PFC CSKA Sofia II

PFC CSKA Sofia II
Full nameProfessional Football Club CSKA Sofia II
Nickname(s)The Reds
The Armymen
Short nameCSKA II
Founded5 May 1948 (1948-05-05)
GroundCSKA Sofia Sports Complex, Pancharevo
Capacity1,500
ShareholdersNational Fund for Sports, Culture, Art and Science
ManagerVladimir Manchev
LeagueSecond League
2024–25Second League, 13th
Websitehttp://www.cska.bg/

CSKA II (Bulgarian: ЦСКА II) is a Bulgarian football team based in Sofia. Founded in 2016, it is the reserve team of CSKA Sofia, and played one season in the Second League, the second level of Bulgarian football in 2016-2017 and being restored in 2022 to play in the Third League.

They ought to play at least one level below their main side, however, so CSKA II was ineligible for promotion to the First League and could not play in the Bulgarian Cup.

History

In June 2016 CSKA II took the place of Litex Lovech II in the Bulgarian Second League. The team was selected by CSKA and Litex youth players. After Stamen Belchev took charge of the first team CSKA II's results worsened, and the team was relegated to South-West Third League on the final day of the season following a 1–2 away defeat by Vitosha Bistritsa.[1] On 5 June 2017, the owners officially informed the Bulgarian Football Union that the team will not participate in the 2017–18 South-West Third League as the level was deemed too low for youth players' development.[2] On 6 June 2017, the contract of the head coach Svetoslav Todorov was terminated.[3]

In end of May 2022, CSKA announced that they will restore its second team and will join Third League for the 2022/23 season.[4]

From the 2024/2025 season, CSKA II will play in the second tier of Bulgarian football.

Squad

As of 9 July 2025

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  BUL Daniel Nikolov
2 DF  BUL Svetozar Evtov
3 DF  BUL Lachezar Ivanov (captain)
4 DF  BUL Dimitar Nikolov
5 DF  BUL Dimitar Hristov
6 MF  BUL Martin Sotirov
7 FW  BUL Mark-Emilio Papazov
8 MF  BUL Alesandro Nikolov
9 FW  BUL Aleksandar Georgiev
11 FW  BUL Kaloyan Pulev
12 GK  BUL Alek Kotsev
14 MF  BUL Aleksandar Bozhilov
16 MF  BUL Bozhidar Petrov
17 MF  BUL Teodor Apostolov
18 MF  BUL Rumen Rangelov
19 DF  BUL Aleks Tunchev
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF  BUL Iliyan Dimitrov
21 FW  BUL Yulian Gilov
22 MF  BUL Valentino Varbanov
23 MF  BUL Ilian Antonov
24 MF  BUL Abdula Kichukov
30 GK  BUL Georgi Gerginov
GK  BUL Boyan Zagorski
GK  BUL Stanislav Tanev
DF  BUL Simeon Chatov
DF  BUL Aleksandar Buchkov
DF  BUL Aleksandar Ganchev
DF  BUL Nasko Tsekov
MF  BUL Aleksandar Kozhuharov
FW  BUL Vasil Kaymakanov
FW  BUL Martin Sorakov
FW  BUL Radoslav Zhivkov

For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2024.

For first team players, see CSKA Sofia.

Honours

Bulgarian V Group:
  • Champions (1): 1982-83

Manager history

Dates Name Honours
1981–1984 Kiril Stankov 1 Bulgarian V Group
2016 Stamen Belchev
2016 Ivaylo Stanev /caretaker/
2017 Svetoslav Todorov
2022–2024 Stamen Belchev
2024 Stoyan Angelov
2024– Vladimir Manchev

Past seasons

Season League Place W D L GF GA Pts
1981–82 Sofia V Group (III) 7 15 9 10 51 36 39
1982–83 Sofia V Group (III) 1 23 7 4 76 26 53
1983–84 South B Group (II) 17 8 6 20 45 65 22
2016–17 Second League (II) 13 9 6 15 44 49 33
2022–23 South-West Third League (III) 5 11 9 10 54 35 42
2023–24 South-West Third League (III) 2 25 5 8 68 39 80
2024–25 Second League (II) 13 12 13 13 47 41 49
2025–26 Second League (II)
Green marks a season followed by promotion, red a season followed by relegation.

References

  1. ^ "ЦСКА II повтори случая от 1984 година" (in Bulgarian). cska.bg. 27 May 2017.
  2. ^ "ЦСКА II няма да участва в Трета лига" (in Bulgarian). cska.bg. 5 June 2017.
  3. ^ "ЦСКА и Светослав Тодоров се разделиха" (in Bulgarian). cska.bg. 6 June 2017.
  4. ^ ЦСКА - София връща дублиращия си отбор, "червените" ще обиграват юноши в Трета лига