OFC Sliven 2000
Encyclopedia
OFC Sliven 2000 is a Bulgaria
n football club from the town of Sliven
, currently playing in the East B PFG
, the second division of Bulgarian football. The club's home ground is the Hadzhi Dimitar Stadium in Sliven with a capacity of 15,000. OFC Sliven's team colours are orange and blue.
After World War II Sliven took part in B PFG for ten years before seeing its first promotion to A PFG in season 1963/1964. Up to 2008-09, the club has played 22 seasons at the highest level of Bulgarian football (including continuously from 1974–1993).
In 1983-84 FC Sliven finished on 3rd place in A PFG and thus qualified for the UEFA Cup
for 1984-85, where they faced FK Željezničar Sarajevo, winning the first leg 1-0 at home, but suffering a 1-5 defeat in the second leg.
FC Sliven had its biggest success in 1990, winning the Bulgarian Cup
against CSKA Sofia (2-0). The goals were scored by Valeri Valkov and Yordan Lechkov. In the 1990-91 Cup Winners Cup Sliven were drawn against Juventus
, losing both matches by scores of 0-2 and 1-6.
Over the next few years, the club went into a deep crisis, and was relegated to the regional football groups and bankrupted. Sliven was reborn in 2000 by establishing the Municipal Football Club (OFC) Sliven 2000, led by Yordan Lechkov. In 2005 the club finally earned promotion back to the second level of Bulgarian football. In May 2008 Sliven were promoted to the top flight winning the Eastern group of Bulgaria's second division.
For the majority of their history FC Sliven have worn red and white colours. When the club was first founded in 1918, red was chosen to represent the blood of Bulgarian Voivodes and white was chosen to represent the freedom. After the bankruptcy of FC Sliven in 2000 the club changed its name to OFC Sliven 2000, its badge, and its colours to orange shirts with blue shorts. One of the nicknames of OFC Sliven 2000 is Voivodite which means "Slavic
title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force". It was chosen because the town Sliven
is famous for its Bulgarian Haidut
s who fought against the Ottoman Turks
in the 19th century and is known as the "City of the 100 Voivodes", a Voivode being a leader of Haiduts.
|
|
|
|
|
Note: For a complete list of Sliven players, see :Category:OFC Sliven 2000 players.
flooring in Bulgaria. The size of the official pitch is 105m x 68m. Record attendance is 30,000 people.
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 club from the town of Sliven
Sliven
Sliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality. It is a relatively large town with 89,848 inhabitants, as of February 2011....
, currently playing in the East 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 club's home ground is the Hadzhi Dimitar Stadium in Sliven with a capacity of 15,000. OFC Sliven's team colours are orange and blue.
Honours
- A PFGBulgarian A Professional Football GroupThe 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...
- 6th place - 3 times – 1983, 1986, 1992 - Winner of the 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....
- 1 time – 1990
History
OFC Sliven 2000 was founded on February 29, 2000 after the bankruptcy of FC Sliven, but as it is the real representative club of the same-name town, it keeps the tradition started back in 1914 with the first local football club Sportist. Through the years the leading club in Sliven had different names - Asenovetz, DNA, General Zaimov, Mlada Gvardia etc.After World War II Sliven took part in B PFG for ten years before seeing its first promotion to A PFG in season 1963/1964. Up to 2008-09, the club has played 22 seasons at the highest level of Bulgarian football (including continuously from 1974–1993).
In 1983-84 FC Sliven finished on 3rd place in A PFG and thus qualified for the 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...
for 1984-85, where they faced FK Željezničar Sarajevo, winning the first leg 1-0 at home, but suffering a 1-5 defeat in the second leg.
FC Sliven had its biggest success in 1990, winning the 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....
against CSKA Sofia (2-0). The goals were scored by Valeri Valkov and Yordan Lechkov. In the 1990-91 Cup Winners Cup Sliven were drawn against Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, losing both matches by scores of 0-2 and 1-6.
Over the next few years, the club went into a deep crisis, and was relegated to the regional football groups and bankrupted. Sliven was reborn in 2000 by establishing the Municipal Football Club (OFC) Sliven 2000, led by Yordan Lechkov. In 2005 the club finally earned promotion back to the second level of Bulgarian football. In May 2008 Sliven were promoted to the top flight winning the Eastern group of Bulgaria's second division.
Recent Seasons
| Season | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | 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.... |
Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | B PFG | 12 | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 30 | 31 | 1/16 | |
| 2006-07 | B PFG | 12 | 26 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 32 | 52 | 23 | 1/8 | |
| 2007-08 | B PFG | 1 | 26 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 63 | 23 | 60 | 1/8 | Promoted |
| 2008-09 | A PFG | 12 | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 40 | 32 | 1/8 | |
| 2009-10 2009–10 A PFG The 2009-10 season of the Bulgarian A PFG was the 86th season of top-tier football in Bulgaria. It began on 7 August 2009 with the game between Beroe and Lokomotiv Sofia. The last round took place on 30 May 2010... |
A PFG | 13 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 29 | 40 | 32 | 1/8 |
European cup history
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984/85 | 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 |  |
FK Zeljeznicar FK Željeznicar FK Željezničar is a professional football club from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo.The initial acronym stands for Fudbalski sportski klub , and the name Željezničar means "railway worker," given because it was established by a group of railway workers.Željezničar, alias "Željo," is the most... |
1-0 | 1-5 | 2-5 |
| 1990/91 | Cup Winners'Cup UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but... |
1 |  |
Juventus Juventus F.C. Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont... |
0-2 | 1-6 | 1-8 |
Colours and nicknames
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force". It was chosen because the town Sliven
Sliven
Sliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality. It is a relatively large town with 89,848 inhabitants, as of February 2011....
is famous for its Bulgarian Haidut
Hajduk
Hajduk is a term most commonly referring to outlaws, highwaymen or freedom fighters in the Balkans, Central- and Eastern Europe....
s who fought against the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
in the 19th century and is known as the "City of the 100 Voivodes", a Voivode being a leader of Haiduts.
|
|
|
|
|
Current squad
As of August 14, 2011Famous players
The following players included were either playing for their respective national teams or left good impression among the fans.| Yordan Letchkov Yordan Letchkov Yordan Letchkov is a former Bulgarian footballer and the current mayor of Sliven. He is generally regarded as one of the best players to come out of Bulgaria and was a key member of the squad which reached the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup Finals... Nikolay Arabov Nikolay Arabov Nikolay Arabov is a former Bulgarian footballer and Bulgaria international. He was a defender.-Career:Arabov made his debut for Sliven in 1971 and stayed in the club for 15 years, with 310 games in A PFG. Capped 42 times for the Bulgaria national football team in the period 1976 - 1986, including... Valeri Valkov Velian Parushev Vasil Tinchev Kosta Yanev Kosta Yanev Kosta Yanev is a Bulgarian football midfielder currently playing for Lokomotiv Sofia.He is a defensive midfielder who plays in the holding midfield role or as an attacking midfielder. Despite often being used in a defensive position he is mainly an attacking player... Christian Bosch |
Zhivko Kelepov Ivan Valchev Vasil Santurov Radia Doychev Plamen Timnev Ivan Stoyanov Ivan Stoyanov Ivan Stoyanov is a Bulgarian footballer, currently playing for Ludogorets Razgrad. Stoyanov is a left/right winger. He is also the nephew of the famous Bulgarian football player Yordan Letchkov.-Sliven & Stuttgart:... |
Note: For a complete list of Sliven players, see :Category:OFC Sliven 2000 players.
Stadium
The stadium Hadzhi Dimitar in Sliven (15,000 seats) was built in the 50's, first big reconstructions were run in the period 1984 - 1989. Currently Hadzhi Dimitar is a part of big multifunctional sports compound, still under development - at completion featuring hotel, restaurant, 2 training grass pitches, tennis courts, swimming pool. The athletic track of Hadzhi Dimitar is meeting all requirements of IAAF for hosting international competitions. The stadium complex has the only training pitch with FieldTurfFieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
flooring in Bulgaria. The size of the official pitch is 105m x 68m. Record attendance is 30,000 people.