Ground Capacity 19,960 Head coach Veselin Velikov Manager Veselin Velikov | Chairman Simeon Simeonov Founded 16 February 1949 Home ground Gradski Stadium | |
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Full name Football Club Dunav 2010 2015–16 B Group, 1st/promoted/ League First Professional Football League | ||
FC Dunav Ruse (Bulgarian: Футболен клуб Дунав Русе) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Ruse, that competes in the First Professional League, the top flight of the Bulgarian football league system.
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Dunav Ruse were established on February 16, 1949 as a merger of two football clubs in the city, Dinamo and Rusenets. Dunav's home colours are sky blue and white. Named after the Danube River (Bulgarian: река Дунав), on the banks of which the city of Ruse is situated, the club plays their home matches at the local Gradski Stadium (City Stadium), which has a capacity of around 20,000 spectators.
Domestic
Over the course of its history, the club carried a variety of different names such as Sava, Napredak, Levski, Varush, Angel Kanchev, Rakovski, Rusenets, Dinamo, Spartak, DNA, Torpedo and Partizanin. Dunav played in the A Group over a number of seasons between 1937–1940, 1951, 1956, 1958–67, 1968–73, 1974–77, 1984–86, 1988–91 and 1996–98, before being relegated again.
Among the club's most notable achievements are a final in the Bulgarian championship in 1937, an A Group fourth place in 1975 and four domestic cup finals in 1938, 1939, 1941 and 1962.
Following years of several movements between lower divisions, the team, under playing manager Engibar Engibarov, eventually won the Cup of Bulgarian Amateur Football League in 2003–04, and for the next season they finally gained promotion to the B PFG after a long-term hiatus in the amateur divisions. It was to be their first appearance in professional football since the team were relegated from the A Group in 1991.
From January 5, 2006 until 2 October of the same year, Dunav were managed by Ferario Spasov. He acquired some well-known footballers and loaned talented players from Litex Lovech in an unsuccessful attempt to reach the first division again.
The 2009–10 season in the B Group was very narrow for the club as the dream of reaching the A Group almost became a reality. Dunav finished the first half of the season in first place, leaving behind the teams of Kaliakra Kavarna and Nesebar. The second half of the season started very well and the team was in a row with a couple of very significant wins, but they won only one game in their last 7 matches and eventually failed to gain promotion to the top flight.
In the following years, Dunav again failed to impress and was mostly seen as a middle table club in the final ranking of the B Group. In 2010–11, the club was left by some of its good players, as a result of ongoing financial difficulties in the team. Dunav subsequently withdrew from the B Group in February 2011, after being unable to reduce its financial debts to the municipality and a majority of its squad players. A few days later, the club announced bankruptcy and was dissolved.
In 2011, Dr. Simeon Simeonov established a new entity under the name Dunav 2010, which was approved by the BFU to start from the lowest levels of Bulgarian football. The team obtained license and after several court decisions in the following months, it regained the traditions and history of its predecessor. In 2015, the club won the Bulgarian Amateur Cup and was promoted to the second division.
In 2016, Dunav became champions of the 2015-16 B Group and were promoted to the top flight for the first time since 1991, 25 years after their last participation. They will also compete in the debut season of the newly reformed Bulgarian First League.
European
On an international basis, Dunav has one appearance in the 1975-76 UEFA Cup, where they were drawn against A.S. Roma of the Italian Serie A. Dunav were subsequently eliminated after a 2–0 defeat in Rome and a notable 1–0 win over the Italian team in Ruse.
Domestic
First League:
Second League:
Bulgarian Cup:
European
UEFA Cup
Current squad
As of 19 January 2017 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2016 and Transfers winter 2016–17.Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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.