Bulgarian champions PFC Ludogorets Razgrad are now only one victory away from the group stages of the Champions' League, the most prestigious club soccer tournament in the world. If they can make it, they will be only the second team from Bulgaria to get so far. (In 2006/07, PFC Levski Sofia made the group stages. They were drawn into a group featuring Chelsea, Barcelona, and Werder Bremen of Germany. They went 0-6 in their six group matches, and were outscored 17-1).
To get to the group stages, Ludogorets will have to beat FC Basel 1893, the champions of Switzerland. Basel has been to the Champions' League group stages on three different occasions (2002/03, 2008/09, and 2010/11). Basel was knocked out at this round last year.
The British betting houses have installed Basel as the favorites for this two-leg match. Ladbrokes, for instance, says that the odds on Basel's making it to the group stages are only 4 to 11. If you are willing to take Ludogorets, on the other hand, they will give you 2 to 1.
Of course, Ludogorets is lucky to be able to play the home leg of their match in Bulgaria at all. The only stadium in Bulgaria capable of hosting a match of this grandeur is the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia, which seats 43,230 people. But the matches were set for August 21 and 27, and Vasil Levski National Stadium is hosting a rock concert on August 27 (Roger Waters is playing The Wall Live). So there was a chance that Ludogorets might have to play their big "home" match in Romania. But the draw worked out that Ludogorets would host the August 21 match, and travel on August 27. So there will be a bunch of folks going from Razgrad to Sofia for tomorrow's big match. (This is disappointing to me, as I think the match should be played at Razgrad. Would Morehead State want to host a game at Rupp Arena? Well, maybe they would.) Of course, as Eric has previously noted, even the Vasil Levski Stadium does not really satisfy UEFA officialdom. But as far as I can tell, the game will go forward in Sofia as scheduled.
Meanwhile, Ludogorets has bolstered its lineup, picking up Georgi Terziev (captain of the Bulgarian under-21 team) from Bulgarian rival PSFC Chernomorets Burgas, and getting Virgil Misidjan from the Dutch club Willem II. They also have the example of the Kazakh team Shakhtar Karagandy, who beat Scottish champions Celtic 2-0 today and are now very close to becoming the first Kazakh team to make the Group Stages. And finally, of course, it should be recalled that Ludogorets have not lost since they changed managers a few weeks ago. New manager Stoicho Stoev has three wins in the Champions' League playoffs, and four wins in Bulgarian league play. Tomorrow we'll see if he can pull off another huge victory.
By the way, Vasil Levski was a Bulgarian revolutionary known as the "Apostle of Freedom." He devoted his life to freeing the Bulgarians from the Ottoman Empire. He was killed by the Ottomans in 1873, when he was only 35 years old. But only a few years later, in 1878, Bulgaria did obtain its independence. According to a 2007 television poll, Levski is regarded in Bulgaria as the all-time greatest Bulgarian.
ReplyDeleteExcellent report, Go Heath. I'm very excited about tomorrow's big match.
ReplyDeleteThere's a movie out this year about Vasil Levski!
It appears as though 10 buses of fans are on their way from Razgrad to Sofia for today's big match!
ReplyDeleteEric, what road do you suppose they're taking?
DeleteWell, this is a good question. I linked Route 4 in that original comment, but now I'm thinking they may take Google's second option, Route 3, as it would take them through Pleven. I had them going through Pleven on the way to the big match that they won over in Serbia last week, so, if that was true, I would want to retrace as much as that route as possible for the sake of good vibes.
DeleteHere's a link where we should be able to watch video of the match. Justifiably exclaims it, "Expect a picture 1 hour before the game!" An hour ahead of kickoff would be about 12:45 Central time, as the game starts at 21:45 Sofia time. That's pretty late at night over there. Even Bulgaria Jim Nantz couldn't sweet talk Bulgaria Mom into abiding a match starting that late.
ReplyDeleteEric, if Western were going to host a huge basketball game (against Gonzaga, say), I'm assuming you would want to play at WKU. But if the NCAA forced you to go to a bigger arena, would you rather switch the game to Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, the Yum! Center in Louisville, or Rupp Arena in Lexington?
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, probably Bridgestone in downtown Nashville. It's just a matter of proximity to Bowling Green. Definitely the gym among those that is closest to my heart is Rupp, but Rupp is of only slightly more WKU relevance to me than is Yum! or Bridgestone. So I'd go with proximity.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right ... I'd absolutely want this match at Diddle Arena, and the league mucketymucks would just have to deal with our crappy Wi-Fi and sandwiches.
Pretty before the beautiful game.
ReplyDeleteStill no video, but keep hope alive and, of course, remember, The Internet Is Amazing™.
ReplyDeleteFox Sports One is showing another playoff match: Fenerbahce (TUR) v. Arsenal (ENG). These are two pretty big-time clubs, one of which will be bitterly disappointed about missing the Group Stages.
ReplyDeleteThis stream has no commentary. The audio seems to be a field-level microphone. Vasil Levski National Stadium appears to be maybe 25-percent full. They're playing KISS over the PA at halftime.
ReplyDelete1:1.
This is a German Sky Sports stream.
ReplyDeleteludogorec.net @Ludogoretsbg 4m
ReplyDelete2:1 !!!!! Иван Стоянов
2:54 PM - 21 Aug 13
In Turkey, the Arsenal have taken a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute. Arsenal are wearing blue shorts(!) with their usual red shirt, which looks odd. But so far they've played pretty well.
ReplyDeleteNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
ReplyDeleteLudogorets 2-3 Basel
2:4. Urgh.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in Turkey, Arsenal are cruising to a 3-0 away victory.
ReplyDeleteIvan Stoyanov: Hope dies last
ReplyDeleteThe author of the second goal Ludogoretz Ivan Stoyanov admitted that Basel is literate team and deservedly won 4-2 in the first playoff in the Champions League. However, it was clear that the hope of Razgrad is not yet extinct.
"Bad luck. Seen that Basel is literate team. Get your situations. Stay almost equally. Has rematch. Hope dies last. I think that the third goal was offside. Dont know we will see duplicates. Thank the many people who came to the stadium to support us, "said Stoyanov.