PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in European football
| Club | Ludogorets Razgrad |
|---|---|
| First entry | 2012–13 UEFA Champions League |
| Last entry | 2014–15 UEFA Champions League |
PFC Ludogorets Razgrad is an association football club from Razgrad, Bulgaria. It had participated in three seasons of UEFA competitions, including three in Champions League and one in UEFA Europa League, where it reached the round of 16.
Ludogorets' first match in European competitions was in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia. Since then, the club competes in Europe in an annual basis with variable success.
Ludogorets' best European performance came in 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, when the team won a group against PSV Eindhoven, Chornomorets Odessa and Dinamo Zagreb, being the first Bulgarian team to win a UEFA Europa League group, and later reached round of 16, after two memorable matches against Lazio, including a 1–0 away win and a 3–3 home draw, but were eventually knocked out by Valencia. Then, in the 2014–15 season, Ludogorets became the second Bulgarian team to reach UEFA Champions League group stages (the first being Levski Sofia in 2006–07) after beating Steaua București 6–5 at penalties and the first one to score points in this phrase following a 1–0 victory over FC Basel.
Ludogorets' record win in Europe is a 4–0 victory over F91 Dudelange in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League.
History
After winning the 2011–12 Bulgarian first football division Ludogorets were entered in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League for the 2012–13 season, where they were beaten 3–4 on aggregate by Dinamo Zagreb.
Europa League 2013–14 round of 16
As 2012–13 Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets played in the 2013–14 Champions League where they came through the qualifiers, in the second round. They were drawn against Slovan Bratislava. In the first leg at Bratislava, Ludogorets lost 1–2 against Slovak champions, keeping poor chances to advance. Despite this, Ludogorets obtained their first victory in the UEFA Champions League, after beating Slovan 3–0 at Ludogorets Arena in Razgrad and advanced the second qualyfing round for the first time in their European history. Then, they were drawn against Serbian champions, Partizan Belgrade which they beat 2–1 at Razgrad and 1–0 at Belgrade to qualify for the play-off round and, indirectly, to obtain their very first qualification in the group stages of a European competition. The team was drawn against FC Basel and lost 2–4 at Razgrad and 0–2 at Basel, being eliminated, but earning the right to play in the Europa League.
Ludogorets were drawn in Group B of the 2013–14 Europa League, against PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb and Chornomorets Odessa. At their debut in the competition, Ludogorets won 2–0 at Eindhoven over PSV, obtaining their first European group stages victory. On matchday 2, Ludogorets won 3–0 against Dinamo Zagreb, as a revenge for the early elimination from last season's Champions League. On matchday 3, Ludogorets again won 1–0 against Chornomorets Odessa, becoming the first Bulgarian team to begin their group stage participation in European tournaments with three consecutive wins without conceding any goal. On matchday 4, they dropped the only points in a 1–1 home draw with Chornomorets Odesa. On matchday 5, Ludogorets win 2-1 at Zagreb against Dinamo.[1] On the last matchday, Ludogorets again won 2–0 over PSV at Sofia and qualified for the round of 32 as group winners, with 16 points, being the only Bulgarian team undefeated in UEFA Europa League group stages. In the round of 32, Ludogorets were drawn against Italian cup holders, Lazio. In the first leg, held on Stadio Olimpico at Roma, Ludogorets won 1-0, with striker Roman Bezjak scoring the winning goal in a historic win. At Vasil Levski Stadium, Ludogorets hold Lazio in a 3–3 draw, after Lazio had a 2–0 lead, until Bezjak and Hristo Zlatinski scored for 2–2. Later, Lazio scored for 3–2, but Juninho Quixada scored the equaliser for a 4–3 aggregate win,.[2] In the round of 16, Ludogorets hosted Spanish team Valencia, but were defeated 0–3, suffering their first defeat in the UEFA Europa League. In the second leg at Mestalla Stadium, Ludogorets were again defeated 0–1 by Valencia and eliminated.[3]
Champions League 2014–15 group stages
In the 2014–15 Champions League, Ludogorets again won both their qualifiers, against F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg and Partizan Belgrade.[4][5] In the play-off they defeated Steaua București to reach the group stage for the first time.[6] Goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was dismissed for a second yellow card in the last minute of extra time in the second leg, when Ludogorets had used all their substitutes. In the penalty shoot-out, centre-back Cosmin Moți, having converted the first penalty, went in goal and made two saves to put Ludogorets through 6–5 on penalties.[7]
Ludogorets made their debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014, grabbing a 1-1 equalizer away against Liverpool in the 90th minute scored by Dani Abalo, but in an eventual 1-2 loss,[8] because the newly signed goalkeeper Milan Borjan then gave away a penalty with a foul on Javi Manquillo, which Steven Gerrard converted to give Liverpool the victory.[9] Ludogorets made their home debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 1 October 2014, scoring a goal in the 6th minute through Ludogorets' attacking midfielder Marcelinho against the current Champions League champion Real Madrid, but in an eventual 1–2 loss.[10] Interestingly, in this game Cristiano Ronaldo took two penalties, with first saved by the Ludogorets' goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov and second converted into goal for a 1-1 equalizer.[11] On 22 October 2014, Yordan Minev scored his first goal for Ludogorets, scoring a last-minute winning goal in a 1–0 home win over Basel in the group stage of the Champions League.[12] However, on matchday 4, Ludogorets were defeated 0-4 by Basel at St. Jakob-Park, suffering their worst defeat in the European competitions. On 26 November 2014, Dani Abalo scored in the 3rd minute and Georgi Terziev scored his first goal in the 88th minute, getting a 2–2 equalizer against Liverpool, in an eventual 2-2 draw.[13] On the last matchday, Ludogorets were beaten 0-4 at Santiago Bernabéu by Real Madrid, ending their UEFA Champions League adventure on the fourth place, with 4 points, becoming the first Bulgarian team to record points in that competition when they defeated Basel. This was also the first home win for a Bulgarian team in the UEFA Champions League, and was followed by a 2-2 home draw with Liverpool.
Total statistics
| Competition | S | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 3 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 27 | −2 |
| UEFA Europa League | 1 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 9 | +6 |
| Total | 3 | 29 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 40 | 36 | +4 |
As of 26 November 2014
Statistics by country
| Country | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Croatia |
GNK Dinamo Zagreb | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | + 3 |
| Subtotal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | + 3 | |
 England |
Liverpool F.C. | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | − 1 |
| Subtotal | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | − 1 | |
 Italy |
Lazio FC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | + 1 |
| Subtotal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | + 1 | |
 Luxembourg |
F91 Dudelange | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | + 4 |
| Subtotal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | + 4 | |
 Netherlands |
PSV Eindhoven | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | + 4 |
| Subtotal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | + 4 | |
 Romania |
FC Steaua București | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ± 0 |
| Subtotal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ± 0 | |
 Serbia |
FK Partizan | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | + 2 |
| Subtotal | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | + 2 | |
 Slovakia |
ŠK Slovan Bratislava | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | + 2 |
| Subtotal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | + 2 | |
 Spain |
Real Madrid CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | − 5 |
| Valencia CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | – 4 | |
| Subtotal | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | – 9 | |
 Switzerland |
FC Basel | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | – 7 |
| Subtotal | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | – 7 | |
 Ukraine |
FC Chornomorets Odesa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | + 1 |
| Subtotal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | + 1 | |
| Total | 29 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 40 | 36 | + 4 | |
As of 26 November 2014
Statistics by competition
UEFA Champions League / European Cup
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Second qualifying round | Croatia |
Dinamo Zagreb | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–4 |
| 2013–14 | Second qualifying round | Slovakia |
Slovan Bratislava | 3–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Third qualifying round | Serbia |
Partizan | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| Play-off round | Switzerland |
Basel | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–6 | |
| 2014–15 | Second qualifying round | Luxembourg |
F91 Dudelange | 4–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| Third qualifying round | Serbia |
Partizan | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 (a) | |
| Play-off round | Romania |
Steaua București | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 (6–5 p.) | |
| Group stage (B) | Spain |
Real Madrid | 1–2 | 0–4 | 4th | |
| Switzerland |
Basel | 1–0 | 0–4 | |||
| England |
Liverpool | 2–2 | 1–2 | |||
| 2015–16 | Second qualifying round |  Moldova |
Milsami Orhei | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup
| Season | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Group stage (B) | Netherlands |
PSV Eindhoven | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1st |
| Croatia |
Dinamo Zagreb | 3–0 | 2–1 | |||
| Ukraine |
Chornomorets Odesa | 1–1 | 1–0 | |||
| Round of 32 | Italy |
Lazio | 3–3 | 1–0 | 4–3 | |
| Round of 16 | Spain |
Valencia | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–4 | |
Records
- Ludogorets is the second Bulgarian team to reach UEFA Champions League group stages in 2014-15 season, the first being Levski Sofia in 2006–07.
- Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to begin their group stage participation in European tournaments with three consecutive wins, when in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage they recorded consecutive wins against PSV Eindhoven (2–0), Dinamo Zagreb (3–0) and Chornomorets Odesa (1–0), without conceding a goal in any of the games.
- After the end of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage, Ludogorets became the first Bulgarian team to record eight wins in European competition in a single season, as well as the first Bulgarian team to record four away wins in European competitions in a single season.
References
- ↑ Europa League: Ludogorets win 2-1 at Dinamo Zagreb in Group B, Sky Sports, 12 December 2013
- ↑ Europa League: Ludogorets progress after 4–3 victory over Lazio, Sky Sports, 27 February 2014
- ↑ Europa League: Valencia beat Ludogorets 1–0 to reach quarter-finals, Sky Sports, 20 March 2014
- ↑ Dudelange striker Turpel frustrates Ludogorets, UEFA.com, 22 July 2014
- ↑ Ludogorets squeeze out Partizan, UEFA.com, 6 August 2014
- ↑ Ludogorets Razgrad win 6-5 on penalties, BBC, 27 August 2014
- ↑ "Ludogorets defender Cosmin Moti stands in for sent off goalkeeper before making vital penalty shootout saves to send Bulgarians through to Champions League group stage". Daily Mail. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ↑ "Liverpool 2–1 Ludo Razgd". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ "Liverpool 2-1 Ludo Razgd". BBC Sport. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ↑ Real Madrid recover to down dogged Ludogorets
- ↑ Real Madrid recover to down dogged Ludogorets
- ↑ "Ludogorets 1-0 Basel: Minev snatches victory at the death against 10-man Swiss champions". goal.com. 22 October 2014.
- ↑ "Liverpool hit by late Ludogorets leveller". UEFA.com. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
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