Match Pack: PFC Ludogorets vs Athletic Club (Europa League)

After taking seven points from our three Europa League games so far, Athletic Club can take a giant step forward with a victory over Bulgarian champions PFC Ludogorets in Razgrad.

Although the Bulgarian side are not a household name on a global level, Ernesto Valverde's Lions will need to be wary. Ludogorets have won the Bulgarian league 13 years in a row and have ample European experience.

Ludogorets have made a poor start to this season's Europa League and have just one point, taken from a goalless draw away to Victoria Plzen. However, they currently lead the efbet Liga, nine points ahead of second-placed Botev Plodiv, and are unbeaten after 13 matches.

 

Match Info
PFC Ludogorets vs Athletic Club

Huvepharma Arena, Razgrad

Europa League 24/25 (League Phase Matchday 4)

Thursday November 7, 18:45 CET
 

How to Watch 
Check out our global TV guide to make sure you don't miss the match

 

 

Valverde and Agirrezabala
Catch up with everything the gaffer and player had to say at their respective press conferences

 

The Opponents

 

PFC Ludogorets was founded in 1945 before going defunct and then being re-founded as Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Ludogorets 1945 in 2009, when the club truly took off.

Ludogorets are based in the city of Razgrad, a city with a population of around 29,000 inhabitants in north-eastern Bulgaria. Their matches are played at the Huvepharma Arena, which has a capacity of 12,500 spectators.

During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the team only got as high as the Bulgarian second tier. In 1997, Ludogorets merged with FC Antibiotic Razgrad and became FC Antibiotic-Ludogorets, which folded in 2005.

In 2009, Aleksandar Aleksandrov, owner of FC Razgrad 2000, took over FC Antibiotic-Ludogorets, renaming them PFC Ludogorets 1945, and leading the team to the top of Bulgarian football.

Under Ivalo Petev as coach, PFC Ludogorets gained promotion to the Second Division and with the arrival of owner Kiril Domuschiev, a Bulgarian businessman and industrialist, the club went up to the First Division in June 2011.

A year later, PFC Ludogorets won their first league title, the first in a series of 13 in a row. Never before has any team won so many consecutive top-flight league championships straight after promotion from the second division.

The Bulgarian side are nicknamed 'Orlite or Razgrad', the Razgrad Eagles, and before every match an eagle welcomes the spectators to  the Huvepharma Arena. 

 

Head coach: Igor Jovicevic

Just as Daniele De Rossi was sacked at Roma a week before our European opener and Ivan Juric took over, the 1-1 draw against the Lions at the Olimpico, being his second match in the dugout, history has repeated itself with Ludogorets.

However, this is not exactly the same situation as at Roma. Georgi Dermendzhiev, who started the season as Ludogorets' manager, was sacked on 15 August after losing in a Champions League third-round qualifier against Qarabag. After winning 1-2 in the first leg in Azerbaijan, a dramatic 2-7 defeat in the second leg cost him his job. Trailing 2-3 in the 90th minute, the Bulgarians were undone in extra time.

After this reserve team manager Zahari Sirakov took over on an interim basis, but he only lasted until the Bulgarians' defeat to 0-2 Slavia Praha in their Europa League opener. Since then, Croation manager Igor Jovicevic, formerly of Shakhtar and Dynamo Zagreb, has been in charge.

 

Standout players:

The Razgrad Eagles boast a cast of players formed in other leagues around the world: Sergio Padt (Dutch goalkeeper), Edvin Kurtulus (Swedish defender), Olivier Verdon (French defender, who's played for Deportivo Alaves before), Jakub Piotrowski (Polish midfielder), Pedro Naressi (Brazilian midfielder), Bernard Tekpetey (Iñaki Williams' teammate in the Ghana national team) and forwards Kwadwo Duah (Swiss) and Matias Tissera (Argentinian). 

Their squad also contains numerous players competing at international level for Bulgaria: Spas Delev (midfielder), Ivaylo Chochev (midfielder), Anton Nedyalkov (defender) and Ivan Yordanov (midfielder).

 

Recent results:

So far in the 2024/25 Europa League, they've lost 0-2 to Slavia Praha, lost 2-0 against Anderlecht and drawn 0-0 with Viktoria Plzen. They are in 33rd place in the standings, outside the cut-off for the next round. 
In the efbet Liga, Ludogorets are the runaway leaders with 37 points, nine points ahead of second, after twelve wins and one draw. 

 

Athletic Club-Bulgaria connections 

Athletic Club has many connections with Bulgaria. For example, there is an active Facebook group called ‘Athletic Club Bulgaria’, with up-to-date information about the club. Its members have had the pleasure of visiting San Mames and, among other trips, accompanied the team to the UEFA Europa League final in Bucharest.

What's more, Andrey Demirev, a journalist from Max Sport, is based close to Bilbao for employment reasons and also works with the Basque Country's national water polo team.

On the pitch, the Zurigorri played against Bulgaria's PFC Beroe Stara Zagora in the last sixteen of the 1973 Cup Winners' Cup. In the first leg, the Beroe won 3-0 in Bulgaria, while Athletic could only manage a 1-0 victory at San Mames. Oier Sarriegi, brother of former Athletic Club Women footballer Amaiur Sarriegi, currently plays for the same Bulgarian club.

Our only other other encounter with a Bulgarian team was on 14 August 1971 against CSKA Sofia, as part of the Ciutat de Palma trophy in Palma de Mallorca. The Bulgarians won 2-1.

A current PFC Ludogorets player used to turn out for an Athletic affiliated club. Francisco ‘Son’ Javier Hidalgo played for Barakaldo CF during the 2017/18 campaign. He was coached by Aitor Larrazabal and that season's squad included former Lezama players such as Txabi Galán, Xabi Etxebarria, Galder Cerrajería, Jon Iru, Jurgi Oteo, Sergio García and Ander Vitoria. Alain Arroyo, who scored the last goal in the old San Mamés, was also part of the squad.

 

The city of Razgrad

Razgrad is located in the Ludogorie region, nestles in the Beli Lom valley. It is a hilly, formerly forested, area that lies on Danubian plain. In fact, the word ‘Ludogorie’ translates as ‘wild forest’. The former forests were replaced by arable land, and today agriculture is one of the region's main economic drivers.

The city contains several points of interet for sightseeing in the area and learning about the richness of Bulgarian culture.

Athleticzales can see the Varosha complex, the ethnographic museum, the clock tower, the church of St. Nicholas and the Ibrahim Pasha mosque (one of the largest mosques in the Balkans).

The map below shows the meeting point Bulgarian authorities have recommended for visiting Athleticzales, as well as the suggested route to the stadium and the access point to the away stand.