On 5 May 1948 a contract united the team of the Central House of the Army with Septemvri Sofia. That is how CSKA Sofia was born, and on 5 May 2027 it turns 79 years old. It is the team with the most league titles in Bulgaria.

An army of mergers

The roots go further back, to AS-23, an officers' club formed in 1923. In 1944 AS-23 merged with Shipka and Spartak to create Chavdar Sofia, the army's football team. In the winter of 1948 Chavdar joined the sports department of the Central House of the Army, and soon afterwards came the merger with Septemvri.

The new team of 1948 was named Septemvri pri CDV and played its first official match on 19 May 1948, a 1-1 draw with Slavia. Many names followed, such as CDNA and CSKA Cherveno Zname ("Red Flag").

What CSKA means

CSKA stands for the Central Sports Club of the Army. That is why fans call the team "the Army Men" or simply "the Reds".

The name did not always stay the same, though. After the 1985 cup final against Levski, which ended in clashes, the Communist Party renamed the team Sredets and banned the young Hristo Stoichkov for life, with the sanctions lifted in 1986. The CSKA name returned in 1989.

That final, on 19 June 1985 at the Vasil Levski National Stadium, had been won 2-1 by CSKA in front of 35,000 spectators. Along with the bans, the club's 1985 league title was suspended.

Red, a star and oak leaves

Red became the home shirt colour after the merger with Septemvri, while white was kept for away games. English Wikipedia notes that red was also the colour of the Roman legions' uniforms.

The badge is dominated by a red five-pointed star, a symbol of glory and power. Six oak leaves stand for strength and tradition.

The great European nights

As early as 1961 CSKA had beaten Juventus 4-1. In 1967 it reached the European Cup semi-finals and was knocked out by Inter only in a third, deciding match. In 1973 it eliminated Ajax, who had won three European Cups in a row.

In 1980 it beat Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest 1-0 twice, and in 1982 it knocked out Liverpool, with two goals from Stoycho Mladenov. In the semi-final that followed it led Bayern 3-0 in the first leg but was eventually eliminated.

In 1989 it also reached the Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, where Barcelona stopped it. At home, in 2008 it won its 31st league title, 16 points clear of Levski.

From Zhekov to Stoichkov

Petar Zhekov was the all-time top scorer of the Bulgarian league until 2021, while Dimitar Penev was captain in 1973 and later coach. Hristo Stoichkov went from the 1985 ban to glory at Barcelona.

Dimitar Berbatov, Martin Petrov and Stiliyan Petrov also wore the red shirt. The team's historic home is the Balgarska Armiya ("Bulgarian Army") stadium in Borisova gradina park, completed in 1967.

Celebrate with us

From the mergers of 1948 to nights against Liverpool and Ajax, CSKA carries 79 years in its red star. It is a story of titles, bans and comebacks, fitting for a team nicknamed "the Phoenixes".

Happy birthday, CSKA! May the red star shine for many more years.

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Balgarska Armiya Stadium of CSKA Sofia – Wiöldcard, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.