunchev – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Yanko Valkanov – Marek (Dupnitsa), Kiril Kotev – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Radoslav Mitrevski – Pirin (Blagoevgrad), Blagoi Andonov – Pirin (Blagoevgrad), Iordan Todorov – Chernomorets (Burgas), Veselin Penev - Nafteks (Burgas).
Midfielders: Georgi Iliev – Cherno more (Varna), Emil Gargorov – CSKA (Sofia), Stanislav Genchev – Levski (Sofia), Petar Zlatinov – CSKA (Sofia), Blagoi Georgiev – Slavia (Sofia), Dobrin Orlovski – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv).
Forwards: Aleksandar Mladenov – Hertha (Berlin, Germany), Dimitar Rangelov – Slavia (Sofia), Kostadin Bashov – Levski (Sofia).

07.08.2002 - Levski (Sofia) - Skonto (Riga, Latvia) 2:0
Levski (Sofia) progressed through to the UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round after winning 2:0 against Latvian champions Skonto (Riga) in today's 2nd round return leg game at the "Georgi Asparuhov" stadium.
The win for Levski came with two goals in the first 30 minutes of the game, scored by Chilikov and Simonovich, which effectively decided the outcome of the tie, with the first leg match 7 days ago finished at 0:0.
So with an aggregate 2:0 win, Levski (Sofia) will now face its next opponent - Ukrainian side Dinamo (Kiev), which eliminated Armenian champions Pyunik (Erevan). The first game between Levski and Dinamo will be in Sofia in a week's time.

07.08.2002 - Koneliano (Sofia, kv.German) replaces Lokomotiv (Ruse) in the FPFL
The team of Koneliano (Sofia, kv.German) is the new member of the FPFL. This became clear after the winner of the Northeastern "V" AFG - Lokomotiv-Chicago Atletik (Ruse) had to withdrew from the FPFL championship due to financial crisis. Koneliano finished second in the Southwestern "V" AFG last season but failed to qualify for the FPFL through playoffs, where they were beaten by Rodopa (Smolyan). During the fall part of the season the team will play its home games at the "Akademik" /"Festivalna"/ stadium in Sofia, because its stadium in German will undergo a reconstruction to comply with the standards for the FPFL.
Meanwhile the fate of Lokomotiv is more than grim, with the team dissolving completely. It will not compete in any of the lower league levels this season and won't even field youth teams in the regional competitions.

Decisions of the Sports-technical commission of the BFU
The sports techincal commission of the BFU decided that the PPFL 1st round game Cherno more (Varna) - Levski (Sofia) will take place at the stadium in Nesebar. This comes as Cherno more still have a home match ban left over from the 2001/2002 season. In another decision the commission rescheduled two matches from the FPFL 1st round. The match Pirin (Blagoevgrad) - Belasitsa (Petrich) will be played on 11.08.2002, Sunday, at 20:00 h and the match Spartak (Pleven) - Koneliano (Sofia, kv.German) is rescheduled for Thursday, 22.08.2002.

31.7.2002 - Skonto (Riga, Latvia) - Levski (Sofia) 1:1
Levski (Sofia) recorded a 0:0 draw away to Latvian side Skonto (Riga) in their first game in this season's UEFA Champions League. The game was evenly matched, with both teams having chances to score, with the Latvian keeper, and especially the Bulgarian Ivankov making some crucial saves.
Meanwhile the winner of the Levski-Skonto tie will most probably meet Ukrainian side Dinamo (Kiev) in the 3rd qualification round, after they beat 4:0 Armenian side Pyunik (Erevan) in their 1st leg game in Kiev. Bulgarian national team player Georgi Peev was in the starting line-up for Dinamo, and was substituted in the 62nd minute.

28.7.2002 - Dimitar Alexiev leaves Marek
Today Marek (Dupnitsa)'s president Stefan Milushev dismissed the club's coach - Dimitar Alexiev. The official version is disagreement between the club boss and the former U21 national coach. The new manager of Marek will be Georgi Dimitrov, who was at the head of Marek before Alexiev's coming in the club.
Marek became the second PPFL team to change its coach after Botev (Plovdiv)'s dissmisal of Tencho Tenev and appointment of Kostadin Kostadinov a week ago.

27.7.2002 - Slaven Belupo (Koprivnica) - Marek (Dupnitsa) 3:1
The Bulgarian representative in the UEFA Interoto Cup was knocked out of the tournament after a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Slaven Belupo in Slovenia. The only scorer for Marek in this match was Krasimir Dimitrov, while two of the goals were scored by Miljenko Kovacic. Another goal scored Dalibor Bozac in the 88th minute of the match.
For more information on the match visit our page about the European club tournaments

26.7.2002 - Bulgarian Football Latest with new Forums
Today we activated our new forums. The new forum of bulgarian-football.com has more functionality than the previous one, also we have decided to drop the obligatory registration for the users. Now you can post your opinions without the need to register, though through the registration at our forums you can use their full range of extras not all of which are available for the unregistered users. The bulgarian-football.com team urges all our users to take active participation in the forum so that we can made it a truly enjoyable place where all the fans share their opinions.

26.7.2002 - Levski to face Dinamor Kyiv or FC Pyunik in the third qualifiying round
Today's draw for the third round pf the UEFA Champions League third qulifiying round decided that Levski (Sofia) or Skonto (Riga) will face the winner of the match Dinamo (Kyiv) - FC Pyunik (Armenia).
The first leg will be played in Sofia or Riga on the 13/14 of August, while in the second Levski or Skonto will play on 27/28.08.2002 in Kyiv or Armenia.

24.07.2002 - Vladimir Manchev joins Lille
CSKA (Sofia)’s star striker - Vladimir Manchev is now a player of French 1st division side Lille OSC. This comes after CSKA and Lille have agreed on the terms of the transfer deal at a meeting in Sofia and at 12:00 h local time today have signed a contract according to which Lille will pay CSKA 2 300 000 Euro for the striker. The news was confirmed by the official site of the reds: www.cska.bg.
Manchev is due to leave the team’s preparatory camp in Trapenkamp, Germany this evening and will head for France, where he is to undergo medical exams, before he signs his personal contract.
Lille OSC has become champions of France 2 times (in the 1945/46 and 1953/54 seasons) and have won the Cup of France on 5 occasions (in 1946,47,48,53,55). Last season they finished 5th in the French championship and are now participating in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
This is the second major transfer of a Bulgarian player in a French club in the space of several weeks, Manchev will follow Georgi Ivanov - the star of CSKA’s greatest rival - Levski (Sofia) who got transferred to Rennais a few weeks ago.

20.07.2002 - Marek - Slaven Belupo 0:3
Marek (Dupnitsa), the Bulgarian representative in the Intertoto Cup is all but out of the competition, after loosing 0:3 in its home match in the 3rd round of the tournament, against Croatian side Slaven Belupo (Koprivnica). The turning point of the match were the two red cards, given by the French referee in the very beginning of the 2nd half to keeper Ambartsumyan and Georgian midfielder Mudzhiri of the home side. At the press conference following the game, Marek's head coach Dimitar Aleksiev said that his team is writing off the return leg in a week's time, but that nevertheless the team had achieved a success in this year's edition of the competition.
For more information on the match visit our page about the European club tournaments

15.7.2002 - The Bulgarian Football Union published the final programme for the Premier PFL
The Bulgarian Football Union has mad the final shedule for the fall season of the Premier Professional Football League, season 2002/2003. The first match of the new championship will be held on the 9th of August 2002 and the teams to participate in it are Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) and Nafteks (Burgas).
For the full programme visit our page about the Premier PFL.
You may also see teh full programme for the First PFL

15.7.2002 - UEFA Intertoto Cup Semifinals: Marek/Slaven - Stuttgart/Perugia
The winner of the match Marek (Dupnitsa) - Slaven (Belupo) will face the winner of the clash between Stuttgart and Perugia in the UEFA Interototo Cup semifinals. If Marek wins agaist the Croatian side they will play either Stuttgart (Germany) or Perugia (Italy) on the 31st of July and the 7th of August. The second leg will be played in Bulgaria, while the first clash will be in Germany or Italy. Meanwhile, UEFA allowed Marek to play the first match of the 3rd round on their own stadium in Dupnitsa - "Bonchuk".

14.7.2002 - Marek to face Slaven Belupo (Croatia)
The Bulgarian participant in the UEFA Intertoto Cup Marek will face Cratian side Slavan Belupo. The Croatian team reached the third round after a 3-0 aggregiate win against FT Belenenses (Portugal). The first match of the third round clash will be played in Bulgaria, while the second leg will be held in Croatia.

13.7.2002 - Marek - Ashdod (Israel) 1:0
Marek (Dupnitsa) progressed to the 3rd round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup after beating Israeli side Ashdod 1:0 today, in front of a 3000 strong crowd at their "Bonchuk" stadium. The only goal in the game was scored by Rumen Shankulov in the 11th minute. So with the first game, played on the neutral venue of Dunajska Streda, Slovakia, finishing 1:1, Marek made it through with a 2:1 aggregate score. This is the greatest success of a Bulgarian team in the Intertoto Cup since the new format of the competition was introduced several seasons ago. For more information on the match visit our page about the European club tournaments

10.7.2002 - Georgi Ivanov moves to Rennes
Stade Rennais Football Club have completed the signing of Levski's top-striker Georgi Ivanov - Gonzo for a fee of $4 100 000. Levski will receive also 15% of a future transfer of the Bulgarian striker in another club. Ivanov will head for France today, where he will undergo medical examinations and will sign a 3-year contract.

6.7.2002 - Ashdod (Israel) - Marek 1:1
Marek (Dupnitsa) and Ashdod (Israel) finished 1:1 in the UEFA Intertoto Cup second round, first leg. The match was played in Dunajska streda, Slovakia because of the political situation in Israel. The goal for Marek scored Vladimir Ionkov in the 70th minute
For more information on the match visit our page about the European club tournaments

4.7.2002 - The draw for PPFL and FPFL is made
The draw for the 2002/2002 Bulgarian Premier League and First League (2nd level) was held today. The four teams from Sofia, as well as the pairs of two teams from Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas that participate in the Premier League were seeded, so that their home games don’t coincide. The BFU will determine the exact dates of the matches later, taking into account also the international fixtures of the Bulgarian club sides and the national team. The season will start on 10.08.2002 with its fall part ending on 07.12.2002. Here are the pairs for the 1st round: Lokomotiv (Sofia) - Rilski sportist (SAMOKOV), CSKA (Sofia) - Spartak (Varna), Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) - Nafteks (Burgas), Dobrudzha (Dobrich) - Liteks (Lovech), Chernomorets (Burgas) - Botev (Plovdiv), Cherno more (Varna) - Levski (Sofia), Marek (Dupnitsa) - Slavia (Sofia)
Here are the fixtures for the first round of the FPFL: Yantra (Gabrovo) - Sokol'96 (Markovo), Spartak (Pleven) - Lokomotiv (Ruse), Akademik (Svishtov) - Makedonska slava (Blagoevgrad), Pirin (Blagoevgrad) - Belasitsa (Petrich), Rodopa (Smolyan) - Botev (Vratza), Vidima-Rakovski (Sevlievo) - Olimpik (Teteven), Dunav (Ruse) - Belite orli (Pleven), Svetkavitza (Targovishte) - Beroe (Stara Zagora)
For the full PPFL programme click here
For the full FPFL click here.

1.7.2002 - Marek - Ashdod (Israel) in Slovakia
Today UEFA ordered the Bulgarian participant in the UEFA Intertoto Cup 2002 to face Ashdod (Israel) in Dunajska streda (Slovakia) because of the political situation in Israel. The match will be played on 6th July 2002. The second leg is on 13th July in Dupnitsa.