FM11: CSKA (Sofia). The Bulgarian giant!

[Buttk0]

Welcome to the official CSKA (Sofia) thread. Hope you enjoy!

http://pfkcska.sportal.bg/en/home - Official site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PFC_CSKA_Sofia - Wikipedia page.

http://www.gamefront.com/files/20426970/CSKA+Sofia+Update.xml - The update.

Before you start, I should tell you that you won’t be able to fully enjoy your career in Bulgaria if you don’t use this. This is the winter transfer updates (because SI missed some) and a little artistic touch especially for CSKA. Nothing fancy just some minor updates. Thank you.

__________________________________________________Brief History..

Before you read further anything about CSKA (Sofia) you’ll have to be familiar with all their names in order to not get confused. CSKA has carried a plethora of names throughout its history. In chronological order, they are as follows:

• Septemvri pri CDV, September at the Central House of the Troops in 1948 and 1948/49.

• Narodna Voiska, People's Troops in 1950.

• C.D.N.V., Central House of the People's Troops in 1951 and 1952.

• Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon, Team of the Sofia's garrison in 1953.

• CDNA, Central House of the People's Army from 1954 and until the 1961/62 season.

• CSKA "Cherveno zname", CSKA "Red Flag" between 1962/63 and 1967/68.

• CSKA "Septemvriysko zname", CSKA "September's flag" between 1968/69 and 1984/85.

• CFKA "Sredets", Central Football Club of the Army "Sredets" from 1985/86 and until 1988/89.

• CSKA, CSKA - Central Sports Club of the Army since 1989/90 to present days.

Nickname(s) : The Army Men (Armeytsite), The Reds (Chervenite)

So we begin!

PFC CSKA Sofia, commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia (internationally) is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. The club's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army At present, however, the club does not have any direct ties to the Bulgarian Army. Since its formation, CSKA has won 31 A PFG titles and 19 national cups and is the best performing Bulgarian football club based on the all-time national statistics. Internationally, CSKA has reached two European Cup semi-finals, four European Cup quarter-finals and one Cup Winners' Cup semi-final, also making it the best performing Bulgarian club in European club competitions.The club's home colours are red and white. CSKA's official home ground is the Bulgarska Armia (Bulgarian Army) Stadium with a capacity of 22,015 spectators, but because of its bad condition and planned future reconstruction, home matches are currently played at the Vasil Levski National Stadium. To date, the club's biggest rivals are Levski Sofia, and matches between the two sides are commonly referred to as The Eternal Derby in Bulgaria.

__________________________________________________The very beginning..

On October 28, 1923, Sofia football clubs Athletic Sofia (founded in 1910 as Klub Futbol) and Slava Sofia (founded in 1916) merged into Athletic Slava 1923, or AS-23 (short for Officer's Sports Club Athletic Slava 1923), under the patronage of the Ministry of War, which provided the equipment. In 1931, AS-23 won the Bulgarian championship and The Tsar's Cup, followed by another Tsar's Cup in 1941. The stadium of AS-23 was named Athletic Park (finished in 1938) and was on the spot where the Bulgarska Armia stadium now resides.

On November 9, 1944, with the partnership of Mihail Mihaylov, an accountant at the Ministry of War and a patron of Shipka Sofia, a unifying agreement was signed, merging AS-23, the then united team of Shipka-Pobeda, and Spartak (Poduene) to form Chavdar Sofia. Gen. Vladimir Stoychev from AS-23, who at the time was fighting on the front in World War II, was appointed (by telegram) as the new club's chairman. Lawyer Ivan Bashev, a future Bulgarian foreign minister, was appointed club secretary and the person in charge of football. Chavdar played at Athletic Park, which was soon after renamed Chavdar Stadium. The coaching position was given to Bulgarian middleweight boxing champion Konstantin Nikolov, who mainly oversaw the players' physical training, while team captain Nako Chakmakov was in charge of tactics. With the help of Mihail Mihaylov, on February 15th, 1948, Chavdar became the departmental club of the Central House of the Troops ("Centralnia Dom na Voiskata") and took on the name of CDV. Major Ivan Mirski was chosen as the club chairman.

__________________________________________________1948–1962..

In May 1948, an agreement was signed between FC Septemvri Sofia and CDV for uniting under the name of "Septemvri pri CDV" (Septemvri at CDV). The board of the newly created club included the following members: Honorable Chairman - Lt. Gen. Georgi Damyanov, the Minister of Defense, Chairman - Maj. Gen. Boyan Balgaranov; Deputy Chairman - Col. Tashev, Petar Mihaylov, Aleksandar Valchev, and Lyubcho Kralev, plus five more members. The contract was signed on the 5th of May, 1948, which is officially considered the club's date of foundation. The club's first official game took place on May 19, 1948, against Slavia Sofia at Yunak stadium - 1:1. Septemvri pri CDV eliminated Aprilov (Gabrovo) and Spartak Varna on its way to the finals.

The team reached the national final, where it faced Levski Sofia, losing 1:2 in the first match. The decisive second match took place on September 9th, 1948, under referee Stefan Danchev. Septemvri pri CDV consisted of: Stefan Gerenski, Borislav Futekov, Manol Manolov, Dimitar Cvetkov, Nikola Aleksiev, Nako Chakmakov (captain), Dimitar Milanov, Stoyne Minev, Stefan Bozhkov, Nikola Bozhilov, and Kiril Bogdanov. Goalscorers: Dimitar Milanov (2) and Nako Chakmakov (1). It was an emotional 3:1 victory, sealed by Nako Chakmakov with a last-minute goal, giving Septemvri pri CDV its first championship title.

In 1950, the definition of "Narodna" (Peoples) was added to the name of the Central House of the Troops, changing it to Central House of the People's Troops (Centralen Dom na Narodnata Voiska), or C.D.N.V. for short, effectively changing the club's name as well. The following two years, C.D.N.V. won two titles in a row. In 1951, the Army club clinched their first double. In 1953, the club was renamed by the authorities again, this time to "Otbor na Sofiyskiya Garnizon" (Team of the Sofia Garrison), and most of the key players were illegally transferred out. The title was lost undeservedly. The following year, the club was renamed to CDNA (Central House of the People's Army), and the years between 1954 and 1962 marked one of the most successful periods for The Reds, who won 9 consecutive championship titles, an unprecedented achievement in Bulgarian football to this day.

__________________________________________________1960s..

In 1962, CDNA was united with DSO "Cherveno Zname" to form CSKA "Cherveno Zname" (Central Sports Club of the Army "Red Flag"). The Central House of the People's Troops ceased its affiliation with the club, which was taken over by the Ministry of People's Defense. CSKA finished third after Spartak Plovdiv and Botev Plovdiv in the 1962-63 season. The following season, CSKA had its worst performance in the Bulgarian championship to date, finishing 11th in the final table. The famous coach of the Army Men, Krum Milev, was released after the end of the championship. CSKA did not recapture the title until 1966. During the 1966-67 season, CSKA reached the semi finals of the European Cup, where after two 1:1 draws with Inter Milano, a third match was played which CSKA lost 0:1. The next two seasons were again unaccomplishing for The Army Men, as they finished in fifth and second place consecutively. CSKA was again joined with Septemvri Sofia in 1968, and the club took on the name of CSKA "Septemvriysko Zname" (CSKA "September's Flag"). The team clinched the title in 1968-69 with the help of recent acquisition Petar Zhekov, who won the Golden Shoe as the top goalscorer in Bulgaria.

__________________________________________________1970s..

From 1971 to 1973, CSKA won three consecutive titles and eliminated three-times European champion AFC Ajax 2:1 on aggregate (0:1 and 2:0) in the 1973–74 European Cup. In the 1/4 finals, the Army Men lost 1:4 to Bayern Munich in the first leg in Germany and bowed out of the competition after winning 2:1 at home. Between 1975 and 1979, the club won two more titles.

__________________________________________________1980s..

Season 1980-81 was again a memorable one for CSKA Sofia, winning the Bulgarian championship once more and twice beating European champion Nottingham Forest, both times with 1:0, before being stopped by the future European Champion Liverpool FC with a 6:1 on aggregate in the quarter finals of the European Cup. The very next season, CSKA reached their second European Cup semi final in a row, eliminating Spanish champions Real Sociedad, Glentoran F.C., and reigning European Champion Liverpool after losing 0:1 in England and wining 2:0 at home with two goals by Stoycho Mladenov. In the semi final, the Reds again faced Bayern Munich. The first leg was held in Sofia and started with a full dominance over Bayern, as by the 18th minute CSKA were leading 3:0 in front of 85 000 spectators who saw the European final in their dreams. But the final result was 4:3 for CSKA. In Munich, the club suffered a 4:0 defeat and left the competition. In the domestic championship, CSKA did not let go of the title until the 1984-85 season, where they fell in second behind Levski, but managed to reach the Bulgarian Cup final.

__________________________________________________1990s..

The name CSKA was restored for the 1989-90 season and the club won the title again. In March 1991, Valentin Mihov was chosen as president of CSKA. The club bought some of the most talented Bulgarian players, including Yordan Letchkov, Ivaylo Andonov, Stoycho Stoilov among others. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense concluded their cooperation with the club. Despite numerous problems the club had with veterans, army officials, and fans that season, CSKA won the title again in 1992. They were later eliminated in the first round of the Champions League by Austria Vienna after losing 1:3 in Vienna and winning 3:2 in Sofia. In the meantime, Valentin Mihov became president of the Bulgarian Football Union and Petar Kalpakchiev was chosen as president of CSKA. Kalpakchiev wrangled with the club's administration over their decisions to replace several coaches, one of which was Gjoko Hadžievski, considered to be leading the club in the right direction, and eventually Kalpakchiev was fired. The owner of the Multigroup conglomerate, Iliya Pavlov, took over the chairman's position, but ultimately his sponsorship also proved insufficient to overcome the club's ineffective management. Five coaches were changed in just one season, with Tsvetan Yonchev being coach for just one day. In Europe, CSKA beat Juventus F.C. 3:2 in the first round of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup, but the result was annulled by UEFA because of the delayed player-indexing of Petar Mihtarski. Juventus were awarded a 3:0 victory. In the second leg in Torino, with the consequences of that decision hanging over them, CSKA succumbed to a 5:1 defeat.

In the summer of 1995, CSKA made a strong selection and eventually the club included half of the youth national football team of Bulgaria. Plamen Markov was appointed coach, but after a disappointing first half of the season, he was replaced by Georgi Vasilev, who had previously won three Bulgarian titles (one with FC Etar Veliko Tarnovo and two with Levski Sofia). Vasilev managed to win a double with CSKA for the 1996-1997 season, entering the second qualifying round of the Champions League against Steaua Bucharest. After a dramatic 3:3 in Romania, CSKA fell 0:2 at home. Vasilev was unexpectedly released from the club at the beginning of the second half of the 1997-98 season after a 3:0 win over PFC Spartak Pleven. Coach Petar Zehtinski took his place. That year, the club saw the return of Hristo Stoichkov, Emil Kostadinov, and Trifon Ivanov, but the three of them argued for the captain's band. Stoichkov played in just four matches and left CSKA right before the derby with Levski to play for a club in Saudi Arabia. After the end of the season, Trifon Ivanov also left the club. CSKA finished the season in third place.

In the summer of 1998, Dimitar Penev took the lead as coach for a second time. CSKA reached the second round of the UEFA Cup, and won the Bulgarian Cup, but disappointed in the domestic league, finishing in fifth place in 1998-99. That season, the young talents of Martin Petrov, Stilian Petrov, Dimitar Berbatov, and Vladimir Manchev started to play a bigger role in the team. There were problems with player-indexing due to some unpaid obligations to FC Neftohimik. In the domestic championship, CSKA had only 16 players registered for the 1999-00 season and some un-indexed players took part in official UEFA games. Consequently, at the shareholders meeting at the end of 1999, the club ownership was transferred to businessman Vasil Bozhkov, who became majority owner.

__________________________________________________The new millennium..

CSKA (Sofia)’s modern history ain’t that bright to be precise. Ever since the new millennium started CSKA (Sofia) had won only 3 Domestic titles – 2003, 2005, 2008. And the proper celebration was always darkened by some scandals. All until 2008 when everything almost collapsed.

__________________________________________________The 2008 crisis..

In June 2008, only days after CSKA won its 31st title, UEFA notified the Bulgarian Football Union(BFU) that the club would not receive a license for participating in the UEFA Champion's League because of unpaid obligations. The BFU then speculated that this could also result in CSKA not being able to take part in the domestic championship, effectively turning it into an amateur club. Attempts to arrange a settlement with UEFA proved unsuccessful and CSKA lost its right to compete in the UEFA Champions League in favor of runners-up PFC Levski Sofia. The person widely blamed for the crisis was president Alexander Tomov, who resigned shortly after and was arrested and tried for embezzling millions of levas from CSKA and Kremikovtzi AD.

The problems with the license exposed the club's weak financial situation and led to chaos and panic, prompting many of the key players to flee, including coach Stoycho Mladenov himself, who left saying he was not happy with the fire sale of so many important players. The future of CSKA looked grim, its status as a professional club hanging in the balance. In the midst of the crisis, Dimitar Penev was given the coach's job for the third time and burdened with the task of saving the club. With almost all senior players gone, Penev was left to rely on members of the CSKA youth squad. Ultimately, CSKA managed to fulfill all licensing requirements set by the BFU and was allowed to compete in the A PFG. Despite all the difficulties, and to the surprise of the whole football community, Penev's young squad claimed the Bulgarian Super Cup in August 2008, overcoming PFC Litex Lovech by 1:0.

__________________________________________________Season 2010 – 2011..

As usual, things for the club started with a scandal and let’s hope they do not finish with one too. At the beginning of the season the coaches Lyuboslav Penev, then followed by Adalbert Zafirov and then fired were followed by the hiring of Pavel Dochev. His spell at CSKA's helm was only few months and the club started the season awful. Then again, another coach was fired and on his place Gjore Jovanovski was hired. The Macedonian got sacked few months afterwards. And on his place Milen Radukanov was hired who doesn’t even have the proper documents to be a head coach. This is why in the officials list Sasho Borisov as head coach but he is doing more of an assistant manager job. Milen is the one controlling the team.

With his arrival CSKA finally breath some fresh air. Destroying their fierce rivals – Levski Sofia on their home stadium by 1:3. Followed by some good results against weak opponents. Unfortunately the season is not over and as history shows, we can always except bitter surprises. The run continues but the fans are still angry at the owners and the majority of fans even boycott CSKA's home games. How long will this continues.. nobody knows!

In order to not bore you to death with history lesson and, frankly, I don’t believe that anyone will read through this whole thing I’ll quickly post a photo and brief info about CSKA stadium and off we go to more interesting in game facts.

__________________________________________________Stadium..

Balgarska Armiya Stadium

(this was the best picture I managed to find)

The team's home stadium, Bulgarska Armiya, was completed in 1967 and stands on the same spot as its predecessor, Athletic Park. It is situated in the Borisova gradina park, named after Bulgarian tsar Boris III, in the center of Sofia. The stadium has four sectors with a total of 22,015 seats, of which 2,100 are covered. The pitch length is 106 meters and the width is 66 meters. The sports complex also includes tennis courts, a basketball court, and gymnastics facilities, as well as the CSKA Sofia Museum of Glory. The press conference room has 80 seats.

In 2010, the stadium was closed as the construction of a new stadium was planned and currently CSKA is playing their home games at the national stadium Vasil Levski.

EDIT: I have changed the home stadium to Balgarska Armiya in my update because just yesterday CSKA received the stadium on concession so they will be back at home in no time.

Please excuse me for that sprawling history lesson but I think that when you start playing a club you should first know it's history. At least that's what I do. And, hey, maybe some of you guys will love CSKA (Sofia) and play on regular basis, nobody knows. If you're not satisfied of the threads size, please, don't read it or just skip parts. CSKA is a small club with not so bright history as the Europian giants, it fits in one page, take your time and read it in other case don't judge or complain.

[Buttk0]

__________________________________________________In game Information..

Finally, the interesting part.

- In game info screen -

Nation : Bulgarian

Year Found : 1948

Status : Professional

Reputation : National

Chairman Status : Will listen to offers

Legend : Dimitar Penev, Dimitar Berbatov, Martin Petrov, Hristo Stoichkov

Icons : Dimitar Yakimov, Todor Yanchev, Lyuboslav Penev, Petar Zhekov, Stoycho Mladenov, Ivan Zafirov

Fierce Rivals : Levski

Other Rivals : Litex, Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Lokomotiv (Sofia), Slavia (Sofia)

- Financial status -

Finances : Okay

Average Ticket Price : £5.40

Average Season Ticket Price : £90.00

Season Ticket Holders : 18375

Estiamted Value : £8M (Loan Debt: £2.8M)

- Kits -

Home & Away

__________________________________________________Season Expectation..

I’ll advise you to choose ‘Title Challenge’. Not because you have a weak team, no, you’re team is fully capable of winning the ‘A’ Group in the first year and with the fragile average year you have enough potential to win it for many years to come with no big money spendings. The reason to choose Title Challenge is because is better to overachieve than just achieve but it’s completely up to you! Spend the money wisely

[Buttk0]

__________________________________________________Tactics..

Here are the most suitable formations for the squad you have available:

__________________________________________________First team line up..

Your first team probably should look like so:

Goalkeepers: Your first choice beneath the woodworks should be Ivan Karadzhov. He is young and still developing so he is not as stable as you’d want. He is making some terrible mistakes so probably in the first transfer window you should look for a replacement. The other two keepers available in the squad Zdravko Chavdarov and Blagoy Makendzhiev are not good. Or maybe not good enough for CSKA (Sofia). You should look to offload someone I’d personally go for Makendzhiev.

Backup: Your backup here should be one of them and I’d recommend Zdravko Chavdarov. You can even use him as a tutor for the youngsters.

Hot Prospect: In the team there is a youngster called Bozhidar Stoychev fist season he is out on loan in Akademik (Sofia) but when he comes back you can use him straight away. The only disadvantage is his age – only 19 and because of that he is prone to making mistakes. If you keep him you won’t do wrong

Who to buy: Marcelo (very good freebie) If you are totally not satisfied with the keepers you have in hand you can try and bring someone in. Another good prospect is Stefano Kunchev from Slavia (Sofia) but in the first season he doesn’t even want to hear about going anywhere so you’ll probably have to wait.

Fullbacks: Your first choice here sould be Rumen Trifonov for DL and Ivan Bandalovski for DR. They are both good, young and very well prepared physically. You should maybe consider buying another DR because in the first team there is no real cover. The DL spot is covered by Fabrizio Grillo. He ain’t that good but if you’re lucky and if you bring couple of good physios you hopefully won’t be needing his service.

Backup: As mentioned Fabrizio Grillo is your left cover but you will have to find one for the DR spot. I advise you to go for someone that will act only as a backup because after the season ends Martin Dechev is coming back from loan at Ludogorets (Razgrad).

Hot Prospect: Martin Dechev and Milen Kikarin. Both young and very promising they play at DR and DL spot respectively.

Who to buy: If I need a cover for DL I’d go for Mihail Venkov from Litex who is cheap at the beginning. About the DR spot you have a great option in the face of Audalio. Another great, young freebie and very versatile too.

Centerbacks: Kostadin Stoyanov and Apostol Popov are the two strongest centerbacks in the squad. Never mind that the ass man states Aquaro is better than Popov. My experience shows that Giuseppe Aquaro is more prone to making very stupid and critical mistakes especially in Europa League.

Backup: Giuseppe Aquaro is good cover for the first two.

Hot Prospects: N\A

Who to buy: Due to lack of any cover and hot prospects you should probably think seriously about the DC spot. I would strongly recommend you Plamen Nikolov from Litex who is easy to get but not that cheap and Georgi Terziev from Chernomorets (Burgas). He is the tough one to lure away. In the first season he is not willing to consider any offer from you and very often he accepts offers from clubs not that big. This makes it even more difficult to buy him. But if you have the opportunity definitely grab it.

Central Midfielder - Right: Here is the captains place. Todor Yanchev is playing here, he is the most determined player in your squad. He is also you playing assistant manager in 11.3 patch. His personality is ‘Leader’ and there is nothing much to say about him. Except that you’ll have to look for cover and maybe someone even better.

Backup: Your backup here is Kosta Yanev but he is no good. You should probably not count on him.

Hot Prospect: Georgi Amzin – not that good tho but iirc an Italian sports magazine recently irl touted him as the Bulgarian Gattuso. Keep him and use him as a deeeep backup. At least in FM11 he is not at all Gattusoesque.

Who to buy: I’d go for Kevin Das Neves or King Gyan. They both look promising and maybe even classy for Bulgarian standarts. They are both freebies and you can even make a profit out of them.

Central Midfielder – Left: This is the strongest position in our squad along side with the wings. You have Marquinhos and Boris Galchev, both very capable and with few years in front of them. In my opinion they are equal but someone more competent when it comes to attributes will spot some significant differences. No need to look for cover first maybe two or even three seasons. Marquinhos along with Spas Delev and Emil Gargorov will be the free kick taker.

Backup: No need for backup in the first season. You should consider bringing a new face maybe after the season ends and it’s for the best if he is young (around 20-21) to step up after Marky/Galchev.

Hot Prospects: N\A

Who to buy: A kid to look for is Litex’s M/AMC Georgi Milanov. Another very promising Bulgarian who does not want to join in the first season. The situation with him is the same as Georgi Terziev. You will be lucky if you secure his signing.

Attacking Midfielder – Center: Emil Gargorov is the one here. Determined enough he will do the job for you for a season or two. You should look for cover because he is the only one in that spot. Marquinhos or Galchev can act as a cover but this is a waste of talent. Tomislav Kostadinov is another available backup but I strongly advise you to retrain him as AML and use him as a cover for Spas Delev.

Backup: N\A

Hot Prospect: N\A

Who to buy: Don’t have anyone to recommend you but if you scavenge through the available players on free transfer you can find someone useful to bring. Ebou Sillah could do the job.

Attacking Midfielder – Left: The next really strong position. Spas Delev is a beast. Use him as an inside forward and instruct him to cut inside and he will score for fun. Really promising and very young he will be you main man for years to come. After two-three years you will receive offers for him from major clubs in Europe. It’s up to you whether you will let him go or no.

Backup: As I mentioned above. You should look to retrain Tommy Kostadinov as AML, he is almost the same as Delev and even younger, he will be your hot prospect and main backup.

Hot Prospects: N\A

Who to buy: I really don’t recommend you to buy anyone here! It’s a waste of money and in Bulgaria every penny is priceless!

Attacking Midfielder – Right: Two equal choices here – Gregory Nelson and Aleksander Tonev. Tonev is still younger tho and Nelson is probably better in the first year. He is better prepared technically and physically. Again like Delev you will be offered big money for them. You choose which one to use but the right role/duty here is Winger/Attack with Hug Touchline instruction. They will pay you up with bags of assists!

Backup: One of them will be your backup. I’d probably choose Gregory Nelson for first team and Tonev as cover.

Hot Prospects: N\A

Who to buy: N\A

Striker: Michel Platini is the right man here. He is not as good as the French master but he will do satisfactory job for you. Maybe you should look to buy someone here. Platini is not that consitant and your available covers are even worse.

Backup: Cillian Sheridan, Stanko Yovchev, Stanislav Kostov, Chetin Sadula. No one worth mentioning except Stanislav Kostov who has:

PA : -7

Hot Prospects: N\A

The others I’d look to sell, and Stanko Yovchev I always release on free transfer. If you’re lucky you will get one star from him which is disgraceful.

Who to buy: Go for Vladimir Yurchenko. 21 year old freebie. Very verastile too I strongly recommend it as a must buy! Another one to take advantage of is Marko Livaja, young and also free.

__________________________________________________Final words about the selection..

As you can see most of your transfers will be on free transfer. This is common practice in Bulgaria. Clubs are not that rich, not at all even and this is the best way to keep stable financial position and to freshen up squads. Good luck.

__________________________________________________Why choose CSKA (Sofia)?

CSKA (Sofia) is the most successful club in Bulgarian history. Having 31 domestic titles will present a very interesting challenge because the fans want their 32 title but there is very big competition for it. Three teams are competing for the gold medals – Levski, Chernomorets (Burgas) and Litex. Will you make the fans happy and bring back the glory days depends on you and your managerial skills! Go for it.

And finally (I promise) – I want to thank ronaldo_1978 for inspiring me to create that thread with his Litex thread. I thought that no one even cares for Bulgaria and there will be absolutely no interest in starting a career with CSKA. The activity in his thread proved me wrong and here it is. I hope you enjoy my work, it’s my first one ever. I’d gladly accept any advices, criticism and even writing corrections because as you can guess I’m from Bulgaria and my English isn’t flawless. Good luck playing and most important – Enjoy!

[Buttk0]

Reserved spot 3 (I don't know for what).

[ronaldo_1978]

Very nice thread mate

[Buttk0]

Thanks! I appreciate your valuation.

[Nottingham Forest]

Agreed a great OP .

[Buttk0]

Hadn't had much time to play but as I can see there is no interest in this thread so it looks like I'll be the only one posting arond here. Just finished my first half of the first season, things are looking good sitting comfortable undefeated on 1st place in Bulgaria. The more surprising thing is that I'm first in Europa League group which I was drawn in. Sitting on top with 2 wins, 3 draws and a single loss.

Here are the transfers:

Transfer Ins + :

+ Ebou Sillah, Free transfer

+ Pape Diop, Free transfer

+ Abderrahman Kabous, Free transfer

+ Vladimir Yurchenko, Free transfer

+ Diogo, Free transfer

+ Marcelo, Free transfer

Total outcome (-) : £0

Transfer Outs - :

- Abderrahman Kabous, to De Graafschap, Season long loan (Ln Fee £75K)

- Blagoy Makendzhiev, to Sliven 2000, Season long loan

- Hristo Davidov, to Pirin (Gotse Delchev), Season long loan

- Lachezar Aleksandrov, Free Transfer

Total income (+) : £75K

And here are the results in EL:

1st Qual. Round

- CSKA (Sofia) 3:1 Kalmar FF

Delev, Yurchenko(2)

2nd Qual. Round

- CSKA (Sofia) 7:3 Unirea Chiajna

Nelson, Sheridan, Kostadinov, Delev, Tonev, Sillah (2)

Europa League Group G:

- AEK 0:2 CSKA (Sofia)

Stoyanov, Sheridan

- CSKA (Sofia) 1:0 Braga

Yanchev

- CSKA (Sofia) 2:2 PSV

Diogo, Marquinhos

- PSV 1:1 CSKA (Sofia)

Delev

- CSKA (Sofia) 3:3 AEK

Sheridan(2), Kostadinov

- Braga 3:2 CSKA (Sofia)

Sheridan(2)

Now I have a relatively easy opponent for the First Knockout Round - Bursaspor.

[ronaldo_1978]

hey pal Your thread will pick up mate, Mine was same at first

[Aretak]

Awesome OP for this thread. Don't have time to play another game myself, but you certainly couldn't have done any more to make CSKA (Sofia) seem more appealing.

[Buttk0]

Season 2010/2011

Okey, few word before the review. The season is over and I should say it was hell of a successful season for my side. As expected I couldn't manage to reach further in Europa League (only to First Knockout Round vs Bursaspor) but the thing that is making me happy is that I was knocked out undefeated. As for the domestic championship I hadn't had much competition and managed to finish undefeated by my rivals and the thing that excites me more is that I managed to set up new defensvie record having conceded only 9 goals until the last match against Cherno more (3-3) where my starting team was full of youngsters and reserves. Thats for the short review, now more detailed information.

• TBI "A" Profesonalna Futbolna Grupa

  
  
  As I said, the defensive record is a fact. 9 goals until my last match is a new thing for me. Never had that opportunity and this is a very big achievement for me. I have a habit once I manage to win the title I start using youngsters or reserves to get some play time in order to not complain and keep them happy. This is the main reason I conceded goals in the final part of the competition. I proved my words that Bulgarian "A" Group is not at all hard to win even in the first season. Maybe that is because I play a big side but still, however I'm not that satisfied with the scored goals, I win but still I have the feeling that my side does not play like I want - thrash opponents. This is bad because I have very strong and explosive attackers. It's maybe my instructions that are not that productive, not the players tho.
  Some vital matches against my fierce rivals - Levski and Litex
  29.8.2010
  - Litex 0-1 CSKA (Sofia)
  Sillah
  24.11.2010
  - Levski 0-1 CSKA (Sofia)
  Delev
  4.3.2011
  - CSKA (Sofia) 1-0 Litex
  Delev
  7.5.2011
  - CSKA (Sofia) 3-0 Levski
  Delev, Yurchenko(2)
  Biggest win this season
  - CSKA (Sofia) 5-1 Pirin (Blagoevgrad)
  Delev, Yurchenko(3), Sillah
  

• Kupa Bulgaria Final

  
  
  A relatively easy game. Nothing much to say except that both goals were a true masterpieces. Both outside the penalty area! Hope that I will be able to defend my title next year and even win the Supercup. Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) are not that hard to beat!
  

• Europa League

  
  I will copy this information from my previous post and only add the games against Bursaspor.
  1st Qual. Round
  - CSKA (Sofia) 3:1 Kalmar FF
  Delev, Yurchenko(2)
  2nd Qual. Round
  - CSKA (Sofia) 7:3 Unirea Chiajna
  Nelson, Sheridan, Kostadinov, Delev, Tonev, Sillah (2)
  Europa League Group G:
  - AEK 0:2 CSKA (Sofia)
  Stoyanov, Sheridan
  - CSKA (Sofia) 1:0 Braga
  Yanchev
  - CSKA (Sofia) 2:2 PSV
  Diogo, Marquinhos
  - PSV 1:1 CSKA (Sofia)
  Delev
  - CSKA (Sofia) 3:3 AEK
  Sheridan(2), Kostadinov
  - Braga 3:2 CSKA (Sofia)
  Sheridan(2)
  First Knockout Round
  - CSKA (Sofia) 5-5 Bursaspor
  Yurchenko(4), Delev
  I must say I'm disappointed. Couldn't have asked for an easier opponent but I blew it. The second game, at home, I was 3-1 in the lead but they managed to equalise me only for 7 minutes. Shame on me I hope next year I can break in Champions League or at least go further than First Knockout Round in Europa League.
  

• The squad:

Few words about it. I'm very satisfied with Spas Delev and Vladimir Yurchenko. They were my main goal-scorers and goal-creators this season. Another one that surprised me is Cillian Sheridan. Never before I used him that much but 31 apps and 17 goals is very good. I will look to keep him for next year or at least look for a reasonable price for him. Diogo was my star man in the defense, capping 34 apps scoring 5 goals and 4 ast with an av rat of 7.29. I will definitely look to make a profit out of him. Was offered £100K from some brasilian club but it was halfway my season and I thought it would be wise to keep him and he payed me back. Hope that the clubs will come back asking for him and I will sell him for sure. Mainly because Martin Dechev is coming back and he is a player that I consider as a future wonderkid and even leader of CSKA (Sofia).

That's for the first season I will write more at the winter break in next season.