We try to shed some light on unknown Bulgarian side, PFC Ludogorets Razgrad or Ludogorets as they are more simply known ahead of their match against Liverpool at Anfield on tonight.
1. They get their name from the region in which Razgrad is located – the Ludogorie region (meaning “region of wild forests”) of north-eastern Bulgaria. So basically, Liverpool are playing Wild Forests FC.
2. As an entity, they were only formed back in 2001 and were promoted to the Bulgarian top flight in the 2010/11 season. In the three seasons they have been in the top flight, they have won the league each time.
3. Last season they reached the last 16 of the Europa League, finishing top of their group containing teams such as PSV Eindhoven and Dinamo Zagreb. They knocked out Italian giants Lazio in the last 32 before succumbing to Valencia in the next round.
4. They are bank-rolled by Bulgarian businessman Kiril Domuschiev who took over in 2010 and since then, they have known nothing other than utter domestic dominance.
5. Ludogorets’ play their home matches at the Ludogorets Arena (pic above) in Razgrad, a stadium with a capacity of only 8,000 seats. It’s not deemed suitable for the group games so they will play their home games in the national stadium in Sofia.
