FC Maritsa Plovdiv


Maritsa is a Bulgarian association football club based in Plovdiv, that plays in the South-East Third League, the third flight of Bulgarian football.
It was established in 1921, after the merger of the teams Vampir and Trite Konski Sili. The club plays its home games at Maritsa Stadium, located in the city's northern district. The team's biggest success is playing in Bulgaria's top division four times, in 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970–71 and 1996-97. They have also reached the semifinals of the Bulgarian Cup once, in 1996–97.
The team is named Maritsa after the river of the same name, which flows past Plovdiv.

History

Early Years and Promotions to the Elite

FC Maritsa was founded on 20 September 1921, after the Union of three smaller teams. The team, up until 1967, has competed in either the second or third divisions of Bulgarian football. The team managed to promote to the A PFG for the first time in 1967.
Maritsa's first season in the elite was largely unsuccessful. The team finished last, with only 6 wins, 5 draws, and 19 losses. This earned them only 17 points, which was eight points below the relegation zone, thus being relegated after a single season.
Maritsa, however, did not have to wait long for their second season in the first league. This came just two seasons after their relegation, for season 1969-70. This time Maritsa managed to win 10 games and draw 3 times, earning them 23 points. This was enough for the team to ensure safety from relegation, as Minyor Pernik and Beroe Stara Zagora were relegated instead. Maritsa's third season in the elite was less successful, however. The team finished last, with only 4 wins and a total of 17 losses, only earning them 17 points. This ended Maritsa's two year spell in the elite category.
Between 1971 and 1996, Maritsa bounced between the second and third tiers of Bulgarian football. This changed in 1996, when Maritsa promoted back to the A PFG after a 25 year absence from the Bulgarian elite. Their return proved to be hard. The team fought bravely against relegation, however that was not enough, as the team placed 14th, three points behind Etar Veliko Tarnovo, thus were relegated again.
The club is particularly famous for its renowned youth program that has produced many Bulgarian talents over the years – Hristo Stoichkov, Dinko Dermendzhiev, Aleksandar Aleksandrov. Bulgarian national first-team players Georgi Georgiev, Kostadin Vidolov, Krassimir Chomakov, Valeri Domovchiyski, Yordan Todorov, Asen Nikolov had also came through the ranks at Maritsa.

2017–present: Return to professional football

In 2016–17 Third League season Maritsa Plovdiv finished second in their regional division, but gained promotion, because the first ranked team – FC Zagorets declined the offer to participate in the Second Professional League. On 16 June 2017 the club signed a contract with Botev Plovdiv for collaboration. Botev sent 5 players on loan and allowed Maritsa to play their home games on their training base, the Botev 1912 Football Complex, until Maritsa Stadium is altered for professional matches. Maritsa was, however, relegated back to the third tier after only one season in the second league.

Honours

Domestic

A Group / Bulgarian First League:
Bulgarian Cup:

League positions


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DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/2021
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1994
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id:bl2 value:rgb
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from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift: text:6
from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift: text:2
from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift: text:1
from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1996 color:white shift: text: "B Group"
from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift: text:14
from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 color:green shift: text: "A Group"
from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift: text:5
from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift: text:4
from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift: text:15
from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/2000 color:white shift: text: "B Group"
from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift: text:11
from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift: text:7
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift: text:11
from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2005 color:red shift: text: "V Group"
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift: text:10
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift: text:6
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift: text:15
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2009 color:white shift: text: "B Group"
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift: text:9
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2011 color:red shift: text: "V Group"
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift: text:1
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 color:blue shift: text: B Regional
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift: text:1
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2014 color:yellow shift: text: "A Regional"
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift: text:11
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift: text:9
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2016 color:red shift: text: "V Group"
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 color:red shift: text: "3rd"
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift: text:14
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 color:white shift: text: "2nd"
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift: text:5
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift: text:2
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift: text:
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2021 color:red shift: text: "3rd League"

Current squad

Personnel

Current technical body

Famous players

Note: For a complete list of Maritsa players, see :Category:FC Maritsa Plovdiv players.