PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv

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PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv (Template:Langx),[1] commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park and has a capacity of 14,500 spectators.

Founded on 25 July 1926, Lokomotiv is one of the most popular teams in Bulgaria and currently competes in the top-flight First Professional Football League, which they have won once (in 2004). Lokomotiv Plovdiv has won also 2 Bulgarian Cups, 2 Bulgarian Supercups and 1 Cup of the Soviet Army. The biggest success of the club in Europe is reaching the third round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1965, after narrowly losing to the Italian Juventus in a play-off match.

Lokomotiv have a fierce local rivalry with fellow Plovdiv-based team Botev Plovdiv. Matches between the two sides are known as the Plovdiv derby.

History

Throughout the club's history, it has undergone a number of complex reorganisations. These were in part due to the political environment in Bulgaria during the communist period (1944–1989) which led to enforced changes in the nature of sporting clubs throughout the country in order to follow the "Soviet model". For PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv, these changes led to the merger of two separate existing teams, different in nature, which in turn has led to misinterpretations of the history of the teams. In order to understand the origin of the contemporary team, Lokomotiv's history can be divided into two major branches – one defined largely by its followers (Sportclub Plovdiv), and the other by its functional characteristics, association with the railway, and funding as a labour union team (ZSK Plovdiv).

Roots of the Club (until 1944)

Sportclub Plovdiv

In the spring of 1922, the sport club Karadzha was founded when several casual amateur football teams in one of the districts of Plovdiv consolidated so the players could compete in the Championship of Plovdiv. Two years later, in 1924, another sport club called Atletik was formed in the same district.

On 25 July 1926 Karadzha and Atletik merged to form Sportclub.[2] The team chose white, black and red as the colours for their kits and crest. Several years later, the year of establishment (1926) was added to the crest. Lokomotiv Plovdiv still uses the same colours, while their full name (Professional Football Club Lokomotiv 1926 Plovdiv) shows the club's beginnings as the same year in which Sportclub was founded.

Sportclub had its home ground in the city centre. However, after the 1928 earthquakes, the team donated its land to those who had lost their homes so they could rebuild there. From 1928 on, Sportclub did not have their own football field for more than two decades.

File:Sportclub Plovdiv Kits.png
Home and away kits of Sportclub Plovdiv (1939–40)

In the years after Sportclub was created, the team competed in the local Championship of Plovdiv. In the early years of Bulgarian football, there was no national league. The local championships, held at a regional level, were the most prestigious football tournaments in the country. Sportclub participated in the second division until 1933, when the team finished first and was promoted to Plovdiv's top tier as of 1939. In 1940, Sportclub became the Champion of Plovdiv for the first time.

In 1939 the team joined the National Football Division – the countrywide football league which had been formed only a year earlier and which included Bulgaria's top ten teams. However, in 1940 the league was disbanded because of World War II. By that time the club had officially changed its name to Script error: No such module "Lang". (Sportclub of Plovdiv), primarily because several other teams in the league also had Sportclub in their names.

During World War II, the team participated in several other tournaments including the Tsar's Cup, which was considered Bulgaria's most prestigious knock-out cup tournament at the time and a predecessor of the current domestic cup tournament.[3][4] In the Tsar's Cup the team reached the finals twice – in 1940 and 1942.

By the time of communist rule in Bulgaria in 1944, Sportclub had become one of the best performing teams in the country, reaching the finals in many tournaments. The club had become the biggest in the Plovdiv region in terms of members and continually set attendance records for the period.

The Club of the Railway Workers in Plovdiv

In the mid-1930s, the railway workers' and sailors' labour union established numerous cultural and sporting organisations across the country. The railway workers established a sports club in Plovdiv as well, since the city is one of the major railway centres in the country. On 13 June 1935 the club ZSK Plovdiv was founded, abbreviated from Script error: No such module "Lang". (The sporting club of the railway workers in Plovdiv).

For the first few years, ZSK Plovdiv lagged behind other teams in the city such as Sportclub and Botev Plovdiv. The team was not recognized as a full member of the national sport federation until three years after its creation. However, by the early 1940s they had improved and in 1944 they won the Championship of Plovdiv.

From an economic perspective, the railway club contributed heavily to the development of sports in the region, making large investments in the improvement of sporting facilities and conditions in the city. Most notably, the powerful national railway company, through ZSK Plovdiv, was the main benefactor for the creation of a state-of-the-art multi-purpose stadium that opened in 1943. The stadium was constructed on the football pitch of the existing team Levski Plovdiv and as such was the home ground for both ZSK Plovdiv and Levski Plovdiv. As a result, the stadium was named ZSK-Levski.

Creation of Lokomotiv Plovdiv (1944–1954)

Changes in Sportclub

In the years after 1944, the newly established communist rule embarked on several campaigns for the "reorganisation of the sporting clubs in Bulgaria" to make them align with the Soviet political agenda and follow the "Soviet model" of sport clubs. This meant that every local region should have its own sports club, but in order to make central investments more efficient for a larger member-base, only a few clubs were permitted per area. That led to the forced merger of clubs within the same locality.

Starting in 1944 Sportclub was merged with numerous other teams in the same district of Plovdiv. Being from an area with a diverse ethnic and religious population, the club was first merged with several lower-division so-called Armenian teams, such as Script error: No such module "Lang". and Script error: No such module "Lang".. Another merger followed in 1945 with the Catholic club Script error: No such module "Lang".. After this wave of mergers, like many other clubs in the country, the club was renamed to an abbreviation of the biggest clubs – S.P.-45, meaning Sportclub Parchevich – 1945. However, due to the non-Slavic background of the words "sport" and "club", the team was officially renamed again before the start of the season to Slavia Plovdiv.

File:Slavia Plovdiv Crest.png
The crest of Slavia Plovdiv

In 1947 a new wave of consolidations saw Slavia Plovdiv merged with the cooperative workers' union team, Script error: No such module "Lang".. This merger created a club known as Slavia-Chengelov.

During 1944–1955, the club reached the domestic knock-out cup finals (at the time the Cup of the Soviet Army) for the third time in its history – in 1948 as Slavia-Chengelov.

In the 1948 season the club became one of the ten founding teams of the new national top league – "A" Republican Football Group (A RFG), the predecessor of the current Bulgarian top division league.

Through the mergers, the club originally named Sportclub kept its original colours and core team, with only a small number of players considered good enough to find a place in the first team of the "new" club. The supporters remained loyal to the colours and the players, and the followers of the assimilated clubs joined them, increasing the number of fans and members of the largest club in Plovdiv at that time. Though technically the numerous clubs merged, because of the sheer size of Sportclub in terms of members, the smaller clubs were effectively assimilated into the larger club.

Changes in ZSK

For ZSK Plovdiv, reorganisation began in the autumn of 1944. The club was initially merged with the team with which it shared a stadium, Levski Plovdiv, to form ZSK-Levski. However, unlike most other forced mergers at that time, the ZSK-Levski merger was dissolved in less than a year.

After the separation in 1945, ZSK was renamed to Lokomotiv Plovdiv similar to other teams in various Eastern bloc countries which were connected with the railways. Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Levski continued to co-exist as separate entities, still sharing the same stadium.

Although railway workers' club was financially backed by the national railway, in the early years of communist rule the football team competed only at the third level of the recently formed national league. Furthermore, the club was the smallest in Plovdiv in terms of members and attracted only a modest number of spectators for its games, despite its large, state-of-the-art stadium.

Merger of Slavia-Chengelov and Lokomotiv Plovdiv

In the summer of 1949, the Bulgarian Communist Party adopted a new principle governing the construction of sports clubs. Clubs had to serve primarily as physical fitness departments of politically important national enterprises, such as oil refineries, police, army, national railway, and others. Thus, the geographical location of a club was no longer important and clubs were assigned to the major institutions in the country.

The reorganisation of 1949 assigned Lokomotiv to assimilate Slavia-Chengelov, since Lokomotiv was already a team strongly associated with a significant national enterprise. By that time, Slavia-Chengelov was the largest club in Bulgaria in terms of members, and with an even larger fan base.

DSO Energiya was formed from this merger prior to the start of the 1950 season. They used Slavia-Chengelov's colours (white, red, and black) for both their kits and crest and the team itself retained only four players from Lokomotiv, with the core of the squad being players from Slavia-Chengelov. More than two decades after the 1928 earthquake, the fans of what was once Sportclub again had a home ground – the stadium of Lokomotiv. Changes in the formal names of clubs in the Soviet Union took place and a popular name for Eastern bloc sports clubs at the time, Torpedo, was adopted and the team was thus renamed Torpedo Plovdiv.

File:Torpedo.png
The crest of Torpedo Plovdiv

For the 1950 season, Torpedo Plovdiv took the place of Slavia-Chengelov at the top level of the Bulgarian football league system (A RFG). National policy then required that, as part of the railway union, all club members and players had to be members of the union. This included former members of Slavia-Chengelov, who had no connection to the railways.

Before the 1951 season began, the railway union established a new club, DSO Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), which shared Torpedo's colours and stadium. Torpedo's players were transferred to DSO Lokomotiv, and in order to make them official union members each player was nominally employed by the national railways. Meanwhile, Torpedo Plovdiv was removed from the labour union and no longer funded by it or the railway company. DSO Lokomotiv also acquired Torpedo's license to play in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league, while Torpedo was relegated to the third division. The labour union thus effectively legitimised the new club without needing to limit the access of the members of Torpedo to the sports facilities. Existing members of Torpedo could still use the shared facilities and were no longer required to be members of the railway union.

As of 1951 the fans of Torpedo Plovdiv from 1950 now found themselves supporting the same players, with the same colours, in the same stadium, under a new name. As official membership in the club now required a job with the railways, the official number of members was drastically smaller than in previous years. Nevertheless, the supporters of the team remained the same. Hence, in 1951 DSO Lokomotiv effectively became the successor to Torpedo while Torpedo still competed at a lower level.

From 1951 to 1954 DSO Lokomotiv was one of the best performers in the Bulgarian football elite, annually reaching at least the quarter-final phase of the domestic cup competition (at that time the Cup of the Soviet Army) and regularly finishing high in the top division league.

First relegation from the elite (1955–1960)

In 1955 DSO Lokomotiv's playing squad changed entirely – many aging key players were transferred to other teams, but their replacements seemed to be unable to collaborate and were not of the same quality. At the end of the 1955 season DSO Lokomotiv were relegated to the second division.

DSO Lokomotiv played in the second division for five seasons until it returned to the elite level for season 1961–62. In the same year, the team reached the domestic cup finals for the fourth time (after 1940 and 1942 as Sportclub, and 1948 as Slavia-Chengelov), but again lost.

In 1957 another sport reorganisation occurred and clubs were no longer required to be affiliated with national enterprises; instead, teams returned to geographical regions. Thus, sport clubs no longer needed to be "DSO" (English: "voluntary sports organisation"). Consequently, DSO Lokomotiv assimilated Torpedo Plovdiv and Septemvri (Plovdiv), changing its name to Lokomotiv Plovdiv, which it has retained to this day.

Success home and abroad (1961–1984)

After rejoining the elite (A RFG) in 1961, it took Lokomotiv seven years to reach the top three and get a medal in the 1968–69 season.

Internationally, the team achieved success more quickly. In the 1964–65 season, Lokomotiv Plovdiv reached the third round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, where after two draws with the Italian team Juventus, a third play-off match was chosen by UEFA to be played in Torino. The game ended with a narrow loss by Lokomotiv with a score of 2–1.

File:Hristo Bonev 1974.jpg
The No.8 shirt is retired in honour of Hristo Bonev

Before reaching the third round, Lokomotiv had previously eliminated the Serbian FK Vojvodina and the Romanian FC Petrolul Ploieşti. Key players during this period include forward Gocho Vasilev, star midfielder Hristo Bonev, defender Ivan Boyadzhiev and goalkeeper Stancho Bonchev.

In 1971, the team reached the domestic cup finals but again lost, this time to Levski Sofia with a score of 3–0.

In 1973, Lokomotiv won the A RFG silver medals, finishing the season with 43 points. In 1974, Lokomotiv finished the season in third place receiving the league bronze. The team was quite stable over the next few years and rarely under 6th place in the league table. Among the team's players was Hristo Bonev – considered by most Lokomotiv fans as the greatest player and one of the greatest Bulgarian-born players.[5][6]

In the 1979–80 season Lokomotiv Plovdiv was again relegated to Bulgaria's second football division, but took three seasons to earn back its place.

While being in second division between 1981 and 1983, the team reached the finals in the Cup of the Soviet Army twice. On 12 June 1982 the team lost the domestic cup final for the sixth time.

In 1982 the team acquired Lokomotiv Stadium, situated in Lauta Park near the city's newest district. It is part of a multi-sports complex also used by the club's other sports teams (such as volleyball, tennis and boxing). The inauguration event was scheduled for Monday 6 September 1982 with a match against Neftochimic Burgas (Lokomotiv prevailed 4–1).[7]

1982–83 Cup of the Soviet Army Winners

On 1 June 1983, led by Hristo Bonev, Lokomotiv won their first national cup by beating FC Chirpan 3–1 at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. The Cup of the Soviet Army, held annually between 1946 and 1990, was recognised by the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) as the primary domestic knock-out cup tournament until 1982. In 1981, the Bulgarian Cup began to be held every year and overtook the significance of the Cup of the Soviet Army. BFU's current official policy considers the Bulgarian Cup to be the primary domestic knock-out cup from 1983 onwards. Thus Lokomotiv Plovdiv is not officially recognised as the bearer of the domestic cup for 1983.

In the 1983–84 season, the team was again relegated to second level and played the 1984–85 season at that level. In 1985 it rejoined A RFG.

1985–2000

After its return to the top division in 1985 the team had a consistent performance for over a decade, placing itself in the middle of the league table until the late 1990s. During that time the team finished in the top three once, in the 1991–92 season. In the 1998–99 and 1999–00 seasons Lokomotiv Plovdiv played in B PFG.

Georgi Iliev era (2001–2004)

In 2001 the club was purchased by Georgi Iliev, who at the time owned another football club, Velbazhd Kyustendil. It finished in third place in the top division for three consecutive seasons until 2000-01 and was national cup runner-up in 2001.

During the 2001–02 season, Iliev merged the two teams creating the contemporary Lokomotiv Plovdiv (Professional Football Club Lokomotiv 1926 Plovdiv). The new club is the official successor of the Lokomotiv club that merged with Velbazhd and uses the same colours. The team was formed almost entirely from the high-ranking players from Velbazhd Kyustendil's later years. The team finished third at the end of the season.

2003–04 Champions and Supercup Winners

Template:Football squad on pitch

The most successful season in the club's history was the 2003–04 campaign. Lokomotiv won the title, the only one in the club's history so far. Coach and former legendary player Eduard Eranosyan started well, with Lokomotiv leading the league by six points halfway through the season and remaining unbeaten. In the penultimate 29th round, the team defeated Slavia Sofia in Plovdiv by 3–2 in front of more than 17,000 spectators and won the Bulgarian championship. Lokomotiv finished the season with 75 points, 3 more than the second team, Levski Sofia. In the team lines was recent acquisition Martin Kamburov who became the top goalscorer of the league with 25 goals. Key players during the season included Vasil Kamburov, Georgi Iliev, Aleksandar Tunchev, Kiril Kotev, Vladimir Ivanov, Metodi Stoynev and Macedonians Boban Jančevski, Vančo Trajanov and Robert Petrov.

On 31 July 2004, Lokomotiv won the Bulgarian Supercup, after beating Litex Lovech at Lazur Stadium. The captain Ivan Paskov scored a brilliant header in the last seconds of the game for the 1–0 win.[8]

A few months later, the team played for the first time in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds where they faced Club Brugge from Belgium in the second qualifying round.

2005–2015

In 2004–05 the team finished third in the A PFG and qualified for the UEFA Cup. In the European club competition, Lokomotiv defeated Serbian OFK Beograd in the second qualifying round (1:0 home win and 1:2 away loss) and were drawn to play against the English Bolton Wanderers in the first round. However, the team from Plovdiv was eliminated after a 1–2 loss at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton and another 1–2 loss in a match played at the Lazur Stadium in Burgas.[9]

In the next few months the club had significant financial problems causing many of the champions' team players such as Aleksandar Tunchev, Martin Kamburov, Ivan Paskov, Georgi Iliev, Darko Spalević, Kiril Kotev and Boban Jančevski to leave.

In the 2005-06 season Lokomotiv finished 5th in A PFG and qualified for the Intertoto Cup. They were eliminated with a 2-3 (1–2 away loss and a 1–1 home draw) on aggregate by Romanian Farul Constanţa.

In the next three seasons, the team finished in the middle of the table. In December 2009, businessman and ex-Vihren Sandanski owner Konstantin Dinev acquired the club from Galina Topalova in a 2 million euro bid, with the intention to bring them back to European club competition.

Hristo Krusharski era (2016–present)

2018–19 Bulgarian Cup Winners

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On 15 May 2019, Lokomotiv Plovdiv won the Bulgarian Cup for the first time in the club's history, defeating local rivals Botev Plovdiv 1–0 in Sofia.[10] The winning goal came in the 72nd minute with a back heel kick of Alen Ožbolt. Ante Aralica provided the assist.[11]

Winning the Bulgarian Cup enabled the team to play in the Europa League second qualifying round for the 2019–20 season. In the second round, Lokomotiv faced FC Spartak Trnava of Slovakia. Lokomotiv won the tie on aggregate, with a score of 3–3, progressing to the next round via the away goals rule.[12] The next round's opponent was Strasbourg. Lokomotiv entered as outsiders against the French side, and lost the first game 0–1 in Bulgaria.[13] In the second match, Lokomotiv Plovdiv again lost with a minimum score of 1–0, being eliminated on aggregate 0–2.[14]

2019–20 Bulgarian Cup and Supercup Winners

Template:Football squad on pitch

On 1 July 2020, Lokomotiv beat CSKA Sofia on the final match played in Sofia and clinched the Bulgarian Cup for a second consecutive time, becoming the first team winning two consecutive cups after Litex Lovech in 2008 and 2009. The Smurfs defeated CSKA Sofia after a penalty shootout (5–3).[15] [16]

On 2 August 2020, Lokomotiv won the Bulgarian Supercup for the second time, defeating Ludogorets 0–1 at Ludogorets Arena (Ludogorets home ground). The winning goal was scored in the last minute of the regular time with a volley kick of the captain Dimitar Iliev.[17]

Lokomotiv beat Iskra Danilovgrad of Montenegro 1–0 in the first Europa League qualifying round on 27 August 2020.[18] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Europa League qualifying ties this season before the play-off round featured only one leg. In the second qualifying round Lokomotiv faced José Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur and it was close to eliminate the English team after the goal of Georgi Minchev, but Spurs complete late turnaround after two red cards for Lokomotiv players.[19]

Lokomotiv finished on 2nd place in the regular season and qualified for the Championship Round maintaining their status in the top three until the last round of the season.

The Smurfs started the 2020/21 season with a match against Slovácko in a second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League. Lokomotiv won the first match at Lokomotiv Stadium 1–0 with a 90th-minute winner of Petar Vitanov and loss with the same scoreline in Uherské Hradiště. In the penalty shoot-out Ilko Pirgov parried 3 consecutive penalties and Lokomotiv won 3–2. [20] In the third qualifying round Lokomotiv were eliminated by Copenhagen of Danmark, following a 1–1 draw in Plovdiv and a 4–2 loss in the return leg at Parken Stadium.[21]

In the league, Lokomotiv won the silver medals for the second time in club's history, finishing the season with 61 points.[22]

Crest and colors

The configuration of the crest consists of a shield colored in red and black and a golden letter 'L' (Template:Langx) placed in the center. A white stripe with the inscription 'Plovdiv' is positioned on the upper part of the shield. The wings at the bottom of the shield represent the historical bond between the football club and the national railway company.[23]

Lokomotiv Plovdiv's traditional home colors are white, black and red. In the past the club has also adopted sky blue as a kit color.

Names

Lokomotiv was founded as Sportclub Plovdiv in 1926 and has carried a plethora of names throughout its history. In chronological order, they are as follows:[24]

Stadium

File:Lokomotiv Stadium 2022.jpg
Lokomotiv Stadium viewed from the air
File:Lokomotiv Stadium in 2018.jpg
The Main stand

Lokomotiv Stadium, nicknamed Lauta after the name of the park in which the stadium is situated, is a multi-purpose stadium located in southeastern Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Designed by architect Zdravko Vasilkov, the stadium was officially opened on Bulgarian Unification Day on 6 September 1982 and is a part of a sports complex, which includes an indoor athletic hall, a volleyball hall, five tennis courts and three training pitches.[25] The main pitch length is 105 metres and the width is 71 metres.

The stadium initially held a capacity of 24,000 people. The record attendance was back in 1983 when Lokomotiv played against Chernomorets Burgas in a playoff game for entering the Country's top-tier league. There were 33,000 people attending this game and at least 6,000 of those were actually outside of the stadium.

On 25 July 2019, the stadium hosted its first ever European competition game, as Lokomotiv defeated Spartak Trnava 2–0 in a Europa League fixture in front of nearly 10,000 spectators. This date also matched with Lokomotiv's 93rd birthday and the win was a great gift for the thousands of people attending the game.[26]

In 2020 after a government funding for the Plovdiv city football infrastructure the works on the new Bessica stand started with the completion date set for the summer of 2022. Also by the end of the same year the opposite south stand were demolished and preparation started for the foundations of the stand. Both the north and south stands are planned to host 2,846 spectators each and being completed by the end of 2022. [27] After the Bessica and south stand are completed, the west stand called Sportclub is expected to be the next one to be demolished and build back up from the scratch. The total capacity for the stadium is planned to be 14,500 after the construction works are completed by the summer of 2026.[28]

Support

File:Lokomotiv Plovdiv supporters.jpg
Lokomotiv Plovdiv fans provide their support with extreme passion
File:Loko fans.jpg
Lokomotiv Plovdiv supporters during the Plovdiv derby

Since its foundation, Lokomotiv has been one of the best supported football clubs in Bulgaria. Its fans broke attendance records on numerous occasions in the early years[29] despite hardships (the team did not have a home ground for more than 20 years after the 1928 earthquake).[30] By the 1940s the club was one of the largest in the country in terms of officially registered members.[31] In 1968 its supporters established the amateur football club Friends of Lokomotiv Plovdiv as a means of organised support, and in 1988 the official fan club – Club of the Supporters of Lokomotiv Plovdiv – was established as the first of its kind in Bulgaria. The political environment of the time was unfavourable towards independently formed organisations.[32]

In the 1980s the club was extremely popular and had the biggest away invasions,[33] including more than 30,000 people at the final of the 1983 Soviet Cup. The club also holds record attendance for a championship home game – more than 40,000 people versus Beroe.[34] When Lokomotiv won the title in 2003–04 there were 50,000 people in the city's main square to celebrate the victory.[35]

At the start of the reconstruction of Lokomotiv Stadium, the section for the most devoted fans was to be called Bessica Tribune after the ancient Thracian tribe whose artefacts were discovered nearby.[36] Since the project's postponement, the name has been used collectively for the most dedicated followers.

Lokomotiv Plovdiv also has a football hooligan fan base, with some of the most prominent factions being Lauta Hools, Got Mitt Uns, Napoletani 1995, and Lauta Youths. Lauta Hools, also called Usual suspects, founded in 1992,[37] adhere to the British form of support and are casuals, and it is not uncommon to see the Union Jack in the stands as a result.

Friendships

Lokomotiv fans have a long-standing friendship with fans of the Italian team SSC Napoli due to their creation of the name Napoletani Ultras Plovdiv.[38] On many occasions, fans from both clubs traveled to watch each other's games.[39]

Rivalries

Lokomotiv's main rival is the neighbouring city club of Botev Plovdiv, and both form the Plovdiv derby. The Plovdiv derby is considered to be the second fiercest rivalry in Bulgarian football, after the Eternal derby of Bulgarian football.[40] The rivalry poses a symbolic importance to supporters due to an assumed superiority that comes with winning the derby.

Another rivalry is with CSKA Sofia and is the fiercest intercity football rivalry in Bulgaria, because of the historical competition between the cities of Plovdiv and Sofia as cultural, political and economical centres.[41]

Players

First-team squad

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<templatestyles src="Template:Football squad player/styles.css" /> Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Template:Fba/core Bojan Milosavljević
3 DF Template:Fba/core Kaloyan Kostov
4 DF Template:Fba/core Vidol Seymenski
5 DF Template:Fba/core Todor Pavlov
9 FW Template:Fba/core Juan Perea
11 MF Template:Fba/core Petar Andreev
12 MF Template:Fba/core Efe Ali
14 FW Template:Fba/core Dimitar Iliev (captain)
22 MF Template:Fba/core Ivaylo Ivanov
No. Pos. Nation Player
33 MF Template:Fba/core Krastyo Banev
39 MF Template:Fba/core Parvizdzhon Umarbayev
75 MF Template:Fba/core Ivan Uzunov
99 FW Template:Fba/core Julien Lamy
— DF Template:Fba/core Adrián Cova
— DF Template:Fba/core Martin Ruskov
— DF Template:Fba/core Enzo Espinoza
— MF Template:Fba/core Francisco Politino

For recent transfers, see List of Bulgarian football transfers summer 2025.

Foreign players

Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First League, however only five non-EU nationals can be used during 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.

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Retired numbers

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No. Player Nationality Position Lokomotiv debut Last match Ref
8 Hristo Bonev Template:Flagicon Bulgaria Attacking midfielder Template:Dts Template:Dts [43]

Player of the Season

Year Winner
2006 Template:Flagicon Stoyan Kolev
2007 Template:Flagicon Dakson
2008 Template:Flagicon Yordan Miliev
2009 Template:Flagicon Kiril Akalski
2010 Template:Flagicon Zdravko Lazarov
2011 Template:Flagicon Zdravko Lazarov
2012 Template:Flagicon Hristo Zlatinski
2013 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov
2014 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov
2015 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov
 
Year Winner
2016 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov
2017 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov
2018 Template:Flagicon Dimitar Iliev
2019 Template:Flagicon Dimitar Iliev
2020 Template:Flagicon Dimitar Iliev
2021 Template:Flagicon Dimitar Iliev
2022 Template:Flagicon Birsent Karagaren
2023 Template:Flagicon Dinko Horkaš
2024 Template:Flagicon Angel Lyaskov

Source: [1]

Honours

Domestic

Regional

  • Plovdiv Championship
    • Winners (11) (record): 1936, 1938, 1942, 1945, 1946, 1948 (as Sportclub), 1933, 1935, 1939, 1941 (as Parchevich), 1944 (as ZSK Plovdiv)
  • Trimontium Cup
    • Winners (5) (record): 1938, 1946 (as Sportclub), 1934, 1939, 1941 (as Parchevich)

Source: lokomotivpd.com

European record

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Competition Played Won Drew Lost GF GA GD Win%
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Matches

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Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1963–64 Fairs Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Steagul Roșu Brașov 3–1 2–1 5–2
2Q Template:Flagicon Újpest 1–3 0–0 1–3
1964–65 Fairs Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Vojvodina 1–1 1–1 2–0 (Playoff)
2Q Template:Flagicon Petrolul Ploiești 2–0 0–1 2–1
3Q Template:Flagicon Juventus 1–1 1–1 1–2 (Playoff)
1965–66 Fairs Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Spartak Brno 1–0 0–2 1–2
1967–68 Fairs Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Partizan 1–1 1–5 2–6
1969–70 Fairs Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Juventus 1–2 1–3 2–5
1971–72 UEFA Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Carl Zeiss 3–1 0–3 3–4
1973–74 UEFA Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Sliema Wanderers 1–0 2–0 3–0
2Q Template:Flagicon Honved Budapest 3–4 2–3 5–7
1974–75 UEFA Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Győri ETO 3–1 1–3 4–4 (p)
1976–77 UEFA Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Crvena Zvezda 2–1 1–4 3–5
1983–84 UEFA Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon PAOK 1–2 1–3 2–5
1992–93 UEFA Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Auxerre 2–2 1–7 3–9
1993–94 UEFA Cup 1Q Template:Flagicon Lazio 0–2 0–2 0–4
2004–05 UEFA Champions League 2Q Template:Flagicon Club Brugge 0–4 0–2 0–6
2005–06 UEFA Cup 2Q Template:Flagicon OFK Beograd 1–0 1–2 2–2 (a)
PO Template:Flagicon Bolton 1–2 1–2 2–4
2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2Q Template:Flagicon Farul Constanța 1–1 1–2 2–3
2012–13 UEFA Europa League 2Q Template:Flagicon Vitesse 4–4 1–3 5–7
2019–20 UEFA Europa League 2Q Template:Flagicon Spartak Trnava 2–0 1–3 3–3 (a)
3Q Template:Flagicon Strasbourg 0–1 0–1 0–2
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 1Q Template:Flagicon Iskra — 1–0 1–0
2Q Template:Flagicon Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 — 1–2
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League 2Q Template:Flagicon Slovácko 1–0 0–1 1–1 Template:Pso
3Q Template:Flagicon Copenhagen 1–1 2–4 3–5
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round

UEFA club rankings

As of 20 July 2022[44]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Current ranking

Rank Team Coeff.
225 Template:Flagicon Mura 5.500
226 Template:Flagicon Trabzonspor 5.500
227 Template:Flagicon Lokomotiv Plovdiv 5.500
228 Template:Flagicon Hibernians 5.500
229 Template:Flagicon FH Hafnarfjördur 5.500

Recent seasons

League positions

<timeline> ImageSize = width:1600 height:65 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/2026 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1949 Colors = 

 id:bl1  value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5)
 id:bl2  value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3)
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 id:rn  value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1)

PlotData= 

 bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center
 from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950  shift:(0,-4) text:7 
 from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1952  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1953  shift:(0,-4) text:4
 from:01/07/1953 till:01/07/1954  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955  shift:(0,-4) text:13
 from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1955  color:green  shift:(0,14) text: "A Group"
 from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956  shift:(0,-4) text:1
 from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957  shift:(0,-4) text:4
 from:01/07/1957 till:01/07/1958  shift:(0,-4) text:2
 from:01/07/1958 till:01/07/1959  shift:(0,-4) text:3
 from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1961  shift:(0,-4) text:2
 from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1961  color:white  shift:(0,14) text: "B Group"
 from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1962  shift:(0,-4) text:12
 from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1963  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/1963 till:01/07/1964  shift:(0,-4) text:8
 from:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1965  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967  shift:(0,-4) text:11
 from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968  shift:(0,-4) text:9
 from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969  shift:(0,-4) text:3
 from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971  shift:(0,-4) text:4
 from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972  shift:(0,-4) text:10
 from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973  shift:(0,-4) text:2
 from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974  shift:(0,-4) text:3
 from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976  shift:(0,-4) text:4
 from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977  shift:(0,-4) text:8
 from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978  shift:(0,-4) text:11
 from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979  shift:(0,-4) text:14
 from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980  shift:(0,-4) text:15
 from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1980  color:green  shift:(0,14) text: "A Group"
 from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981  shift:(0,-4) text:2
 from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982  shift:(0,-4) text:10
 from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983  shift:(0,-4) text:2
 from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1983  color:white  shift:(0,14) text: "B Group"
 from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984  shift:(0,-4) text:15
 from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984  color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A "
 from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985  shift:(0,-4) text:2
 from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985  color:white  shift:(0,14) text: "B "
 from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989  shift:(0,-4) text:14
 from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990  shift:(0,-4) text:13
 from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991  shift:(0,-4) text:11
 from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992  shift:(0,-4) text:3
 from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993  shift:(0,-4) text:4
 from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996  shift:(0,-4) text:11
 from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997  shift:(0,-4) text:10
 from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998  shift:(0,-4) text:13
 from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999  shift:(0,-4) text:15
 from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1999  color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group"
 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001  shift:(0,-4) text:4
 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2001  color:white  shift:(0,14) text: "B Group"
 from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002  shift:(0,-4) text:4
 from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004  shift:(0,-4) text:1
 from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005  shift:(0,-4) text:3
 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008  shift:(0,-4) text:9
 from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010  shift:(0,-4) text:12
 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012  shift:(0,-4) text:6
 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013  shift:(0,-4) text:9
 from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014  shift:(0,-4) text:7
 from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015  shift:(0,-4) text:10
 from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2016  color:green  shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" 
 from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018  shift:(0,-4) text:8
 from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019  shift:(0,-4) text:10
 from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021  shift:(0,-4) text:2
 from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022  shift:(0,-4) text:9
 from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024  shift:(0,-4) text:5
 from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025  shift:(0,-4) text:13
 from:01/07/2025 till:01/07/2026  shift:(0,-4) text:
 from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2026  color:green  shift:(0,14) text: "First League"

</timeline>

Season Tier Position M W D L G D P Bulgarian Cup Bulgarian Supercup Top goalscorer[45]
2014–15 A Group 10 32 9 5 18 28 -24 32 Semi-finals Martin Kamburov /13 goals/
2015–16 A Group 5 32 15 4 14 40 -5 49 Round of 16 Martin Kamburov /18 goals/
2016–17 First League 5 36 14 10 12 50 -2 52 Quarter-finals Martin Kamburov /17 goals/
2017–18 First League 8 36 11 11 14 35 -13 44 Round of 16 Dimo Bakalov /9 goals/
2018–19 First League 10 34 10 8 16 37 -3 38 Winners Runners-Up Dimitar Iliev /9 goals/
2019–20 First League 5 31 15 8 8 53 +18 53 Winners Winners Dimitar Iliev /12 goals/
2020–21 First League 2 31 17 10 4 48 +25 61 Quarter-finals Dimitar Iliev /13 goals/
2021–22 First League 9 32 9 11 12 36 -7 38 Quarter-finals Dimitar Iliev /13 goals/
2022–23 First League 5 35 15 9 11 35 +1 54 Round of 16 Giovanny /8 goals/
2023–24 First League 5 35 17 7 11 53 +9 58 Round of 16 Giovanny /7 goals/

Records

File:Hristo bonev in 2016.jpg
Legendary Hristo Bonev, a powerful attacking midfielder, is the appearances recordman and all-time goalscorer of the club.
File:Martin Kamburov in 2017.jpg
Martin Kamburov is 4-time top scorer of the First league with Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
File:D. iliev in 2022.jpg
Dimitar Iliev won the award for Bulgarian Footballer of the Year in 2019 and 2020. He is the captain and the leader of the club in the recent seasons.

Player records

Hristo Bonev holds the records for most Lokomotiv Plovdiv league appearances (404) and goals (180).[46]

Most league appearances:
Rank Name Apps
1 Template:Flagicon Hristo Bonev 404
2 Template:Flagicon Georgi Vasilev 386
3 Template:Flagicon Stancho Bonchev 331
4 Template:Flagicon Gancho Peev 327
5 Template:Flagicon Iliya Bekyarov 314

Most league goals:

Rank Name Goals
1 Template:Flagicon Hristo Bonev 180
2 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov 145
3 Template:Flagicon Georgi Vasilev 115
4 Template:Flagicon Dimitar Iliev 77
5 Template:Flagicon Ivan Kanchev 73

Bulgarian league top scorers

Season Name Goals
1983/84 Template:Flagicon Eduard Eranosyan 19
2003/04 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov 25
2004/05 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov 27
2013/14 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov 20
2015/16 Template:Flagicon Martin Kamburov 18

Bulgarian Footballer of the Year

Year Name
1969 Template:Flagicon Hristo Bonev
1972 Template:Flagicon Hristo Bonev
1973 Template:Flagicon Hristo Bonev
2019 Template:Flagicon Dimitar Iliev
2020 Template:Flagicon Dimitar Iliev

Club records

As of 9 November 2024

Managers

Notable managers

Period Name Honours
1982–1983 Template:Flagicon Аtanas Dramov 99991 Cup of the Soviet Army
2003–2005 Template:Flagicon Eduard Eranosyan 99991 First League title
1 Bulgarian Supercup title
2017–2020 Template:Flagicon Bruno Akrapović 99992 Bulgarian Cup titles
1 Bulgarian Supercup title

Managerial history

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As of 9 November 2024

Source: loko-pd.com

References

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  1. ↑ История - ПФК Локомотив Пловдив
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".]
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  53. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

Template:Sister project Official websites

Media

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