Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
sports

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

PFC Cherno More Varna

Association football club

PFC Cherno More Varna

Association football club

FieldValue
current2025–26 PFC Cherno More Varna season
clubnameCherno More
imageCherno More Varna.svg
image_size175px
fullnameПрофесионален Футболен Клуб Черно море Варна (Professional Football Club Cherno more Varna)
short nameЧерно море (Cherno more)
nicknameМоряците (The Sailors)
founded
groundStadion Ticha
capacity8,250
ownerChimimport
chairmanPlamen Andreev
mgrtitleHead coach
managerIlian Iliev
leagueFirst League
season2024–25
positionFirst League, 3rd of 16
pattern_la1_macronalcyon21wg
pattern_b1_macronalcyon21wg
pattern_ra1_macronalcyon21wg
pattern_so1_hostert1819h
leftarm134B36B
body134B36B
rightarm134B36B
shorts1000000
socks1FFFFFF
pattern_la2_macronsceptrum22cw
pattern_b2_macronsceptrum22cw
pattern_ra2_macronsceptrum22cw
pattern_so2_fourwhitehoops
leftarm2FFFFFF
body2FFFFFF
rightarm2FFFFFF
shorts2FFFFFF
socks29FCFFF
pattern_b3_more-25-26-3rd
pattern_sh3_macronshedeco2425wb
leftarm3000000
body34f2b83
rightarm3000000
shorts34f2b83
socks3000000
website

Cherno More () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in the city of Varna, which currently competes in Bulgaria's primary football competition, the First League. Founded on 3 March 1913, as an association football branch of the larger sports society SC Galata, the club has spent the majority of its existence playing in the top tier of Bulgarian football. Cherno More is named after the Black Sea, and the football club is also known by its nickname The Sailors.

Cherno More's home ground is the Stadion Ticha, which has a seating capacity of 8,250 spectators, with plans to move to a new all-seater stadium by 2020, although due to financial issues, the construction has been put on hold. As one of the relatively successful clubs in Bulgarian football outside the capital Sofia, the Sailors have won the Bulgarian championship on four occasions,{{cite web|title=Futbol 89|website=retro-football.bg

The club has a long-standing rivalry with neighbouring Spartak Varna, with matches between the two being commonly referred to as The Derby of Varna.

History

Early years

On 3 March 1913, Galata Sports Association was established in the first male high school in Varna, with association football being one of its departments. Later in 1913, Karel Škorpil, one of the founding members of the sports society and a prominent Czech-Bulgarian archaeologist, who settled in Varna at that time, suggested the association to be renamed to Reka Ticha, in homage of the old name of the Kamchiya river. On May 24, 1914, Sportist Sports Club, which was formed by Stefan Tonchev and a group of boys in 1909, joined Reka Ticha. It was written by the sports functionary and Reka Ticha's member Stefan Tonchev.

Vladislav Varna in 1925. Vladislav was one of the predecessors of Cherno More.

On January 21, 1919, SC Reka Ticha shortened its name to Sports Club Ticha, and the kit colours were chosen to be red and white. In the same year, the Bulgarian musician Nikola Nitsov wrote the official anthem of the club.

In 1921 Sports Club Granit left the collective membership with SK Ticha due to financial disputes, becoming SC Vladislav after Polish king Władysław of Varna. Their emblem was the four-leaf clover and the kit colours were green and white which are still today the official colours of successor Cherno More. SC Vladislav was to become the first team to win the Tsar's Cup in 1925 rendering them the first champions of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. The captain, Egon Terzetta is revered by the Cherno More fans as the scorer in the final match, winning the cup for the green-white team. Later, in 1945 they will rejoin SK Ticha in a merger and the club will be known as Ticha-Vladislav.

In 1925 SK Ticha won the București Cup, after two straight wins against Tricolor (to become later Unirea Tricolor) and Sportul Studentesc both from Bucharest. This turned to be the first international football trophy won by a Bulgarian football club, making SK Ticha the most popular club in Varna at the time.

In 1935 and 1936 SK Ticha finished as runners-up in the knockout National competition. In 1938 the club became Bulgarian champions winning the first edition of the United National Football league. The members of the Championship winning team were: Ivan Saraydarov, Onik Haripyan, Garabed Garabedov, Ivan Gochev, Atanas Kovachev, Georgi Radev, Vili Petkov, Panayot Rozov, Milyu Parushev, Iliya Donchev and Dobri Baychev.

In total, 18 SK Ticha and SC Vladislav players were selected for the national team.{{cite web

Communist era (1944-1989)

With the establishment of Communist rule in Bulgaria after WWII, significant changes took place affecting all leading clubs without exception. It was a time for mergers, splits, changing of names and in some cases closure of clubs.{{cite web|url=http://www.retro-football.bg/sites/default/files/books/almanah_1954.pdf|title=Almanah 1954|website=retro-football.bg|language=bg

On 11 May 1947 SC Primoretz also joined the club, now to be known as TVP. SC Primoretz practised basketball, tennis, athletics and swimming and did not have a football team. Chairman of the club was the long time SC Vladislav sportsman Aleksi Aleksiev who now became the chairman of TVP.

In 1948–49, under the name Botev, the club took part in the highest level of the first post-war league to be known as Bulgarian A Football Group or "A" RFG. Botev Varna finished 6th in a group of 10 teams with centre forward Nedko Nedev ending up as a joint top scorer of the competition with 11 goals, as many as Dimitar Milanov had scored for CDNV Sofia . Some more reorganisation, in accordance with the Soviet principles, took place in the next season. The town of Varna was renamed Stalin in honour of the Soviet dictator and stayed that way until 1956. A departmental system was applied, placing most clubs under the umbrella of two major departments, The Ministry of Defence and The Ministry of Interior. Botev Stalin went under military command and was ordered to play in the Third division (group "V") to make place for the newly formed People's Army team (ONV, later CSKA) from Sofia which started in "A" RFG straight after being founded. Although relegated by decree, the team of Botev Stalin retained most of its players and under the leadership of trainer Ivan Mokanov was promoted back to "A" RFG in 2 successive seasons, under the name VMS (which stands for Bulgarian Navy).

In 1953, VMS Stalin finished 3rd in the competition after the two leading Sofia clubs. The saddest season in the club's history is 1955. It started with 5 consecutive wins, all against Sofia teams. The hopes of title-dreaming supporters were dashed with only 1 point in the following 10 games. The team was relegated at the end of the season to be promoted back the next year under its previous name, Botev Varna.

In 1959, a small team from "B" RFG by the name of Cherno More, which resulted from the merger of two other Varna teams (Lokomotiv and Korabostroitel) one year earlier, joined Botev and from this year until now, the club is known by the name Cherno More. The club stayed in "A" RFG without interruption until 1976 but did not have any major achievements. Under the control of the Ministry of Defence over the years, a number of talented players left the club for the Central Army Club (CSKA) without Cherno More receiving adequate compensation. One of them, Bozhil Kolev, starred in the defence of the National team in the World Cup finals in BRD'74.

Cherno More had its moments of glory in a friendly against Ajax which ended in a 3–1 win on 8 June 1966, with goals from Zdravko Mitev (2) and Stefan Bogomilov. The 19 year old Johan Cruyff scored for Ajax. In August 1966 the team from Varna visited England and played three matches. The most memorable was the 1–0 win against Nottingham Forest on City Ground. Nottingham fielded a strong side with Peter Grummitt, Bob McKinlay, Alan Hinton, Henry Newton, Joe Baker, Terry Hennessey, Jeff Whitefoot in the starting 11. The match was decided with a long range shot from defender Dimitar Bosnov in the first half. Nottingham Forest was to end the 1966-67 season as runners-up in the Football League First Division. The other two matches ended in a 1–1 draw against Coventry City after Stefan Yanev had opened the score, and a 1–2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday F.C. After 16 years in the top flight, Cherno More was relegated in 1976 and won promotion the following season. A new generation of players was emerging. Defenders Todor Marev and Ivan Ivanov, midfielders Todor Atanasov and Ivan Andreev, forwards Rafi Rafiev and Nikola Spasov left many good memories in the late 70s and the 80s. In the 1981–82 season, the team finished 4th and therefore qualified for the Intertoto Cup. Cherno More won twice 2–0 at home against Standard Liège and the Danes from Hvidovre IF and drew 1–1 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Away, they drew 1–1 in Denmark and lost 1-3 and 0–3 in Liège and Leverkusen respectively. Later in the 80s, Cherno More was relegated twice and played 3 seasons in "B" RFG. The team reached the final of The Soviet Army Cup and were runners-up twice in 1985 and 1988.

The 90s struggle

The fall of socialism in Bulgaria in 1989 and the establishment of democracy brought new hardships for Bulgarian football clubs. The transition from state backed organisations to privately owned entities saw many traditional football clubs disappear entirely, while others were forced to declare bankruptcy, only to return later by obtaining licences from smaller clubs. Cherno More avoided any administrative changes and kept its name and history, but spent six consecutive seasons in the league's second tier. Relegated in season 1989-90 and again in 1993-94 and facing immense financial difficulties, at one time during the 1998–99 season, the club came close to relegation to the 3rd division of Bulgarian football. Despite being in the "B"RFG, Cherno More sold their best player and own product Ilian Iliev to Levski Sofia for a then Bulgarian record of 2 million leva (£60 000) in 1991. Things started to get better in 1998 with new chairman Krasen Kralev who turned the club into a joint-stock company.

New millennium

Cherno More ultras on the stadium's eastern stand.

The new millennium saw the club establishing itself in the country's top flight. The Sailors spent the majority of the 90s in Bulgaria's second tier before securing promotion at the end of the 1999–2000 season, ending a six consecutive season spell in the B Group. Cherno More survived minor relegation scares in their first two seasons back in the A Group and then went on to become a regular feature in the league's top half. In 2002, Kralev convinced businessman Ilia Pavlov to buy the club. Pavlov had ideas about developing the club and turning it into one of the leaders in Bulgarian football. He appointed the young and ambitious coach Velislav Vutsov and signed many experienced players such as National team goalkeeper Zdravko Zdravkov, defenders Adalbert Zafirov and Georgi Ginchev. Some foreign players such as Lúcio Wagner, Darko Spalević and Maltese international Daniel Bogdanović also made their way to Varna. The results were quick to follow. Victories against champions CSKA in Sofia and Litex in Lovech saw the team soaring up in the table. The success story came to an abrupt end with the murder of Ilia Pavlov on 7 March 2003. Months of uncertainties followed and at some point, the very existence of the club was at stake until Bulgarian holding company Chimimport acquired the club in 2004.

In the 2007–08 season, the Sailors finished 5th in A Group and qualified for the last season of the UEFA Cup due to licence problems of CSKA Sofia. Led by captain Alex they had a very successful run - they defeated UE Sant Julia of Andora in the first qualifying round (9–0 on aggregate) and Maccabi Netanya from Israel in the second qualifying round (3–1 on aggregate). Cherno More than challenged German side VfB Stuttgart in the 1st round and were eliminated after a 1–2 loss at home and a surprising 2–2 draw in Stuttgart after having a 2–0 lead up until the 85th minute of the game. During the same season the team was successful finishing 3rd in A Group, and qualified for the newly created European football competition, the Europa League.

In the 2009–10 season, Cherno More started their UEFA Europa League campaign by defeating Iskra-Stal from Moldova in the second qualifying round (4–0 on aggregate). Subsequently, they were drawn to play against Dutch powerhouse PSV Eindhoven in the third qualifying round. The team from Varna was eliminated after a 0-1 loss at Eindhoven and another 0-1 loss at the Lazur Stadium in Burgas.

After finishing third in 2008–09, the club failed to impress in the domestic league in the follow-up years, but saw a successful run in the Bulgarian Cup during the 2014–15 season. The Sailors defeated Sozopol, Slavia Sofia, Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, and Lokomotiv Plovdiv on the road to the final against Levski Sofia at the Lazur Stadium in Burgas. Despite being down to ten men since the 39th minute and trailing 0–1, the team managed to equalize in added time through Bacari's volley and went on to win the Cup after Mathias Coureur's stunning strike in the 118th minute, winning the club's first post-World War II trophy.

Honours

Domestic

Chronology of the names

Year(s)
1909
1909–1914
1913
1913–1914
1914
1914–1919
1919–1945
1945–1947
1948–1950
1950–1955
1956–1957
1957–1959
1959–1969
1969–1985
1985–present

Recent seasons

League positions

ImageSize = width:1600 height:65 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/2025 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1949 Colors = id:bl1 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:bl2 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1)

PlotData= bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1948 till:01/07/1949 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A" from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1949 till:01/07/1950 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V" from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1950 till:01/07/1951 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B" from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1952 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1952 till:01/07/1953 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1953 till:01/07/1954 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1954 till:01/07/1955 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1951 till:01/07/1955 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1955 till:01/07/1956 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1957 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1957 till:01/07/1958 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1958 till:01/07/1959 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1956 till:01/07/1959 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1959 till:01/07/1960 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1961 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/07/1961 till:01/07/1962 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1962 till:01/07/1963 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1963 till:01/07/1964 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1964 till:01/07/1965 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/07/1960 till:01/07/1976 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1986 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1988 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1990 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1993 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/2000 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2016 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025 shift:(0,-4) text: from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2025 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "First League"

SeasonPos.Pl.WDLGSGAPCupNotes
1999-00B Group1302316592770Round of 16
2000–01A Group10267514204926Round of 16
2001–02A Group1140121117475135*Round of 16
2002–03A Group6261466422148Round of 16
2003–04A Group63010812455338Round of 16
2004–05A Group83010515303835Round of 32
2005–06A Group82810711292737**Runner-up**
2006–07A Group63014511372947Round of 16
2007–08A Group5301398402648Runner-up
2008–09A Group3301866481960Round of 32
2009–10A Group7301398402848Quarter-finals
2010–11A Group6301569362851Quarter-finals
2011–12A Group73016410462552Round of 32
2012–13A Group10309813333935Round of 16
2013–14A Group638141212403354Round of 16
2014–15A Group83215512423650**Winner**
2015–16A Group63210814364538Quarter-finals
2016–17First League63613815394547Quarter-finals
2017–18First League73211714333540Round of 32
2018–19First League53615714445152Quarter-finals
2019–20First League72912116392747Round of 16
2020–21First League73212911373445Round of 16
2021–22First League53112118362247Round of 16
2022–23First League63515911393554Semi-finals
2023–24First League2352294562675Round of 32
2024–25First League33615147443059Semi-finals

*Points deducted from all teams after completing the first phase of campaign. Championship/Relegation groups are constituted after all teams have played each other home and away.

European record

CompetitionPlayedWonDrewLostGFGAGDWin%

Matches

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
1982Intertoto Cup
Group StageBelgium Standard Liège2–01–33rd
West Germany Bayer Leverkusen1–10–3
Denmark Hvidovre IF2–01–1
2007UEFA Intertoto Cup2QMacedonia Makedonija4−03−07–0
3QItaly Sampdoria0−10−10−2
2008–09UEFA Cup1QAndorra Sant Julià4−05−09−0
2QIsrael Maccabi Netanya2−01−13−1
POGermany Stuttgart1−22−23−4
2009–10UEFA Europa League2QMoldova Iskra-Stal1−03−04−0
3QNetherlands PSV Eindhoven0−10−10−2
2015–162QBelarus Dinamo Minsk1−10−41−5
2024–25UEFA Conference League2QIsrael Hapoel Be'er Sheva1−20−01−2
2025–262QTurkey İstanbul Başakşehir0−10−40−5

;Notes

  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round

Stadium

Stadion Ticha

Ticha Stadium was constructed and completed in 1935 with the help of volunteers and fans by an initiative held by the then-president of the club Vladimir Chakarov. In 1968, the stadium was renovated and stands were built. The stadium currently has a capacity of 6,250 seating places, spread in two opposite stands. The main south stand has a roof cover and holds 3,250 spectators, while the opposite north stand has a seating capacity of 3,000 spectators. The north stand is commonly used by the Cherno More ultras and the away fans. The current stadium was built entirely with the help of volunteers and sports fans of the club on the place of the old Reka Ticha playground.

In 2007, the local municipality governors and the owners of the club announced in an official statement, that the club would move to a new all-seater stadium, which would be built in the place of the previously unused and demolished Yuri Gagarin Stadium. It would also replace the current Ticha stadium, which would solve numerous problems on match day, including traffic congestion and the lack of nearby parking lots for the fans. The stadium will have a capacity of 22,000 spectators and would be part of Sport Complex Varna, which includes an underground parking area, convertible roof covers, office lounges, two-tier stands and four 50 meter towers, which would block the pressure of the terrain and bring the stadium's shape in a ship. The convertible roof covers will be made of transparent panels, which will allow the light of the floodlights to stream inside the pitch on a night match. The venue would be awarded with an Elite Stadium category ranking by UEFA.

Following several delays over the next years, majorly due to the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent lack of funding, in 2015 the construction of the stadium finally started and is expected to be finished by late 2019, with the first match being played on the new stadium in 2020.

Statistics and records

Todor Marev holds A Group's and Cherno More's overall appearances record — 422 matches for 20 seasons (from 1971 to 1990 and in 1993–94 season).

Cherno More's all-time leading scorer is Stefan Bogomilov, who scored 162 goals for the club (from 1962 to 1976). He also holds the club record of 4 hat tricks. The club's second highest scorer is Georgi Iliev, who scored 71 goals. Center forward Miroslav Manolov holds the club's and A Group's record for the fastest goal - 6 seconds after the referee's first signal, against FC Montana on 22 March 2012.

Cherno More's biggest victories in A Group are the 8-0 wins against Cherveno Zname Pavlikeni in 1955 and Maritsa Plovdiv in 1968. Cherno More's largest defeat, 1–8, was against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in 2004. Also, the club's win against UE Sant Julia, 5–0, in 2008, was the largest European win in the club's history.

RankNameNatApps
1Todor MarevBUL422
2Stefan BogomilovBUL346
3Dimitar BosnovBUL343
4Georgi IlievBUL318
5Zdravko MitevBUL267
RankNameNatGoals
1Stefan BogomilovBUL162
2Georgi IlievBUL71
3Rafi RafievBUL64
4Nikola DimitrovBUL63
5Zdravko MitevBUL61

Players

First-team squad

**

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2025 and Transfers winter 2025–26.

Second-team squad

Main article: PFC Cherno More Varna II

Out of loan

Foreign players

Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First League, however only five non-EU nationals can be used during a match day. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for 5 years.

EU Nationals

  • ESP Dani Martín
  • ESP Jorge Padilla
  • POR Celso Sidney
  • POR David Teles
  • ROM Andreias Calcan EU Nationals (Dual citizenship)
  • MKD BUL Vlatko Drobarov Non-EU Nationals
  • BRA João Bandaró

Notable players

  • For all players with a Wikipedia article see :Category:PFC Cherno More Varna players. Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or had more than 100 league appearances. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

;Bulgaria

  • Bulgaria Aleksandar Y. Aleksandrov
  • Bulgaria Aleksandar D. Aleksandrov
  • Bulgaria Sasho Aleksandrov
  • Bulgaria Todor Atanasov
  • Bulgaria Zhivko Atanasov
  • Bulgaria Danail Bachkov
  • Bulgaria Stefan Bogomilov
  • Bulgaria Dimitar Bosnov
  • Bulgaria Georgi Bozhilov
  • Bulgaria Veselin Branimirov
  • Bulgaria Asen Bukarev
  • Bulgaria Tsvetelin Chunchukov
  • Bulgaria Georgi Dimitrov
  • Bulgaria Daniel Dimov
  • Bulgaria Nikolay Domakinov
  • Bulgaria Valeri Domovchiyski
  • Bulgaria Diyan Donchev
  • Bulgaria Vasil Dragolov
  • Bulgaria Ivan Dyulgerov
  • Bulgaria Engibar Engibarov
  • Bulgaria Yordan Filipov
  • Bulgaria Stanislav Genchev
  • Bulgaria Damyan Georgiev
  • Bulgaria Daniel Georgiev
  • Bulgaria Georgi Georgiev
  • Bulgaria Plamen Getov
  • Bulgaria Gosho Ginchev
  • Bulgaria Zhivko Gospodinov
  • Bulgaria Atanas Iliev
  • Bulgaria Georgi Iliev
  • Bulgaria Ilian Iliev
  • Bulgaria Ilian Iliev Jr.
  • Bulgaria Ismail Isa
  • Bulgaria Ivan Ivanov
  • Bulgaria Georgi Kakalov
  • Bulgaria Georgi Kitanov
  • Bulgaria Krasimir Koev
  • Bulgaria Bozhil Kolev
  • Bulgaria Petar Kostadinov
  • Bulgaria Lyuben Kostov
  • Bulgaria Kiril Kotev
  • Bulgaria Zdravko Lazarov
  • Bulgaria Miroslav Manolov
  • Bulgaria Dimitar Marashliev
  • Bulgaria Todor Marev
  • Bulgaria Iliya Milanov
  • Bulgaria Martin Minchev
  • Bulgaria Konstantin Mirchev
  • Bulgaria Zdravko Mitev
  • Bulgaria Daniel Mladenov
  • Bulgaria Ivan Mokanov
  • Bulgaria Stefan Naydenov
  • Bulgaria Nedko Nedev
  • Bulgaria Plamen Nikolov
  • Bulgaria Mariyan Ognyanov
  • Bulgaria Todor Palankov
  • Bulgaria Vasil Panayotov
  • Bulgaria Tsvetomir Panov
  • Bulgaria Milen Petkov
  • Bulgaria Viktor Popov
  • Bulgaria Nikola Spasov
  • Bulgaria Stefan Stanchev
  • Bulgaria Valentin Stanchev
  • Bulgaria Stanislav Stoyanov
  • Bulgaria Plamen Timnev
  • Bulgaria Aleksandar Tomash
  • Bulgaria Aleksandar Tsvetkov
  • Bulgaria Radoslav Vasilev
  • Bulgaria Stefan Velev
  • Bulgaria Georgi Velinov
  • Bulgaria Mihail Venkov
  • Bulgaria Petar Vitanov
  • Bulgaria Georgi Vladimirov
  • Bulgaria Lúcio Wagner
  • Bulgaria Kosta Yanev
  • Bulgaria Stefan Yanev
  • Bulgaria Dimitar Yordanov
  • Bulgaria Stoyan Yordanov
  • Bulgaria Stefan Yurukov
  • Bulgaria Adalbert Zafirov
  • Bulgaria Krasimir Zafirov
  • Bulgaria Zdravko Zdravkov
  • Bulgaria Atanas Zehirov ;Europe
  • Armenia Tigran Gharabaghtsyan
  • Azerbaijan Emin Quliyev
  • Malta Daniel Bogdanović
  • Moldova Evgheni Hmaruc
  • Serbia Miroslav Milošević
  • Poland Marcin Burkhardt
  • Romania Ionuț Neagu
  • Romania Claudiu Keșerü
  • North Macedonia Vlatko Drobarov
  • France Algeria Mazire Soula ;Africa
  • Algeria Zakaria Benchaâ
  • Algeria Ilias Hassani
  • Cape Verde Leandro Andrade
  • Cape Verde Patrick Andrade
  • Cape Verde Sténio
  • Congo Hugo Konongo
  • DR Congo Aristote N'Dongala
  • Gambia Bacari
  • Guinea-Bissau Adilson
  • Guinea-Bissau Mimito Biai
  • Guinea-Bissau Lino
  • Guinea-Bissau Madi Queta
  • Mali Mamoutou Coulibaly
  • Morocco Mehdi Bourabia
  • Nigeria Richard Eromoigbe
  • Nigeria Stanley Okoro ;Asia
  • IndonesiaNetherlands Marc Klok
  • UzbekistanBulgaria Aleksey Dionisiev ;South America
  • Brazil Mário Jardel
  • Venezuela Marlon Fernández
  • Venezuela Hermes Palomino ;North America
  • Martinique Mathias Coureur

UEFA ranking

RankCountryTeamPoints
285POLArka Gdynia3.825
286SVNDomžale3.825
287BULCherno More3.825
288BULCSKA Sofia3.825
289FROVíkingur3.750

Source: UEFA Club Coefficients

Last updated: 21 July 2017

Club officials

Board of directors

PositionNameNationality
OwnerMarin MitevBulgaria
Technical directorPlamen AndreevBulgaria
Director of the youth footballStanislav StoyanovBUL
Director of CommunicationsIvaylo BorisovBulgaria
Director of RecruitmentTodor VelikovBulgaria

Current technical body

PositionNameNationality
ManagerIlian IlievBUL
Assistant ManagerPetar KostadinovBUL
Assistant ManagerVeselin BranimirovBUL
Goalkeeping CoachBoyan PeykovBUL
Fitness coachAleksandar FilipovBulgaria
Doctor

Coaches history

CoachNatFromTo
Ivan MokanovBUL19481960
Lozan KotsevBUL19601962
Manol ManolovBUL19621963
Ivan Mokanov (2)BUL19641968
Georgi DimitrovBUL19681972
Spas KirovBUL19721974
Stoyan OrmandzhievBUL19741975
Georgi Dimitrov (2)BUL19751976
Kiril RakarovBUL19761977
Ivan VasilevBUL19771979
Ivan Mokanov (3)BUL19791980
Ivan Vasilev (2)BUL19801981
Spas Kirov (2)BUL19811983
Todor VelikovBUL19831985
Bozhil KolevBUL19851989
Nikola KovachevBUL19891989
Abil BilyalovBUL19901990
Todor Velikov (2)BUL19901991
Kevork TahmisyanBUL19911992
Bozhil Kolev (2)BUL19921994
Vachko MarinovBUL19941995
Nikola SpasovBUL19951996
Asen MilushevBUL19961996
CoachNatFromTo
Damyan GeorgievBUL19961996
Tsonyo VasilevBUL19971997
Todor MarevBUL19971997
Lyudmil GoranovBUL19971997
Rudi MinkovskiBUL19971998
Svetozar SvetozarovBUL19981999
Radi ZdravkovBUL19992000
Bozhil Kolev (3)BUL20002001
Aleksandar StankovBUL20012002
Velislav VutsovBUL20022004
Ilian IlievBUL2004March 4, 2006
Yasen PetrovBULMarch 13, 2006May 27, 2007
Nikola Spasov (2)BULMay 27, 2007Sep 15, 2009
Velizar PopovBULSept 16, 2009Oct 29, 2010
Stefan GenovBULOct 30, 2010Sept 24, 2012
Adalbert ZafirovBULSept 25, 2012Dec 17, 2012
Georgi IvanovBULDec 17, 2012May 19, 2014
Aleksandar Stankov (2)BULMay 22, 2014Aug 18, 2014
Nikola Spasov (3)BULAug 19, 2014Jun 10, 2016
Georgi Ivanov (2)BULJun 21, 2016Sept 21, 2017
Emanuel LukanovBULSept 21, 2017Dec 28, 2017
Ilian Iliev (2)BULDec 28, 2017present

|}

References

References

  1. "История на ПФК "Черно море" до 1945 г. - ПФК ''Черно море''".
  2. "PFC Cherno More Varna - Retro - football".
  3. "Organizational structure of Chimimport".
  4. "The Football".
  5. "Godini".
  6. "Тича-Владислав {{!".
  7. "Мач № 4 - Ретро - футбол".
  8. "Мач № 1 - Ретро - футбол".
  9. "ТВП {{!".
  10. (8 June 1966). "Cherno More - Ajax 3 - 1 (8-6-1966)".
  11. "Archived copy".
  12. "Futbol 71".
  13. "Cherno More with new win against Sant Julia". Football24.bg.
  14. "PSV will face Cherno More from Bulgaria". psv.nl.
  15. [http://www.scorespro.com/soccer/livescore/psv-eindhoven-vs-cherno-more-varna/30-07-2009/ PSV Eindhoven – PFC Cherno More Varna : 1–0] Match report from Scorespro.com
  16. [http://www.scorespro.com/soccer/livescore/cherno-more-varna-vs-psv-eindhoven/06-08-2009/ PFC Cherno More Varna - PSV Eindhoven : 0–1] Match report from Scorespro.com
  17. "Синя България в шок! Черно море в историята след велик мач (видео+галерии)".
  18. "Futbol 88".
  19. "Summary - First League - Bulgaria - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway".
  20. "Bulgaria Cups Overview".
  21. "Varna Stadium". Sportcomplexvarna.com.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about PFC Cherno More Varna — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report