2018–19 Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)

The 2018–19 Second League was the 63rd season of the Second League, the second tier of the Bulgarian football league system, and the 3rd season under this name and current league structure. In June 2018, the Executive Committee of the Bulgarian Football Union decided to increase the participating teams to 18 for the 2019–20 season; as a result, only two teams will be relegated to Third League.[1] The fixture list was released on 8 June 2018.[2] The participating teams were confirmed on the same day. FC Tsarsko Selo Sofia became champions of the second league and were promoted directly to the first division. FC Dobrudzha Dobrich and PFC Nesebar were relegated.[3]

Second Professional Football League
Season2018–19
ChampionsTsarsko Selo
PromotedTsarsko Selo
Arda
RelegatedDobrudzha
Nesebar
Matches played240
Goals scored567 (2.36 per match)
Top goalscorerBulgaria Georgi Minchev
(29 goals)
Longest winning run14 games by Tsarsko Selo
Longest unbeaten run20 games by Montana and Tsarsko Selo
Longest winless run18 games by Dobrudzha
Longest losing run5 games by Ludogorets II
All statistics correct as of 29 May 2019.

Teams

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The following teams have changed division since the 2017–18 season.

Stadia and locations

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Team City Stadium Capacity
Arda Kardzhali Druzhba 15,000
Botev Galabovo Energetik 3,000
Chernomorets Balchik Gradski, Balchik 3,100
CSKA 1948 Sofia Vasil Levski National Stadium 43,230
Dobrudzha Dobrich Druzhba 12,500
Kariana Erden Sport Complex Kariana 1,000
Litex Lovech Gradski, Lovech 8,100
Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa Lokomotiv, Gorna Oryahovitsa 10,500
Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv, Sofia 22,000
Ludogorets II Razgrad Eagles' Nest 2,000
Montana Montana Ogosta 8,000
Nesebar Nesebar Nesebar 7,000
Pirin Blagoevgrad Hristo Botev 7,500
Pomorie Pomorie Pomorie 2,000
Strumska Slava Radomir Gradski, Radomir 3,500
Tsarsko Selo Sofia Tsarsko Selo Sports Complex 2,000

Personnel and sponsorship

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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Kit sponsor
Arda   Stamen Belchev   Borislav Stoychev Nike
Botev Galabovo   Gospodin Mirchev   Nikolay Yankov KRASIKO Galabovo Municipality Knauf
Chernomorets Balchik   Georgi Ivanov   Genadi Lugo Legea Balchik Municipality
CSKA 1948   Petko Petkov   Evgeni Zyumbulev[4] Errea Efbet
Dobrudzha Dobrich   Emil Velev   Daniel Gramatikov KRASIKO Albena Resort Pioneer Seeds, Izida
Kariana   Veselin Velikov   Evgeni Ignatov Joma Upgrade
Litex   Zhivko Zhelev   Plamen Nikolov adidas
Lokomotiv Sofia   Mladen Dodić   Vladislav Romanov Joma Efbet Malizia, Intesa, VIA 2000
Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa   Krasimir Mechev   Krasen Trifonov KRASIKO Efbet Prity, Enel, Go Grill
Ludogorets Razgrad II   Radoslav Zdravkov   Oleg Dimitrov Umbro Efbet Vivacom, Spetema
Montana   Ferario Spasov   Ivan Mihov Jako Efbet
Nesebar   Nikolay Zhechev   Nikolay Kostov Joma Nesebar Municipality Efbet
Pirin Blagoevgrad   Petar Zlatinov   Yulian Popev Erreà Katarino Spa
Pomorie   Radoslav Boyanov   Georgi Petkov Joma Efbet
Strumska Slava   Vladimir Dimitrov[5]   Todor Zyumbulev Jumper Efbet
Tsarsko Selo   Nikola Spasov   Simeon Ganchev Nike Winbet

Note: Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only one sponsorship is permitted per jersey for official tournaments organised by UEFA in addition to that of the kit manufacturer (exceptions are made for non-profit organisations). Clubs in the domestic league can have more than one sponsorship per jersey which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. Shorts also have space available for advertisement.

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Lokomotiv GO   Aleksandar Dimitrov End of contract 23 May 2018 Pre-season   Todor Kiselichkov 10 June 2018[6]
Tsarsko Selo   Velislav Vutsov Mutual consent 1 June 2018   Nikola Spasov 1 June 2018[7]
Pomorie   Veselin Branimirov Signed by   Riga 12 June 2018[8]   Radoslav Boyanov 22 June 2018[9]
Lokomotiv Sofia   Mladen Dodić End of contract 14 June 2018   Angel Kolev 14 June 2018[10]
Pirin Blagoevgrad   Milen Radukanov 19 June 2018[11]   Petar Zlatinov 20 June 2018[12]
CSKA 1948   Valentin Iliev Mutual consent 21 August 2018[13] 4th   Petko Petkov 24 August 2018[14]
Kariana   Atanas Dzhambazki Sacked 21 August 2018 14th   Veselin Velikov 26 August 2018[15]
Arda   Elin Topuzakov 26 August 2018 7th   Stoycho Stoev 26 August 2018[16]
Lokomotiv GO   Todor Kiselichkov Mutual consent 18 September 2018[17] 16th   Marin Baichev (caretaker) 11 October 2018[18]
Botev Galabovo   Lyudmil Kirov Signed by Vereya 27 September 2018 4th   Gospodin Mirchev 27 September 2018[19]
Dobrudzha   Diyan Bozhilov Mutual consent 6 November 2018 16th   Emil Velev 13 November 2018[20]
Lokomotiv GO   Marin Baichev (caretaker) Caretaking spell over 13 December 2018 9th   Krasimir Mechev 13 December 2018[21]
Lokomotiv Sofia   Angel Kolev Mutual consent 17 December 2018 11th   Mladen Dodić 17 December 2018[22]
Arda   Stoycho Stoev Signed by Ludogorets 6 March 2019 3rd   Stamen Belchev 6 March 2019[23][24]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Tsarsko Selo (C, P) 30 24 4 2 68 27 +41 76 Promotion to the First League
2 Montana 30 18 9 3 49 22 +27 63 Qualification for the promotion play-offs
3 Arda (P) 30 19 5 6 44 18 +26 62
4 CSKA 1948 30 16 11 3 39 18 +21 59
5 Litex 30 12 9 9 43 26 +17 45
6 Strumska Slava Radomir 30 10 7 13 36 44 −8 37[a]
7 Chernomorets Balchik 30 10 7 13 27 35 −8 37[a]
8 Lokomotiv Sofia 30 9 9 12 25 28 −3 36[b]
9 Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa 30 10 6 14 30 43 −13 36[b]
10 Pomorie 30 10 6 14 35 49 −14 36[b]
11 Ludogorets Razgrad II 30 9 5 16 31 43 −12 32 Ineligible for promotion
12 Kariana 30 8 7 15 29 38 −9 31[c]
13 Pirin Blagoevgrad 30 9 4 17 29 49 −20 31[c]
14 Botev Galabovo 30 7 10 13 32 38 −6 31[c]
15 Nesebar (R) 30 6 9 15 33 51 −18 27 Relegation to the Third League
16 Dobrudzha Dobrich (R) 30 4 10 16 17 38 −21 22
Source: bulgarian-football.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fairplay ranking; 9) Draw.[25]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Strumska Slava Radomir is ahead of Chernomorets Balchik on head-to-head points: Strumska Slava–Chernomorets Balchik 1–0, Chernomorets Balchik–Strumska Slava 2–1.
  2. ^ a b c Lokomotiv Sofia is ahead of Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa and Pomorie on head-to-head points: Lokomotiv Sofia 8 pts, Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa 6 pts, Pomorie 2 pts.
  3. ^ a b c Kariana is ahead of Pirin Blagoevgrad and Botev Galabovo on head-to-head points: Kariana 9 pts, Pirin Blagoevgrad 4 pts, Botev Galabovo 4 pts.

Results

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Home \ Away ARD GAL CBA CSK DOB KAR LIT LGO LSO LUD MON NES PIR POM STR TSS
Arda 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 2–0 0–1 2–0 5–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–1
Botev Galabovo 2–3 3–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 3–3 4–1 0–0 3–2
Chernomorets Balchik 1–3 1–0 0–0 3–0 0–0 2–2 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–3 2–1 1–3
CSKA 1948 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 3–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 3–0 1–1
Dobrudzha Dobrich 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–3 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–2 0–2
Kariana 0–1 3–0 0–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 0–2 3–0 0–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 1–2
Litex 2–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 3–1 3–0 2–0 2–3
Lokomotiv GO 2–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 1–1 3–2 1–2 0–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 3–2 1–0 0–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 0–3 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 4–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–1
Ludogorets Razgrad II 0–1 2–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 4–0 0–0 3–2 0–3 1–3 4–1 0–0 2–2 3–1 0–2
Montana 0–0 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 4–1 3–0 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 2–0
Nesebar 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 3–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 3–0 4–2 1–2 2–3 1–1 0–0 0–2
Pirin Blagoevgrad 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–2 0–5 0–0 0–2 1–0 0–3 1–3 0–2 3–0 1–3
Pomorie 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 1–3 4–3 1–0 0–2 2–5
Strumska Slava 1–3 1–0 1–0 3–4 3–1 3–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–3 2–2 2–2 2–0 1–0 2–2
Tsarsko Selo 2–1 3–1 4–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 3–1 2–1 2–1 4–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 4–1 3–1
Source: bulgarian-football.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Positions by round

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Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Tsarsko Selo211111111111111111111111111111
Montana865745222222222222222222332222
Arda348684333334444333334433223333
CSKA 1948932422674545333444443344444444
Litex12151112149767866666656555555555555
Strumska Slava5532338810101312121113101210910101010101088876
Chernomorets11121510681011911787887777677899101010107
Lokomotiv Sofia1013981312131411121199779118889998899988
Lokomotiv GO7141415121416128791111131113991198877766669
Pomorie151043574554535555656766666777910
Ludogorets II16111314151614161514141410121281013131314141414141211111111
Kariana141616161615151516161615141415151515151513121313121314141312
Pirin48121310119913131213151514141414141415151515151513131413
Botev Galabovo6265765466871199111311121111111111111112121214
Nesebar171011913121312910108101012812101212131212131415151515
Dobrudzha139791110111014151516161616161616161616161616161616161616
Updated to match(es) played on 23 May 2019. Source: bulgarian-football.com

Top scorers

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As of match(es) played on 23 May 2019[26]
Rank Player Club Goals
1   Georgi Minchev Tsarsko Selo 29
2   Andon Gushterov CSKA 1948 20
3   Atanas Iliev Montana 18
4   Ventsislav Hristov Arda 12
  Denislav Aleksandrov[a] CSKA 1948
  Vladislav Zlatinov Pirin Blagoevgrad
  1. ^ Includes 6 goals for Ludogorets Razgrad II

References

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  1. ^ "Изпълкомът увеличава състава на Втора професионална лига за сезон 2019/20" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 7 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Жребият за професионалния футбол е изтеглен" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 8 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Състав на Първа и Втора професионална лига за сезон 2018/19" (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian Football Union. 8 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Лентата вече е на ръката на Евгени Зюмбулев" (in Bulgarian). cska1948.bg. 19 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Владимир Димитров ще води Струмска слава и във Втора лига" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 31 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Тодор Киселичков е новият треньор на ФК Локомотив (ГО)" (in Bulgarian). lokomotivgo.com. 10 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Официално съобщение" (in Bulgarian). fa.tsarskoselo-bg.com. 1 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Веселин Бранимиров отиде в Латвия, Поморие търси треньор" (in Bulgarian). kotasport.com. 12 June 2018.
  9. ^ "ОФК Поморие с нов треньор" (in Bulgarian). ofc.pomorie.bg. 22 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Иван Василев остава начело на Локомотив, Ангел Колев е старши треньор, начало на подготовката понеделник 18.06.2018 17:30 ч." (in Bulgarian). lokomotivsofia.bg. 14 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Милен Радуканов вече не е треньор на Пирин" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 19 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Петър Златинов извежда ОФК Пирин за първа тренировка утре" (in Bulgarian). pirinfc.com. 20 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Вальо, ти ни вдигна от пепелта! Благодарим ти!" (in Bulgarian). cska1948.bg. 21 August 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Петкратен шампион на България застана начело на ЦСКА" (in Bulgarian). cska1948.com. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Официално: Кариана има нов старши треньор" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 26 August 2018.
  16. ^ "АРДА освободи Елин Топузаков, Стойчо Стоев поема отбора" (in Bulgarian). fcarda.bg. 26 August 2018.
  17. ^ "Киселичков: Пожелавам много успехи на Локо (ГО)". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 18 September 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  18. ^ "Локо (ГО) обяви кой ще води отбора до зимата". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 11 October 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Нова треньорска рокада във Втора лига". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 27 September 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Последният шампион с Левски ще спасява Добруджа" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 13 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Локо (ГО) взе юноша на Левски, бащата на Симеон Мечев пое тима". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Локо (София) има нов старши треньор". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 17 December 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Официално: Стойчо Стоев е новият треньор на Лудогорец, обявиха бъдещето на Здравков". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 6 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  24. ^ "Арда обяви официално новия треньор". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 6 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  25. ^ "Second League - Season Rules". Scoresway. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Втора лига 2018/19" [Second League 2018/19] (in Bulgarian). bulgarian-football.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.