PFC Ludogorets Razgrad is an association football club from Razgrad, Bulgaria. Since their introduction to the Bulgarian top-flight, Ludogorets have participated in five different seasons of the UEFA club competitions - four in the Champions League and two in the UEFA Europa League.
Ludogorets' first entry in the European competitions was in the 2012–13 Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia. Since then, the club competes in Europe on an annual basis with variable success.
Ludogorets' best European performance came in the 2013–14 Europa League, when the team won their group against PSV Eindhoven, Chornomorets Odesa and Dinamo Zagreb, eventually becoming the first Bulgarian team to win a UEFA Europa League group. Subsequently, they also reached the round of 16 stage of the same competition, after playing two memorable matches against Lazio, including a 1–0 away win and a 3–3 home draw, before being eliminated by Spanish club Valencia. Then, in the 2014–15 season, Ludogorets became the second Bulgarian team to reach the UEFA Champions League group stages (the first being Levski Sofia in 2006–07) after eliminating Steaua București 6–5 at penalties and the first one to score points in this phase following a 1–0 victory over FC Basel.
History
After winning the 2011–12 A Group for the first time in their history, Ludogorets entered the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League for the 2012–13 season, where they lost 3–4 on aggregate by Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb.
2013–14 Europa League round of 16 campaign
As 2012–13 Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets qualified for the 2013–14 Champions League qualifying rounds where they entered the tournament from the second preliminary round. Ludogorets were drawn against Slovan Bratislava. In the first leg in Bratislava, they recorded a 1–2 loss against the Slovak champions, keeping poor chances to advance. Despite this, Ludogorets obtained their first victory in the UEFA Champions League, after a 3–0 thrashing against Slovan at the Ludogorets Arena in the return match. As they advanced to the next round, they were drawn against Serbian champions, Partizan Belgrade. After two wins of 2–1 in Razgrad and 1–0 in the second leg, they managed to qualify for the play-off stage, obtaining indirectly their very first qualification to the group stages of a European competition. The team was drawn against FC Basel, but lost 2–4 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. After a second 0–2 loss in Switzerland, Ludogorets were eliminated and transferred to the Europa League for the very first time in their history.
Ludogorets were drawn in Group B of the 2013–14 Europa League, against PSV Eindhoven, Dinamo Zagreb and Chornomorets Odesa. At their debut in the competition, Ludogorets won 2–0 at Eindhoven over PSV, obtaining their first European group stages victory. On matchday 2, Ludogorets won 3–0 against Dinamo Zagreb, in a replay match from their previous Champions League season clash. On matchday 3, Ludogorets again won 1–0 against Chornomorets Odesa, becoming the first Bulgarian team to begin their group stage participation in European tournaments with three consecutive wins without conceding any goal. On matchday 4, they dropped the only points in a 1–1 home draw with Chornomorets Odesa. On matchday 5, Ludogorets win 2-1 at Zagreb against Dinamo.Europa League: Ludogorets win 2-1 at Dinamo Zagreb in Group B, Sky Sports, 12 December 2013 On the last matchday, Ludogorets again won 2–0 over PSV at Sofia and qualified for the round of 32 as group winners, with 16 points, being the only Bulgarian team undefeated in UEFA Europa League group stages. In the round of 32, Ludogorets were drawn against Italian cup holders, Lazio. In the first leg, held on Stadio Olimpico at Roma, Ludogorets won 1-0, with striker Roman Bezjak scoring the winning goal in a historic win. At Vasil Levski National Stadium, Ludogorets hold Lazio in a 3–3 draw, after Lazio had a 2–0 lead, until Bezjak and Hristo Zlatinski scored for 2–2. Later, Lazio scored for 3–2, but Juninho Quixada scored the equaliser for a 4–3 aggregate win.Europa League: Ludogorets progress after 4–3 victory over Lazio, Sky Sports, 27 February 2014 In the round of 16, Ludogorets hosted Spanish team Valencia, but were defeated 0–3, suffering their first defeat in the UEFA Europa League. In the second leg at Mestalla Stadium, Ludogorets were again defeated 0–1 by Valencia and eliminated.Europa League: Valencia beat Ludogorets 1–0 to reach quarter-finals, Sky Sports, 20 March 2014
2014–15 Champions League group stages
In the 2014–15 Champions League, Ludogorets again won both their qualifiers, against F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg and Partizan Belgrade.Dudelange striker Turpel frustrates Ludogorets, UEFA.com, 22 July 2014Ludogorets squeeze out Partizan, UEFA.com, 6 August 2014 In the play-off they defeated Steaua București to reach the group stage for the first time.Ludogorets Razgrad win 6-5 on penalties, BBC, 27 August 2014 Goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov was dismissed for a second yellow card in the last minute of extra time in the second leg, when Ludogorets had used all their substitutes. In the penalty shoot-out, centre-back Cosmin Moți, having converted the first penalty, went in goal and made two saves to put Ludogorets through 6–5 on penalties.
Ludogorets made their debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 16 September 2014, grabbing a 1-1 equalizer away against Liverpool in the 90th minute scored by Dani Abalo, but in an eventual 1-2 loss, as the newly signed goalkeeper Milan Borjan then gave away a penalty with a foul on Javi Manquillo, which Steven Gerrard converted to give Liverpool the victory. Ludogorets made their home debut in the 2014–15 Champions League group phase on 1 October 2014, scoring a goal in the 6th minute through Ludogorets' attacking midfielder Marcelinho against the current Champions League champion Real Madrid, but in an eventual 1–2 loss.Real Madrid recover to down dogged Ludogorets In this game Cristiano Ronaldo took two penalties, with the first saved by the Ludogorets' goalkeeper Vladislav Stoyanov and the second converted into the goal for a 1-1 equalizer. On 22 October 2014, Yordan Minev scored his first goal for Ludogorets, scoring a last-minute winning goal in a 1–0 home win over Basel in the group stage of the Champions League. However, on matchday 4, Ludogorets were defeated 0-4 by Basel at St. Jakob-Park, suffering their worst defeat in the European competitions. On 26 November 2014, Dani Abalo scored in the 3rd minute and Georgi Terziev scored his first goal in the 88th minute, getting a 2–2 equalizer against Liverpool, in an eventual 2-2 draw. On the last matchday, Ludogorets were beaten 0-4 at Santiago Bernabéu by Real Madrid, ending their UEFA Champions League adventure on the fourth place, with 4 points, becoming the first Bulgarian team to record points in that competition when they defeated Basel. This was also the first home win for a Bulgarian team in the UEFA Champions League, and was followed by a 2-2 home draw with Liverpool.
Total statistics
Competition UEFA Champions League 7628183011110636.84 UEFA Europa League 9330263712512432.26 UEFA Europa Conference League 12525151841.67 Total 181 63 46 72 251 248 34.81
Statistics by club/country
CountryClub Austria LASK200247−3 Subtotal200247−3 Azerbaijan Qarabağ210148−4 Subtotal210148−4 BelarusDinamo Minsk421153+2Dynamo Brest110020+2Shakhtyor Soligorsk220020+2 Subtotal751193+6 Belgium Anderlecht310224−2Antwerp200225−3 Subtotal510449−5 Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar211021+1 Subtotal211021+1 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb62131111±0Rijeka211031+2 Subtotal83231412+2 Czech Republic Slavia Prague100102−2Viktoria Plzeň312042+2 Subtotal412144±0 Cyprus AEK Larnaca202011±0 Subtotal202011±0 Denmark Copenhagen201112−1Midtjylland402214−3Nordsjælland210127−5 Subtotal8134413−9 EnglandArsenal200229−7Liverpool201134−1Tottenham Hotspur200217−6 Subtotal6015620−14 FinlandHJK211031+2 Subtotal211031+2 FranceLyon101011±0Nice110010+1Paris Saint-Germain201135−2 Subtotal412156−1 GermanyBayer Leverkusen201134−1TSG Hoffenheim211032+1 Subtotal412166±0 GeorgiaDinamo Batumi210132+1Torpedo Kutaisi220050+5 Subtotal430182+6 Greece Olympiacos202033±0PAOK101033±0 Subtotal303066±0 HungaryFerencváros92251015−5Videoton201101−1 Subtotal112361016−6 IcelandValur211051+4 Subtotal211051+4 IsraelHapoel Be'er Sheva210133±0Hapoel Tel Aviv201124−2 Subtotal411257−2 ItalyInter Milan200214−3Lazio312043+1Milan200204−4Roma210134−1 Subtotal9225815−7 KazakhstanAstana210163+3 Subtotal210163+3 KosovoBallkani210142+2 Subtotal210142+2 Lithuania Sūduva Marijampolė211020+2Žalgiris421196+3 Subtotal6321116+5 LuxembourgF91 Dudelange211051+4 Subtotal211051+4 MoldovaMilsami Orhei200213−2Petrocub Hîncești220061+5 Subtotal420274+3 MontenegroBudućnost Podgorica110031+2Mladost Podgorica220050+5Sutjeska Nikšić220030+3 Subtotal5500111+10 NetherlandsAjax210124−2AZ101022±0PSV Eindhoven220040+4 Subtotal531186+2 North MacedoniaShkëndija210153+2 Subtotal210153+2 Northern IrelandCrusaders220090+9 Subtotal220090+9 PortugalBraga411256−1 Subtotal411256−1 Republic of IrelandShamrock Rovers210142+2 Subtotal210142+2 RomaniaSteaua București210111±0 Subtotal210111±0 RussiaCSKA Moscow211062+4 Subtotal211062+4 ScotlandRangers100101−1 Subtotal100101−1 Serbia Partizan422053+2Red Star Belgrade411266±0 Subtotal8332119+2 Slovakia Slovan Bratislava210142+2Spartak Trnava220061+5 Subtotal4301103+7 Slovenia Maribor202022±0Mura211031+2Olimpija201123−1 Subtotal614176+1 Spain Athletic Bilbao100112–1 Celta Vigo110032+1Espanyol200207−7Real Betis300326−4Real Madrid200216−5Valencia200204–4 Subtotal111010727 Sweden Malmö FF320144±0 Subtotal320144±0 SwitzerlandBasel6123411–7Servette201101−1Young Boys100123−1Zürich201112−1 Subtotal11146717–10 TurkeyFenerbahçe210133±0İstanbul Başakşehir201112–1 Subtotal411245–1 Ukraine Chornomorets Odesa211021+1 Subtotal211021+1 Wales The New Saints220090+9 Subtotal220090+9 Total181634672251248+3
Match results