FC Marek Dupnitsa
Full name | Football Club Marek Dupnitsa | ||
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Founded | 1915 | ||
Ground | Stadion Bonchuk | ||
Capacity | 16,000 | ||
Coordinates | 42°16′31.1″N 23°8′8.3″E / 42.275306°N 23.135639°E | ||
Chairman | Tsvetan Vidinski | ||
Manager | Tancho Kalpakov | ||
League | Second League | ||
2023–24 | Second League, 3rd | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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FC Marek (
Marek was founded in 1947, following the unification of four local clubs from Dupnitsa. Marek was one of the ten clubs that took part in the inaugural season of the A Group, the newly formed unified league of Bulgaria, in
Honours
Domestic
- First League:
- Third place (2): 1977
- Third place (2):
- Bulgarian Cup:
- Winners (1): 1978
- Second League:
- Winners (1): 2014
- Winners (1):
History
Early history (1919–1947)
The people of Dupnitsa watched football being played for the first time by foreign troops stationed in the city during World War I. Over the next several years, four clubs were founded in the city: Slavia, Levski, ZHSK, and Athletic. In 1923, these clubs participated in the formation of the Southwest Football League and, between 1935 and 1944, they frequently took part in the finals of the national tournaments. By 1944, each of the four had their own stadium.
Marek (1947–1970)
In 1947, Slavia, Levski, ZHSK, and Athletic decided to merge into one club, which was named Marek, after the nickname of Stanke Dimitrov, a local hero of the Bulgarian Communist Party. Marek is a Slavic version of the English name Mark, meaning warlike, associated to Mars.
In 1948, Marek became a part of the newly created first division, the
Success in Bulgaria and Europe (1975–1981)
The most notable successes for Marek came in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the club finished third in the league in 1977 and won the cup in 1978, defeating overwhelming favorites CSKA Sofia 1:0 in front of 75,000 spectators at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia.
During the 1976–77 season, Marek defeated
In this period the team also played in
The club also competed in the 1980 Intertoto Cup against
Stadium and fans: The team is known for its loyal supporters and the local stadium "
Famous players: Among the most famous players of Marek are Kiril Milanov, Dimitar Isakov, Nikolay "Shultz" Krastev, Sasho Pargov, Ivan and Ventzi Petrov, Stoyan Stoyanov (a goalkeeper), Asen Tomov, and Dimitre Dimitrov-Miki. The coach associated with the successes of Marek is Yanko Dinkov.
Recent history (2001–2010)
In 1983, Marek was relegated to
As a participant in the Intertoto Cup, Marek tied 1–1 the German Bundesliga club
During the 2007–08 season, Marek was plagued by injuries of key players, several coaching changes and a not-so-well covered conflict between the senior players of the club: Angelo and Yanek Kyuchukov and the club president, Yordan Andreev. Further, the team sold their best and most talented player, Enyo Krastovchev, to Levski Sofia. As a result, the team finished in last place, 16th, with only 5 wins in 30 games, in the domestic league, and was relegated to B PFG for the 2008–09 season.
Before the start of the
Marek barely survived the 2008–09 season in
During the 2009–10 season in
A New Beginning (2010–)
The Bulgarian Football Federation denied Marek the license to compete in B Group for the 2010–11 season due to the team's financial debts. Thus, the club had to start over and compete at the lowest level of Bulgarian football, in the regional amateur league, Zona Rila. The team's new coach became Ivaylo Pargov, a former player for the team.
During the 2010–11 season, Marek dominated the local amateur division and after winning all but one of its regular season games, thus earning a playoff game against
Despite the lost playoff and the prospect of spending a second season in the regional amateur league, a number of third division teams declined participation prior to the upcoming 2011–12 season due to financial insolvency. Thus, Marek was administratively promoted to the third division, for the 2011–12 season.
During the 2012–13 season, Marek finished first in the Southwest V AFG and earned automatic promotion to the Bulgarian Second Division, B PFG
Marek surprised its numerous fans with a fantastic 2013–14 season in the Second Division, dominating its opponents and securing promotion to A PFG with four games to go, this returning to the top level after a six-year absence.
The return to A PFG proved difficult as Marek finished the 2014–2015 season in 11th place out of 12 teams, and the team was relegated. Marek won only six games the entire season, vs. Haskovo three times, at Cherno More and vs. Slavia Sofia.
After the conclusion of the 2014–2015 season, Marek did not receive a professional license from the Bulgarian Football Federation due to unpaid financial obligations to government institutions, and the team was relegated to the amateur divisions.
Subsequently, Marek was fined by the Bulgarian Football Federation due to "suspicion" of match fixing and the club ownership decided to dissolve the existing club and register a new FC Marek 1915, which started competing from the lowest level of football in Bulgaria, 4th regional division, during the 2015–2016 season.
Following an undefeated season, and navigating through two rounds of playoffs, Marek earned a promotion to the 3rd division for season 2016–17.
After several years in the third division, Marek returned to the Second League for season 2021–2022. Despite a brave effort, Marek did not manage to secure safety in the second level, suffering immediate relegation. The team had a chance to stay in the second tier up until the penultimate round.
In 2023, Marek returned to the Second League after just one season in the third level, comfortably finishing in first place in the Southwest Third League promotion group. In their first season back in the Second League, Marek turned out to be a surprising contender for promotion to the First League, being almost the entire season within the top three places. Eventually Marek finished third, qualifying for the promotion playoff, against Botev Vratsa. Botev Vratsa was the host of the playoff, by virtue of being the team from the First League. Botev managed to score in the 50th minute, when Martin Smolenski opened the scoreline. Marek, however, managed to equalize in the 83th minute, when a defensive error enabled Aleksandar Bliznakov to chip the goalie and put the ball in the net. With no winner after regular time, the game went to overtime. With still no winner, a penalty shootout had to be played. Marek lost the shootout, 4-2, and thus failed to promote to the top level.
Marek in Europe
UEFA cup
Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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1977–78
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UEFA Cup
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1 | Ferencváros | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | |
2 | Bayern Munich | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–3 |
Cup Winners' Cup
Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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1978–79
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Cup Winners' Cup | 1 | Aberdeen | 3–2 | 0–3 | 3–5 |
Intertoto Cup
Year Stage Match Results 1980 group Marek Dupnitsa – IFK Göteborg 2–3, 1–4 1980 group Marek Dupnitsa – Austria Salzburg 4–2, 2–2 1980 group Marek Dupnitsa – B 93 Copenhagen2–0, 2–3 1981 group Marek Dupnitsa – Stuttgarter Kickers 0–1, 0–2 1981 group Marek Dupnitsa – Viking1–2, 0–3 1981 group Marek Dupnitsa – Willem II0–1, 1–4 2002 1/32 Marek Dupnitsa – Caersws FC 2–0, 1–1 2002 1/16 FC Ashdod – Marek Dupnitsa 1–1, 0–1 2002 1/8 Marek Dupnitsa – Slaven Belupo 0–3, 1–3 2003 1/32 Videoton– Marek Dupnitsa2–2, 1–1 2003 1/16 Marek Dupnitsa – VfL Wolfsburg 1–1, 0–2 2004 1/32 Marek Dupnitsa – FC Dila Gori 0–0, 2–0 2004 1/16 Genk – Marek Dupnitsa 2–1, 0–0
League positions
Current squad
As of 15 February 2024
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 2023–24 and Transfers summer 2024.
Notable players
- For all players with a Wikipedia article see Category:FC Marek Dupnitsa 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.
- Bulgaria
- Krum Bibishkov
- Velizar Dimitrov
- Georgi Enisheynov
- Anton Evtimov
- Svetoslav Georgiev
- Dimitar Isakov
- Biser Ivanov
- Milen Ivanov
- Dimitar Koemdzhiev
- Enyo Krastovchev
- Emil Kremenliev
- Anzhelo Kyuchukov
- Yanek Kyuchukov
- Kiril Milanov
- Dobromir Mitov
- Daniel Mladenov
- Ivaylo Pargov
- Sasho Pargov
- Georgi Sapinev
- Lyuben Sevdin
- Veselin Shulev
- Ivo Slavchev
- Yanko Valkanov
- Veselin Velikov
- Emil Viyachki
- Vladimir Yonkov
- Europe
- Africa
References
- ^ UEFA Europa League History – Marek-Bayern 1977/78 UEFA.com Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ UEFA History – Marek UEFA.com Retrieved 17 September 2018.