FC Tsarsko Selo Sofia

Tsarsko Selo (Bulgarian: Царско Село) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Sofia. It currently plays in First League, the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, having gained promotion from Second League in 2018–19 season.

Tsarsko Selo
Full nameFootball Club Tsarsko Selo 2015
Nickname(s)Царете (The Tsars)
Founded1 July 2015 (2015-07-01)
GroundArena Tsarsko Selo
Dragalevtsi, Sofia, Bulgaria
Capacity1,550
Coordinates42°38′11.9″N 23°18′57.5″E
ChairmanStoyne Manolov
Head coachLyuboslav Penev
LeagueFirst League
2019–20First League, 13th
WebsiteClub website

Tsarsko Selo play their home matches at their Tsarsko Selo Sports Complex in the Dragalevtsi quarter of Sofia.

History

2015–2016: Foundation

In the summer of 2015, the previous chairman of CSKA Sofia Stoyne Manolov established a new academy called Football Academy Tsarsko Selo, with a focus on scouting and developing youth football players born in 2002 to 2010.[1] The club was initially registered and a subsequent men's team in the A RFG Sofia South was established, with former long-time CSKA Sofia captain Todor Yanchev appointed as manager.[2] On November 12, 2015 Manolov announced an academy partnership with Spanish La Liga club Málaga CF.[3] In the end of December 2015, Todor Yanchev took over Sofia 2010, which was bought by Manolov and was merged with Tsarsko Selo to establish a new club called Tsarsko Selo Sofia.[4][5]

2016–present: Professional debut

On 28 July 2016 the team was accepted in the newly created Bulgarian Second Professional League.[6] They finished their first match against Botev Galabovo with a draw.[7] In their first match for the Bulgarian Cup they played against Levski Sofia. The match was played on 22 September 2016 at the Lokomotiv Stadium in Sofia and was won by Levski by 2–0.[8] After 2 heavy defeats, Yanchev stepped down from his position as a manager and on 29 October 2016, previous Cherno More Varna head coach Nikola Spasov was announced as the new manager of the team.[9] The team finished their first season in Second League in 5th place.[10]

The good start of the season for Tsarsko Selo was marked not only by the first place in the league after 8 rounds, but with their first win for the Cup, winning the first round against Neftochimic Burgas on 19 September 2017.[11] On 3 January 2018 Nikola Spasov was announced as the new manager of the Kazakhstan Premier League team Kyzylzhar.[12] Shortly the same day Veselin Velikov was announced as the new manager of the club.[13] On 8 May 2018 Velislav Vutsov was announced as the new head coach of the team with Velikov becoming a selectionist. [14]

On 22 April 2019 in a goalless draw against CSKA 1948 the kings secured their first place in Second League and won promotion in the First League for first time in their history, being 18 points ahead from the second and third place five rounds before the end of the season. [15]

Tsarsko selo's first ever match in the Bulgarian First Division resulted in a 0–2 away loss against the actual champion Ludogorets Razgrad. This was followed by a home 0–0 draw to the other debutant Arda Kardzhali. Tsarsko selo's first win came in the fifth round, when the team managed to beat Botev Plovdiv away with 0–2. Two goals for the win were scored by Dutch winger Rodney Antwi. The first home win came in the seventh round with 2–1 against Beroe Stara Zagora. Tsarsko Selo eventually finished 13th, having to play a playoff match in order to remain in the elite. They were drawn against the second-placed team from the Second League, Septemvri Sofia. In a very close fought game played in Sofia, Tsarsko Selo won 2–0, securing their place in the First League for the next season.

Honours

Shirt and sponsor

Tsarsko Selo's main kit was initially red and white and the away kits were black and red. From 2016, the main kit has been all-red, while the reserve ones are all-white. In 2017 team main kit was changed to pink.

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
2015–2017 Joma None
2017–2019 Nike
2019– WINBET

Players

First-team squad
As of 24 December 2020

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  BUL Mihail Ivanov
3 DF  BUL Martin Kavdanski
4 DF  BUL Ivaylo Markov
6 MF  BUL Antonio Georgiev
7 MF  BUL Hristiyan Chipev
8 FW  CYP Panagiotis Louka
9 FW  BUL Stefan Hristov
10 MF  BUL Dimitar Kostadinov
11 MF  BRA Anderson
12 GK  BUL Kiril Troharov
14 DF  BUL Hristo Popadiyn
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF  BUL Reyan Daskalov (captain)
20 MF  BUL Lachezar Baltanov
21 MF  BUL Emanuil Manev
22 DF  ANG Luis Pedro
25 MF  NED Dylan Mertens
30 GK  HAI Johny Placide
44 MF  SRB Alen Stevanović
93 DF  BUL Ivan Bandalovski
98 DF  BUL Dilyan Georgiev
— MF  CYP Giannis Gerolemou (on loan from AEL Limassol)
— MF  BUL Martin Popov

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2020 and Transfers winter 2021.

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
No. Pos. Nation Player

Foreign players

Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First Professional League however only three can be used in 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

Notable Players

The footballers enlisted below have international caps for their respective countries or more than 100 caps for Tsarsko Selo. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

Records and notable stats
As of 21 September 2019

Most appearances for the club in First League

RankNameCareerAppearances
1 Georgi Minchev2017–10
– Bozhidar Katsarov2017–10
– Veselin Minev2018–10
– Rodney Antwi2019–10
5 Reyan Daskalov2016–9
– Martin Kavdanski2019–9
7 Antonio Georgiev2018–8
– Wesley Natã2019–8
9 Gustavo Carbonieri2019–7
10 Ivaylo Markov2017–6
– Emanuil Manev2018–6
– Martin Dimitrov2019–6

Most goals for the club in First League

RankNameCareerGoals
1 Rodney Antwi2019–4
2 Georgi Minchev2017–2
3 Anton Karachanakov2019–1
– Antonio Georgiev2018–1
– Wesley Natã2019–1
  • Players in bold are still playing for Tsarsko Selo.


Club Records
  • Biggest home win in First League: Tsarsko Selo 2–1 Beroe Stara Zagora (23 August 2019)
  • Biggest away win in First League: Botev Plovdiv 0–2 Tsarsko Selo (10 August 2019)
  • Biggest home loss in First League: Tsarsko Selo 0–2 Levski Sofia (5 August 2019)
  • Biggest away loss in First League: Ludogorets Razgrad 2–0 Tsarsko Selo (13 July 2019), Dunav Ruse 3–1 Tsarsko Selo (26 July 2019)
  • Unbeaten streak in First League (single season): 3 (2019–20)
  • Most consecutive wins in First League (single season): 2 (2019–20)

Past seasons
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria)Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria)Regional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)
Season League Place W D L GF GA Pts Bulgarian Cup
2015–16A RFG (IV)2nd2015922161not qualified
2016–17Second League (II)5th14610543948First Round
2017–18Second League (II)3rd1965562863Second Round
2018–19Second League (II)1st2442682776First Round
2019–20First League (I)13th9418275031First Round
Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation.

Club officials

Board of directors
Position Name Nationality
PresidentEmil Enev
Executive DirectorEmil Enev
Sports DirectorIvo Andreevski
Administrative Director Tihomir Alexov
Director of Youth AcademyValeryi Damyanov

Current technical body
Position Name Nationality
ManagerLyuboslav Penev
Assistant CoachPedro Carassco
Goalkeeper CoachYordan Yordnov
PhysiotherapistViktor Valchanov
DoctorEmilia Kamenova
Media Vesko Valchev
U19 CoachKemal Rashidov

Manager history
Name Nat From To Honours
Todor Yanchev 28 December 2015 29 October 2016
Nikola Spasov 29 October 2016 3 January 2018
Veselin Velikov 3 January 2018 8 May 2018
Velislav Vutsov 8 May 2018 1 June 2018
Nikola Spasov 1 June 2018 1 April 2020 1 Second League title
Vladimir Vutov 4 April 2020 30 April 2020
Lyuboslav Penev 30 April 2020

References
  1. Академия "Царско село" набира деца
  2. Бивш капитан на ЦСКА поема академия "Царско село"
  3. Стойне Манолов: Царско село ще си партнира с Малага
  4. Тодор Янчев поема отбор от Югозападната В група
  5. "Стойне Манолов: Българският футбол няма бъдеще без ЦСКА". Focus-sport.net. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  6. "Царско село" и "Левски" (Карлово) допълниха състава на Втора лига
  7. Царско село с равенство в дебюта си във Втора лига
  8. Левски на осминафинал след феноменален гол
  9. Никола Спасов пое отбор от Втора лига
  10. Голеада на Царско село
  11. Царско село продължава напред за Купата на България
  12. Бивш президент на Астана посрещна Никола Спасов в Казахстан
  13. Веселин Великов е новият треньор на Царско село
  14. Вили Вуцов се завърна в родния футбол
  15. ЦСКА 1948 се провали срещу 10 от Царско село, Първа лига официално има нов член
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