Squad for U-19 Euro finals announced
11.6.08, 15:10
by Yordan Tsirov
BFU's official website published the list of 22 players, selected by Bulgaria U-19 national team coach Mihail Madanski for the team's camps ahead of the U-19 European championship finals in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile UEFA has published the tournament schedule.
The extended group of 22 players called up by Madanski started their first camp in Pravets on 10 June, with only the players whose club teams are still in the running for the state U-19 championship leaving the camp for the remaining matches of their sides. Following that the team will be on camp in Germany, where they'll play three friendlies, before returning to Bulgaria. On 12 June the team flies for the Czech Republic, where on 14 June starts the final tournament of the U-19 Euro.
By then, Madanski would have to downsize the squad to 18 players, who are going to participate in the finals. Out of the 18 who qualified Bulgaria for the tournament, only Redding's Radoslav Vasilev and CSKA (Sofia)'s Aleksandar Tonev, who is nursing a broken toe, are missing.
Meanwhile UEFA announced through uefa.com the schedule of the final tournament, as well as the matches, which are going to be televised live on Eurosport. Bulgaria U-19 will first meet Hungary, followed by Germany and finally Spain, in their Group A. Out of these games only the match with Germany will be broadcasted live on Eurosport.
Here's the full squad list, published at bfunion.bg
Goalkeepers
Ivan Karadzhov 12 Jul 1989 CSKA (Sofia)
Mihail Ivanov 07 Aug 1989 Siena (Siena, ITA, 1)
Petar Denchev 16 Mar 1989 Spartak-S 94 (Plovdiv)
Defenders
Tsvetomir Panov 17 Apr 1989 Spartak (Pleven)
Milcho Makendzhiev 31 Oct 1989 Lokomotiv (Mezdra)
Kristiyan Uzunov 04 Feb 1989 CSKA (Sofia)
Kostadin Gadzhalov 20 Jul 1989 Botev 1912 (Plovdiv)
Daniel Zlatkov 06 Mar 1989 Pirin Blagoevgrad (Blagoevgrad)
Midfielders
Todor Kolev 22 Sep 1989 Cherno more (Varna)
Daniel Dimov 21 Jan 1989 Cherno more (Varna)
Lachezar Manchev 23 Jan 1989 Levski (Sofia)
Atanas Zehirov 13 Feb 1989 CSKA (Sofia)
Mihail Aleksandrov 11 Jun 1989 Borussia (Dortmund, GER, 1)
Hristian Popov 05 Feb 1990 Lokomotiv 1936 (Plovdiv)
Martin Toshev 1990 1.FC Koln (Cologne, GER, 1)
Forwards
Stefan Velev 02 May 1989 Lokomotiv (Stara Zagora)
Aleksandar Kirov 25 Oct 1990 Levski (Sofia)
Ivan Tsachev 18 Jan 1989 Levski (Sofia)
Ismail Isa 26 Jun 1989 Levski (Sofia)
Preslav Yordanov 21 Jul 1989 Lokomotiv (Sofia)
Momchil Tsvetanov 12 Mar 1990 Litex (Lovech)
Branimir Kostadinov 04 Mar 1989 Hearts (Edinburgh, SCO, 1)
And here is the complete match schedule of the final tournament. The matches, written in bold, are the ones to be televised live on Eurosport. Kick off times are local CEST.
Group A
14 Jul, Mon, 17:30: BUL HUN in Zizkov
14 Jul, Mon, 19:30: GER ESP in Plzen
17 Jul, Thu, 18:00: ESP HUN in Pribram
17 Jul, Thu, 20:30: GER BUL in Plzen
20 Jul, Sun, 20:00: HUN GER in Pribram
20 Jul, Sun, 20:00: ESP BUL in Zizkov
Group B
14 Jul, Mon, 17:30: CZE ENG in Jablonec
14 Jul, Mon, 19:30: GRE ITA in Mlada Boleslav
17 Jul, Thu, 18:00: CZE GRE in Liberec
17 Jul, Thu, 20:00: ENG ITA in Jablonec
20 Jul, Sun, 18:00: ENG GRE in Liberec
20 Jul, Sun, 18:00: ITA CZE in Mlada Boleslav
1/2 finals
23 Jul, Wed, 17:30: in Plzen
23 Jul, Wed, 20:15: in Mlada Boleslav
Final
26 Jul, Sat, 19:00: in Jablonec
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Coach changes in "A" and "B" FG
9.6.08, 11:37
by Yordan Tsirov
The past two weeks heralded the start of the "A" and "B" FG's footballers short holidays before they begin preparation for the new season. But they also signaled for some coaching changes among the clubs. The greatest interest was attracted towards Lokomotiv (Sofia)'s new coach Dragomir Okuka.
The bronze medalists were abandoned by Stefan Grozdanov during the spring part of the season and were lead by Dimitar Vasev, who was Grozdanov's assistant, until the end of the season. Despite a successful end to the season under his guidance, the club's board decided to appoint Serbian specialist Okuka at the helm. The 54-year-old coach was presented at a press conference on 5 June. He last worked with Cypriot side Omonia (Nicosia) in the fall of 2007. In his coaching career he also lead several Serbian and Polish club teams, as well as the U-21 national team of Serbia and Montenegro, with whom he reached 4th place at the U-21 Euro finals in 2006. Okuka has also lead Obilic (Belgrade) and Legia (Warsaw) to domestic titles in Yugoslavia and Poland respectively.
Shortly before that, one of the newcomers to "A" FG and namesake of the "zheleznichari" from Sofia the team of Lokomotiv (Mezdra) relieved from his position their coach Stamen Belchev. On 30 May his place was taken by Viktorio Pavlov, who worked in Levski (Sofia)'s youth academy up till now. During this past season he was in charge of the U-19 side (born 1989) of the blues.
As if to compensate for the loss of personnel, Levski's coaching ranks were strengthened with not one but two head coaches from Kaliakra (Kavarna) in less than a month's time. After Velislav Vutsov's transfer to the blues a round before the championship final, the man who took up his place Antoni Zdravkov has also followed him to become part of Levski's coaching staff. He did so following Kaliakra's defeat to Minyor (Pernik) in the play-off for "A" FG. On 30 May the "kalyari" board introduced to the media Atanas Atanasov as the team's new head coach. Atanasov was in charge at "A" FG side Spartak (Varna) until shortly after the beginning of the spring part of the season.
Another of the front-runners in Eastern "B" FG also lost its coach. Voin Voynov didn't renew his contract with Rodopa (Smolyan), citing the need to be close to his family in Sofia. In an interview for the "Meridian match" daily on 7 June, Voynov confirmed that he is now in charge of the Western "B" FG side Akademik 1947 (Sofia). The previuos "studenti" head coach Bogdan Kotev will remain at the club at a different position. Meanwhile Rodopa's executives are yet to announce a successor for Voynov.
Yeat another team from the East with promotion aspirations during the past season was not left unaffected by the spirit of change. However, in contrast to his colleagues at Kaliakra and Rodopa, who left on their own account, Nesebar's Nikolay Rusev was fired by the club's board. On 31 May the "delfini" appointed Blagomir Mitrev at his place. A former Naftex (Burgas) player, Mitrev was in charge of the U-19 youth team of the "sheyhove". Atanas Dimov, who also worked at Naftex during this past season as an assistant to Plamen Mihov too left the stadium of the greens in order to take charge of a team from the region around Burgas. On 4 June he was confirmed as a new coach of 3rd level side Pomorie by bourgasfootball.com, replacing Ivan Tsvetanov.
There was also a change at a team from the Western "B" FG. One of the veterans of football in Pleven central defender Krasimir Bislimov hung up the playing boots, after playing with the Belite orli this season. Bislimov returns to Spartak (Pleven) the team, where he began his playing career but this time as a head coach. At this position he replaces Spartak's coach up till now Vachko Marinov.
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BFU's Arbitration Commission holds first session
8.6.08, 10:16
by Yordan Tsirov
The Arbitration Commission of the Bulgarian Football Union held its first session for the summer transfer period on Thursday, 5 June. The commission deals with the cancelling of players contracts with the clubs and resolving of any disputes over player contracts.
All the terminated contracts at this session were on the grounds of mutual agreement between player and club. Meanwhile, all the other cases were postponed until the next meeting of the commission.
The case that drew biggest interest was the "A" FG top goalscorer Georgi Hristov's motion for terminating his contract with Botev (Plovdiv), related to Levski (Sofia)'s interest in the player. A decision on the matter was not taken at this session, with the Plovdiv club asking for a postponement in order to get acquainted with the other side's arguments.
A total of 14 players from Marek (Dupnitsa) wanted to terminate their contracts, but only the team's two Moroccan players did so, on mutual agreement with the club. The rest of the cases were also left for the second session of the commission.
Another team that was relegated to "B" FG Beroe (Stara Zagora) parted ways with 8 of its footballers on mutual agreement. The Arbitration Commission has to convene two more times before the start of the new season. However the BFU has yet to officially announce the dates of those meetings.
Here's a list of all the cases, reviewed at this session and the decisions taken:
Contracts, terminated on mutual agreement:
Marcho Dafchev Lokomotiv (Sofia)
Hristo Matev Lokomotiv (Sofia)
Marko Muslin Lokomotiv (Sofia)
Cedric Uras Litex (Lovech)
Nikica Kosutic Chernomorets Burgas (Burgas)
Karim Izrailov Lokomotiv 1936 (Plovdiv)
Dobrin Orlovski Belasitsa (Petrich)
Aleksandar Stojanovski Belasitsa (Petrich)
Peycho Deliminkov Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Marcel Elame Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Ivan Karamanov Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Yanko Kosturkov Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Igor Lambulic Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Nedko Milenov Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Vladan Milosavljevic Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Zdravko Todorov Beroe (Stara Zagora)
Abdi Abdikov Vidima-Rakovski (Sevlievo)
Kostadin Angelov (coach) Vidima-Rakovski (Sevlievo)
Noureddine Ez-Zahid Marek (Dupnitsa)
Radounne Karoui Marek (Dupnitsa)
Yordan Linkov Rodopa (Smolyan)
Vasil Vasilev Spartak-S 94 (Plovdiv)
Petar Kanchev Spartak-S 94 (Plovdiv)
Lyuben Nikolov Spartak-S 94 (Plovdiv)
Rosen Tanev Svetkavitsa 1922 (Targovishte)
Ventsislav Zhelev Minyor (Radnevo)
Boyan Peykov Minyor (Radnevo)
Vladimir Slavev Minyor (Radnevo)
Nikolay Boyadzhiev Svilengrad 1921 (Svilengrad)
Nikola Danchev Svilengrad 1921 (Svilengrad)
Simeon Pironkov Svilengrad 1921 (Svilengrad)
Dimitar Mutafov Sportist (Svoge)
Preslav Yordanov Spartak (Pleven)
Vladislav Aramov Akademik 1947 (Sofia)
Pavel Stamenkov Akademik 1947 (Sofia)
Ahmed Bargan Pirin (Gotse Delchev)
Atanas Ustanliev Pirin (Gotse Delchev)
Vladimir Dakev Chavdar (Byala Slatina)
Motions left without review:
Petar Aleksandrov Svilengrad 1921 (Svilengrad)
Motions, postponed until the commission's next session:
Boyko Velichkov Spartak (Varna)
Georgi Hristov Botev 1912 (Plovdiv)
Georgi Stoyanov Vidima-Rakovski (Sevlievo)
Georgi Andreev Marek (Dupnitsa)
Daniel Belchev Marek (Dupnitsa)
Slavcho Boychev Marek (Dupnitsa)
Emil Varadinov Marek (Dupnitsa)
Dimitar Georgiev Marek (Dupnitsa)
Svetoslav Georgiev Marek (Dupnitsa)
Radoslav Ivanov Marek (Dupnitsa)
Anzhelo Kyuchukov Marek (Dupnitsa)
Yanek Kyuchukov Marek (Dupnitsa)
Daniel Mladenov Marek (Dupnitsa)
Ivaylo Pargov Marek (Dupnitsa)
Ivan Redovski Marek (Dupnitsa)
Vasil Kostov Rilski sportist (Samokov)
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UEFA U-19 Euro championship draw held
6.6.08, 10:37 by Yordan Tsirov
The draw for the finals of the UEFA U-19 European championship, due to be held in the Czech Republic this summer, was held in Prague on 31 May. Bulgaria was pitted against the lights of Spain, Germany and Hungary in Group "A". The finalists are also going to contest visas for the 2009 U-20 World Cup.
The hosts from the Czech Republic, as well as England, Greece and Italy make up the group "B" line-up. The matches from the group phase of the competition will be played between the 14th and 20th of July 2008. The winners and runners-up of group "A" are going to meet respectively the second and first placed teams from group "B" in the semi-finals on 23 July, the final scheduled for 26 July.
The top 6 teams at the finals are also going to qualify for the 2009 FIFA World Youth Cup in Egypt. Because of this, the third place spots in both groups also become valuable.
The uncontested favourites of group "A", as well as of the whole tournament are the team of Spain. The Spanish side is the reigning champion for a second year running now and has last tasted defeat some 22 matches ago, back in 2005.
Germany is the other obvious favourite in our group, reaching the semi-finals last year. Hungary is one of the surprise packages to reach the finals. They did so however by dispatching traditional powerhouse Portugal, beating them 1:0 in a decisive game, albeit on Hungarian soil.
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Martin Doychev appointed as Vidima head coach
27.5.08, 14:53
by Yordan Tsirov
Vidima-Rakovski's Executive Committee has appointed Martin Doychev, who's been working in the team's youth academy, the new head coach of the Sevlievo side. Doychev takes charge from caretaker Manol Georgiev.
The decision was taken at a meeting on Monday and was reported by the "7 dni sport" daily.
The team from Sevlievo produced a dismal performance in "A" FG last season, which led to the resignation of coach Kostadin Angelov in March, shortly after the half-way mark of the championship. Manol Georgiev took up the vacant place and served as a player-manager until the end of the season.
With Manol Georgiev at the helm, Vidima improved their game noticeably and achieved impressive successes against the top teams of the league they drew with eventual champions CSKA (Sofia) and bronze medalists Lokomotiv (Sofia) and scraped to a dramatic win in a five-goal thriller against local rivals Litex (Lovech), who went on to win the Cup of Bulgaria. Still Sevlievo only managed second from bottom in the final table and were relegated to the Western "B" FG.
The team's new coach, Martin Doychev, works at the Vidima-Rakovski youth academy. During the 2006/07 season he led the Vidima U-19s, who played in a group with the best U-19 sides from Northwestern Bulgaria. Finishing fourth, the team was left only a point away from participation in the U-19 championship finals. During the past 2007/08 season Doychev led the youngest of the sides the U-14s.
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