2001–02 A Group

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A Group
Season2001–02
Dates3 August 2001 – 30 May 2002
ChampionsLevski Sofia
(23rd title)
Relegated
Champions LeagueLevski
UEFA Cup
Matches played268
Goals scored681 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerVladimir Manchev
(21 goals)

The 2001–02 A Group was the 54th season of the A Football Group, the top Bulgarian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1948.

Defending champions Levski Sofia won their third consecutive title, and 23rd title overall.

Overview

The format of the league was changed from last season, with the intention of making the league more competitive. This resulted in the league being divided into two groups after the regular season. The top 6 teams from the regular season would continue in the championship round, while the bottom 8 teams would play in the relegation round. It was contested by 14 teams, and Levski Sofia won the championship.[1]

Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league. The promoted teams from the

Velbazhd Kyustendil and Hebar Pazardzhik
respectively.

These teams replace

Minyor Pernik
, who were relegated at the end of the last season.

Stadiums and Locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Belasitsa Petrich Tsar Samuil 9,500
Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe 22,500
Cherno More Varna Ticha 8,250
Chernomorets Burgas Chernomorets 22,000
CSKA Sofia Balgarska Armia 22,015
Levski Sofia
Georgi Asparuhov
29,200
Litex Lovech Gradski 7,050
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Lokomotiv 24,000
Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv 22,000
Marek Dupnitsa Bonchuk 16,050
Naftex Burgas Lazur 18,037
Slavia Sofia
Slavia
32,000
Spartak Pleven Slavi Aleksiev 21,940
Spartak Varna Spartak 7,500

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Belasitsa Bulgaria Mihail Valchev Vitosha AD
Beroe Bulgaria Venelin Sivriev Bulgaria Vanyo Shishkov Germany Erima
Cherno More Bulgaria Aleksandar Stankov Bulgaria Ventsislav Marinov Bulgaria BURGELOF St. Elias
Chernomorets Bulgaria Ivan Tsvetanov Bulgaria Kostadin Dzhambazov
CSKA Sofia Italy Luigi Simoni Bulgaria Georgi Antonov Italy Lotto
Levski Sofia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slavoljub Muslin Bulgaria Stanimir Stoilov Italy Diadora Mobiltel
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bulgaria Dimitar Dimitrov Japan Asics VAI Holding
Lokomotiv Sofia Bulgaria Emil Dimitrov Germany Adidas Delta-G
Litex Bulgaria Ferario Spasov Bulgaria Vitomir Vutov Japan Asics Litex Commerce
Marek Bulgaria Dimitar Aleksiev Bulgaria Velizar Dimitrov United States Nike
Naftex Bulgaria Dimitar Stoychev Bulgaria Stanimir Dimitrov Germany Puma Petrol AD
Slavia Sofia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Žarko Olarević Bulgaria Veselin Vachev Germany Adidas Sofiyski Imoti
Spartak Pleven Bulgaria Angel Stankov Bulgaria Slavcho Pavlov Japan Asics VIS-2
Spartak Varna Bulgaria Stefan Grozdanov Bulgaria Valentin Stanchev

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Beroe Bulgaria Tsvetomir Parvanov Mutual consent 1 June 2001 Pre-season Bulgaria Ivan Vutov 21 June 2001[2]
Chernomorets Bulgaria Nikolay Rusev Mutual consent 1 June 2001 Pre-season Bulgaria Mihail Valchev 22 June 2001[3]
Marek Dupnitsa Bulgaria Petar Zehtinski Mutual consent 8 September 2001 12th Bulgaria Yanko Dinkov 10 September 2001[4]
Chernomorets Bulgaria Mihail Valchev Sacked 9 September 2001 14th Bulgaria Ivan Tsvetanov 12 September 2001[5]
Levski Sofia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ljupko Petrović Mutual consent 10 September 2001[6] 1st Bulgaria Georgi Todorov (caretaker) 10 September 2001
Slavia Sofia Bulgaria Kiril Kachamanov Sacked 25 September 2001 10th Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Žarko Olarević 25 September 2001
Lokomotiv Sofia Bulgaria Angel Kolev Sacked 28 October 2001[7] 9th Bulgaria Emil Dimitrov 28 October 2001
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria Asparuh Nikodimov Sacked 4 December 2001 3rd Italy Luigi Simoni 10 December 2001
Marek Dupnitsa Bulgaria Yanko Dinkov Mutual consent 2 January 2002 13th Bulgaria Dimitar Aleksiev 2 January 2002[8]
Levski Sofia Bulgaria Georgi Todorov End of caretaker tenure 3 January 2002 1st Germany Rüdiger Abramczik 3 January 2002
Beroe Bulgaria Ivan Vutov Mutual consent 4 January 2002 14th Bulgaria Tsvetomir Parvanov 4 January 2002
Levski Sofia Germany Rüdiger Abramczik Sacked 11 March 2002[9] 1st Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slavoljub Muslin 17 March 2002[10]
Beroe Bulgaria Tsvetomir Parvanov Sacked 12 March 2002 14th Bulgaria Iliya Iliev 17 March 2002
Spartak Pleven Bulgaria Velislav Vutsov Mutual consent 12 March 2002 7th Bulgaria Angel Stankov 18 March 2002
Belasitsa Bulgaria Voyn Voynov Sacked 12 May 2002 12th Bulgaria Mihail Valchev 13 May 2002[11]

First stage

League standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Levski Sofia 26 20 5 1 58 21 +37 65 Qualification for championship group
2 Litex Lovech 26 16 7 3 50 27 +23 55
3 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 26 16 5 5 42 23 +19 53
4 CSKA Sofia 26 15 7 4 48 17 +31 52
5 Naftex Burgas 26 12 6 8 35 25 +10 42
6 Slavia Sofia 26 10 7 9 30 32 −2 37
7 Spartak Pleven 26 10 3 13 40 44 −4 33 Qualification for relegation group
8 Lokomotiv Sofia 26 7 8 11 33 32 +1 29
9 Spartak Varna 26 5 11 10 29 39 −10 26
10 Chernomorets Burgas 26 7 5 14 24 54 −30 26
11 Marek 26 6 6 14 22 42 −20 24
12 Cherno More 26 6 6 14 28 36 −8 24
13 Belasitsa Petrich 26 6 5 15 21 35 −14 23
14 Beroe 26 3 5 18 13 46 −33 14
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.

Results

Home \ Away BEL BSZ CHM CHB CSK LEV LIT LPL LSO MAR NAF SLA SPL SPV
Belasitsa Petrich 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–0
Beroe 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–3[a] 0–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–4 0–2 1–0
Cherno More 2–1 2–0 3–1 0–1 1–2 4–0 1–3 1–1 3–1 0–3 0–1 2–2 1–1
Chernomorets Burgas 3–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–2 2–2 0–0 1–0 3–2 0–0 1–0 2–1
CSKA Sofia 1–0 3–0 1–0 6–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 4–0 2–1 3–0 5–0 3–2 5–1
Levski Sofia 3–2 1–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 3–2 4–1 4–1 3–1 4–1 6–0
Litex Lovech 1–0 3–1 3–2 4–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 5–3 2–0 1–0 4–1 6–2 1–1
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2–0 5–0 2–1 3–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 0–0 1–1 1–2 6–1 1–0 1–2 3–1 0–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 3–0 0–0
Marek 2–2 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–5 0–0
Naftex Burgas 1–0 2–0 1–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 3–1 1–0 0–1 4–1
Slavia Sofia 1–0 3–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 2–2 3–2 1–1
Spartak Pleven 3–2 2–1 3–1 4–0 0–0 2–4 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 1–2 2–0
Spartak Varna 4–1 3–1 0–0 3–0 1–2 1–2 2–4 1–1 0–0 4–1 0–0 1–2 2–1
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ Match awarded after was not played after referee was beaten up ahead of the match.

Championship group

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Levski Sofia (C) 36 27 7 2 77 27 +50 56 Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round
2 Litex Lovech 36 23 8 5 66 34 +32 50 Qualification for UEFA Cup qualifying round
3 CSKA Sofia 36 19 7 10 60 29 +31 38
4 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 36 18 6 12 48 41 +7 34
5 Slavia Sofia 36 14 8 14 42 48 −6 32
6 Naftex Burgas 36 14 9 13 44 40 +4 30
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.
(C) Champions

Results

Home \ Away CSK LEV LIT LPL NAF SLA
CSKA Sofia 1–0 1–2 4–0 3–2 0–2
Levski Sofia 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 3–1
Litex Lovech 1–0 2–2 3–1 1–0 2–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1–0 1–3 0–2 2–1 1–2
Naftex Burgas 1–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 2–2
Slavia Sofia 1–3 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–2
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation group

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Marek 40 14 8 18 46 57 −11 38 Qualification for Intertoto Cup first round
8 Lokomotiv Sofia 40 14 9 17 49 48 +1 37
9 Spartak Varna 40 12 13 15 50 51 −1 36
10 Chernomorets Burgas 40 13 9 18 41 69 −28 35
11 Cherno More 40 12 11 17 47 51 −4 35
12 Spartak Pleven (R) 40 15 4 21 58 66 −8 33 Relegation to 2002–03 B Group
13 Belasitsa Petrich (R) 40 12 7 21 34 50 −16 32
14 Beroe (R) 40 4 8 28 19 70 −51 13
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.
(R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away BEL BSZ CHM CHB LSO MAR SPL SPV
Belasitsa Petrich 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 3–2 2–1
Beroe 0–1 1–1 0–3 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–3
Cherno More 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 1–1
Chernomorets Burgas 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–4 1–0 1–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 3–0 1–0
Marek 2–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–0
Spartak Pleven 2–0 1–2 2–1 3–1 1–2 3–1 1–0
Spartak Varna 2–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 3–1 2–1 2–1
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Champions

Levski Sofia
Goalkeepers
01 Bulgaria Georgi Petkov 27 0(0)
12 Bulgaria Georgi Sheytanov 01 0(0)
27 Bulgaria Dimitar Ivankov 09 0(0)
Defenders
02 Bulgaria Martin Stankov 15 0(0)
03 Bulgaria Stanimir Stoilov 30 0(0)
05 Bulgaria Georgi Markov* 16 0(0)
11 Bulgaria Elin Topuzakov 26 0(5)
13 Bulgaria Ivo Trenchev 19 0(1)
14 Bulgaria Vladimir Ivanov 11 0(0)
20 Bulgaria Stanislav Angelov 28 0(5)
22 Bulgaria Ilian Stoyanov 25 0(0)
23 Bosnia and Herzegovina Dalibor Dragić 24 0(5)
26 Bulgaria Tsanko Tsvetanov 06 0(0)
28 Bulgaria Bogomil Dyakov 01 0(0)
Midfielders
04 Bulgaria Biser Ivanov 24 0(1)
06 Bulgaria Stanislav Genchev 21 0(3)
07 Hungary Péter Kabát 15 0(5)
15 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Saša Simonović 06 0(3)
17 Russia Konstantin Golovskoy 20 0(0)
18 Trinidad and Tobago Brent Rahim 11 0(0)
21 Bulgaria Dimitar Telkiyski 30 0(4)
25 Bulgaria Yordan Terziev* 04 0(0)
30 Bulgaria Dimitar Krastev 03 0(0)
Bulgaria Asen Nikolov* 03 0(0)
Brazil William Batista* 01 0(0)
Bulgaria Svetoslav Barkanichkov* 02 0(0)
Forwards
08 Bulgaria Georgi Bachev 18 0(8)
09 Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov 19 (13)
10 Hungary István Ferenczi 04 0(3)
16 Bulgaria Martin Kushev 15 0(6)
19 Bulgaria Georgi Chilikov 27 (10)
24 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Miodrag Pantelić 29 0(4)
29 Bulgaria Dimitar Makriev 01 0(0)
Brazil Rogério Gaúcho* 08 0(0)
Bulgaria Todor Kolev* 02 0(0)
Manager
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slavoljub Muslin
  • Markov, Terziev, Nikolov, Batista, Barkanichkov, Gaucho and Kolev left the club during a season.

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Bulgaria Vladimir Manchev CSKA Sofia 21
2 Bulgaria Todor Kolev Spartak Pleven 18
3 Bulgaria Stoyko Sakaliev Naftex Burgas 17
4 Bulgaria Stefan Yurukov Litex Lovech 14
Bulgaria Metodi Stoynev Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Bulgaria Boyko Velichkov Lokomotiv Sofia
Bulgaria Velizar Dimitrov Marek Dupnitsa
8 Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov Levski Sofia 13
Bulgaria Zoran Janković Litex Lovech
Bulgaria Martin Kushev Slavia Sofia
Levski Sofia

References

  1. ^ "С 5-ма треньори Левски стига до титлата" (in Bulgarian). temasport.com. 31 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Иван Вутов пак треньор на Берое" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 22 June 2001.
  3. ^ "Мишо Вълчев ще поеме Черноморец" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 22 June 2001.
  4. ^ "Янко Динков пое Марек" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 11 September 2001.
  5. ^ "Иван Цветанов ще поеме Черноморец" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 12 September 2001.
  6. ^ "Люпко Петрович вече не е треньор на Левски" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 10 September 2001.
  7. ^ "Локомотив (Сф) изгони треньора Ангел Колев" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. 29 October 2001.
  8. ^ "Димитър Алексиев пое Марек" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 2 January 2002.
  9. ^ "Гонят Рюдигер Абрамчик" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 11 March 2002.
  10. ^ "Славолюб Муслин поема Левски в неделя" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 13 March 2002.
  11. ^ "М. Вълчев поема Беласица" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 14 May 2002.

External links