FC Dobrudzha (Bulgarian: ФК Добруджа) is a Bulgarian football club based in Dobrich, that competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football.
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| Full name | Football club Dobrudzha Dobrich | ||
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| Founded | 1919 | ||
| Ground | Stadion Druzhba, Dobrich | ||
| Capacity | 12,500 | ||
| Chairman | Spiridon Spiridonov / Sergey Serafimov | ||
| Manager | Todor Kiselichkov | ||
| League | Second League | ||
| 2022–23 | Second League, 13th | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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It plays its home matches at Stadion Druzhba with a capacity of 12,500 seats, and its team colours are green and yellow. The team is named after the Dobruja region, a prominent agricultural area in Northeast Bulgaria.
Honours edit
- First League
- 7th place: 1995–96
- Bulgarian Cup
- Semi-finalists: 1946, 1947, 1980
- Second League
- Winners (1): 1965–66
History edit
Dobrudzha was founded as a union of three clubs, Vihar, Orlov and Slavia, in 1916. The club assumed the names Cherveno zname, Spartak and Septemvri between 1949 and 1957, when it was renamed Dobrudzha after a few other local sport associations joined.
In 1962, Dobrudzha managed to promote to the A Group for the very first time in club history. The maiden season in the top level proved to be a challenge, however, and Dobrudzha was relegated, finishing 15th. Back into the B Group, Dobrudzha barely missed on promotion back to the A Group in 1964, finishing second. In 1966, however, Dobrudzha won the B Group and promoted back to A Group, after three years away. Two consecutive 12th place finishes during the 1966–67 and 1967-68 seasons in the elite followed, where Dobrudzha narrowly avoided relegation twice. The fairytale ended in 1968–69, however, as Dobrudzha finished 15th and was relegated, ending a three year stay in the A Group.
After the relegation in 1969, Dobrudzha spend the next two decades in the B Group, with a second-place finish in 1975 being the closest the team could get in terms of returning to the A Group. After 22 years in the B Group, Dobrudzha finished second during the 1990–91 season, and the long-awaited return to the top tier finally ended. Season 1991–92 marked what would be the golden era for Dobrudzha. After narrowly avoiding relegation and finishing 14th that season, Dobrudzha managed to stabilize in the top level and gradually improved its ranking the following years, with a 13th place finish in 1993, followed by two 12th place finishes the following years. Season 1995–96 is considered the most successful for the club in its entire history, as that is when a 7th place finish was achieved. The next three seasons produced mid-table results, and in 2000, Dobrudzha was relegated back to the B Group, ending the club’s nine consecutive years in the elite.
Dobrudzha managed to finish fifth the following season in the B Group, which was followed by a second place finish in the 2001–02 season, marking a return to the A Group after two years. However, the team was relegated back after only one season. Season 2002–03 remains the last appearance for Dobrudzha in the top tier, as of 2023.
In 2018, Dobrudzha returned to the second tier by winning the 2017–18 Northeast Third League. The team, however, struggled in the second tier, finishing last. In the 2019–20 season, Dobrudzha once more finished first in the third tier, promoting again to the second tier after the season was finished early in March, due to the COVID-19 epidemic in Bulgaria.
Current squad edit
As of 7 March 2024[update]
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 summer 2023 and Transfers winter 2023–24.
Notable players edit
- For all players with a Wikipedia article see Category:FC Dobrudzha Dobrich 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
Sasho Angelov- Diyan Bozhilov
- Simeon Chilibonov
- Ivaylo Dimitrov
- Iliya Dyakov
- Ivo Georgiev
- Daniel Gramatikov
- Rumen Hristov
- Atanas Iliev
- Georgi Kichukov
- Nikolay Kostov
- Ivaylo Lazarov
- Kristiyan Malinov
- Georgi Pashov
- Milen Petkov
- Svetoslav Petrov
- Dimitar Pirgov
- Simeon Simeonov
- Svilen Simeonov
- Stoycho Stoilov
- Stanislav Stoyanov
- Nikolay Todorov
- Svetoslav Todorov
- Iliya Valov
- Mihail Venkov
- Preslav Yordanov
- Ventsislav Zhelev
- Europe
- Africa
Statistics edit
League positions edit
Seasons edit
14 seasons in First League:
| Season | Place |
|---|---|
| 1962/63 | 15th |
| 1966/67 | 12th |
| 1967/68 | 12th |
| 1968/69 | 15th |
| 1991/92 | 14th |
| 1992/93 | 13th |
| 1993/94 | 12th |
| 1994/95 | 12th |
| 1995/96 | 7th |
| 1996/97 | 12th |
| 1997/98 | 11th |
| 1998/99 | 9th |
| 1999/00 | 12th |
| 2002/03 | 13th |
Best wins:
| Home team | Away team | Result | Competition | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFC Dobrudja (Dobrich) | FC Haskovo (Haskovo) | 10:0 | Bulgarian Cup | 2000/01 |
| PFC Rakovski (Ruse) | PFC Dobrudja (Dobrich) | 1:7 | A PFG | 1996/97 |
| PFC Dobrudja (Dobrich) | PFC Beroe (Stara Zagora) | 5:1 | A PFG | 1994/95 |
| PFC Dobrudja (Dobrich) | PFC Septemvri (Sofia) | 5:1 | A PFG | 1998/99 |
Notable persons edit
Players Players with most matches played for the team in A PFG:
| Nationality | Player | Number of matches |
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Rumen Boev | 212 |
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Diyan Bozhilov | 200 |
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Rumen Slavov | over 180 |
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Svetoslav Krastev | over 160 |
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Atanas Georgiev | over 140 |
Players with most goals, scored in A PFG:
| Nationality | Player | Goals |
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Diyan Bozhilov | 25 |
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Georgi Manolov | 23 |
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Rumen Boev | 18 |
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Serge Yoffou | 15 |
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Risto Milosavov | 14 |
Former managers edit
- Iliya Iliev
- Petar Kirov
- Eduard Eranosyan
- Asen Milushev
- Petar Zhekov
- Hristo Milanov
- Kolyo Markov
- Yanko Dinkov
- Dimitar Aleksiev
- Vasil Velikov
- Ivan Manolov
- Boris Nikolov
- Stoyan Kotsev
Ljubomir Veljković- Dimcho Nenov
- Emil Velev
- Svetoslav Petrov
- Atanas Atanasov-Orela
- Sasho Angelov
- Stefan Slavov
- Diyan Bozhilov
- Radomir Todorov
- Todor Kiselichkov
External links edit
- Official website (archived 7 October 2014)
- DOBRUDJA1919.COM – Fansite (archived 20 March 2007)
- Dobrudja1919.com/Gallery – Photo Gallery (archived 2 February 2015)
- Facebook Fanpage
- DDFC1919 YouTube Channel