BULGARIAN PREMIER LEAGUE – 2012-13
Newcomers Ludogorets had won the title at their first season
in the Premier League, having won the Second Division the year before. They won the cup too, to complete an amazing
season for them. Many were doubtful of
their ability to replicate this performance 12 months on but they were involved
again in the race for the title.
2011-12 they had won the title by 1 point from CSKA Sofia
when it went down to the last game. This
time they were battling with Levski Sofia.
Levski is the 2nd most successful club in Bulgarian football
with 26 titles to their name, but none in the last 3 seasons. The destination of the title has evaded Sofia
since 2009 and the capital city was desperate to wrestle control back.
We join the season in the final week. The last 3 games of the season will be played
on Saturday, Wednesday and Saturday. Ludogorets
and Levski were the runaway leaders and just to add some spice to the mix, the
two were to meet each other in their third to last game.
Levski are unbeaten in their last 10 in the league,
conceding just 5 goals during that time and never more than one in a match. For Ludogorets their run was more
impressive. You need to go back to
October 2012 for their last defeat in the league when they lost 0-1 at
Chernomorets. A run of 17 games
unbeaten, conceding just 7 and also never more than 1 in a game. That game was still their only defeat of the
season.
So the scene was set at the Georgi Asparuhov Stadium in
Sofia on 18th May 2013 where Levski Sofia, in 2nd, met
leaders Ludogorets. 2pts separate the
two clubs.
When the two met in Razgrad back in November, two goals from
Genchev gave Ludogorets a 2-1 win.
This time the game was goalless going into injury time. Levski had managed to spring the offside trap
several times, but found Stoyanov in the visitors goal, difficult to beat. There were chances at both ends as the nerves
were beginning to show. 81 minutes in
and Ivaylo Petev, Ludogorets coach, made a substitution which turned the game,
but not in the way he planned. He took
off his Brazilian striker, Marcelinho and brought on Mitchell Burgzorg a Dutch
midfielder. Just after the change,
Ludogorets went down to 10 men as Slovakian defender Lubomir Guldan was sent
off. 4 minutes into injury time and
Levski’s 35-year old midfielder, Stanislav Angelov, hit a left-foot shot from
about 25 yards out. It looked to be
going wide of the keeper’s left-hand post when Burgzorg stuck out a boot and it
deflected off him into the net, leaving the keeper stranded. There was barely enough time for the re-start
and Levski had pulled off a dramatic win with the Ludogorets players left
crestfallen as the enormity of what had just happened, began to sink in.
Advantage Levski
For the penultimate match, Ludogorets were to play their
final home match of the season. They
were up against Botev Plovdiv who were chasing a Europa League spot. This was a much harder game in prospect than
Levski who travelled to bottom of the table, Etar. Ludogorets had just thrashed them 5-1 and when
Levski hosted Etar back in November, they won 7-1.
Since Ludogorets visited there, Etar Tarnovo had gone
bust. The Bulgarian FA were now awarding
each game to their opponents, 3-0, so Levski picked up 3pts without getting
their boots muddy.
Ludogorets got off to a good start when Igor Stoyanov put
them ahead after 8 minutes. Stoyanov was
top scorer last season with 16 but he was down on that tally this time
round. 20 minutes in and Stoyanov
doubled his, and his team’s total and Ludogorets won 2-0.
Going into the final round and 1pt separated the two teams
Saturday 25th May 2013 and the final day of the
season. Levski were at home to
neighbours, Slavia. Unbeaten at home all
season they were looking at putting on a show for their supporters, against
Slavia whose days of dominance in Bulgarian football ended in the mid-40’s, and
were sitting mid-table in 8th.
Ludogorets were visiting Montana, a club already
relegated. Montana had recently beaten
Minyor Pernik recently which ended a run of 9 straight defeats.
Dyakov gave Ludogorets the lead on the half-hour. But almost immediately DeCarvalho put Levski
in front against Slavia as he pounced on some indecision in the visitors
defence. All the while Levski were
winning they were going to be crowned Champions.
68 minutes in and Aleksandrov doubled Ludogorets lead as
they’re now 2-0 up. The whole season
then swung in the 76th minute of both games. Aleksandrov got his 2nd of the
game and Ludogorets 3rd.
Unbelievably, at exactly the same point in Sofia, Slavia have a
free-kick which is floated into the box and Vezalov inexplicablyput through his
own net and Slavia had equalised. The
Levski fans and coaching staff then had to endure an agonising last quarter of
an hour praying the home side would score again. They didn’t, and Ludogorets were Champions.
The thing which stands out to me from these clips is the
different atmosphere at both games. At
Levski there’s a great atmosphere, and one you’d expect from a local derby with
the home side expecting to pick up the league title. At Montana there seems to be more people in
the commentary box than in the stands!
This was a bitter ‘double’ blow for Levski who had been
beaten on penalties in the Bulgarian Cup too.
An incredible end to a season
No comments:
Post a Comment