OFC Pirin Blagoevgrad
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| Full name | Футболен клуб Пирин АД Football club PirinAD (Pirin Football Club) | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Орлетата(The Eagles) | ||
| Founded | 1922 | ||
| Ground | Stadion Hristo Botev | ||
| Capacity | 7,500 | ||
| Chairman | Petar Zanev | ||
| Head coach | Ivo Trenchev | ||
| League | Second League | ||
| 2023–24 | First League, 15th of 16 (relegated) | ||
| Website | fcpirin | ||
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Football club Pirin(Bulgarian:Футболен клуб „Пирин “), also known asPirin Blagoevgradis aBulgarianfootball clubbased inBlagoevgrad,which currently competes in theSecond League,the second division of Bulgarian football.
The club was founded in 2008, after a merger between two clubs fromBlagoevgrad,Pirin 1922 andPFC Pirin Blagoevgrad.By an official court decision later that year, the club was announced as a historical successor of the club records of the former FC Pirin, founded in 1922. In 2011, following the bankruptcy of the entity, which represented the football club, Pirin's football department was merged once again with Perun Kresna, to eventually become OFC Pirin.
The club's name is adopted fromPirin,a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria. Their home ground is theStadion Hristo BotevinBlagoevgradwith a capacity of 7,500 spectators. Pirin's nickname isOrletata(The Eaglets) and their kit colours are green and white.
To date, the club has four domestic cup finals and most notably, enjoys high praise for its development of football players, as several noted Bulgarian footballers were produced by Pirin's youth academy. Among them are the1994 FIFA World CupbronzemedallistsPetar MihtarskiandIvaylo Andonov,as well as formerManchester UnitedstrikerDimitar Berbatov,who won twoPremier Leaguetitles and was the2010-11 Premier League top goalscorer.
Pirin share a regional rivalry withMarek Dupnitsa,as the two clubs are among the most successful ones from Southwestern Bulgaria.
History
[edit]FC Pirin
[edit]One of FC Pirin Blagoevgrad's predecessors, FC Pirin, was founded in 1922. FC Pirin has played more than 20 seasons in the top flight and has competed twice in the European football competitions with one participation in theUEFA Cupand one participation in theCup Winners' Cuprespectively. The club's first participation in theUEFAtournaments was not promising. In 1985, Pirin faced the then reigningSwedishchampionHammarby IF.The first game inBlagoevgrad,ended with a 1–3 loss. The second game inSwedenwas also a defeat – 0–4 and Pirin were out of the European competitions. Pirin's best season in theBulgarian top divisionwas in the 1984–85 season, where they finished at 5th place at the end of the season. The club was also three times runner-up of theBulgarian Cup.Also, Pirin's youth academy is attributed as being one of the best developers of young and unknown players inBulgaria.Among the club's famous players areDimitar Berbatov,Spas Delev,Petar Mihtarski,Ivaylo Andonov,Ivan Tsvetkov,Vladislav ZlatinovandPetar Zlatinov.
On August 18, 2006, after failing to arrange some debts and signals of corruption, Pirin was expelled from theA PFG,the team's results for the season were annulled, and the club was relegated to theBulgarian South-West V AFG.However, after two years, Pirin won the South-West V AFG and the club returned for the upcoming season of theWestern B PFG.
Unification
[edit]In December 2008,Pirin,which competed in theWestern B PFG,was merged withPFC Pirin Blagoevgrad,(former FC Makedonska Slava), which played in theA PFGafter a significant pressure from the supporters in the town. The new club was namedFC Pirin Blagoevgradand was soon proclaimed as a holder of the club records of the former FC Pirin, which competed for more than 20 seasons in the top flight.[1]FC Pirin'sWest B PFGplace was taken byFC Bansko.Then, Nikolay Galchev appointedPetar Mihtarskias a manager of the club. A few months later, underNaci Şensoy's management, the successes followed-up and Pirin qualified for the final of theBulgarian Cup,eliminating subsequently on their wayCSKA SofiaandLevski Sofia.In the final match played at theGeorgi Asparuhov StadiuminSofia,Pirin were eliminated after a 3–0 defeat againstLitex Lovech.
OFK Pirin
[edit]In the foremath of the 2011–12 season, Pirin Blagoevgrad failed to receive a professional license for theA Group.However, due to their financial struggles they were also rejected to participate in theSouth-West V AFG.Later that year, they acquired the license of Perun Kresna. The team finished 2011-12 season as Perun, but for 2012-13 the team was renamed toObshtinski futbolen klub Pirin(Bulgarian:Общиснки футболен клуб „Пирин “), meaningPirin Minicipal Football Club,as the club was owned byBlagoevgrad Municipality.
In 2015, the club achieved promotion to theA Groupafter a four-year absence from top-flight football. The 2015-16 season ended in an 8th place finish out of 10 teams in a modified season format. The next season (2016–17), Pirin again managed to avoid relegation. However the team was relegated from the A Group after the 2017-18 season.
On 11 June 2019, OFK Pirin secured a one-year sponsorship agreement and advertising partnership with the investment companyEmirates Wealth EAD.[2]In July,Blagoevgrad Municipalityapproved a business plan by the company discussing the future development of the club, in particular the partnership between the two sides, phases in acquiring participatory management, investment schemes, club finances and aims.[3]The plan saw Emirates Wealth EAD become a majority owner, as it acquired 75% of the OFK Pirin's shares, with 25% remaining in Blagoevgrad Municipality's ownership.[4]Part of obtaining participatory management saw the creation of a new association, a joint-stock company namedFutbolen klub PirinAD(Bulgarian:Футболен клуб „Пирин “АД), meaningPirin Football Club,where OFK Pirin, owned by the municipality, was merged into.[5]
In 2021, Pirin managed to return to the First League after three years of absence.
After three seasons in the First League, Pirin was relegated back to the Second League at the conclusion of the2023–24 season.
Colours and badge
[edit]Currently, the team's home kit is green and the away kit is white. Various combinations of green and white have been used throughout the club's history.
Honours
[edit]Domestic
[edit]- Second League:
- Winners (1):2020–21
- Bulgarian Cup:
European Record
[edit]| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–86 | UEFA Cup | 1 | 
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Hammarby | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–7 |
| 1994–95 | Cup Winners' Cup | QR | 
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Schaan | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| 1 | 
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Panathinaikos | 0–2 | 1–6 | 1–8 |
Players
[edit]Current squad
[edit]- As of 15 November, 2024[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, seeTransfers winter 2023–24andTransfers summer 2024.
Foreign players
[edit]Up to twenty foreign nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in theBulgarian 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.
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EU Nationals |
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) |
Non-EU Nationals
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Notable players
[edit]Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or have more than 100 league appearance. Players whose name is listed inboldrepresented their countries.
Past seasons
[edit]League positions
[edit]
Last Seasons
[edit]| Season | League | Place | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Bulgarian Cup | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | V Group(III) | 3 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 69 | 26 | 62 | not qualified | ||
| 2013–14 | V Group | 1 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 87 | 6 | 79 | not qualified | ||
| 2014–15 | B Group(II) | 2 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 52 | 15 | 61 | First round | ||
| 2015–16 | A Group(I) | 8 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 45 | 26 | First round | ||
| 2016–17 | First League(I) | 10 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 41 | 44 | 43 | Quarterfinals | ||
| 2017–18 | First League | 14 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 29 | 42 | 30 | First round | ||
| 2018–19 | Second League(II) | 13 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 29 | 49 | 31 | First round | ||
| 2019–20 | Second League | 11 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 29 | 25 | Preliminary round | ||
| 2020–21 | Second League | 1 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 66 | 26 | 65 | Round of 32 | ||
| 2021–22 | First League(I) | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 34 | 41 | Round of 16 | ||
| 2022–23 | First League(I) | 13 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 21 | 39 | 24 | Round of 32 | ||
| Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation. | |||||||||||
Personnel
[edit]Club officials
[edit]| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Coaching staff | ||
| Head coach | Oleksandr Babych | 
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| Assistant coach | Artem Filimonov |
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| Assistant coach | Miroslav Mitev | 
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| Goalkeepers coach | Oleksandr Lavrentsov |
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| Physiotherapist | Andrey Polonskyi |
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| Management | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | Petar Zanev |
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| Sporting director | Petar Mihtarski |
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| Academy manager | Radoslav Mitrevski |
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Managerial history
[edit]| Dates | Name | Honours |
|---|---|---|
| 2011–2014 | Kostadin Gerganchev
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1V AFGtitle |
| 2014–2015 | Yordan Samokovliyski
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promotion toA Group |
| 2015 | Ivo Trenchev(interim)
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| 2015 | Nedelcho Matushev
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| 2015–2016 |   Naci Şensoy
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| 2016−2017 | Stefan Genov
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| 2017−2018 | Milen Radukanov
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Relegation to Second Professional League |
| 2018–2019 | Petar Zlatinov
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| 2019–2019 | Ivan Stoychev
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| 2019 | Ivo Trenchev
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| 2019–2021 |  Warren Feeney
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1st place promotion to First Professional League |
| 2021–2022 | Radoslav Mitrevski
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| 2022 | Krasimir Petrov
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| 2022 | Vasil Petrov(interim)
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| 2022–2023 | Hristo Yanev
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| 2023 | Radoslav Mitrevski
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| 2023–2024 | Ivo Trenchev
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| 2024– | Oleksandr Babych
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References
[edit]- ^"История".pirinfc.com. Archived fromthe originalon 16 September 2011.Retrieved11 October2011.
- ^"ОФК Пирин ЕООД Благоевград влиза в рекламно партньорство с Емирейтс".fcpirin.com(in Bulgarian). 11 June 2019.Retrieved12 January2021.
- ^"Планът за развитие на ФК Пирин Благоевград".fcpirin.com(in Bulgarian). 1 August 2019.Retrieved12 January2021.
- ^"От днес ОФК" Пирин "– Благоевград официално е с нов собственик"(in Bulgarian). Radio Blagoevgrad. 26 July 2019.Retrieved12 January2021.
- ^"Players".fcpirin.com(in Bulgarian). Pirin Blagoevgrad.Retrieved4 August2021.
External links
[edit]- Official website(in Bulgarian)
- Pirin – news and results
| League competitions | |
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| Cup competitions | |
| Defunct competitions |
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| National teams | |
| Regional Amateur Football Groups | |
| Lists | |
| Awards | |