FC Arda Kardzhali
Nikolay Kirov | ||||
League | First League | |||
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2022–23 | First League, 7th of 16 | |||
Website | Club website | |||
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FC Arda 1924 Kardzhali (Bulgarian: ПФК Арда Кърджали) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Kardzhali, that competes in First League, the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system.
It was founded on 13 October 1924, as an association football branch of a larger sports society in the town. The club was reestablished in 2015, after its former entity was dissolved.
Named after the
In 2018–19, Arda won the Second League promotion play-off against Septemvri Sofia, resulting in the club's first-ever appearance in the Bulgarian top division.
History
First Arda team (1924–2013)
Arda was established on August 10, 1924 under the name Rodopski Sokol, but later took the name Arda, derived from the nearby Arda River.
Refounding (2015–2017)
The team suffered relegation from the V Group in 2013 and didn't compete in any league division until 2015 when they returned to the A Regional Group after reestablishment. In 2016, Arda achieved promotion to the Bulgarian Third League after a successful season and a 3–0 win in the play-off match against Lyubimets.[3]
PSI Group ownership and promotion to the elite (2017–present)
In early June 2017, the club was purchased by Bulgarian road construction company PSI Group, in an attempt to develop a football project, inspired by the domestic and international success of Ludogorets.[4] Two weeks later, former Levski Sofia player Elin Topuzakov was appointed as head coach and Emil Kremenliev was hired as sporting director.[5] Subsequently, Petar Peshev was elected chairman of the club and was revealed that the new ownership would invest around €1 million in new signings, salaries and infrastructure around the stadium during the following South-East Third League season.[6] All of this led to an amateur double during the 2017–18 season, as Arda won both its group and the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League, resulting in a promotion to the Bulgarian Second League.[7]
After the unsatisfactory results in the first 5 rounds,
First seasons in the elite and Bulgarian Cup Final
Arda's first match in the Bulgarian top tier resulted in a 0–0 home draw against
Arda reached the final of the 2020–21 Bulgarian Cup, their first-ever participation at a final of the domestic cup. Arda faced CSKA Sofia, and lost by 1-0, in a closely fought game. A few days later, the team won the Europa Conference League play-off against Cherno More Varna and qualified for European tournament for first time in their history.[10] In the Europa Conference League, Arda faced Israeli side Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Arda’s general inexperience with European football caused an upsetting 0-2 home loss, followed by a 4-0 away loss, which eliminated Arda from the Europa Conference League.
Honours
- First League
- 4th place (1): 2020–21
- Bulgarian Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2020–21
- Runners-up (1):
- Second League
- Runners-up (1): 1955–56
- Third place (2): 1987–88, 2018–19
- Third League
- Winners (1): 2017–18
- A Regional Group
- Winners (1): 2015–16
- Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League
- Winners (1): 2017–18
Players
First-team squad
- As of 31 March 2024[11]
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.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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.
EU Nationals |
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) |
Non-EU Nationals
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Goalscoring and appearance records
Most appearances for the club in First League
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Most goals for the club in First League
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- Players in bold are still playing for Arda.
Records and notable stats
Club Records
- Biggest home win in First League: Arda Kardzhali 5–0 Lokomotiv Plovdiv (17 February 2023)
- Biggest away win in First League: Botev Plovdiv0–3 Arda Kardzhali (6 June 2023)
- Biggest home loss in First League: Arda Kardzhali 0–4 Ludogorets Razgrad (12 February 2022)
- Biggest away loss in First League: Tsarsko Selo 4–0 Arda Kardzhali (25 April 2021)
- Unbeaten streak in First League (single season): 11 (2020–21)
- Most consecutive wins in First League (single season): 5 (2023–24)
Notable players
For all players with a Wikipedia article see Category:FC Arda Kardzhali players.
The footballers enlisted below have international caps for their respective countries or more than 100 caps for Arda. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.
European record
- As of match played 29 July 2021
Competition | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
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UEFA Europa Conference League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
Matches
Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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2021–22 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 2Q | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–6 |
Personnel
Board of directors
Position | Name | Nationality |
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President | ||
Director of Football | ||
Director of Sports Administration | ||
Administrator |
Current technical body
Position | Name | Nationality |
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Head Coach | Nikolay Kirov |
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Assistant Coach | Atanas Ribarski | |
Goalkeeper coach | Todor Popov | |
Conditioning Coach | Anton Donchev |
Manager history
Name | Nat | From | To | Honours |
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Elin Topuzakov | 12 July 2017 | 26 August 2018 | ||
Stoycho Stoev | 26 August 2018 | 6 March 2019 | ||
Stamen Belchev | 6 March 2019 | 14 April 2020 | ||
Nikolay Kirov
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15 April 2020 | 3 September 2021 | ||
Georgi Chilikov | 8 September 2021 | 9 November 2021 | ||
Slavko Matić | 12 November 2021 | 16 December 2021 | ||
Stamen Belchev | 23 December 2021 | 14 May 2022 | ||
Aleksandar Tunchev | 19 May 2022 | 25 February 2024 | ||
Nikolay Kirov
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26 February 2024 |
Seasons
League positions
Past seasons
Season | League | Bulgarian Cup | Other competitions | Top goalscorer | ||||||||||||
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Division | Level | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Pos | ||||||
2015–16 | A Regional League
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4 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 7 | +38 | 21 | 1st ↑ | Not qualified | ||||
2016–17 | South-East Third League | 3 | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 49 | 69 | –20 | 39 | 16th | Not qualified | Cup of Bulgarian Amateur League | N/Q | ||
2017–18 | 3 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 142 | 7 | +135 | 94 | 1st ↑ | Not qualified | W | Dimitar Aleksiev | 26 | ||
2018–19 | Second League | 2 | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 44 | 18 | +26 | 62 | 3rd ↑ | Round of 32 | Ventsislav Hristov | 12 | ||
2019–20 | First League | 1 | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 28 | 36 | –8 | 35 | 9th | Round of 16 | Radoslav Vasilev | 9 | ||
2020–21 | 1 | 31 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 50 | 4th | Runners-up | Ivan Kokonov | 8 | |||
2021–22 | 1 | 32 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 38 | 51 | –13 | 35 | 10th | Round of 16 | Europa Conference League | 2Q | Tonislav Yordanov | 7 | |
2022–23 | 1 | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 47 | 36 | +9 | 58 | 7th | Quarter-final | Lassana N'Diaye | 8 | |||
2023–24 | 1 | Round of 16 |
Key
Champions | Runners-up | Promoted | Relegated |
References
- ^ "Феновете в Кърджали: Ние сме Арда - господари на Родопите" (in Bulgarian). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "История на клуба". Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
- ^ "Арда (Кърджали) се върна в Трета лига". Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
- ^ "Готви се грандиозен проект в Кърджали, Топузаков и легенда от САЩ '94 поемат клуба". Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
- ^ "Топузаков потвърди за треньорския пост в Арда Кърджали". Archived from the original on 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
- ^ "Силният човек на новия хит в БГ футбол за плановете на клуба и защо е избрал Топузаков". Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
- ^ "Драма във Велико Търново! Арда направи дубъл в аматьорския футбол". Archived from the original on 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- ^ "Арда освободи Топузаков, сериозно име пое отбора". Archived from the original on 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
- ^ "Стамен Белчев пое Арда". Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-03-06.
- ^ "Историческа вечер за Кърджали! Арда срази Черно море и ще дебютира в Европа". Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
- ^ "Играчи : Арда". fcarda.bg. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2017.