View source for FC Rodopa Smolyan

{{Short description|Bulgarian football club}}
{{Infobox football club |
  clubname = Rodopa |
  image    = Rodopa-logo.png |
  upright  = 0.8 |
  fullname = Football Club Rodopa Smolyan |
  nickname = |
  founded  = {{Start date and age|1927}} |
  ground   = [[Stadion Septemvri (Smolyan)|Stadion Septemvri]] |
  capacity = 6 000 |
  chairman = [[Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg|20px|Bulgarian]] Petar Mandzhukov |
  manager  = [[Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg|20px|Bulgarian]] Yuliyan Syurdzhiev |
  league   = [[Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)|South-East Third League]] |
  season   = [[2021–22 Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)|2021–22]] |
  position = South-East Third League, 8th|
  pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=|
  leftarm1=25A122|body1=25A122|rightarm1=25A122|shorts1=FCFCFC|socks1=25A122|
  pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=|
  leftarm2=FCFCFC|body2=FCFCFC|rightarm2=FCFCFC|shorts2=25A122|socks2=FCFCFC|
}}

'''FC Rodopa''' (ФК Родопа) is a [[Bulgaria]]n [[football club (association football)|football club]] based in [[Smolyan]], which currently plays in the [[Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)|South-East Third League]], the third tier of [[Bulgarian football league system]]. The team was named after the [[Rhodope Mountains]] and plays its home matches at the local [[Stadion Septemvri (Smolyan)|Stadion Septemvri]]. Rodopa's traditional home kit consists of green and white.

Rodopa was founded in 1927. The club spent the majority of its history playing between the second and third tiers of Bulgarian football. In [[2002–03 B Group|2003]], Rodopa managed to promote to the [[First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|A Group]] for the first time in its history. The team managed to remain four seasons in the top division, before suffering relegation at the end of the [[2006–07 A Group|2006–07 season]]. Since then, the club has returned to lower leagues.

==History==
===The Beginning===
Smolyan has had various football clubs in different periods, the most notable of them being Rodopets (since 1957). FC Rodopa was formed by separating from the local sports association in 1985. However, prior to that Smolyan has football team representation in both B and V groups.

===Member of the Bulgarian Elite===
Rodopa qualified for the [[First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)|top division]] for the first time in their history by winning the B Group in the [[2002-03 B Group|2002–03 season]].

In the first ever season in the Bulgarian elite for Rodopa, the team managed to finish in 10th place, which was a success for the club, since they avoided relegation, with that being the main goal. The team achieved 10 wins, 3 draws and 17 losses, which earned them 33 points. They also managed to beat Bulgarian powerhouse [[PFC Levski Sofia|Levski Sofia]] at home, one of the best teams that season and in general.

In their second top-flight season, Rodopa achieved a 12th-place finish, being one point above relegated [[FC Sevlievo|Vidima Rakovski]].

In their third season in A Group, Rodopa Smolyan finished 12th, 2 points above relegated [[PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad]], once more avoiding relegation.

In the [[2006–07 A Group|2006-07 season]], Rodopa did not perform so well and was relegated to the B Group after finishing 15th, ending the club's four-year stint in the A Group.

===Rapid decline and return to amateur football===
After the 2006–07 season, Rodopa played three seasons in the B Group. However, in 2010, the club was relegated from the second tier. The following season, Rodopa finished 15th in the V Group, dropping yet another level. In 2011, the club was dissolved due to growing financial problems. Rodopa was reformed the next year but dissolved once more in 2014. The club was reformed a second time in 2014, and began playing in the A RFG (fourth tier).

Rodopa managed to return to the Bulgarian third league for the 2019–20 season. The team joined the Southeast Third League, based on the geographic location of their home town, [[Smolyan]]. Rodopa finished 12th in the third tier for the 2019–20 season.

==Honours==
* Tenth place in the "A" group: 2003/04
* First place in the "B" group - 2002/03
* [[Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League]] 1997/98
* Seasons in the "A" group, from 2003/04 to 2006/07
* 1/4 Finalist in the National Cup Tournament: at that time its official name is Cup of Bulgaria - 2003/04

===League positions===
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:1000 height:70
PlotArea  = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/2022
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1994

Colors =
  id:First_tier value:green legend:First_tier
  id:Second_tier value:white legend:Second_tier
  id:Third_tier value:red legend:Third_tier
  id:Fourth_tier value:yellow legend:Fourth_tier
  id:Fifth_tier value:blue legend:Fifth_tier
  id:Does_not_exist value:black legend:Does_not_exist

PlotData= 
  bar:Position width:20 color:green align:center
  from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994  shift:(0,-4) text:3
  from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995  shift:(0,-4) text:5
  from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996  shift:(0,-4) text:3
  from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997  shift:(0,-4) text:4
  from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998  shift:(0,-4) text:3
  from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999  shift:(0,-4) text:3
  from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000  shift:(0,-4) text:4
  from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001  shift:(0,-4) text:6
  from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002  shift:(0,-4) text:2
  from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/2002  color:red shift:(0,14)  text: "[[Bulgarian V AFG|V Group]]"
  from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003  shift:(0,-4) text:1
  from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003  color:white  shift:(0,14)  text: "[[Bulgarian B Football Group|B Group]]"
  from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004  shift:(0,-4) text:10
  from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005  shift:(0,-4) text:12
  from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006  shift:(0,-4) text:12
  from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007  shift:(0,-4) text:15
  from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2007  color:green  shift:(0,14)  text: "[[Bulgarian A Football Group|A Group]]"
  from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008  shift:(0,-4) text:3
  from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009  shift:(0,-4) text:12
  from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010  shift:(0,-4) text:15
  from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2010  color:white  shift:(0,14)  text: "[[Bulgarian B Football Group|B Group]]"
  from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011  shift:(0,-4) text:15
  from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011  color:red shift:(0,14)  text: "[[Bulgarian V AFG|V Group]]"
  from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012  color:black  shift:(0,14)  text: Diss
  from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013  shift:(0,-4) text:1
  from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013  color:yellow  shift:(0,14)  text: [[Regional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)|Regional]]
  from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014  color:black  shift:(0,14)  text: Diss
  from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015  shift:(0,-4) text:3
  from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016  shift:(0,-4) text:2
  from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017  shift:(0,-4) text:1
  from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018  shift:(0,-4) text:1
  from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019  shift:(0,-4) text:2
  from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2019  color:yellow  shift:(0,14)  text: [[Regional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)|Regional]]
  from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020  shift:(0,-4) text:12
  from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021  shift:(0,-4) text:9
  from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022  shift:(0,-4) text:8
  from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2022  color:red shift:(0,14)  text: "[[Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)|3rd League]]"

</timeline>

== Current squad ==
''As of 1 September 2019''
{{Fs start}}
{{Fs player|no=1|nat=BUL|name=Borislav Hadzhiychev|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=4|nat=BUL|name=[[Stefan Kikov]]|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=5|nat=BUL|name=Valentin Furlanski|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=6|nat=BUL|name=Lyuboslav Petrov|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=7|nat=BUL|name=Hristo Kovachev|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=8|nat=BUL|name=Erik Smilyanov|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=9|nat=BUL|name=Stefan Chilingirov|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=10|nat=BUL|name=Vladimir Dramaliev|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=11|nat=BUL|name=Nikolay Tihomirov|pos=FW}}
{{Fs mid}}
{{Fs player|no=12|nat=BUL|name=[[Zdravko Chavdarov]]|pos=GK}}
{{Fs player|no=13|nat=BUL|name=Georgi Milev|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=16|nat=BUL|name=Valentin Draganov|pos=FW}}
{{Fs player|no=17|nat=BUL|name=Dimitar Cholakov|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=19|nat=BUL|name=Elmir Mustanski|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=21|nat=BUL|name=Teodor Stefanov|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=22|nat=BUL|name=Dimitar Bogutev|pos=DF}}
{{Fs player|no=27|nat=BUL|name=Georgi Peltekov|pos=MF}}
{{Fs player|no=29|nat=BUL|name=[[Nikolay Manchev]]|pos=MF}}
{{Fs end}}

==Notable players==
{{See also|Category:FC Rodopa Smolyan players}}
Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or had more than 100 league appearances. Players whose name is listed in '''bold''' represented their countries.

{{col-begin-small}}

{{col-3}}

;Bulgaria
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Danail Bachkov]]'''
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Boko Dimitrov]]'''
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Kamen Hadzhiev]]'''
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Milan Koprivarov]]'''
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Yordan Linkov]]'''
{{col-3}}
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Yordan Minev]]'''
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Daniel Peev]]
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} [[Emil Petkov]]
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Petko Petkov (footballer)|Petko Petkov]]'''
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Zahari Sirakov]]'''
*{{flagicon|Bulgaria}} '''[[Veselin Velikov]]'''
{{col-3}}
;Asia
*{{flagicon|Uzbekistan}} '''[[Aleksey Dionisiev]]'''
{{col-end}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://www.fkrodopa-smolyan.com/}}

{{BG V AFG}}

[[Category:Smolyan|Rodopa Smolyan]]
[[Category:Football clubs in Bulgaria|Rodopa Smolyan]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in Bulgaria]]