Litex Lovech
Full nameПрофесионален Футболен Клуб „Литекс Ловеч“
Professional Football Club Litex lovech
Nickname(s)оранжевите (The Oranges)
Short nameLitex
Founded1921 (1921)
as Hisarya Sports Club
GroundGradski Stadion, Lovech, Bulgaria
Capacity8,100
OwnerLitex Commerce JSC
ChairmanGrisha Ganchev and Danail Ganchev
ManagerAlen Tupajić
LeagueSecond League
2022–23Second League, 9th
WebsiteClub website

Litex (Bulgarian: Литекс) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Lovech, which currently competes in the Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Sports Club.

The club's home ground is the Gradski Stadion, which has a capacity of 8,100 seats, electric floodlights and permission to stage European matches. As one of the successful Bulgarian clubs outside the capital Sofia, Litex have won the domestic championship four times and the Bulgarian Cup on four occasions. Together with CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia, Litex was also the third football club to represent the country regularly in the European Club Association.

History

1921–1996

The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya and began playing league football two years later, in 1923. Over the years, the club has changed its name several times. From 1957 it was named Karpachev, before becoming Osam in 1979. Under that name the club played constantly in the B Group, the second division of Bulgarian football and was near to promotion several times. A notable player during this period was Plamen Linkov, who broke the club's appearance record, playing 575 matches and scoring 167 goals respectively.

In 1990, after Bulgaria's transition to market economy, privately owned company LEX became the main sponsor of the club. During the same year, the new owners changed the name of the football club to LEX. The 1993–94 B Group proved to be impressive for the club, as the team finished first in the second division and qualified for the A Group, a notable milestone never done before in the club's history. LEX's debut season in the A Group was also noteworthy, as the team ranked 11th at the end of the season. The next season however proved to be unsuccessful and the club, renamed Lovech, was relegated to the B Group.

Litex's former top goalscorer Dimcho Belyakov.

Grisha Ganchev ownership (1996–2016)

In June 1996, the club was purchased by Grisha Ganchev, petrol businessman and a citizen of Lovech, and it was renamed to Litex. The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile players. Ferario Spasov was named as the new Litex coach. He led the club back to the A Group at their first attempt. During the 1996–97 season Litex also reached the quarter-finals of the Bulgarian Cup and the final of the Bulgarian League Cup, which was lost after a penalty shoot-out.

Litex players with the Bulgarian Cup in 2009.

In 1997, Litex was promoted for the second time to the top division and immediately became Bulgarian champions, finishing the season 5 points ahead of the second-placed Levski Sofia, unprecedented in the Bulgarian football history. The striker of the team Dimcho Belyakov also became top goalscorer with his 21 goals contributed during the season. In addition, midfielder Stoycho Stoilov received the Best Player of the League award. In the club's first appearance in European club competition, Litex eliminated Swedish club Halmstads BK 4–3 on aggregate, reaching the second qualifying round, where it was knocked out by Spartak Moscow.

A year later Litex successfully defended their league title, losing only two league games during the course of the season. They became the first provincial club to win back-to-back league titles since the 1920s. During their campaign, Litex also inflicted the biggest defeat in CSKA Sofia's history, an 8-0 thrashing at the Lovech Stadium.

During the first decade of the 21st century, Litex won the Bulgarian Cup four times—in 2001 after defeating Velbazhd Kyustendil 1–0 in extra time, in 2004 against CSKA after a penalty shoot-out, in 2008 after a 1–0 win over Cherno More Varna,[1] and in 2009, after a 3–0 thrashing over Pirin Blagoevgrad.[2] In early August 2007, Litex signed a three-year sponsorship and advertising contract with Bulgarian mobile operator GLOBUL and started the 2007–08 season with the logo of the mobile service i-mode on the team's kits. In December 2007, Litex became the first Bulgarian club to have a branded mobile phone game, Litex Football. Before the start of the 2008–09 season, Litex lost the Bulgarian Supercup final with 0-1 from CSKA Sofia after a goal from Kiril Kotev in the 65th minute. A season later, Litex again failed to win the Bulgarian Supercup final, this time against domestic title holders Levski Sofia.

Litex with the A PFG title in 2010

In 2009–10, Litex became champions of Bulgaria for the third time in their history, finishing the season with 12 points advantage over the runners-up CSKA Sofia.[3] On 12 August 2010, Litex defeated Beroe 2–1 to finally secure the Bulgarian Supercup, the last remaining domestic trophy never won before by the club. In 2010–11 Litex retained their fourth league title, securing the championship after a 3–1 away win against Lokomotiv Sofia on 21 May 2011.[4]

Expulsion and new beginning (2015–present)

In the summer of 2015, Grisha Ganchev stepped down from his position as an owner, only to reallocate his main investments to Bulgarian football club CSKA Sofia, which was struggling financially with unpaid debts during the time. As a result, his son Danail took over at Litex, with previous shareholder, Bulgarian joint stock company Sport 96, remaining as a subsidiary of Litex Commerce JSC.

On 16 December 2015, the Bulgarian Football Union expelled Litex Lovech from the A Group.[5] The decision was taken in response to an incident that occurred during Litex Lovech's 12 December tie with Levski Sofia, when chairman Stoycho Stoilov controversially pulled the squad off the field in protest after two players were sent off with Lovech leading 1–0.[6] On 20 January 2016 the team was administratively relegated to the B Group for the following 2016–17 season. Litex's players however were allowed to complete their participation in the Bulgarian Cup and finish the 2015–16 season with the club's reserve squad, Litex Lovech II, playing in the B Group.

On 27 May 2016, the company that represented PFC Chavdar Etropole, PFC Chavdar EAD, was renamed PFC CSKA-1948 AD.[7] On 6 June 2016, the representative of PFC Litex Lovech, PFC Litex-Lovech AD, was renamed PFC CSKA-Sofia EAD,[8] with PFC CSKA-1948 AD being written in as its owner. That company later successfully applied to take part in the reformed First League,[9] as PFC CSKA Sofia. The shift was made because the former company that represented PFC CSKA Sofia, PFC CSKA AD, did not gain a professional license, and later went bankrupt, ceasing operations as of 9 September 2016. PFC Litex Lovech was demoted to the Third League, taking the place of FC Botev Lukovit.[10]

On 4 July 2016, former Litex player Zhivko Zhelev was appointed as a manager of a team that consisted mainly of academy players.[11] Litex managed to win its first match of the new season. The squad also played in the 2016–17 Bulgarian Cup, eliminating First League outfits Slavia Sofia and Cherno More on their way to the semifinals,[12] where Litex lost to reigning five-time champions Ludogorets Razgrad on an aggregate score of 0–11. Litex also was promoted to the Second League, after winning the North-West Group of the Third League.

League positions

Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)Third Amateur Football League (Bulgaria)Bulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFGBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFG

Recent league statistics

Season League Place W D L GF GA Pts Bulgarian Cup
2007–08 A Group 4 16 9 5 51 26 56 Winner
2008–09 A Group 4 17 7 6 53 26 58 Winner
2009–10 A Group 1 22 4 4 59 17 70 Third round
2010–11 A Group 1 23 6 1 56 13 75 Semifinals
2011–12 A Group 5 17 8 5 57 28 59 Semifinals
2012–13 A Group 5 15 5 10 56 24 50 Quarterfinals
2013–14 A Group 3 21 9 8 74 37 72 Quarterfinals
2014–15 A Group 4 16 6 10 49 36 54 Quarterfinals
2015–16 A Group 10 0 (8) 0 (9) 0 (3) 0 (29) 0 (19) 0 (33) Semifinals
2016–17Third League (III)12521114977Semifinals
2017–18Second League (II)1010911262639Quarterfinals
2018–19Second League (II)51299432645Round of 32
Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation.

Stadium

Lovech Stadium
Lovech Stadium

Litex Lovech's home ground is the Lovech Stadium, a football stadium in Lovech. Built in 1962, the ground underwent a total reconstruction in 1999 and was brought to a suitable standard to host international matches later that year. The stadium has a capacity of 8,000 seating places with pitch dimensions of 105 to 68 meters. The venue's record attendance of 12,500 was achieved during a domestic league match against Levski Sofia on 19 April 1998. The record attendance in the European club competitions was achieved against English club Aston Villa on 18 September 2008, when around 8,000 spectators supported the team.

In the summer of 2010, a massive reconstruction of the venue started. New side stands with roof covers were built and the media sectors were expanded in order to meet the UEFA guidelines for Champions League matches. On 12 July 2010, the stadium was awarded with a Category 3 ranking by UEFA. The reconstructions continued in the summer of 2011, when the main stand of the stadium was completed.

Honours

Domestic

European

European record

Competition S P W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Champions League 4168172928+ 1
UEFA Europa League 13562312217660+ 16
Total177231132810588+ 17

Players

Current squad

As of 5 June 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Bulgaria BUL Michael Matev
3 DF Bulgaria BUL Aleksandar Angelov
4 MF Bulgaria BUL Georgi Staykov
5 FW Bulgaria BUL Ivan Penev
6 MF Bulgaria BUL Yoan Lozanov (on loan from CSKA Sofia)
7 MF Bulgaria BUL Yusein Kasov
8 MF Bulgaria BUL Evgeni Ignatov
10 MF Nigeria NGA Kingsley Bucci
11 FW Nigeria NGA Suleiman Abdulganiyu
14 DF Bulgaria BUL Galin Tashev
15 DF Bulgaria BUL Georgi Radev
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF Bulgaria BUL Ivan Ivanov
17 MF Bulgaria BUL Petar Petrov
19 FW Bulgaria BUL Vasil Nankov
21 FW Bulgaria BUL Iliyan Kapitanov (captain)
22 DF Montenegro MNE Matija Pejovic
23 MF Bulgaria BUL Hristo Ivanov
34 FW Bulgaria BUL Aleksandar Buchkov (on loan from CSKA Sofia)
77 MF Bulgaria BUL Mert Durmush
97 DF Bulgaria BUL Slavi Kosov
FW Bulgaria BUL Viktor Vasilev

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2023 and Transfers winter 2023–24.

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

Managerial history

This is a list of the recent Litex Lovech managers:

Name From To Honours
Bulgaria Stoycho Mladenov June 2004 Nov 2004
Israel Itzhak Shum 15 November 2004 May 2005
Serbia Ljupko Petrović 1 July 2005 12 June 2007 1 Bulgarian Cup
Bulgaria Ferario Spasov June 2007 Nov 2007
Serbia Miodrag Ješić Nov 2007 May 2008 1 Bulgarian Cup
Bulgaria Stanimir Stoilov 1 June 2008 28 August 2009 1 Bulgarian Cup
Bulgaria Angel Chervenkov 1 September 2009 5 August 2010 1 Bulgarian A PFG
Bulgaria Petko Petkov (interim) 5 August 2010 1 September 2010 1 Bulgarian Supercup
Bulgaria Lyuboslav Penev 2 September 2010 24 October 2011 1 Bulgarian A PFG
Bulgaria Atanas Dzhambazki 24 October 2011 31 December 2011
Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov 5 January 2012 5 June 2013
BulgariaSerbia Zlatomir Zagorčić 1 July 2013 31 March 2014
Serbia Miodrag Ješić 31 March 2014 25 May 2014
Bulgaria Krasimir Balakov 26 May 2014 10 July 2015
Serbia Ljupko Petrović (interim) 10 July 2015 5 August 2015
Romania Laurențiu Reghecampf 6 August 2015[13] 3 December 2015
Serbia Ljupko Petrović 3 December 2015 3 January 2016
Bulgaria Lyuboslav Penev 22 January 2016 2 June 2016
Bulgaria Zhivko Zhelev 4 July 2016 22 June 2022
Bulgaria Andrey Andreev 22 June 2022 16 March 2023
Serbia Ljupko Petrović 16 March 2023 26 June 2023
Bulgaria Dobromir Mitov 27 June 2023 16 October 2023
Serbia Alen Tupajić 16 October 2023

Notable stats

Plamen Linkov, the club's top scorer

Most appearances for the club

RankNameApps
1Bulgaria Plamen Linkov575
2Bulgaria Ferario Spasov350
3Serbia Nebojša Jelenković307
4Bulgaria Plamen Nikolov268
5Bulgaria Vitomir Vutov245

Most goals for the club

RankNameGoals
1Bulgaria Plamen Linkov167
2Bulgaria Stefan Yurukov84
3Bulgaria Svetoslav Todorov70
4Bulgaria Hristo Yovov54
5Bulgaria Dimcho Belyakov48

First professional league top scorer with the club

YearNameGoals
1999Bulgaria Dimcho Belyakov21
2000Bulgaria Svetoslav Todorov19
2006Slovenia Milivoje Novakovič16
2010France Wilfried Niflore19
2014Colombia Wilmar Jordán20

Notes: Last update 13 April 2023

All-time top scorers in A PFG

  • Updated 13 December 2014[14]
Rank Name Goals scores Games played Assists Goals per game Years played
1 Bulgaria Svetoslav Todorov 56 127 22 0.44 1997–01, 2009–12
2 Bulgaria Stefan Yurukov 55 113 11 0.49 1996–97, 1998–02, 2003–04
3 Bulgaria Hristo Yovov 45 97 20 0.46 2000–04
4 France Wilfried Niflore 39 72 11 0.54 2008–11
5 Bulgaria Dimcho Beliakov 35 67 11 0.52 1994–97, 1998–99, 2004
6 Bulgaria Zhivko Zhelev 31 196 7 0.16 1996–07
7 Colombia Wilmar Jordán 29 54 7 0.54 2013–15
8 Bulgaria Zoran Janković 29 64 17 0.45 2000–02, 2004, 2007–08
9 Bulgaria Georgi Milanov 28 106 20 0.26 2009–13
10 Bulgaria Krum Bibishkov 27 60 6 0.45 2007–09

References

  1. "Litex claim third Bulgarian Cup". UEFA.com. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  2. "Stoilov guides Litex to cup glory". UEFA.com. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  3. "Litex can party like it is 1999". UEFA.com. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  4. "Litex retain Bulgarian crown". UEFA.com. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  5. "Litex thrown out of Bulgarian league". BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  6. "Bulgarian champions may quit league". BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  7. Бизнесмен от Смолян е с 38 100 акции в новия ЦСКА
  8. "В Ловеч ще бъде създаден нов футболен клуб".
  9. "First Division Clubs in Europe" (PDF). uefa.com. UEFA. p. 21. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  10. "Въртележка: Литекс ще рита във "В" група с лиценза на Ботев Луковит".
  11. Литекс сформира нов отбор, назначи треньор
  12. ""Литекс" отстрани "Славия" и стигна 1/8-финалите за Купата на България" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  13. "Soccer-New Litex coach Reghecampf eyes domestic double". Reuters. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  14. Ваюши и Десподов от Литекс влязоха в историята Football24.bg, 13 August 2013
Official websites
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Information and statistics
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