Bulgaria Update

OK, it's time to check in once more on the performance of the Bulgarian champion in the UEFA Champions' League -- the top soccer club tournament in the world.  Some of the bigger European countries (like England or Germany) get to send up to four clubs to this tournament.  But every country in Europe gets to send at least one team.  However, the tournament is seeded, meaning that most of the champions of the smaller leagues are knocked out well before the Group Stages, which will include a total of 32 clubs.

The Bulgarian champ usually starts in the Second Qualifying Round.  If they win there, they advance to the Third Qualifying Round.  A victory there would them in the "Playoffs."  And a win there means that they actually get to be in the Group Stages.

Obviously, the Bulgarian champions will not be lifting the European Cup in May, any more than the OVC Champions will be lifting the NCAA Basketball Trophy anytime soon.  But getting the Group Stages would be a huge, huge accomplishment.  Only one team from Bulgaria has ever done it.

This year, for the third year in a row, Bulgaria's champion is Ludogorets Razgrad.  Two years ago, they were beaten in the Second Qualifying Round in heartbreaking fashion by Dinamo Zagreb, the Croatian champs.  Over two legs, Zagreb edged Ludogorets 4-3, with help from some questionable officiating.  Last year, however, Ludogorets made it through the Second Qualifying Round, beating Slovan Bratislava (the champion of Slovakia) 4-2 over two legs.  Then, in the Third Qualifying Round, Ludogorets took out Partizan (the champion of Serbia) 3-1 over two legs.  So they were in the Playoffs.  Unfortunately, here they ran into an opponent they could not match:  Basel (the champion of Switzerland).  Basel came to Bulgaria and drilled Ludogorets 4-2, and then beat them again in Switzerland by the score of 2-0.  So Ludogorets was beaten just shy of the Group Stages.

Now they are back.  This time, in the Second Qualifying Round, they drew F91 Dudelange, the champions of Luxembourg.  Ludogorets had little trouble, winning 4-0 at home and drawing 1-1 in Luxembourg.  So Ludogorets advanced with an aggregate score of 5-1.

Next up, we have a rematch of last year's Third Qualifying Round, as Ludogorets will take on Partizan of Serbia.  This was a hard-fought battle last year, which ended with a 3-1 Ludogorets victory.  It should be noted that Partizan did not win the Serbian title last year -- that went to Red Star Belgrade.  But Red Star Belgrade is in trouble because of a bad financial situation -- according to Wikipedia, some of the Red Star players had not been paid in six months.  So they were prohibited from competing in Champions' League, and Partizan has taken their place.  The oddsmakers seem to think that Ludogorets will survive this matchup and advance to the Playoffs for the second year in a row.  The first game is tomorrow in Ludogorets, with the second game taking place in Serbia on August 6.  We will have updates.