2008–09 A Group
85th season of top-tier football league in Bulgaria
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The 2008–09 A Group was the 85th season of the Bulgarian national top football division, and the 61st of A Group as the top tier football league in the country. It began on 9 August 2008 and ended on 13 June 2009. CSKA Sofia were the defending champions, but they were unable to retain it and Levski Sofia won the title, which was their 26th overall.
| Season | 2008–09 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 August 2008 – 13 June 2009 |
| Champions | Levski Sofia (26th title) |
| Relegated | Vihren Spartak Belasitsa |
| Champions League | Levski |
| Europa League | CSKA Cherno More Litex (via domestic cup) |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 619 (2.58 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Martin Kamburov (17 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Cherno More 6–0 Belasitsa Levski 6–0 Botev |
| Biggest away win | Belasitsa 1–7 Levski |
| Highest scoring | Vihren 3–5 Chernomorets Belasitsa 1–7 Levski |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
Promotion and relegation
Three teams were promoted from the 2007–08 B Group. These include the champions of the East and West B Groups, as well as the promotion playoff winner, decided through a one match between the runners-up of the two B Groups. The promoted teams were Lokomotiv Mezdra, Sliven, and Minyor Pernik. Lokomotiv Mezdra made their debut in the top tier of Bulgarian football, Sliven return after a fifteen-year absence, while Minyor Pernik return to the top tier after a seven-year absence. The promoted teams replaced Marek Dupnitsa, Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo and Beroe Stara Zagora, who were relegated after respective top flight spells of seven, one, and four years in the A Group.
Teams promoted from B PFG after the 2007–08 season
- West group champions: Lokomotiv Mezdra
- East group champions: OFC Sliven
- Play-offs: Minyor Pernik
Teams relegated to B PFG after the 2007–08 season
Team overview
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levski Sofia (C) | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 57 | 18 | +39 | 69 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | CSKA Sofia | 30 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 54 | 22 | +32 | 68 | Qualification for Europa League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Cherno More | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 48 | 19 | +29 | 60 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Litex Lovech | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 53 | 26 | +27 | 58 | Qualification for Europa League play-off round[a] |
| 5 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 54 | |
| 6 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 43[b] | |
| 7 | Chernomorets Burgas | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 43[b] | |
| 8 | Lokomotiv Mezdra | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 37[c] | |
| 9 | Slavia Sofia | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 37[c] | |
| 10 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 35 | 50 | −15 | 35[d] | |
| 11 | Minyor Pernik | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 24 | 39 | −15 | 35[d] | |
| 12 | Sliven | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 32 | |
| 13 | Botev Plovdiv | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 30 | |
| 14 | Vihren (R) | 30 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 26 | Relegation to 2009–10 B Group |
| 15 | Spartak Varna (R) | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 46 | −27 | 25 | |
| 16 | Belasitsa Petrich (R) | 30 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 24 | 71 | −47 | 17 |
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd head-to-head points; 3rd head-to-head goal difference; 4th head-to-head goals scored; 5th head-to-head away goals scored; 6th goal difference; 7th goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Litex Lovech won the 2008–09 Bulgarian Cup and qualified for the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League.
- Lokomotiv Plovdiv ahead of Chernomorets Burgas on head-to-head record; Chernomorets Burgas–Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1–3, Lokomotiv Plovdiv–Chernomorets Burgas 1–1.
- Lokomotiv Mezdra ahead of Slavia Sofia on head-to-head record; Slavia Sofia–Lokomotiv Mezdra 0–0, Lokomotiv Mezdra–Slavia Sofia 1–0.
- Montana ahead of Slavia Sofia on head-to-head record; Minyor Pernik–Pirin Blagoevgrad 0–0, Pirin Blagoevgrad–Minyor Pernik 1–0.
Results
Champions
- Levski Sofia
| Goalkeepers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Georgi Petkov | 17 | (0) |
| 12 | Bozhidar Mitrev | 7 | (0) |
| 29 |  Daniel Kiss | 3 | (0) |
| 31 | Tsvetan Dimitrov | 3 | (0) |
| Defenders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Viktor Genev | 14 | (0) |
| 3 | Zhivko Milanov | 23 | (2) |
| 5 |  Youssef Rabeh | 22 | (0) |
| 14 | Veselin Minev | 18 | (0) |
| 15 | Chakib Benzoukane | 3 | (0) |
| 20 |  David Bystroň | 19 | (2) |
| 25 | Lúcio Wagner | 16 | (0) |
| 26 | Martin Dimov | 1 | (0) |
| 33 | Stefan Stanchev | 1 | (0) |
| 34 | Dimitar Dimitrov | 1 | (0) |
| 37 | Simeon Ivanov | 1 | (0) |
| 55 | Yordan Miliev | 4 | (0) |
| Midfielders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Georgi Chakarov | 2 | (0) |
| 6 | Rachid Tiberkanine | 14 | (3) |
| 8 | Georgi Sarmov | 21 | (2) |
| 16 | Mariyan Ognyanov | 1 | (0) |
| 17 | Georgi Nedyalkov | 1 | (1) |
| 18 | Miroslav Ivanov | 20 | (0) |
| 20 |  Joãozinho | 19 | (4) |
| 21 | Zé Soares | 25 | (3) |
| 22 |  Darko Tasevski | 23 | (6) |
| 24 | Nikolay Dimitrov | 17 | (1) |
| 30 | Lachezar Baltanov | 15 | (0) |
| 45 | Vladimir Gadzhev | 23 | (1) |
| 70 |  Filipe da Costa | 8 | (0) |
| Boyan Iliev* | 2 | (0) | |
| Forwards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Jean Carlos* | 4 | (1) |
| 9 | Georgi Ivanov | 23 | (12) |
| 10 | Hristo Yovov | 11 | (4) |
| 11 | Georgi Hristov | 25 | (11) |
| 19 | Ivan Tsachev | 9 | (4) |
| 27 | Enyo Krastovchev | 3 | (0) |
| 32 | Boyan Tabakov | 1 | (0) |
| Manager | |
|---|---|
| Emil Velev | |
- Iliev and Jean Carlos left the club during a season.
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martin Kamburov |
Lokomotiv Sofia | 17 |
| 2 | Dormushali Saidhodzha |
CSKA Sofia1 | 14 |
| 3 | Georgi Ivanov |
Levski Sofia | 12 |
| 4 | Yordan Yurukov |
Cherno More Varna | 11 |
| Georgi Hristov |
Levski Sofia | ||
| 6 | Zoran Baldovaliev |
Lokomotiv Sofia | 10 |
 Pavle Delibašić |
Lokomotiv Plovdiv | ||
| Michel Platini |
Chernomorets Burgas | ||
| 9 | Krum Bibishkov |
Litex Lovech | 9 |
 Adrián Fernández |
Chernomorets Burgas2 | ||
| Miroslav Manolov |
Cherno More Varna | ||
| Saša Simonović |
Lokomotiv Mezdra | ||
| Ivan Stoyanov |
Sliven | ||
| Yordan Todorov |
CSKA Sofia |
1. Saidhodzha scored 7 goals for Botev Plovdiv and 7 for CSKA Sofia (he was transferred during the winter break)
2. Fernández scored 4 goals for Cherno More Varna and 5 for Chernomorets Burgas (he was transferred during the winter break)
Annual awards
Team of the season
The team have been voted by selected media representatives (Note: First team members are denoted in bold).[1]
| Position | Name | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Kiril Akalski | Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
| Georgi Petkov | Levski | |
| Defenders | Tanko Dyakov | Cherno More |
| Ivan Ivanov | CSKA | |
| Stanislav Manolev | Litex | |
| Zhivko Milanov | Levski | |
| Veselin Minev | Levski | |
| Youssef Rabeh | Levski | |
| Midfielders | Alex | Cherno More |
| Joãozinho | Levski | |
| Dani Kiki | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | |
| Aleksandar Tonev | CSKA | |
| Todor Yanchev | CSKA | |
| Kosta Yanev | Sliven | |
| Forwards | Spas Delev | Pirin |
| Georgi Ivanov | Levski | |
| Martin Kamburov | Lokomotiv Sofia | |
| Ivelin Popov | Litex | |
| Head coach | Emil Velev | Levski |
Attendances
| # | Club | Average attendance |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levski | 5,967 |
| 2 | Cherno More | 5,289 |
| 3 | Sliven | 4,989 |
| 4 | CSKA Sofia | 4,272 |
| 5 | Botev | 4,158 |
| 6 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 3,667 |
| 7 | Chernomorets | 3,129 |
| 8 | Minyor | 2,720 |
| 9 | Pirin | 2,167 |
| 10 | Varna | 1,670 |
| 11 | Lokomotiv Mezdra | 1,433 |
| 12 | Lovech | 1,385 |
| 13 | Slavia Sofia | 1,343 |
| 14 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 1,333 |
| 15 | Vihren | 1,143 |
| 16 | Belasitsa | 1,129 |
Source:[2]