2001–02 A Group

The 2001–02 A Group was the 54th season of the A Football Group, the top Bulgarian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1948.

A Group
Season2001–02
Dates3 August 2001 – 30 May 2002
ChampionsLevski Sofia
(23rd title)
Relegated
Champions LeagueLevski
UEFA Cup
Matches played268
Goals scored681 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerVladimir Manchev
(21 goals)

Defending champions Levski Sofia won their third consecutive title, and 23rd title overall.

Overview

The format of the league was changed from last season, with the intention of making the league more competitive. This resulted in the league being divided into two groups after the regular season. The top 6 teams from the regular season would continue in the championship round, while the bottom 8 teams would play in the relegation round. It was contested by 14 teams, and Levski Sofia won the championship.[1]

Teams

Fourteen teams competed in the league. The promoted teams from the 2000–01 B Group were Spartak Pleven (returning to the top flight after a three-year absence) and Marek Dupnitsa (returning after a nineteen-year absence). The league also included Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Belasitsa Petrich after mergers with Velbazhd Kyustendil and Hebar Pazardzhik respectively.

These teams replace Botev Plovdiv and Minyor Pernik, who were relegated at the end of the last season.

Stadiums and Locations
Location of teams in 2001–02 A Group
Sofia 2001–02 A Group football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Belasitsa Petrich Tsar Samuil 9,500
Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe 22,500
Cherno More Varna Ticha 8,250
Chernomorets Burgas Chernomorets 22,000
CSKA Sofia Balgarska Armia 22,015
Levski Sofia Georgi Asparuhov 29,200
Litex Lovech Gradski 7,050
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Lokomotiv 24,000
Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv 22,000
Marek Dupnitsa Bonchuk 16,050
Naftex Burgas Lazur 18,037
Slavia Sofia Slavia 32,000
Spartak Pleven Slavi Aleksiev 21,940
Spartak Varna Spartak 7,500

Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Belasitsa Bulgaria Mihail Valchev Vitosha AD
Beroe Bulgaria Venelin Sivriev Bulgaria Vanyo Shishkov Germany Erima
Cherno More Bulgaria Aleksandar Stankov Bulgaria Ventsislav Marinov Bulgaria BURGELOF St. Elias
Chernomorets Bulgaria Ivan Tsvetanov Bulgaria Kostadin Dzhambazov
CSKA Sofia Italy Luigi Simoni Bulgaria Georgi Antonov Italy Lotto —
Levski Sofia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slavoljub Muslin Bulgaria Stanimir Stoilov Italy Diadora Mobiltel
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bulgaria Dimitar Dimitrov Japan Asics VAI Holding
Lokomotiv Sofia Bulgaria Emil Dimitrov Germany Adidas Delta-G
Litex Bulgaria Ferario Spasov Bulgaria Vitomir Vutov Japan Asics Litex Commerce
Marek Bulgaria Dimitar Aleksiev Bulgaria Velizar Dimitrov United States Nike
Naftex Bulgaria Dimitar Stoychev Bulgaria Stanimir Dimitrov Germany Puma Petrol AD
Slavia Sofia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Žarko Olarević Bulgaria Veselin Vachev Germany Adidas Sofiyski Imoti
Spartak Pleven Bulgaria Angel Stankov Bulgaria Slavcho Pavlov Japan Asics VIS-2
Spartak Varna Bulgaria Stefan Grozdanov Bulgaria Valentin Stanchev

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Beroe Bulgaria Tsvetomir Parvanov Mutual consent 1 June 2001 Pre-season Bulgaria Ivan Vutov 21 June 2001[2]
Chernomorets Bulgaria Nikolay Rusev Mutual consent 1 June 2001 Pre-season Bulgaria Mihail Valchev 22 June 2001[3]
Marek Dupnitsa Bulgaria Petar Zehtinski Mutual consent 8 September 2001 12th Bulgaria Yanko Dinkov 10 September 2001[4]
Chernomorets Bulgaria Mihail Valchev Sacked 9 September 2001 14th Bulgaria Ivan Tsvetanov 12 September 2001[5]
Levski Sofia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ljupko Petrović Mutual consent 10 September 2001[6] 1st Bulgaria Georgi Todorov (caretaker) 10 September 2001
Slavia Sofia Bulgaria Kiril Kachamanov Sacked 25 September 2001 10th Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Žarko Olarević 25 September 2001
Lokomotiv Sofia Bulgaria Angel Kolev Sacked 28 October 2001[7] 9th Bulgaria Emil Dimitrov 28 October 2001
CSKA Sofia Bulgaria Asparuh Nikodimov Sacked 4 December 2001 3rd Italy Luigi Simoni 10 December 2001
Marek Dupnitsa Bulgaria Yanko Dinkov Mutual consent 2 January 2002 13th Bulgaria Dimitar Aleksiev 2 January 2002[8]
Levski Sofia Bulgaria Georgi Todorov End of caretaker tenure 3 January 2002 1st Germany Rüdiger Abramczik 3 January 2002
Beroe Bulgaria Ivan Vutov Mutual consent 4 January 2002 14th Bulgaria Tsvetomir Parvanov 4 January 2002
Levski Sofia Germany Rüdiger Abramczik Sacked 11 March 2002[9] 1st Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slavoljub Muslin 17 March 2002[10]
Beroe Bulgaria Tsvetomir Parvanov Sacked 12 March 2002 14th Bulgaria Iliya Iliev 17 March 2002
Spartak Pleven Bulgaria Velislav Vutsov Mutual consent 12 March 2002 7th Bulgaria Angel Stankov 18 March 2002
Belasitsa Bulgaria Voyn Voynov Sacked 12 May 2002 12th Bulgaria Mihail Valchev 13 May 2002[11]

First stage

League standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Levski Sofia 26 20 5 1 58 21 +37 65 Qualification for championship group
2 Litex Lovech 26 16 7 3 50 27 +23 55
3 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 26 16 5 5 42 23 +19 53
4 CSKA Sofia 26 15 7 4 48 17 +31 52
5 Naftex Burgas 26 12 6 8 35 25 +10 42
6 Slavia Sofia 26 10 7 9 30 32 −2 37
7 Spartak Pleven 26 10 3 13 40 44 −4 33 Qualification for relegation group
8 Lokomotiv Sofia 26 7 8 11 33 32 +1 29
9 Spartak Varna 26 5 11 10 29 39 −10 26
10 Chernomorets Burgas 26 7 5 14 24 54 −30 26
11 Marek 26 6 6 14 22 42 −20 24
12 Cherno More 26 6 6 14 28 36 −8 24
13 Belasitsa Petrich 26 6 5 15 21 35 −14 23
14 Beroe 26 3 5 18 13 46 −33 14
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
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 season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.

Results
Home \ Away BEL BSZ CHM CHB CSK LEV LIT LPL LSO MAR NAF SLA SPL SPV
Belasitsa Petrich 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–0
Beroe 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–3[lower-alpha 1] 0–0 0–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–4 0–2 1–0
Cherno More 2–1 2–0 3–1 0–1 1–2 4–0 1–3 1–1 3–1 0–3 0–1 2–2 1–1
Chernomorets Burgas 3–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 0–2 2–2 0–0 1–0 3–2 0–0 1–0 2–1
CSKA Sofia 1–0 3–0 1–0 6–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 4–0 2–1 3–0 5–0 3–2 5–1
Levski Sofia 3–2 1–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 2–1 2–0 3–2 4–1 4–1 3–1 4–1 6–0
Litex Lovech 1–0 3–1 3–2 4–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 5–3 2–0 1–0 4–1 6–2 1–1
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2–0 5–0 2–1 3–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 3–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 0–0 1–1 1–2 6–1 1–0 1–2 3–1 0–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 3–0 0–0
Marek 2–2 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–5 0–0
Naftex Burgas 1–0 2–0 1–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 3–1 1–0 0–1 4–1
Slavia Sofia 1–0 3–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 2–2 3–2 1–1
Spartak Pleven 3–2 2–1 3–1 4–0 0–0 2–4 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 1–2 2–0
Spartak Varna 4–1 3–1 0–0 3–0 1–2 1–2 2–4 1–1 0–0 4–1 0–0 1–2 2–1
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. Match awarded after was not played after referee was beaten up ahead of the match.

Championship group

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Levski Sofia (C) 36 27 7 2 77 27 +50 56 Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round
2 Litex Lovech 36 23 8 5 66 34 +32 50 Qualification for UEFA Cup qualifying round
3 CSKA Sofia 36 19 7 10 60 29 +31 38
4 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 36 18 6 12 48 41 +7 34
5 Slavia Sofia 36 14 8 14 42 48 −6 32
6 Naftex Burgas 36 14 9 13 44 40 +4 30
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
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 season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.
(C) Champions

Results
Home \ Away CSK LEV LIT LPL NAF SLA
CSKA Sofia 1–0 1–2 4–0 3–2 0–2
Levski Sofia 2–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 3–1
Litex Lovech 1–0 2–2 3–1 1–0 2–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1–0 1–3 0–2 2–1 1–2
Naftex Burgas 1–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 2–2
Slavia Sofia 1–3 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–2
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation group

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Marek 40 14 8 18 46 57 −11 38 Qualification for Intertoto Cup first round
8 Lokomotiv Sofia 40 14 9 17 49 48 +1 37
9 Spartak Varna 40 12 13 15 50 51 −1 36
10 Chernomorets Burgas 40 13 9 18 41 69 −28 35
11 Cherno More 40 12 11 17 47 51 −4 35
12 Spartak Pleven (R) 40 15 4 21 58 66 −8 33 Relegation to 2002–03 B Group
13 Belasitsa Petrich (R) 40 12 7 21 34 50 −16 32
14 Beroe (R) 40 4 8 28 19 70 −51 13
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
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 season goal difference; 7th season goals scored; 8th "sportsmanship" (R & Y cards); 9th draw.
(R) Relegated

Results
Home \ Away BEL BSZ CHM CHB LSO MAR SPL SPV
Belasitsa Petrich 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–2 3–2 2–1
Beroe 0–1 1–1 0–3 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–3
Cherno More 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 1–1
Chernomorets Burgas 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–4 1–0 1–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 3–0 1–0
Marek 2–0 3–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–0
Spartak Pleven 2–0 1–2 2–1 3–1 1–2 3–1 1–0
Spartak Varna 2–0 2–0 1–2 3–0 3–1 2–1 2–1
Source: todor66.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Champions
Levski Sofia
Goalkeepers
01Bulgaria Georgi Petkov270(0)
12Bulgaria Georgi Sheytanov010(0)
27Bulgaria Dimitar Ivankov090(0)
Defenders
02Bulgaria Martin Stankov150(0)
03Bulgaria Stanimir Stoilov300(0)
05Bulgaria Georgi Markov*160(0)
11Bulgaria Elin Topuzakov260(5)
13Bulgaria Ivo Trenchev190(1)
14Bulgaria Vladimir Ivanov110(0)
20Bulgaria Stanislav Angelov280(5)
22Bulgaria Ilian Stoyanov250(0)
23Bosnia and Herzegovina Dalibor Dragić240(5)
26Bulgaria Tsanko Tsvetanov060(0)
28Bulgaria Bogomil Dyakov010(0)
Midfielders
04Bulgaria Biser Ivanov240(1)
06Bulgaria Stanislav Genchev210(3)
07Hungary Péter Kabát150(5)
15Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Saša Simonović060(3)
17Russia Konstantin Golovskoy200(0)
18Trinidad and Tobago Brent Rahim110(0)
21Bulgaria Dimitar Telkiyski300(4)
25Bulgaria Yordan Terziev*040(0)
30Bulgaria Dimitar Krastev030(0)
Bulgaria Asen Nikolov*030(0)
Brazil William Batista*010(0)
Bulgaria Svetoslav Barkanichkov*020(0)
Forwards
08Bulgaria Georgi Bachev180(8)
09Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov19(13)
10Hungary István Ferenczi040(3)
16Bulgaria Martin Kushev150(6)
19Bulgaria Georgi Chilikov27(10)
24Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Miodrag Pantelić290(4)
29Bulgaria Dimitar Makriev010(0)
Brazil Rogério Gaúcho*080(0)
Bulgaria Todor Kolev*020(0)
Manager
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slavoljub Muslin
  • Markov, Terziev, Nikolov, Batista, Barkanichkov, Gaucho and Kolev left the club during a season.

Top scorers
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Bulgaria Vladimir Manchev CSKA Sofia 21
2 Bulgaria Todor Kolev Spartak Pleven 18
3 Bulgaria Stoyko Sakaliev Naftex Burgas 17
4 Bulgaria Stefan Yurukov Litex Lovech 14
Bulgaria Metodi Stoynev Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Bulgaria Boyko Velichkov Lokomotiv Sofia
Bulgaria Velizar Dimitrov Marek Dupnitsa
8 Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov Levski Sofia 13
Bulgaria Zoran Janković Litex Lovech
Bulgaria Martin Kushev Slavia Sofia
Levski Sofia

References
  1. "С 5-ма треньори Левски стига до титлата" (in Bulgarian). temasport.com. 31 August 2013.
  2. "Иван Вутов пак треньор на Берое" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 22 June 2001.
  3. "Мишо Вълчев ще поеме Черноморец" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 22 June 2001.
  4. "Янко Динков пое Марек" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 11 September 2001.
  5. "Иван Цветанов ще поеме Черноморец" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 12 September 2001.
  6. "Люпко Петрович вече не е треньор на Левски" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 10 September 2001.
  7. "Локомотив (Сф) изгони треньора Ангел Колев" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. 29 October 2001.
  8. "Димитър Алексиев пое Марек" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 2 January 2002.
  9. "Гонят Рюдигер Абрамчик" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 11 March 2002.
  10. "Славолюб Муслин поема Левски в неделя" (in Bulgarian). news.bg. 13 March 2002.
  11. "М. Вълчев поема Беласица" (in Bulgarian). segabg.com. 14 May 2002.
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