Opponent of Panathinaikos: The profile of Botev Plovdiv

THE Botev Plovdiv was nervous but eventually threw Maribor out of the Europa Leagueso she will deal with him Panathinaikos in the 2nd qualifying round of the event.

Below you can see everything you need to know about the Bulgarian club, who are participating in Europe this year as cup winners!

What did he do last season?

With a title, the Bulgarian team “sealed” its presence in this season’s European Cups, namely that of the domestic Cup. Which he achieved by defeating the champion Ludogorets 3-2 in the final, having taken the lead in the 4th minute, to equalize four minutes later and then take a two-goal lead, until the reduction of the score, which was to be the final, in the 71st minute, thin.

In the league, they finished seventh in the regular season, with 12 wins, eight ties and 10 losses and a 47–33 goal record. While in the extra round process they were ranked third among four teams, recording just one draw and five defeats, but… they were saved through the Cup.

The coach

“Fresh” on the bench of Botev Plovdiv is Dusan Kerkez, as he took over the reins last summer and combined his first season with a title! The 48-year-old Bosnian coach likes to line up his team with a 4-2-3-1 formation, while the last stop of his coaching career was Čukarički.

The star

The number 9 jersey is owned by Marko Sekulic, who has been Botev Plovdiv’s main centre-forward since the summer of 2022, when he was acquired for €250,000. Last year, the Croatian striker finished the season with 36 appearances, 11 goals and one assist in all competitions, playing a total of 1,814 minutes. It is worth noting that in the team’s roster we also find Ellinas, former defender of OFI, Costas Balogiannis.

The tradition with Greek teams

Botev has faced a Greek team once in the past and that was in the 1993-94 season, against Olympiakos, in the then UEFA Cup.

The first match in Bulgaria ended 2-3, thanks to goals from Amanatidis, Tsiantakis and Batista, while in the second leg the “red and white” prevailed with an impressive 5-1, with two goals from Christensen and one each from Tsiantakis, Mitsibona and Batista , to qualify for the second round of the competition.