The Eternal Derby
Encyclopedia
The Eternal Derby of Bulgarian Football or simply The Eternal Derby is the name of the local derby
football match between the two most popular and successful football clubs in Sofia
and Bulgaria
- PFC Levski Sofia
and PFC CSKA Sofia
. The clubs have won 26 & 31 national championship
titles and 25 & 19 Bulgarian Cup
titles respectively.
During the years as the two teams became the more and more successful, they gained large supporter bases. The confrontations between the clubs and their fans became commonplace and often resulted in tense encounters on the pitch and hooligan
clashes between the fans off the pitch. The hostility reached its climax on 19 June 1985 during the Bulgarian Cup
final held at Vasil Levski National Stadium
when after many disputable referee decisions both teams demonstrated poor sportsmanship which resulted in regular fights between them on the pitch. On 21 June the Central Committee
of the Bulgarian Communist Party
issued a decree that disbanded both teams. Then called CSKA Septemvriysko zname had to be re-founded as Sredets and then called Levski-Spartak - as Vitosha. Six players (including Hristo Stoichkov
and Borislav Mikhailov
) were banned for life from playing competitive football, many other players and staff members - for periods from 3 months to 1 year. A year later the decision was abolished and the players continued their sport careers.
. That made the home advantage always in favor of Levski,as usually 3/4 of the stadium capacity had been full of Levski supporters and the other 1/4 - of CSKA supporters. During the 2000s the clubs started to play their eternal derby matches at their own stadiums Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
and Balgarska Armiya Stadium
but soon they decided to move the matches between them back to the National Stadium because of its higher capacity.
Only once in the history of the Eternal derby it was held outside Sofia - in 1991 Levski won Bulgarian Cup quarter-final with 2:0 in a match that was played at Tundzha Stadium in Yambol
.
Note: All matches that have finished with a win after extra time are represented as a win for the respective club. All matches that have finished with a penalty shoot-out are represented as draws with the final score after 120 minutes.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:95%"
! International Competition
! width="100" | Levski Sofia
! width="100" | CSKA Sofia
|-
| Intercontinental Cup
/ FIFA Club World Cup
| -
| -
|-
| European Cup / UEFA Champions League
| -
| -
|-
| UEFA Cup
/ UEFA Europa League
| -
| -
|-
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
| -
| -
|-
| UEFA Super Cup
| -
| -
|-
| Intertoto Cup
| -
| -
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:95%"
! National Competition
! width="100" | Levski Sofia
! width="100" | CSKA Sofia
|-
| Bulgarian Championship
| 26
| 31
|-
| Bulgarian Cup
| 26
| 20
|-
|-
| Bulgarian Supercup
| 3
| 4
|-
|-
| Total
| 55
| 55
|}
7:2 - 17 November 1968
5:0 - 13 May 1998
4:0 - 16 June 1982
5:0 - 1 October 1989
4:0 - 14 April 1957
(CSKA)
32 - Stefan Bozhkov
(CSKA)
31 - Emil Spasov
(Levski)
(Levski)
14 - Nasko Sirakov
(Levski)
12 - Pavel Panov
(Levski)
11 - Dimitar Milanov
(CSKA)
(final score Levski 1:1 CSKA)
Lowest Attendance: 8,000 - 26 May 2002, Balgarska Armiya Stadium
(final score CSKA 1:0 Levski)
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
football match between the two most popular and successful football clubs in 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 Bulgaria
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...
- PFC Levski Sofia
PFC Levski Sofia
"Levski Sofia" redirects here. For the sports club, see Levski Sofia .PFC Levski Sofia, otherwise simply known as Levski or Levski Sofia, is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria...
and PFC 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...
. The clubs have won 26 & 31 national championship
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...
titles and 25 & 19 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....
titles respectively.
History
The rivalry started in the late 1940's when the newly founded club of CSKA became a champion in their first year in competitive football in 1948. Both seasons 1948-49 and 1950 ended with the two teams facing each other in thrilling Soviet Army Cup finals with Levski Sofia winning in both occasions after extra time of the second final replay as the previous two final matches had finished as draws.During the years as the two teams became the more and more successful, they gained large supporter bases. The confrontations between the clubs and their fans became commonplace and often resulted in tense encounters on the pitch and hooligan
Hooliganism
Hooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs....
clashes between the fans off the pitch. The hostility reached its climax on 19 June 1985 during 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....
final held at Vasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium , named after Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski, is one of Bulgaria's largest sports venues and the country's second largest stadium...
when after many disputable referee decisions both teams demonstrated poor sportsmanship which resulted in regular fights between them on the pitch. On 21 June the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Bulgarian Communist Party
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party was the communist and Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when the country ceased to be a communist state...
issued a decree that disbanded both teams. Then called CSKA Septemvriysko zname had to be re-founded as Sredets and then called Levski-Spartak - as Vitosha. Six players (including Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...
and Borislav Mikhailov
Borislav Mikhailov
Borislav Biserov Mihaylov is a former Bulgarian football goalkeeper and currently President of Bulgarian Football Union, member of the executive committee of UEFA....
) were banned for life from playing competitive football, many other players and staff members - for periods from 3 months to 1 year. A year later the decision was abolished and the players continued their sport careers.
The Eternal derby venues
During the years all the matches between Levski and CSKA were held at a neutral venue, in most cases at the Vasil Levski National StadiumVasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium , named after Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski, is one of Bulgaria's largest sports venues and the country's second largest stadium...
. That made the home advantage always in favor of Levski,as usually 3/4 of the stadium capacity had been full of Levski supporters and the other 1/4 - of CSKA supporters. During the 2000s the clubs started to play their eternal derby matches at their own stadiums Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
Georgi Asparuhov Stadium
Georgi Asparuhov Stadium , also known as Gerena , is a football stadium situated in the Suhata reka neighbourhood of the Bulgarian capital Sofia. It has been the home of PFC Levski Sofia since 1963....
and Balgarska Armiya Stadium
Balgarska Armiya Stadium
Bulgarian Army Stadium is the club stadium of the Bulgarian football club CSKA Sofia. It is situated in the Borisova Gradina , in the centre of Sofia. The stadium has four sectors and a total of 22,015 seats, of which 2,100 are covered...
but soon they decided to move the matches between them back to the National Stadium because of its higher capacity.
Only once in the history of the Eternal derby it was held outside Sofia - in 1991 Levski won Bulgarian Cup quarter-final with 2:0 in a match that was played at Tundzha Stadium in Yambol
Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 72,843 inhabitants. It is occasionally spelt 'Jambol'.The administrative centres...
.
Summary of Results
| Competition | Matches | Levski Sofia wins | draws | CSKA Sofia wins | Goal difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 128 | 50 | 36 | 42 | 186:175 |
| Cup | 37 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 64:43 |
| Supercup | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:1 |
| Other | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2:3 |
| Total | 174 | 78 | 41 | 55 | 260:223 |
Note: All matches that have finished with a win after extra time are represented as a win for the respective club. All matches that have finished with a penalty shoot-out are represented as draws with the final score after 120 minutes.
Honours
These are the football honours of Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia.{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:95%"
! International Competition
! width="100" | Levski Sofia
PFC Levski Sofia
"Levski Sofia" redirects here. For the sports club, see Levski Sofia .PFC Levski Sofia, otherwise simply known as Levski or Levski Sofia, is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria...
! width="100" | 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...
|-
| Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
/ FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in January 2000...
| -
| -
|-
| European Cup / UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
| -
| -
|-
| 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...
/ UEFA Europa League
| -
| -
|-
| UEFA 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...
| -
| -
|-
| UEFA Super Cup
| -
| -
|-
| Intertoto Cup
| -
| -
|-
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:95%"
! National Competition
! width="100" | Levski Sofia
PFC Levski Sofia
"Levski Sofia" redirects here. For the sports club, see Levski Sofia .PFC Levski Sofia, otherwise simply known as Levski or Levski Sofia, is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria...
! width="100" | 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...
|-
| Bulgarian Championship
| 26
| 31
|-
| 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....
| 26
| 20
|-
|-
| Bulgarian Supercup
Bulgarian Supercup
The Bulgarian Supercup is an annually held football match between the football club that has won the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group and the club that has won the Bulgarian Cup...
| 3
| 4
|-
|-
| Total
| 55
| 55
|}
Statistics
All statistics include all competitive matches until 1 August 2010. Players represented in bold still play competitive football.Levski wins
7:1 - 23 September 19947:2 - 17 November 1968
5:0 - 13 May 1998
4:0 - 16 June 1982
CSKA wins
5:0 - 23 September 19595:0 - 1 October 1989
4:0 - 14 April 1957
Most derby appearances
35 - Manol ManolovManol Manolov
Manol Manolov was a football defender and manager.For the Bulgaria national football team Manolov featured in 57 games and won a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics. Between 1948 and 1962 he played in 239 matches and scored 8 goals for CSKA Sofia...
(CSKA)
32 - Stefan Bozhkov
Stefan Bozhkov
Stefan Bozhilov Stefanov is a former Bulgarian football player and coach.During his club career he played for PFC CSKA Sofia. Bozhkov won the top Bulgarian league, the A PFG, a ten times , as well as the Bulgarian Cup, three times...
(CSKA)
31 - Emil Spasov
Emil Spasov
Emil Spasov is a former Bulgarian football player. Played as a midfielder or striker, he started his career in Levski Sofia in 1974 and stayed in the club until 1988 with short breaks. During this period he also played for Spartak Varna, Brage in 1985/86 and R. Antwerp F.C. in 1986/87...
(Levski)
Most derby goals
15 - Georgi IvanovGeorgi Ivanov (footballer)
Georgi Ivanov, nicknamed Gonzo , born 2 July 1976 in Plovdiv), is a former Bulgarian football striker who is the current manager of FC Levski Sofia...
(Levski)
14 - Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Sirakov
Nasko Petkov Sirakov is a retired Bulgarian footballer who played mainly as a striker.Part of the Bulgarian team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup as it finished fourth, he was one of the most important footballers in the country in the 80's/90's, being a legend at Levski Sofia, a club he represented in...
(Levski)
12 - Pavel Panov
Pavel Panov
Pavel Panov is a former Bulgarian football player and coach, who played as a midfielder or striker. He started his career in Septemvri Sofia in 1963 and stayed there until 1968....
(Levski)
11 - Dimitar Milanov
Dimitar Milanov
Dimitar Milanov Stoyanov was a Bulgarian international footballer who played as a striker for CSKA Sofia. Milanov earned 39 caps for Bulgaria, scoring 20 goals, between 1948 and 1959, and he competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics and 1956 Summer Olympics.-References:...
(CSKA)
Record attendances
Highest Attendance: 70,000 - 11 March 1967, Vasil Levski National StadiumVasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium , named after Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski, is one of Bulgaria's largest sports venues and the country's second largest stadium...
(final score Levski 1:1 CSKA)
Lowest Attendance: 8,000 - 26 May 2002, Balgarska Armiya Stadium
Balgarska Armiya Stadium
Bulgarian Army Stadium is the club stadium of the Bulgarian football club CSKA Sofia. It is situated in the Borisova Gradina , in the centre of Sofia. The stadium has four sectors and a total of 22,015 seats, of which 2,100 are covered...
(final score CSKA 1:0 Levski)