OFC Vihren Sandanski
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| Full name | OFC Vihren Sandanski | ||
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| Nickname | The Gladiators | ||
| Founded | May 24, 1925 | ||
| Ground | Sandanski Stadium, Sandanski | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 | ||
| Chairman | Georgi Manolev | ||
| Manager | Borislav Kyosev | ||
| League | Second League | ||
| 2024–25 | South-West Third League, 1st (promoted) | ||
| Website | ofkvihren | ||
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OFC Vihren (Bulgarian: ОФК Вихрен) is a Bulgarian football club based in Sandanski, currently playing in the Second League. Sandanski's home ground is the Sandanski Stadium in Sandanski with a capacity of 6,000.[1] Vihren Sandanski's team colours are green and white.
Vihren was founded in 1925, changing its name several times during its early existence. Up until the early 2000s, Vihren played mostly in either the second or third tiers of Bulgarian football. Season 2004-05 is arguably the most important in the club's history, as the team managed to promote to the A PFG, or first tier of Bulgarian football, for the first time. Vihren managed to play four consecutive seasons in the elite, before suffering relegation after the 2008-09 season. Since then, the Gladiators have played mostly in the third regional tier.[2]
Equipment
[edit | edit source]Currently the team's home kit is green and the away kit is white. Various combinations of green and white have been used through the years, but green remains the basic colour of the team.
History
[edit | edit source]The club was founded on 24 May 1925. It has carried the names Ustrem, Gotse Delchev, Yane Sandanski and Cherveno zname throughout its history.[3]
In 1977, Vihren first promoted to the B Group, remaining there 13 consecutive seasons before falling back to the V Group. In 1993, Vihren returned to the B Group, but only for one season, after which relegation again followed.
In 2003, Vihren again returned to the second level. In the 2004–05 season, Vihren finished first and gained promotion to the A Group for the 2005–06 season, marking the team's debut in the top tier. Before their first year of playing in A PFG, Vihren's owner decided to bring players from other countries to bolster the team's chances of surviving in the top flight. His first signing was the ex-FC Porto player Jose Furtado. He was from the Portuguese side G.D. Tourizense for free. Brazilian player Serginio Dias, and Portuguese players Mauro Alexandre and Nuno Almeida were just a few other players who signed for Vihren after Furtado. The team coach was named Petar Zhekov. Vihren finished season 2005–06 on 9th place in A PFG with 30 points.
The next season, 2006-07, Vihren managed to gain 37 points, finishing in 9th place once again.
In season 2007–08, Vihren's owner, Konstantin Dinev decided to bring Portuguese coach Rui Dias. The club signed eight Portuguese and two Brazilian players. But three months later, Rui Dias was discharged for poor results. At the end of the season, the team finished in 10th place.
Season 2008–09 started excellent with a 1–0 win against Bulgarian vice-champion Levski Sofia.[4] In the 4th round, the club defeated Lokomotov Sofia. In January 2008, Vihren signed notable Greek players Christos Maladenis and Dimitrios Zografakis. In the end of the season, however, the team finished in 14th place and were relegated to B Group, ending a four-year stint in the elite.
The following two seasons were spent in the second tier, but financial problems overwhelmed the club, forcing its folding in 2011 and withdrawal from the B Group. The next season, Vihren was refounded from the fourth level, the A RFG. The team then promoted to the V Group in 2013.
In 2025, Vihren promoted to the Second League for the first time since 2011.[5]
League positions
[edit | edit source]<timeline> ImageSize = width:1600 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/2026 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1975
Colors =
id:First_tier value:green legend:First_tier id:Second_tier value:white legend:Second_tier id:Third_tier value:red legend:Third_tier id:Fourth_tier value:yellow legend:Fourth_tier id:Fifth_tier value:blue legend:Fifth_tier id:Does_not_exist value:black legend:Does_not_exist
PlotData=
bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1977 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V Group" from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1990 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1993 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V Group" from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/2003 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V Group" from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2005 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2009 color:green shift:(0,14) text: "A Group" from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2011 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "B Group" from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift:(0,-4) text: from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 color:black shift:(0,14) text: Diss from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 color:yellow shift:(0,14) text: "Regional" from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2016 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "V Group" from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2025 color:red shift:(0,14) text: "Third League" from:01/07/2025 till:01/07/2026 shift:(0,-4) text: from:01/07/2025 till:01/07/2026 color:white shift:(0,14) text: "2nd"
</timeline>
Honours
[edit | edit source]- quarter finalist Cup of the Soviet Army: 1985/86
Players
[edit | edit source]Current squad
[edit | edit source]As of 14 December 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.
Out on loan
[edit | edit source]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Foreign players
[edit | edit source]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.
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EU Nationals |
EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) |
Non-EU Nationals
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Managerial history
[edit | edit source]This is a list of the last ten Vihren managers:
| Name | Nat | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kostadin Todorov | Bulgaria | January 2000 | January 2001 |
| Vasil Metodiev | Bulgaria | January 2001 | June 2002 |
| Yordan Bozdanski | Bulgaria | December 2002 | May 2004 |
| Petar Zhekov | Bulgaria | June 2004 | May 2005 |
| Petar Zhekov | Bulgaria | June 2005 | May 2006 |
| Dionysis Beslikas | Greece | June 2006 | August 2006 |
| Petar Zhekov | Bulgaria | August 2006 | May 2007 |
| Rui Dias | Portugal | June 2007 | October 2007 |
| Eduard Eranosyan | Bulgaria | October 2007 | November 2007 |
| Filip Filipov | Bulgaria | December 2007 | March 2009 |
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As of December 31, 2009.
Notable players
[edit | edit source]Former foreign players
[edit | edit source]|
Brazil Brazil
Cape Verde Cape Verde Croatia Croatia
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France France Spain Spain Greece Greece Hungary Hungary North Macedonia Macedonia |
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Portugal Portugal
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Serbia Serbia Uruguay Uruguay Argentina Argentina Venezuela Venezuela |
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- OFC Vihren Sandanski at bgclubs.eu