Champions CSKA beaten but unbowed

By Stoyan Georgiev

PFC CSKA Sofia won a record 30th Bulgarian title, but they missed out on the chance to finish the season unbeaten when PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv's Velko Hristev struck four minutes from time to inflict a 4-3 defeat on the champions on the final day of the season.

Unbeaten record
The loss meant CSKA could not match their achievement of 1958, where they negotiated the championship unbeaten, albeit over eleven rather than 30 games.

Kamburov mark
They also fell one short of their mark of 26 wins in 1971/72, though that was in a 34-fixture campaign. On the other hand, Plovdiv's Martin Kamburov was able to celebrate, having struck his 27th goal of the season to end as top scorer for the second year running with the best tally for more than a decade.

Levski cup win
A week earlier, CSKA had clinched the title with a 2-1 win against PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad. Behind them PFC Levski Sofia had the consolation four days later of a 2-1 victory against CSKA to claim the Bulgarian Cup for a record 25th time.

Mihailov record
At the weekend, Levski goalkeeper Nikolai Mihailov became the youngest Bulgarian top-flight debutant one month before his 17th birthday. He is the first third-generation goalkeeper to play for Levski, following grandfather Bissa, an international, and father Borislav, Bulgaria's most-capped player.

Litex in Europe
Joining Levski in next season's UEFA Cup are Plovdiv and PFC Litex Lovech. Litex finished fourth despite having four coaches over the season including an eleven-game reign from Itzhak Shum. Ljupko Petrovic, who led FK Crvena Zvezda to the 1991 European Champion Clubs' Cup, will return for next season, having previously led Litex to the 2004 Bulgarian Cup.

Lokomotiv recovery
Without doubt the revelation this spring were PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, who started the season on minus three points due to unpaid wages. They struggled early on, but under new coach Stefan Grozdanov shot up the table to sixth - despite missing seven penalties over the season.

Smoilan survive
At the bottom PFC Nesebar and PFC Spartak Varna were long relegated, but PFC Rodopa Smolian led PFC Vidima Rakovski by a point with one game left in the race to avoid joining them. Smolian held their nerve to win 3-1 at PFC Slavia Sofia, meaning Vidima's 2-0 victory against Lokomotiv Sofia was in vain. PFC Beroe Stara Zagora have appointed Hans Kodric to replace coach Ivan Vutov.