Soccer is a significant phenomenon in the Bulgarian everyday life. As in many other European countries, it is the most popular sport. It easily connects people and makes new friendships because after all it is a team game. Soccer is even more popular in Bulgaria during the last decade. One of the main reasons for that is the 4^th place of the Bulgarian National Team at the 1994’ World Cup in the US. That success came in a very important part of the Bulgarian history. It was during the first years of the economic and political transitions that the country had overtaken since the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Many people were dissatisfied of the early results and many unpatriotic arguments arose in the country in the early 1990s. However, the victory of the National Soccer Team united many of the Bulgarians and returned to them hope and faith for better future. That is why soccer plays a considerable role in the Bulgarian society. When talking about Bulgarian soccer, one of the most common topics is Levski vs. CSKA. Those are the two most popular Bulgarian soccer teams.

Both Levski and CSKA are from the capital, Sofia. Everybody has his own opinion about which team is better and very few show indifference. The dispute and importance of the teams is so wide that even when people acquaint each other, one of the first questions they ask in order to get to know each other better is “Which team do you sympathize more – Levski or CSKA?” That dispute is probably going to last forever. The derby games between the two teams are as much significant in Bulgaria as Real Madrid vs. Barcelona in Spain or Glasgow Rangers vs. Celtics in Scotland. Those games are some of the most attended in the Bulgarian Soccer Championship and cause a lot of public attention. The last game between the two teams was held just a few weeks ago and was tied (the final score was 2:2).

However, the game was slightly different than other games played in the last years, because it renewed an old tradition to play all the games between Levski and CSKA not on their own stadiums but on the national stadium, which further proves the national significance of the derby.

For the not acquainted with those two teams, a little history will be probably very useful and interesting. Let’s start with Levski. The team was created in 1911 but was officially registered on 24^th May 1914. The home stadium of Levski is called Georgi Asparuhov. The official team color is blue although the team also used red-yellow uniforms before 1920. Levski has been the National Champion 23 times and has taken the National Cup 24 times. During the communist regime in

Bulgaria, Levski was forced 3 times to change the name of the team. From 1950 to 1957 it was called Dinamo. From 1969 to 1985 it was called Levski-Spartak due to the merger with the team of Spartak (Sofia). From 1985 to 1989 the team was called Vitosha. One of the best players ever of Bulgaria, Georgi Asparuhov – Gundi, played his best years in Levski during the 1960s. In 1977 after beating big teams such as Boavista and Atletiko (Madrid), Levski reached a quarterfinal on the tournament between all National Cup holders in Europe. In addition, Kiril Manolov became the top scorer with 13 goals. He still holds the record for most goals in one single game; he scored 6 goals against Raipas (Lahti).

In 1986 Levski again reached a quarterfinal but this time with the name Vitosha. After the fall of the communist regime which supported CSKA, new prosperous years came for Levski. In almost 150 games between Levski and CSKA in their history, Levski leads with more than 20 victories ahead of CSKA. The game with most goals was in 1994 when Levski won against CSKA with 7:1 goals.

CSKA was created on 5th May 1948. The home stadium of CSKA is called Bulgarian Army and the official team color is red. CSKA has been the National Champion 28 times and has taken the National Cup 18 times. The best success of CSKA in the European tournaments is a quarterfinal for the European Champion Title in 1980/1981. Hristo Stoichkov, one of the best players ever of Bulgaria and current coach of the Bulgarian National Team, debuted in professional soccer with the team of CSKA. In 1990 he was sold to Barcelona where he spent his best years as a soccer player. Stoichkov earned global acclaim after winning the Spanish Primera Division four consecutive times and taking his club to Champions League glory in 1992.

Hristo Stoichkov was awarded Golden ball (France football magazine) and the Golden boot as the top goal scorer of 1994’ World Cup as he miraculously led Bulgaria to the semi-finals. Considered one of the top soccer players of the 20th Century, Hristo Stoichkov is one of the most renowned left-footed soccer players in the world.

Currently Levski and CSKA strive to be more successful in the European tournaments. This will be a tough job since they usually sell all their Bulgarian star players to some of the top Western European Teams. However, no matter what happens, they will always be a major part of the Bulgarian society.

Author: Vasil Sharlanov      Date: 11.01.2004

Used Sources:

• http://www.levski.bg/
• http://www.levskifc.com/
• http://www.levski-cska.tk/
• http://www.cska.bg/
• http://www.ultracska-bg.co.uk/