Plovdiv-Thessaloniki-Plovdiv

It has become a tradition to pay a visit to the Thessalonian Canaries, especially for their derby matches. Some individuals from both sides have been in friendly relations for several years. Nearly 40 bultras spent last weekend in Harilauo area where they supported friends from Aris in the clash versus arch-rivals from PAOK. In Thessaloniki, the bultras were warm welcomed in the pub of the famous Super 3 Aris organisation.
According to some ultras web sources, on Saturday night (October 20, 2018), a day before the match, arranged fight was agreed including Plovdiv hools. Unexpectedly the PAOK gang did not come around and only phone calls answered 'be-in-30min-there' but never actually appeared. Meanwhile some white-black scouts were spotted around the appointed place and were beaten as their scooters rested in flames.

During the derby a choreo with political motives  was raised. Aris fans had always been taking a stand in every social important circumstance. For instance years ago there were banners in memory of Carlo Giuliani (killed by cops in Italy), Berkin Elvan (15-old, killed by cops in Turkey), Alexandros Grigoropoulos (15-old also, killed by Greek cops) and etc. The massive of Aris supporters are predominantly leftist oriented like the most on Greek scene while existing of right-wing base is vague. However it does not bother the relationship between terrace radicals. How they decide and how they stand in one ultras sector remain incomprehensible to us.
In Greece away support is not allowed when high-stakes derbies take place between the Big 5 (OSFP, PAO, AEK, PAOK, Aris). Passion for football has been a huge part of Thessalonian urban culture ever since the sport was first introduced there. Despite boasting modest achievements, the allure of both  clubs carries an appreciation and often fascinating scenes are witnessed on streets and terraces, especially when it comes to the Derby of the Second Capital. Last weekend Plovdiv bultras proudly were part of it.

Sometimes at odds

"In football practising is an essential point that the members of one team should be clearly distinguished from those of the other. The only way this can be put in effect is for each club to have a distinct uniform as the diversity of colors is displayed" states a recognised rule of the association football laid down in the early days of the game.

It happened to play with other colours. There is even a curious case in 1937 when the club of Botev Plovdiv declared as a basic scheme of black and white instead of traditional gold and black strips.

First time I saw the Canaries` away kit in the season 1984/1985 when we clashed FC Minyor at their ground in Pernik. It was December and the pitch was boggy as hell. We came out in red shirts. Just remember only this as it is hard to say now whether the shorts were white or black, the more so after dozen of minutes all were in mud. Before this game I have only heard of our away colours, but I’ve never seen them in real. One or two years earlier we had played for Intertoto Cup against yellow teams - Eintracht Braunschweig and IF Elfsborg, so I knowledged we had been "almost like the CSKA". No wonder. At that time, all top clubs in Bulgaria generally have been clothing rationing limited by centralized supplies like all goods in the communist regime. Most probably we played with the cska-wise kits as same as they had played their two matches away versus AC Monaco (once for the European Cup 1982/83 and once for UEFA Cup 1984/85) in our colours. It can be seen on down collage where the two pics above are theirs in comparison to ours below.

Next time I faced on live our second uniform in a friendly against 1FC Lokomotive Leipzig. The Canaries came out in red and black stripes, shorts and socks in black and that was the most remarkable at all as it ended zero-zero.

In the 1990s away matches we wore plain white tops, also pale red-white candy striped and white with green sleeves, all Diadora`s. These later became must-have items for the club's young fans, proudly worn on the weekends and summer holidays. Additionally the Canaries played quite a lot of games even at home dressed in a Puma`s white shirt with yellow-black sleeves.

Over the years we've had different secondary color scheme and from a distance of time I percieve that our finest are burgundy (RGB 130-0-30) and sky blue (RGB 30-175-230). >>>A humble collection of BPFC kits<<<

Interest in football clothing has never been higher, largely fuelled by the internet as modern football factories are becoming more and more sophisticated, merciless to the traditions of clubs` decoration. Meanwhile @Kit Crimes charts are stalking. Personally I find it derisive to look at teams coming in atypical dyes or playing in spare kits in matches against non-clashed colours. Let us stay old-fashioned as a true classic.

20.04.1994, vs Shumen (0:2) away

14.11.1998, vs Slavia (0:2) at Ovcha Kupel Stadium

13.08.2011, vs Dobrudzha (1:0) away

13.05.2013, vs Minyor Pernik (2:0) in Sofia

04.07.2013, vs Astana (1:0) in Kazakhstan

04.07.2013, vs Astana (1:0)

13.07.2017, vs Beitar Jerusalem (1:1) at HaMoshava Stadium

Метастази от изгубеното време

Метастазите са толкова зверски, че ако дузина статисти от НАТФИЗ с каски на главите и мистрии в ръце се съберат на адрес булевард "Източен" 10 в Пловдив ще последва пандемия.

Трябва да се строи! Две тухли да се сложат, ама да се строи. Без строителство сме обречени. Изтляваме, това вече всяко хлапе знае. Каквито и усилия да полагат хората в ръководството, каквито и постижения да донесе отборът, няма ли стадион "от-до" на посочения адрес значи загниваме. Няма да загинем, но ще загнием. Ще сме като онези отбори, които са интересни само на статистиците.

Мина една година от прочутото сбиране-недоразбиране на сдруженците в хотел "Империал". Големи драми бяха, сълзи, разправии, все около този пусти строеж-копнеж - това бил начинът, онва не бил начинът, тако да се прави, онако да се бачка. Гранде приказки и нищо. 

Не съвсем де, през годината Чичо Сам се легитимира формално като предводител на клуба, един вид, човекът с многото пари, дето ще строи. И дотам. Пак не съвсем де, "обследваха строежа", каквото и да значи това. И нищо. Още по-зловещо, някак от само себе си темата заглъхва. Всеки знае, че без стадион няма Ботев, знае се какво и как, но "надяваме се". С надяване само можем се наденем на бунището на историята. "Недовършеният" стои буренясъл, дори може да мине и за антична реликва през 2019, когато Пловдивград ще се фукляви като "европейска столица на културата".

"Погледът мрачен, умът не види добро ли, зло ли насреща иде, на душа лежат спомени тежки, злобна ги памет често повтаря", сякаш за сегашното ни състояние го е писал Ботйов в своята "Борба". Тишината в квартал Каменица е убийствена, навява тъга, горчивина. Вече 5 години е така. През това време хората по света вдигнаха стадиони като нарисувани от Adobe Photoshop - в Румъния, Словакия, Унгария, Уругвай, даже в Скопие и Разград. 

Не е като да няма пари или защото е непосилно скъпо. За календарната 2018 година се очаква БВП да достигне 105 милиарда лева, а до 2020 да е близо 120. За цялата 140-годишна история на модерна България толкова пари никога не е имало. Пазарът на горивата, където вършее нашата главна надежда е огромен доходоизточник. Според Търговския регистър за 2017 приходите осреднено на Топ25 компании в този бизнес е 667 милиона, а "бащината ни" INSA Oil е 9-та в класацията. Георги Самуилов излезе сериозно под светлината на прожекторите в началото на 2018-та, след като финансира покупката на Общинска банка, държаща 40% от средствата на общините в държавата. INSA осигури 46 милиона лева на фонд Novito Opportunities за да купи контролния дял в банката, това са приблизително колкото за 2 строежа на стадион от ранга на нашия. Друго интересно е, че Инсата придоби дялове в банката без право на глас, следователно формално няма контрол там, а собственикът ѝ Георги Самуилов не афишира връзки с влиятелни фактори в държавата. Това е основание за хипотеза, че зад INSA Oil може би вече стоят няКОИ, като естествено сред заподозрените е един възпълничък депутатин с прякор "Изрядния платец".

Платци сме и ние, тъжните канари плащаме в сълзи и перефразирайки патронът си можем да викаме единствено днес "Стадион или свинец!".

1960 година, Източния насип на новия стадион в Каменица.

Давай, Тоци!

Тодор Неделев вкара първия си гол за национала! Играч на БПФК не бе белязал попадение с националната фанелка от 23 години и 8 месеца, за последно - Наско Сираков, за 1:4 срещу Аржентина на 14 февруари 1995. Преди него пък голмайстор е бил Атанас Пашев на 4 август 1988 в приятелски мач срещу Финландия 1:1. Да пожелаем на Тоци да е жив и здрав, с късмет да върви занапред.

The College Cause

There is no other club in Bulgarian football that is quite like the club of Botev from Plovdiv. Every bit of its chronicle evokes a humble mood of heat and passion but tremendously in size. Seriously! Thus the drama of current situation with the home stadium seems a common occurrence as the club has led a very eccentric existence for more than 100 years.

The story of College Stadium goes back in the early 1920s when priest Ausone (Henri) Damperat on behalf of the Saint Augustine College purchased a large plot of land in the quarter of Kamenitza, then east outskirts of Plovdiv. Due to following urban regulations, the terrain was almost expunged and a neighbouring cadastre plot had substituted it whilst half a million Leva being spent to acquire. In 1923 the pitch was inaugurated and by mid-1940s had been best sports venue in town. Botev Plovdiv's ground in those years was the Old Stadion Botev, which stood around 500 metres south from the Central Railstation. There the Canaries had played their home matches from 1926 to 1947 when the land was nationalized. The golden-black team had stayed homeless till 1961 and played matches at different fields. The handicap of not having a permanent residence did not hinder Botev as the club forged a solid reputation nationwide. 

In 1959, the local authorities allowed a new venue construction at the place of the college's pitch in Kamenitza. Building works began under the architectural project by Anton Karavelov (1926-2016) and nearly two years later Botev Plovdiv occupied the reconstructed stadium. Then it had a capacity of 35000 and on May 14, 1961 was inaugurated with a friendly between Botev Plovdiv and Steaua București (3:0). Since then every supporter of the club claims to be born and bred here as considering the ground of a more importance than the team of its own.

The record attendance of approximately 40000 spectators was set on February 23, 1963 in the quarter-final of the Cup Winner's Cup versus Atlético Madrid (1:1). Over the years "The College" has proved to be an iconic arena. Indeed the stadium skeleton was not unique in top level Bulgarian football, but as with every prominent status, the design only plays a part. Obviously it concerns atmosphere and history, and even there may mostly 30000 be crammed into derby matches, the Botevists have delivered tradition of passion through decades. Players and chiefs have come and gone, whilst frankly Canaries were often shambled on the table, notably in 70s and 90s. But the magic had remained on each match day as Botev continued their ups and downs in Bulgarian football chronicles. Those were the days...

Presently Botev Plovdiv is tucked away in the south suburb of Komatevo and dwarfed in size of terrace's support. The crisis started in 2014 when a new vision for improvement of the stadium was presented by the directors, due to the higher targets they wanted to meet. Unfortunately the reconstruction works stopped - two stands partially erected while others been on ground zero level - as the main sponsor Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB) collapsed.

Ever since the College Cause has lived as a testament for the Canaries promised land.