SFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo

Etar (Bulgarian: Етър) is a Bulgarian sports football club based in Veliko Tarnovo, that plays in the First League, the top level of Bulgarian football.

This article is about the team formed in 2013. For the football club formed in 2002, see FC Etar 1924 Veliko Tarnovo. For the original club from Veliko Tarnovo which existed until 2003, see FC Etar (Veliko Tarnovo).
SFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo
Full nameSports Football Club
Etar Veliko Tarnovo
Nickname(s)Болярите (The Bolyars)
Founded24 April 1924 (1924-04-24)
GroundStadion Ivaylo
Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
Capacity15,000
ChairmanDeyan Kuzdov
Head coachSvetoslav Petrov
LeagueSecond League
2023–24First League, 16th of 16 (relegated)
WebsiteClub website

Etar was established in 2013, shortly after the folding of Etar 1924, which was dissolved for financial reasons after the 2012–13 season. Etar 1924, on the other hand, was established as a result of the dissolution of the historical FC Etar (Veliko Tarnovo). Although the three clubs share similar names and colors, the Bulgarian Football Union considers them separate entities and records are not shared between the three. The current Etar quickly ascended from the amateur leagues, eventually promoting to the Bulgarian First League at the end of the 2016–17 season. The club's home ground has been Ivaylo Stadium since 2013. Etar plays in all-violet kits and their nickname is 'The Bolyars'.

History

Foundation and Amateur League (2013–2016)

The club was founded as OFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo in 2013[1] with the license of FC Botev Debelets.[2] In their first season they finished in 5th position in V Group.

In January 2016, Boncho Genchev became the new manager of the team which was in 3rd place at the halfway point in the season, only two points behind the 1st place team.[3] The selection included Lyubomir Genchev coming from A Group team Montana, Stefan Hristov from Spartak Pleven and the leading goalscorer in the first part of 2015–16 season in B Group, Petar Dimitrov.[4] The team eventually won all its matches, winning the league and being promoted to B Group.[5]

Professional Football (2016–present)

On 9 June 2016 Etar were officially approved for the new 2nd division — Second League, with the club changing its abbreviation to "SFC Etar". Ferario Spasov remains in his position as manager and with a good selection team made promotion to First League.[6] Etar were promoted as champions of the 2016–17 Second League, sealing their title on the final day of the season with a 2–2 away draw against Nesebar, coupled with Septemvri Sofia's 2–0 away defeat to Oborishte.[7][8]

Etar's first season into the elite was difficult. The team finished 13th in the regular phase, with only four wins. This placed Etar as one of the candidates for relegation. In the relegation phase, Etar finished last in their group and had to play playoff/play out matches in order to remain in the elite. In the first round, Etar beat Pirin Blagoevgrad 3-1 aggregate and advanced to the second round. There, the violets faced Dunav Ruse. Two strong matches resulted in a 4-1 aggregate win, and Etar secured their status as a member of the top tier.

On 4 January 2018 Krasimir Balakov was announced as the new manager in the club with Stanislav Genchev, Iliyan Kiryakov and Kaloyan Chakarov as first team coaches.[9]

After 4 seasons in the First League, Etar was relegated to the Second League at the end of the 2020-21 season.[10] Back into the second tier, Etar managed to finish in fourth place during the 2021–22 season, qualifying for promotion playoffs. Etar, however, lost against Botev Vratsa and did not manage to return to the First League immediately. Next season (2022–23), Etar managed to finish in second place, securing promotion to the First League after two years of absence.

League positions

Nickname, shirt and colors

Their main nicknames are the Bolyars and the Violets, the latter in reference to the colour of their home kit, which is often mistaken for purple.

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
2013–2016 Joma Britos
2016–2017 None
2017–2022 WinBet
2022– Nike

Honours

Domestic

Players

Current squad

As of 26 June 2024 [11]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  BUL Angel Martinov
2 DF  MEX Josecarlos Van Rankin
3 DF  SEN Serigne Mbacké Faye
4 DF  BUL Georgi Aleksandrov
5 DF  FRA Kelyan Guessoum
6 MF  ESP Gorka Larrucea
7 DF  BUL Kolyo Stanev
8 MF  PAN Martín Morán (on loan from C.A. Independiente)
10 FW  CRO Lovre Knežević
12 GK  SVN Kristijan Sekulić
14 FW  BUL Ivaylo Dimitrov
17 MF  BUL Atanas Atanasov
18 MF  BEL Joachim Carcela
19 FW  MKD Alexander Mishov
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 FW  RSA Jaisen Clifford
23 MF  NGA Moses Candidus (on loan from Botev Plovdiv)
24 MF  FRA Chano
26 MF  FIN Didis Lutumba-Pitah
28 MF  BUL Nikolay Yankov
33 DF  ECU Luis Córdova (on loan from Cuenca)
77 DF  BUL Martin Nikolov
94 DF  FRA Jean-Marc Tiboué
— GK  BUL Stanislav Nistorov
— DF  BUL Petar Ivanov
— DF  BUL Asen Georgiev
— MF  BUL Filip Angelov
— MF  BUL Aykut Ramadan
— FW  BUL Preslav Yordanov

For recent transfers, see Transfers winter 2023–24 and Transfers summer 2024.

Foreign players

Up to five non-EU nationals can be registered and given a squad number for the first team in the Bulgarian First Professional League however only three can be used in a match day. Those non-EU nationals with European ancestry can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry he can claim Bulgarian citizenship after playing in Bulgaria for 5 years.

Reserve team
Etar II
Full nameSFC Etar Veliko Tarnovo II
Nickname(s)Болярите (The Bolyars)
GroundTrifon Ivanov Stadium, Veliko Tarnovo
ChairmanDeyan Kuzdov
ManagerStefan Angelov
LeagueThird League
2022–23Third League, 14th
WebsiteClub website

Etar II (Bulgarian: Етър II) is a Bulgarian football team based in Veliko Tarnovo. It is the reserve team of Etar Veliko Tarnovo, and currently plays in Third League, the third level of Bulgarian football.

Current squad
As of 23 June 2024 [12]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  BUL Teodor Ivanov
— GK  BUL Presiyan Petkov
— GK  BUL Nikos Rashkov
— DF  BUL Rosen Varbishki
— DF  BUL Ivalin Petkov
— DF  BUL Ivelin Ivanov
— DF  BUL Sever Aliev
— DF  BUL Ismail Ibryamov
— DF  BUL Denis Martinov
— DF  BUL Vasko Parvanov
— DF  BUL Aleksandar Pleshkov
— DF  BUL Kenan Yumerov
No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  BUL Georgi Ivanov
— MF  BUL Trayan Dimitrov
— MF  BUL Kristiyan Dimitrov
— MF  BUL Atanas Atanasov
— MF  BUL Dimitar Kolev
— MF  BUL Aleksandar Kraev
— MF  BUL Denislav Georgiev
— FW  BUL Ivan Petkov
— FW  BUL Zlatin Boyanov
— FW  BUL Kaloyan Nenchev
— FW  BUL Aleksandar Guguchkov

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or had more than 100 league appearances. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.

Goalscoring and appearance records
As of 12 June 2024

Most appearances for the club in First League

RankNameCareerAppearances
1 Hristo Ivanov2017–2023110
2 Yani Pehlivanov2017–202378
3 Rumen Rumenov2017–201976
4 Ivan Stoyanov2017–202073
5 Nikola Kolev2017–202072
6 Milcho Angelov2019–202168
7 Krum Stoyanov2018–2019
2022–2024		68
8 Daniel Mladenov2017–2019
2021–2023		67
9 Zdravko Iliev2019–202363
10 Ivan Skerlev2016–202057


Most goals for the club in First League

RankNameCareerGoals
1 Daniel Mladenov2017–2019
2021–2023		21
2 Preslav Borukov2020–202112
3 Veljko Batrović2018–201911
– Milcho Angelov2019–202111
5 Alioune Badará2017–201810
6 Ivan Stoyanov2017–20209
7 Flo Bojaj2018–20208
– Ivan Petkov2016–20218
9 Rumen Rumenov2017–20196
10 Tonislav Yordanov20205
  • Players in bold are still playing for Etar.

Past seasons

As of 23 June 2024

Season Tier Division Place Bulgarian Cup
2013–14 3 V Group 5th DNP
2014–15 3 V Group 2nd DNP
2015–16 3 V Group 1st↑ DNP
2016–17 2 Second League 1st↑ Round of 32
2017–18 1 First League 11th Quarter-finals
2018–19 1 First League 7th Quarter-finals
2019–20 1 First League 10th Round of 32
2020–21 1 First League 14th↓ Round of 16
2021–22 2 Second League 4th Round of 16
2022–23 2 Second League 2nd↑ Preliminary round
2023–24 1 First League 16th↓ Round_of_16

Managers
Dates Name Honours
2013–2014 Sasho Angelov
2014–2015 Kaloyan Chakarov (interim)
2015–2016 Georgi Vasilev
2016 Boncho Genchev
2016 Ferario Spasov 1 V Group title
2017–2018 Stanislav Genchev 1 Second League title
2018–2019 Krasimir Balakov
2019 Rosen Kirilov
2019 Kaloyan Chakarov (interim)
2019–2020 Petko Petkov
2020 Kaloyan Chakarov (interim)
2020–2021 Aleksandar Tomash
2021–2022 Veselin Velikov
2022–2023 Emanuel Lukanov
2023 Marin Stefanov (interim)
2023–present Svetoslav Petrov

    Club officials

    Board of directors
    Position Name Nationality
    ChairmanDeyan Kuzdov
    Board MemberGeorgi Markov
    Board MemberKristiyan Deshkov
    Board MemberLyubomir Filipov
    Board MemberSvetoslav Totev
    Board MemberTsvetomir Boyadzhiev

    Current technical body
    Position Name Nationality
    Sports DirectorStefan Atanasov
    Administrative DirectorStratsimir Tinchev
    Youth Academy DirectorStefan Angelov
    Head coachSvetoslav Petrov
    Assistant coachKaloyan Chakarov
    Assistant coachMarin Stefanov
    Goalkeeper coachAleksandar Aleksandrov
    Youth Academy CoachTsvetan Raykov
    Youth Academy CoachKristiyan Pavlov
    PhysiotherapistPreslav Nikolaev
    HousekeeperMiroslav Chernev

    References
    1. "Новият "Етър В. Търново" е вече факт!". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
    2. "Етър Велико Търново започва на чисто във В група". gong.bg. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28.
    3. "Бончо Генчев: Ще върнем Етър в професионалния футбол". Archived from the original on 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
    4. "Етър хвърли трансферна бомба – привлече голмайстора на "Б" група". Archived from the original on 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
    5. "Етър се завърна в професионалния футбол пред хиляди боляри на стадион "Ивайло"". 30 May 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
    6. "Официaлнo: "Етъp" във Втopa лига". 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
    7. "Nesebar vs. Etar 2–2". soccerway.com. 27 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
    8. ""Етър" влезе в елита!". 27 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
    9. "Революция в Търново: Балъков е новият мениджър на Етър, Генчев остава, Деко е аут". Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
    10. ""Етър" е първият изпадащ, "Славия" оцеля" (in Bulgarian). btvnovinite.bg. 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
    11. "Първи отбор". etarvt.bg (in Bulgarian). 21 March 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
    12. "Дублиращ отбор". etarvt.bg (in Bulgarian). 16 July 2019. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
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