Nickname(s) Loko, The Irons Chairman Daniel Kostadinov Ground Lokomotiv Stadium | Ground Capacity 10,500 Head coach Aleksandar Dimitrov Founded 1932 | |
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Full name Football Club Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa 2015–16 B Group, 3rd /promoted/ Location Gorna Oryahovitsa, Bulgaria Leagues First Professional Football League, Second Professional Football League | ||
FC Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa (Bulgarian: ФК Локомотив Горна Оряховица) or simply as Lokomotiv GO (Bulgarian: Локомотив (ГО) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Gorna Oryahovitsa, which currently competes in the First League, the top level of Bulgarian football.
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Established in 1932 as a sports association of the railway workers in the town, the football department of Lokomotiv have been playing at their current home ground, the Lokomotiv Stadium, since 1956. The club's main colours are black and white. Lokomotiv GO's longest spell in the top division was between 1987 and 1995. Lokomotiv's highest league finish in the top division is 8th, and was achieved three times during their 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1993–94 A Group campaigns.
Domestic
International
History
The club was established in 1932 as RSC - Railway Sports Club (Bulgarian: ЖСК - Железничарски спортен клуб) by the railway workers at the Gorna Oryahovitsa railway station, a major railway junction in northern Bulgaria. In 1944 RSC merged with SC Borislav and was later renamed to RSC Borislav. The team finally became known by their current name Lokomotiv in 1945. Lokomotiv's best performance in the Bulgarian Cup came in 1947, when they lost to eventual winners Levski Sofia in the semi-final, a feat, which they would achieve again in 1987, but again losing to cup holders Levski Sofia.
In the 1962–63 season, they won the B Group title, earning promotion to the A Group for the first time in their history. In the following top-tier season, Lokomotiv endured a difficult 1963–64 campaign. The team eventually finished the season last and were relegated back to the B Group after a brief spell.
In the 1986–87 season, Lokomotiv ranked second in the B Group and won promotion to the A Group after a 23-year absence. They spent eight consecutive seasons in the top division before being relegated in 1995. During the 1990–91 A Group season, Lokomotiv's forward Ivaylo Yordanov finished as the leading goalscorer of the A Group with a total of 21 goals and was later transferred to Portuguese club Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Recent years
After 21 years of absence in the lower divisions of the Bulgarian football hierarchy, in the 2015–16 B Group the club finished third in the final ranking and was one of the clubs to be approved and promoted to the newly restructured Bulgarian First League, following the adoption of new licensing criteria by the Bulgarian Football Union.
Current squad
As of 13 February 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.
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.