FC Dobrudzha Dobrich

Dobrudzha

File:FC Dobrudzha Dobrich 2018 emblem.png
Full name	Football club Dobrudzha Dobrich
Founded	1919 (1919)
Ground	Stadion Druzhba, Dobrich
Ground Capacity	12,500
Chairman	Spiridon Spiridonov / Sergey Serafimov
Manager	Radomir Todorov
League	Second League
2022–23	Second League, 13th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

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.

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

• First League
  • 7th place: 1995–96
• Bulgarian Cup
  • Semi-finalists: 1946, 1947, 1980
• Second League
  • Winners (1): 1965–66

History

File:FC Dobrudzha Dobrich.png

Previous crest used until 2018.

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

As of 14 January 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Georgi Argilashki (vice-captain) 3 DF Dimitar Pirgov 4 DF Boris Ivanov 8 MF Milen Gamakov 9 FW Preslav Yordanov 12 MF Emanuil Manev 13 DF Kristian Varbanov 14 DF Stiliyan Nikolov 15 MF Osman Sheriff (vice-captain) 19 MF Ivaylo Klimentov 26 DF Ivan Jechkov Ivanov (captain)

No. Position Player 27 DF Abdul Rahman Alhassan 28 DF Zdravko Serafimov 31 FW Andrian Dimitrov 87 FW Stefan Traykov 88 MF Svetoslav Nikolov 98 MF Aleksandar Stefanov GK Aleksey Andreev DF Nikolay Zhelyaskov MF Paulo Soares MF Bruno Amado MF Buá FW Preslav Slavkov FW Sofiane Dia FW Julius Kasparavičius

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2023 and Transfers winter 2023–24.

Statistics

League positions

Seasons

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

Players Players with most matches played for the team in A PFG:

Nationality	Player	Number of matches
	Rumen Boev	212
	Diyan Bozhilov	200
	Rumen Slavov	over 180
	Svetoslav Krastev	over 160
	Atanas Georgiev	over 140

Players with most goals, scored in A PFG:

Nationality	Player	Goals
	Diyan Bozhilov	25
	Georgi Manolov	23
	Rumen Boev	18
	Serge Yoffou	15
	Risto Milosavov	14

Former managers

• 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

External links

• 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