| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 August 2011 – 23 May 2012 |
| Champions | Ludogorets Razgrad (1st title) |
| Relegated | Vidima-Rakovski,Kaliakra,Svetkavitsa |
| Champions League | Ludogorets Razgrad |
| Europa League | CSKA Sofia Levski Sofia Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 643 (2.68 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Ivan Stoyanov (16 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Levski 7–0Svetkavitsa |
| Biggest away win | Minyor 0–7Ludogorets |
| Highest scoring | Cherno More 7–1Kaliakra Botev 6–2Kaliakra Litex 6–2Lokomotiv |
2012–13 → | |
The2011–12 A Group was the 88th season of theBulgarian national top football division, and the 64th ofA Group as the top tier football league in the country. The season began on 6 August 2011 and ended on 23 May 2012.Ludogorets Razgrad claimed their maiden title in their debut season, after winning the last round clash againstCSKA, which were leading by 2 points prior to the match.[1]Vidima-Rakovski,Kaliakra andSvetkavitsa were relegated, after finishing at the bottom three places.
Akademik Sofia andSliven were directly relegated after finishing in the bottom two places of the table at the end of season2010/11.Akademik were relegated after one year in the top league ofBulgarian football, whileSliven ended athree-year tenure in the top flight. Furthermore,Pirin (Blagoevgrad) were excluded from A Group due to financial difficulties and demoted toV Group.
The relegated teams were replaced byBotev Vratsa, champions ofWest B Group,Ludogorets Razgrad, champions ofEast B Group and promotionplay-off winnersSvetkavitsa. Botev Vratsa returned to A Group aftertwenty-two years, while Ludogorets Razgrad and Svetkavitsa both made their debut on the highest level ofBulgarian football.
There was some controversy regarding the relegation/promotion play-offs at the end of season2010/11. In the original match-up,14th-placedVidima-Rakovski lost3-0 againstB Group play-off winnersChernomorets (Pomorie). However, Pomorie did not receive an A Group licence, so Vidima-Rakovski were spared from relegation. In order to fill the void, a second play-off match was scheduled between Svetkavitsa,4th-placed team of East B Group, andEtar (Veliko Tarnovo),3rd-placed team of West B Group. Svetkavitsa won this match by a score of3-1.
As in the previous year, the league comprises the best thirteen teams of season2010-11, the champions of the twoB Groups and the winners of the promotionplay-offs.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | Stara Zagora | Beroe | 17,800 |
| Botev | Vratsa | Hristo Botev | 32,000 |
| Cherno More | Varna | Ticha | 8,250 |
| Chernomorets | Burgas | Lazur | 18,037 |
| CSKA | Sofia | Balgarska Armiya | 22,015 |
| Kaliakra | Kavarna | Kavarna | 5,000 |
| Levski | Sofia | Georgi Asparuhov | 29,200 |
| Litex | Lovech | Lovech | 7,050 |
| Lokomotiv | Plovdiv | Lokomotiv | 13,800 |
| Lokomotiv | Sofia | Lokomotiv Sofia1 | 22,000 |
| Ludogorets | Razgrad | Ludogorets Arena | 6,000 |
| Minyor | Pernik | Minyor | 8,000 |
| Montana | Montana | Ogosta | 8,000 |
| Slavia | Sofia | Ovcha Kupel | 18,000 |
| Svetkavitsa | Targovishte | Dimitar Burkov | 8,000 |
| Vidima-Rakovski | Sevlievo | Rakovski | 8,816 |
| Team | Manager | Captain[citation needed] | Kit Manufacturer[citation needed] | Shirt Sponsor[citation needed] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe Stara Zagora | Uhlsport | Bulsatcom | ||
| Botev Vratsa | Jumper | |||
| Cherno More Varna | Misho | Armeets | ||
| Chernomorets Burgas | Macron | |||
| CSKA Sofia | Kappa | GLOBUL | ||
| Kaliakra | Uhlsport | Municipality of Kavarna | ||
| Levski Sofia | Nike | VTB Bank | ||
| Litex Lovech | adidas | b-connect | ||
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | Uhlsport | Refan | ||
| Lokomotiv Sofia | Puma | |||
| Ludogorets Razgrad | adidas | Huvepharma | ||
| Minyor Pernik | Jumper | Municipal Insurance Company | ||
| Montana | Jako | GM Capital | ||
| Slavia Sofia | Puma | |||
| Svetkavitsa | Jako | Vinprom Targovishte | ||
| Vidima-Rakovski | Asics | VIDEXIM |
Note: Georgi Ivanov subsequently stepped down and was replaced byYasen Petrov ascaretaker manager at the helm of Levski, withIlian Iliev set to take over prior to the 2012/2013 season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ludogorets Razgrad(C) | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 73 | 16 | +57 | 70 | Qualification forChampions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | CSKA Sofia | 30 | 22 | 3 | 5 | 60 | 19 | +41 | 69 | Qualification forEuropa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Levski Sofia | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 61 | 28 | +33 | 62 | |
| 4 | Chernomorets Burgas | 30 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 57 | 23 | +34 | 60 | |
| 5 | Litex Lovech | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 57 | 28 | +29 | 59 | |
| 6 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 57 | Qualification forEuropa League second qualifying round[a] |
| 7 | Cherno More | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 46 | 25 | +21 | 52 | |
| 8 | Slavia Sofia | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 51 | |
| 9 | Minyor Pernik | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 36 | |
| 10 | Beroe | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 35 | |
| 11 | Montana | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 29 | 51 | −22 | 31 | |
| 12 | Botev Vratsa | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 30 | 44 | −14 | 29 | |
| 13 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 26 | 50 | −24 | 24 | |
| 14 | Vidima-Rakovski(R) | 30 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 19 | 59 | −40 | 15 | Relegation to2012–13 B Group |
| 15 | Kaliakra(R) | 30 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 26 | 77 | −51 | 11 | |
| 16 | Svetkavitsa(R) | 30 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 8 | 71 | −63 | 8 |
| Home \ Away | BSZ | BVR | CHM | CHB | CSK | KAV | LEV | LIT | LPL | LSO | LUD | MIN | MON | SLA | SVE | VRA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beroe | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Botev Vratsa | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 6–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| Cherno More | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 7–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Chernomorets Burgas | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 6–0 | 4–0 | |
| CSKA Sofia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 4–1 | |
| Kaliakra | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| Levski Sofia | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2–1 | |
| Litex Lovech | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 3–0 | |
| Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | |
| Lokomotiv Sofia | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3[a] | 4–1 | 0–1 | |
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | |
| Minyor Pernik | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–7 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | |
| Montana | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Slavia Sofia | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Svetkavitsa | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | |
| Vidima-Rakovski | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Goalkeepers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | (0) | |
| 13 | 2 | (0) | |
| 30 | 0 | (0) | |
| 0 | (0) | ||
| Defenders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | (0) | |
| 4 | 3 | (0) | |
| 5 | 29 | (3) | |
| 20 | 27 | (1) | |
| 25 | 28 | (0) | |
| 26 | 0 | (0) | |
| 33 | 28 | (0) | |
| 77 | 10 | (0) | |
| 3 | (0) | ||
| 1 | (0) | ||
| Midfielders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | (2) | |
| 7 | 28 | (5) | |
| 8 | 27 | (6) | |
| 18 | 29 | (1) | |
| 19 | 14 | (2) | |
| 22 | 27 | (4) | |
| 36 | 11 | (1) | |
| 84 | 25 | (9) | |
| 0 | (0) | ||
| 6 | (0) | ||
| 2 | (0) | ||
| Forwards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 11 | (5) | |
| 23 | 26 | (13) | |
| 27 | 11 | (3) | |
| 73 | 25 | (16) | |
| 9 | (1) | ||
| Manager | |
|---|---|
Below is a list of the top goalscorers at the end of the competition.[13]