Oldest capital derby


Oldest capital derby or Oldest Sofia derby is the name of the football match between the oldest still existing teams in Sofia: Levski Sofia and Slavia Sofia. Matches between the two sides have been played almost continuously ever since a football league in Bulgaria has existed. The two teams regularly competed for the title before the Second World War. Levski have never been relegated from the top flight of Bulgarian football, while Slavia have missed only one season, for political reasons.

History

Slavia Sofia and Levski Sofia are the two oldest, still-existing football teams from Sofia. Both Slavia and Levski won the Bulgarian Republican Championship several times prior to the Second World War. Slavia managed to win six national titles before 1945, while Levski won three.
After 1948, with the changing political situation in Bulgaria, the two teams were affected very differently. Levski Sofia became supported and financed by the ministry of internal affairs, and quickly became one of the two main contenders for the title in the upcoming years, along with rivals CSKA Sofia. Slavia, on the other hand, was not affiliated to any governmental institution, and became less prominent and successful, especially after the creation of CSKA Sofia in 1948. Nonetheless, Slavia managed to compete in the Bulgarian A PFG throughout most of its history, occasionally providing competition for CSKA and Levski Sofia.
The two teams are also among the most successful when it comes to the Bulgarian Cup. Levski has won a record 25, while Slavia has won 8. They have also played against each other twice in the finals of the competition. The first final between them occurred in 1996. The match did not even finish, with Slavia being awarded a walkover in their favor, due to Levski deciding to abandon the game in the 75th minute. 22 years later, the two sides again met in the final, in 2018. The game ended in a goalless draw, after which Slavia won on penalties, thus winning their eight title overall.

Official match statistics

Games playedSlavia winsDrawsLevski winsSlavia goalsLevski goals
Parva Liga144274673143251
Bulgarian Cup176562519
Stolichno Parvenstvo 42188166872
Natsionalna Diviziya 6303810
Darzhavno parvenstvo 420255
Other cups 401347
Total2175660103249362

Head-to-head ranking in First League (1948–2020)

• Total: Slavia Sofia with 12 higher finishes, Levski Sofia with 59 higher finishes.

Trophies

Notes:

Biggest wins

Slavia wins

4:1 - 26 October 1958

4:1 - 1925/1926

4:1 - 1931/1932

4:1 - 24 March 1990
Notes:
5:0 - 28 October 2005

5:0 - 1941/1942