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OFC Vihren Sandanski

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Vihren
Full nameOFC Vihren Sandanski
Nickname(s)The Gladiators
FoundedMay 24, 1925; 99 years ago (1925-05-24)
GroundSandanski Stadium,
Sandanski
Capacity6,000
ManagerNaci Şensoy
LeagueSouth-West Third League
2023–24South-West Third League, 4th

OFC Vihren (Bulgarian: ОФК Вихрен) is a Bulgarian football club from the town of Sandanski, currently playing in the South-West Third League. Sandanski's home ground is the Sandanski Stadium in Sandanski with a capacity of 6,000. Vihren Sandanski's team colours are green and white.

Vihren was founded in 1925, changing its name several times during its early existence. Up until the early 2000s, Vihren played mostly in either the second or third tiers of Bulgarian football. Season 2004-05 is arguably the most important in the club's history, as the team managed to promote to the A PFG, or first tier of Bulgarian football, for the first time. Vihren managed to play four consecutive seasons in the elite, before suffering relegation after the 2008-09 season. Since then, the Gladiators have played mostly in the third regional tier.[citation needed]

Equipment

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Currently the team's home kit is green and the away kit is white. Various combinations of green and white have been used through the years, but green remains the basic colour of the team.

History

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The club was founded on 24 May 1925. It has carried the names Ustrem, Gotse Delchev, Yane Sandanski and Cherveno zname throughout its history.

For a very long period of its existence, Vihren was considered a minor club from southwest Bulgaria. It always stood in the shadows of the other more successful clubs from the region, such as Pirin Blagoevgrad, and Belasitsa Petrich, who regularly competed in the A Group.

In 1977, Vihren first promoted to the B Group, remaining there 13 consecutive seasons before falling back to the V Group. In 1993, Vihren returned to the B Group, but only for one season, after which relegation again followed.

In 2003, Vihren again returned to the second level. In the 2004–05 season, Vihren finished first and gained promotion to the A Group for the 2005–06 season, marking the team's debut in the top tier. Before their first year of playing in A PFG, Vihren's owner decided to bring players from other countries to bolster the team's chances of surviving in the top flight. His first signing was the ex-FC Porto player Jose Furtado. He was from the Portuguese side G.D. Tourizense for free. Brazilian player Serginio Dias, and Portuguese players Mauro Alexandre and Nuno Almeida were just a few other players who signed for Vihren after Furtado. The team coach was named Petar Zhekov. Vihren finished season 2005–06 on 9th place in A PFG with 30 points.

The next season, 2006-07, Vihren managed to gain 37 points, finishing in 9th place once again.

In season 2007–08, Vihren's owner, Konstantin Dinev decided to bring Portuguese coach Rui Dias. The club signed eight Portuguese and two Brazilian players. But three months later, Rui Dias was discharged for poor results. At the end of the season, the team finished in 10th place.

Season 2008–09 started excellent with a 1–0 win against Bulgarian vice-champion Levski Sofia. In the 4th round, the club defeated Lokomotov Sofia. In January 2008, Vihren signed notable Greek players Christos Maladenis and Dimitrios Zografakis. In the end of the season, however, the team finished in 14th place and were relegated to B Group, ending a four-year stint in the elite.

The following two seasons were spent in the second tier, but financial problems overwhelmed the club, forcing its folding in 2011 and withdrawal from the B Group. The next season, Vihren was refounded from the fourth level, the A RFG. The team then promoted to the V Group in 2013.

League positions

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Bulgarian V AFGBulgarian V AFGRegional Amateur Football Groups (Bulgaria)Bulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian A Football GroupBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFGBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFGBulgarian B Football GroupBulgarian V AFG

Honours

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Bulgarian A PFG:

Bulgarian Cup:

  • quarter finalist Cup of the Soviet Army: 1985/86

Current squad

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As of 1 August 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Bulgaria BUL Dimitar Pangev
2 DF Bulgaria BUL Martin Popov
3 DF Bulgaria BUL Valeri Georgiev (captain)
4 DF Bulgaria BUL Valentin Udev
5 DF Bulgaria BUL Dimitar Kalchev
6 DF Bulgaria BUL Daniel Zlatkov
7 MF Bulgaria BUL Kristiyan Nikolov
9 FW Bulgaria BUL Metodi Kostov
10 FW Bulgaria BUL Vladimir Kabranov
11 MF Bulgaria BUL Atanas Chipilov
12 GK Bulgaria BUL Veselin Ganev
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 DF Bulgaria BUL Borislav Ingov
14 MF Bulgaria BUL Nikola Georgiev
15 FW Bulgaria BUL Chigozie Udoji
16 MF Bulgaria BUL Kostadin Apostolov
17 DF Bulgaria BUL Valentin Kostov
18 MF Bulgaria BUL Kostadin Kostadinov
19 MF Bulgaria BUL Aleksandar Yakimov
20 DF Bulgaria BUL Krasimir Zdravkov
21 MF Bulgaria BUL Ivan Gyurov
23 MF Bulgaria BUL Milen Zlatkov
98 MF Bulgaria BUL Ivan Lazarov

Managerial history

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This is a list of the last ten Vihren managers:

Name Nat From To
Kostadin Todorov Bulgaria January 2000 January 2001
Vasil Metodiev Bulgaria January 2001 June 2002
Yordan Bozdanski Bulgaria December 2002 May 2004
Petar Zhekov Bulgaria June 2004 May 2005
Petar Zhekov Bulgaria June 2005 May 2006
Dionysis Beslikas Greece June 2006 August 2006
Petar Zhekov Bulgaria August 2006 May 2007
Rui Dias Portugal June 2007 October 2007
Eduard Eranosyan Bulgaria October 2007 November 2007
Filip Filipov Bulgaria December 2007 incumbent

As of December 31, 2009.

Notable players

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  • Bulgaria Vasil Metodiev
  • Bulgaria Vladimir Karakachiev
  • Bulgaria Todor Mechev
  • Bulgaria Krasimir Bakalov
  • Bulgaria Valentin Stankov
  • Bulgaria Atanas Manushev
  • Bulgaria Plamen Mitsanski
  • Bulgaria Emil Mitsanski
  • Bulgaria Hristo Zlatinov

Former foreign players

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Brazil Brazil

Cape Verde Cape Verde

Croatia Croatia

  • Bruno Šiklić
  • Vedren Muratović
 

France France

Spain Spain

Greece Greece

Hungary Hungary

North Macedonia Macedonia

 

Nigeria Nigeria

Portugal Portugal

 

Serbia Serbia

Uruguay Uruguay

Argentina Argentina

Venezuela Venezuela

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