SOFIA - THE VASIL LEVSKI NATIONAL STADIUM - CAPACITY: 43,400 ALL SEATER
About the Vasil Levski National Stadium The Vasil Levski is Bulgaria’s biggest stadium, and unsurprisingly classed as the National Stadium. The stadium is named after the Bulgarian National hero who led the struggle against the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the middle of the 19th century.
The stadium was originally opened in 1953, having been constructed on the site of the original stadium used by Levski Sofia. It was originally built with a capacity of 70,000, with fans standing on the terraces of a huge bowl arena. Today the terraces have been converted to smart blue seats, although apart from a small roof over the more expensive seasons in the main stand, it still remains roofless which is fine for those warm barmy April evenings, but not so for the cold and wet games in January. Sightlines are quite good though and if you get a chance a visit to the stadium to watch the big Sofia derby between CSKA and Levski is a memorable experience.
Further modifications were made in 2002 giving it UEFA 4 star status, and so become eligible to hold UEFA Cup finals. The stadium was also the centre of Bulgaria’s unsuccessful bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Whilst the stadium is used by the national team for their games, Levski play their derby matches versus CSKA and Champions Leagues matches here. Other than these, they play their domestic games at the Georgi Asparoukhov stadium located around 2km east of the Vasil Levski. This stadium can hold around 30,000 fans. A few hundred yards south of the Vasil Levski is the Stadion Balgarska Armia which is home to CSKA Sofia.
Who plays there? Whilst the Vasil Levski is officially the home of the national side, and the Bulgarian cup final, in recent seasons the success of Levski Sofia has prompted the stadium to be used for Champions League matches. Last season the stadium played host to home matches against Chelsea, Werder Bremen and Barcelona – quite a formidable trio, which unsurprisingly led to three defeats. After winning the championship again in 2007, the club will be hoping for a favourable draw in the qualifying rounds to again compete in the group stages.
Levski’s recent success has made them the most successful team in Bulgarian football, overtaking bitter rivals CSKA. They have now won 25 Championships and 26 Bulgarian Cups including the domestic double on 13 occasions (including 2007). Since 2000 the team have won the championship on 5 occasions. However, they actually made a slow start to their footballing life. After being formed in 1911 by a group of students, the club had to wait ten years before the formation of the Sofia Sports League before they could compete on a semi-professional stage. The first National Championships took place in 1924 and the club were chosen to represent Sofia. It would be nearly 10 years before they won the National Championship though, repeating the feat on 5 occasions in the 1940’s.
In 1949 the club’s name was changed to Dinamo on the orders of Stalin who wanted to see all of the top teams in the Soviet empire called Dinamo (hence Dinamo Kiev, Dinamo Moscow, Dinamo Berlin and Dinamo Dresden amongst others). However, once the rule of Stalin’s Russia was lifted in 1957 the club re-adopted their Levski name. The following decade was marked with inconsistency on the pitch as the club invested in its youth policy.
These young players started making their mark in the late 1960’s as Levski picked up Championships in 1965, 1968 and 1970. This conveyor belt of talent continued to come through the youth academy at the club during the late 1970’s and 1980’s as the team won 5 more titles up until 1985. In that season, Levski met CSKA in the Bulgarian Cup final. In a game marred by crowd trouble, and fighting on the pitch which saw player sent off and clashes with the referee, both Levski and CSKA were forced to change their names (to Vitosha and Sredets respectively) and a number of players from either side were banned for life. The 1985 title was also taken away from the club.
These sanctions were overturned within a few months but it wasn’t until 1989 that Levski were able to regain their name. The 1990’s were a similar story of success on the pitch as the club won three titles in a row from 1993, as well as five Bulgarian Cup Finals. These were followed up with the success we have seen recently in the 2000’s.
Europe has still proved a bridge too far for the club. They have reached the European Cup Winners Cup quarter-finals on three occasions, and a similar stage in the UEFA Cup twice – the last time being in 2005/06 when they lost to Schalke, having beaten Marseille, Auxerre, Udinese and Artmedia enroute to the last eight. Last season under the leadership of Stanimir Stoilov the domestic double was delivered with considerable ease. Fans hope that this season they can repeat the feat as well as progress in the Champions League.
In terms of the National team, they are currently unbeaten in their Euro 2008 qualifying group, having beaten Slovenia, Luxemburg, and Belarus twice. With a key game coming up against Netherlands in September they must look to continue this form and hope to snatch the 2nd qualifying spot currently held by Romania.
How to get there The Vasil Levski Stadium is located close to the Borisova Gardens in the South East corner of the city. It is a pleasant 15 minute walk from the city centre down Graf Ignatiev, although if you want to use public transport trams 2, 12, 14 or 19 run to the stadium. The stadium sits around 100metres from CSKA’s Stadion Balgarska Armia. If you are heading to Levski’s Asparoukhov stadion then use bus 78 or 120 which terminate at the Istok bus station adjacent to the stadium.
Getting a ticket As Levski move their derby matches with CSKA and their Champions League matches to the national stadium, getting a ticket for any game has never been a problem. Even their home match last year in the Champions League against Chelsea did not sell out, although no tickets were available on the day of the game. Their home games attract crowds of just over 6,000 on average. If Levski are playing at the Asparoukhov then a ticket in the main stand (Sektor A) will cost around 10lev. At the national stadium depending on the opposition expect to pay double that for a seat in the main stand. Tickets can be purchased from the club in advance – at the moment there is no facility to purchase tickets in advance from the website – although on occasions they will reserve you on by emailing them at adv@levski.bg.
Getting around Public transport in Sofia consists of an extensive network of Buses, and Trolleybuses (buses that run on overhead cables). Most of the main attractions are easily reached by foot, with public transport helping you reach any outlying areas. There is also a small metro system that mainly covers the city centre. A single ticket on any form of transport is 2lev and is valid for an hour.
