2009–10 A Group
86th season of top-tier football league in Bulgaria
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The 2009–10 A Group was the 86th season of the Bulgarian national top football division, and the 62nd of A Group as the top tier football league in the country. It began on 7 August 2009 with the game between Beroe and Lokomotiv Sofia. The last round took place on 16 May 2010. Levski Sofia were the defending champions, but they were unable to defend it and Litex Lovech won the title, which was their third overall.
| Season | 2009–10 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7 August 2009 – 16 May 2010 |
| Champions | Litex Lovech (3rd title) |
| Relegated | Botev Plovdiv Sportist Svoge Loko Mezdra |
| Champions League | Litex Lovech |
| Europa League | CSKA Sofia Levski Sofia Beroe (via domestic cup) |
| Matches | 191 |
| Goals | 462 (2.42 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Wilfried Niflore(19 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Levski 5–0 Botev Litex 5–0 Loko P. Levski 5–0 Sportist |
| Biggest away win | Loko M. 0–5 Litex Loko P. 0–5 CSKA Loko M. 0–5 Ch'morets |
| Highest scoring | Minyor 4–2 Sliven Ch. More 4–2 Loko S. Loko P. 3–3 Minyor Sportist 1–5 Loko S. Sliven 2–4 CSKA Loko P. 2–4 Montana CSKA 5–1 Loko S. Sportist 2–4 Litex |
← 2008–09 2010–11 → | |
Promotion and relegation from 2008–09
Belasitsa Petrich, Spartak Varna and Vihren Sandanski were directly relegated for finishing in the bottom three places. Belasitsa ended a six-year stint in the Bulgarian top flight, while Spartak Varna were relegated for a record ninth time since the introduction of the A PFG, after three years. Vihren ended their four-year tenure in the A PFG, the club's first ever in the top division.
The relegated teams were replaced by Montana, champions of the West B PFG 2008-2009, and Beroe Stara Zagora, champions of the East B PFG 2008-2009. Montana returned to the A PFG after twelve years, while Beroe returned after a one-year absence. Beroe won promotion for the ninth time in its history, therefore equaling the record previously set by Minyor Pernik.
A further place in the league was decided through a one-legged play-off. Sportist Svoge as runner-up in West B PFG had to face Naftex Burgas, who came second in East B PFG. Sportist Svoge won the game 4–2 after a penalty shootout, following a regular time score of 2–2. This was Sportist's first participation in the Bulgarian top flight.
Team overview
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Litex Lovech (C) | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 59 | 17 | +42 | 70 | Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | CSKA Sofia | 30 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 58 | Qualification for Europa League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Levski Sofia | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 57 | 26 | +31 | 57 | Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 47 | 33 | +14 | 52 | |
| 5 | Chernomorets Burgas | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 51 | |
| 6 | Slavia Sofia | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 50 | |
| 7 | Cherno More | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 48 | |
| 8 | Minyor Pernik | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 26 | +12 | 45 | |
| 9 | Pirin Blagoevgrad | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 34 | 32 | +2 | 43 | |
| 10 | Beroe | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 36 | −6 | 38 | Qualification for Europa League third qualifying round[a] |
| 11 | Montana | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 36 | |
| 12 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 33 | |
| 13 | Sliven | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 29 | 40 | −11 | 32 | |
| 14 | Lokomotiv Mezdra (R) | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 48 | −18 | 27 | Relegation to 2010–11 B Group |
| 15 | Sportist Svoge (R) | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 23 | 59 | −36 | 19 | |
| 16 | Botev Plovdiv[b] (R) | 30 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 12 | 78 | −66 | 1 |
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:
- Beroe won the 2009–10 Bulgarian Cup and qualified for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.
- Botev Plovdiv were expelled from the league during the winter break because they were unable to meet the criteria required to continue the season, and deducted six points for administrative irregularities. All of their remaining matches have been scratched and will be counted as a 3–0 win for their opponents.[10][11]
Results
Champions
- Litex Lovech
| Goalkeepers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Uroš Golubović | 19 | (0) |
| 12 |  Todor Todorov | 0 | (0) |
| 30 | Evgeni Aleksandrov | 0 | (0) |
| 31 |  Rodrigo Galatto | 12 | (0) |
| Defenders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Alexandre Barthe | 27 | (2) |
| 3 | Petar Zanev | 19 | (0) |
| 5 | Mihail Venkov | 10 | (1) |
| 6 | Ivaylo Petkov | 15 | (1) |
| 14 | Tsvetomir Panov | 1 | (0) |
| 18 | Iliya Milanov | 1 | (0) |
| 22 | Plamen Nikolov | 27 | (1) |
| 25 | Radostin Kishishev | 20 | (0) |
| 33 | Nikolay Bodurov | 18 | (2) |
| Midfielders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Hristo Yanev | 26 | (6) |
| 8 | Tom | 18 | (2) |
| 10 | Sandrinho | 25 | (1) |
| 13 | Maksim Stoykov | 1 | (0) |
| 15 | Doka Madureira | 26 | (6) |
| 17 | Georgi Milanov | 27 | (2) |
| 21 | Aleksandar Tsvetkov | 1 | (0) |
| 23 | Nebojša Jelenković | 24 | (1) |
| 24 | Adriano Miranda* | 1 | (0) |
| 27 | Momchil Tsvetanov | 4 | (1) |
| 28 | Diego Ferraresso | 9 | (0) |
| Forwards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Svetoslav Todorov | 12 | (1) |
| 19 | Wilfried Niflore | 27 | (19) |
| 71 | Ivelin Popov | 18 | (7) |
| 99 | Dormushali Saidhodzha* | 11 | (1) |
| Manager | |
|---|---|
| Angel Chervenkov | |
- Saidhodzha and Miranda left the club during a season.
Statistics
Top goalscorersSource:Bulgarian PFL official site
|
Top assistantsSource:Sportal Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
|
Transfers
Attendances
| # | Club | Average |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chernomorets | 3,996 |
| 2 | Beroe | 3,876 |
| 3 | CSKA Sofia | 3,511 |
| 4 | Botev | 2,439 |
| 5 | Montana | 2,359 |
| 6 | Levski | 2,277 |
| 7 | Cherno More | 1,983 |
| 8 | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 1,771 |
| 9 | Minyor | 1,582 |
| 10 | Lovech | 1,270 |
| 11 | Pirin | 1,214 |
| 12 | Sliven | 1,009 |
| 13 | Sportist | 678 |
| 14 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 676 |
| 15 | Lokomotiv Mezdra | 591 |
| 16 | Slavia Sofia | 452 |
Source:[13]