2007–08 A Group

The 2007–08 A Group was the 60th season of the Bulgarian A Football Group since its establishment in 1948 and the 84th of a Bulgarian national top football division. The season began on 11 August 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. CSKA Sofia won their 31st record league title.[1] Last time they scooped the title was in 2004–05 season. CSKA won the league without a single defeat, 16 points ahead of their archrival Levski Sofia.

A Group
Season2007–08
Dates11 August 2007 – 17 May 2008
ChampionsCSKA Sofia
(31st title)
RelegatedBeroe
Vidima-Rakovski
Marek
Champions LeagueLevski Sofia
UEFA CupLokomotiv Sofia
Litex
Cherno More
Intertoto CupChernomorets
Matches played240
Goals scored558 (2.33 per match)
Top goalscorerGeorgi Hristov
(19 goals)
Biggest home winCherno More 7–0 Vidima-Rakovski
Biggest away winBelasitsa 1–6 Chernomorets
Highest scoringLevski 6–2 Botev (8 goals)

Despite the convincing results during the season, CSKA failed to get a UEFA license to participate in the Champions League due to unpaid debts. The guilt for the disaster in the club was taken by their chairman Aleksandar Tomov.[2][3]

Teams

Team changes

At the end of the last season, Conegliano German, Rodopa Smolyan, and Rilski Sportist Samokov were relegated after finishing in the bottom three places of the 2006–07 season. Conegliano and Rilski Sportist survived only one season in the elite, while Rodopa ended a four-year stint in the A Group.

The relegated teams were replaced by three teams from the 2006–07 B Group, including the winners of the East and West B Groups, as well as the playoff winner decided between the runner-ups of the two B Groups. Chernomorets Burgas and Pirin Blagoevgrad were promoted directly, while Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo defeated Naftex Burgas to gain the last promotion spot. Chernomorets made its debut in the top tier of Bulgarian football, Pirin return after a one-year absence, while Vidima-Rakovski return after a two-year absence.

Stadia and locations
Location of teams in 2007–08 A Group
Sofia 2007–08 A Group football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Belasitsa Petrich Tsar Samuil Stadium 9,500
Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe Stadium 13,512
Botev Plovdiv Hristo Botev Stadium 22,000
Cherno More Varna Ticha Stadium 8,250
Chernomorets Burgas Lazur Stadium 18,037
CSKA Sofia Balgarska Armiya Stadium 22,015
Levski Sofia Georgi Asparuhov Stadium 29,200
Litex Lovech Lovech Stadium 7,050
Lokomotiv Plovdiv Lokomotiv 13,800
Lokomotiv Sofia Lokomotiv Sofia 22,000
Marek Dupnitsa Bonchuk Stadium 16,050
Pirin Blagoevgrad Hristo Botev Stadium1 11,000
Slavia Sofia Ovcha Kupel Stadium 18,000
Spartak Varna Spartak Stadium 7,500
Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo Rakovski Stadium 8,816
Vihren Sandanski Sandanski Stadium 6,000

1^. Stadiums of Botev Plovdiv and Pirin Blagoevgrad have the same names, but they are placed in different cities.

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 CSKA Sofia (C) 30 24 6 0 53 11 +42 78 Did not obtain a license for European competitions[lower-alpha 1]
2 Levski Sofia 30 19 5 6 56 19 +37 62 Qualification for Champions League third qualifying round
3 Lokomotiv Sofia 30 16 9 5 47 28 +19 57 Qualification for UEFA Cup second qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
4 Litex Lovech 30 16 8 6 51 26 +25 56
5 Cherno More 30 13 9 8 39 28 +11 48 Qualification for UEFA Cup first qualifying round
6 Chernomorets Burgas 30 13 8 9 39 32 +7 47 Qualification for Intertoto Cup second round
7 Slavia Sofia 30 13 8 9 38 28 +10 47
8 Pirin Blagoevgrad 30 13 7 10 33 29 +4 46
9 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 30 12 7 11 37 28 +9 43
10 Vihren 30 9 6 15 26 29 −3 33
11 Spartak Varna 30 8 7 15 21 34 −13 31
12 Botev Plovdiv 30 8 6 16 36 54 −18 30
13 Belasitsa Petrich 30 7 5 18 23 43 −20 26
14 Beroe (R) 30 6 8 16 23 39 −16 26 Relegation to 2008–09 B Group
15 Vidima-Rakovski (R) 30 4 6 20 17 61 −44 18
16 Marek (R) 30 5 3 22 16 66 −50 18
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 goal difference; 7th goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. CSKA failed to get a license for the competition due to unpaid debts
  2. Litex qualify via 2007–08 Bulgarian Cup

Results
Home \ Away BEL BSZ BOT CHM CHB CSK LEV LIT LPL LSO MAR PIR SLA SPV VRA VIH
Belasitsa Petrich 3–1 3–1 1–1 1–6 1–3 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 1–0
Beroe 2–1 3–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–0 1–3 1–1 2–2 2–2 0–0 2–0 2–0
Botev Plovdiv 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–3 0–3 1–2 1–2 2–2 4–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 5–0 1–0
Cherno More 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–2 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 7–0 1–0
Chernomorets Burgas 0–0 2–0 3–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–4 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0
CSKA Sofia 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 3–1 4–0 3–0 2–0 3–2 3–1 1–0
Levski Sofia 4–0 1–0 6–2 4–0 2–1 0–1 0–1 3–1 0–1 4–2 4–0 2–1 3–0 3–0 1–0
Litex Lovech 2–0 1–1 6–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 4–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 4–1 2–0
Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1–0 2–0 4–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 6–1 2–1
Lokomotiv Sofia 1–0 3–0 2–2 4–3 4–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 2–1 2–0 0–3 1–2 1–0 2–0 3–2
Marek 0–3 0–1 1–0 1–4 1–4 1–3 0–4 0–3 2–1 1–4 0–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–3
Pirin Blagoevgrad 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–3 1–1 1–3 4–0 1–0 1–2 3–1 0–0
Slavia Sofia 3–1 2–0 4–2 3–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 5–0 2–0 0–0
Spartak Varna 1–0 1–0 2–2 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–1 0–0 0–1
Vidima-Rakovski 1–0 3–1 0–1 0–3 1–1 0–0 1–3 3–2 0–3 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–1
Vihren 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–2 1–2 0–1 2–1 0–2 1–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–1
Source: A PFG (in Bulgarian)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Champions
CSKA Sofia
Goalkeepers
01Cameroon Daniel Bekono000(0)
12Bulgaria Ivaylo Petrov280(0)
22Bulgaria Ilko Pirgov020(0)
Defenders
02Serbia Nenad Nastić070(0)
03Bulgaria Aleksandar Tunchev260(3)
06Bulgaria Kiril Kotev180(0)
13Montenegro Nikola Vujadinović240(1)
14Bulgaria Valentin Iliev*140(1)
15North Macedonia Robert Petrov000(0)
27Netherlands Quido Lanzaat080(0)
30Bulgaria Yordan Todorov260(1)
84Brazil Filipe Machado150(2)
Midfielders
05Bulgaria Todor Yanchev280(2)
10Bulgaria Georgi Iliev160(1)
11Bulgaria Emil Gargorov130(0)
16Bulgaria Ivaylo Dimitrov010(0)
17Cape Verde Zé Rui130(0)
18Romania Florentin Petre24(11)
20Bulgaria Yordan Yurukov080(1)
21Nigeria Chigozie Udoji230(1)
23Morocco Abderrahman Kabous*080(0)
24Bulgaria Aleksandar Tonev020(0)
28Bulgaria Marquinhos250(1)
Forwards
08Bulgaria Velizar Dimitrov240(4)
09Panama José Luis Garcés140(3)
19Bulgaria Evgeni Yordanov080(1)
99Brazil Nei29(14)
Nigeria Kevin Amuneke*100(2)
Bulgaria Georgi Chilikov*120(3)
Manager
Bulgaria Stoycho Mladenov
  • Iliev, Kabous, Amuneke and Chilikov left the club during a season.

Top scorers
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Bulgaria Georgi Hristov Botev Plovdiv
19
2 Brazil Nei CSKA Sofia
14
3 Bulgaria Marcho Dafchev Lokomotiv Sofia
13
North Macedonia Zoran Baldovaliev Lokomotiv Sofia
5 Bulgaria Aleksandar Aleksandrov Cherno More Varna
12
6 Bulgaria Plamen Krumov Chernomorets Burgas
11
Romania Florentin Petre CSKA Sofia
Bulgaria Ivelin Popov Litex Lovech
9 Argentina Germán Pietrobon Pirin Blagoevgrad
10
10 Bulgaria Anatoli Todorov Lokomotiv Plovdiv
9
Bulgaria Miroslav Manolov Cherno More Varna
Bulgaria Ivan Naydenov Spartak Varna

References
  1. "Сезон 2007-08 "Лицензгейт" пука розовите балони на Сашо Томов" (in Bulgarian). temasport.com. 12 October 2013.
  2. CSKA without UEFA license, Tomov takes the guilt
  3. "Part of Aleksandar Tomov's book: How they took the license of CSKA". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
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