FC Tsarsko Selo Sofia
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| Full name | Football Club Tsarsko Selo 2015 | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Царете (The Tsars) | |||
| Founded | 1 July 2015 | |||
| Ground | Arena Tsarsko Selo Dragalevtsi, Sofia, Bulgaria | |||
| Capacity | 1,550 | |||
| Coordinates | 42°38′11.9″N 23°18′57.5″E / 42.636639°N 23.315972°E | |||
| Chairman | Stoyne Manolov | |||
| Head coach | Vladislav Vutov | |||
| League | First League | |||
| 2020–21 | First League, 9th of 14 | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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Tsarsko Selo (Bulgarian: Царско Село) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Sofia. It currently plays in First League, the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, having gained promotion from Second League in 2018–19 season.
Tsarsko Selo plays their home matches at their Tsarsko Selo Sports Complex in the Dragalevtsi quarter of Sofia.
History[]
2015–2016: Foundation[]
In the summer of 2015, the previous chairman of CSKA Sofia Stoyne Manolov established a new academy called Football Academy Tsarsko Selo, with a focus on scouting and developing youth football players born in 2002 to 2010.[1] The club was initially registered and a subsequent men's team in the A RFG Sofia South was established, with former long-time CSKA Sofia captain Todor Yanchev appointed as manager.[2] On November 12, 2015 Manolov announced an academy partnership with Spanish La Liga club Málaga CF.[3] In the end of December 2015, Todor Yanchev took over Sofia 2010, which was bought by Manolov and was merged with Tsarsko Selo to establish a new club called Tsarsko Selo Sofia.[4][5]
2016–present: Professional debut[]
On 28 July 2016 the team was accepted in the newly created Bulgarian Second Professional League.[6] They finished their first match against Botev Galabovo with a draw.[7] In their first match for the Bulgarian Cup they played against Levski Sofia. The match was played on 22 September 2016 at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Sofia and was won by Levski by 2–0.[8] After 2 heavy defeats, Yanchev stepped down from his position as a manager and on 29 October 2016, previous Cherno More Varna head coach Nikola Spasov was announced as the new manager of the team.[9] The team finished their first season in Second League in 5th place.[10]
The good start of the season for Tsarsko Selo was marked not only by the first place in the league after 8 rounds, but with their first win for the Cup, winning the first round against Neftochimic Burgas on 19 September 2017.[11] On 3 January 2018 Nikola Spasov was announced as the new manager of the Kazakhstan Premier League team Kyzylzhar.[12] Shortly the same day Veselin Velikov was announced as the new manager of the club.[13] On 8 May 2018 Velislav Vutsov was announced as the new head coach of the team with Velikov becoming a selectionist. [14]
On 22 April 2019 in a goalless draw against CSKA 1948 the kings secured their first place in Second League and won promotion in the First League for first time in their history, being 18 points ahead from the second and third place five rounds before the end of the season. [15]
Tsarsko selo's first ever match in the Bulgarian First Division resulted in a 0–2 away loss against the actual champion Ludogorets Razgrad. This was followed by a home 0–0 draw to the other debutant Arda Kardzhali. Tsarsko selo's first win came in the fifth round, when the team managed to beat Botev Plovdiv away with 0–2. Two goals for the win were scored by Dutch winger Rodney Antwi. The first home win came in the seventh round with 2–1 against Beroe Stara Zagora. Tsarsko Selo eventually finished 13th, having to play a playoff match in order to remain in the elite. They were drawn against the second-placed team from the Second League, Septemvri Sofia. In a very close fought game played in Sofia, Tsarsko Selo won 2–0, securing their place in the First League for the next season.
Honours[]
Runners up (1): 2015–16
- Round of 16 (1): 2017–18
Shirt and sponsor[]
Tsarsko Selo's main kit was initially red and white and the away kits were black and red. From 2016, the main kit has been all-red, while the reserve ones are all-white. In 2017 team main kit was changed to pink.
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt partner |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2017 |  Joma
|
None |
| 2017–2019 |  Nike
| |
| 2019– | WINBET |
Players[]
First-team squad[]
- As of 13 October 2021[16]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see Transfers winter 2020–21 and Transfers summer 2021.
Out on loan[]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Foreign players[]
Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First Professional League however only three can be used in a match day. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for 5 years.
|
EU Nationals |
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) |
Non-EU Nationals |
Past seasons[]
| Season | League | Place | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Bulgarian Cup | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | A RFG (IV) | 2nd | 20 | 1 | 5 | 92 | 21 | 61 | not qualified | ||
| 2016–17 | Second League (II) | 5th | 14 | 6 | 10 | 54 | 39 | 48 | First Round | ||
| 2017–18 | Second League (II) | 3rd | 19 | 6 | 5 | 56 | 28 | 63 | Second Round | ||
| 2018–19 | Second League (II) | 1st | 24 | 4 | 2 | 68 | 27 | 76 | First Round | ||
| 2019–20 | First League (I) | 13th | 9 | 4 | 18 | 27 | 50 | 31 | First Round | ||
| Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation. | |||||||||||
Club officials[]
Board of directors[]
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| President | Emil Enev | 
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| Executive Director | Emil Enev |
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| Sports Director | Ivo Andreevski |
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| Administrative Director | Tihomir Alexov |
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| Director of Youth Academy | Valeryi Damyanov |
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Current technical body[]
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Lyuboslav Penev |
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| Assistant Coach | Atanas Stoilov |
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| Goalkeeper Coach | Yordan Yordanov |
|
| Fitness Coach | Pablo Carasco |
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| Physiotherapist | Viktor Valchanov |
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| Doctor | Emilia Kamenova |
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| Media | Vesko Valchev |
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| U19 Coach | Kemal Rashidov |
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Manager history[]
| Name | Nat | From | To | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todor Yanchev |
|
28 December 2015 | 29 October 2016 | |
| Nikola Spasov |
|
29 October 2016 | 3 January 2018 | |
| Veselin Velikov |
|
3 January 2018 | 8 May 2018 | |
| Velislav Vutsov |
|
8 May 2018 | 1 June 2018 | |
| Nikola Spasov |
|
1 June 2018 | 1 April 2020 | 1 Second League title |
| Vladimir Vutov |
|
4 April 2020 | 30 April 2020 | |
| Lyuboslav Penev |
|
30 April 2020 | 28 March 2021 | |
| Antoni Zdravkov |
|
29 March 2021 | 8 October 2021 | |
| Lyuboslav Penev |
|
13 October 2021 | present |
References[]
- ^ Академия "Царско село" набира деца
- ^ Бивш капитан на ЦСКА поема академия "Царско село"
- ^ Стойне Манолов: Царско село ще си партнира с Малага
- ^ Тодор Янчев поема отбор от Югозападната В група
- ^ "Стойне Манолов: Българският футбол няма бъдеще без ЦСКА". Focus-sport.net. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- ^ "Царско село" и "Левски" (Карлово) допълниха състава на Втора лига
- ^ Царско село с равенство в дебюта си във Втора лига
- ^ Левски на осминафинал след феноменален гол
- ^ Никола Спасов пое отбор от Втора лига
- ^ Голеада на Царско село
- ^ Царско село продължава напред за Купата на България
- ^ Бивш президент на Астана посрещна Никола Спасов в Казахстан
- ^ Веселин Великов е новият треньор на Царско село
- ^ Вили Вуцов се завърна в родния футбол
- ^ ЦСКА 1948 се провали срещу 10 от Царско село, Първа лига официално има нов член
- ^ "Играчи" [Players] (in Bulgarian). fctsarskoselo.com. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
External links[]
- Football clubs in Bulgaria
- Association football clubs established in 2015
- 2015 establishments in Bulgaria