Botev will be with a fifth different coach in the last five Plovdiv derbies against Lokomotiv. This curious fact is one of the highlights before the clash between the two teams on Friday. The match is this Friday at 19:30. at the “Hristo Botev” stadium in Plovdiv.
In the 2021-2022 season, when Botev finished in third place and won the bronze medals, the team defeated Lokomotiv 2:1 as the host of the team’s club base in Komatevo, and then the coach was Azrudin Valentich.
In the 2022-2023 season, Lokomotiv won the Lauta derby 1:0, and the team’s coach is Željko Kopić.
In the second derby of the season, the Canaries have a new coach – Bruno Baltazar, and the match ends 1:1 in Komatevo.
The “yellow and black” started the new season with coach Stanislav Genchev, who led the team to a 1:1 draw at Lokomotiv Stadium.
On Friday, Botev will be with a new coach again – this is Dusan Kerkez, who replaced Genchev at the head of the team.
Thus, within less than two years, Botev has had five different coaches. The team was led in this period by the Bosnian Azrudin Valentić, the Croatian Zeljko Kopić, the Portuguese Bruno Baltazar, the Bulgarian Stanislav Genchev and the Serbian Dusan Kerkez, and this number does not include the coaches who were temporarily in charge for one or two matches.
Botev’s last victory in the derby was in the 2021-2022 season at 2:1 in Komatevo. Lokomotiv’s last success was last season at “Lauta”, and the last two matches ended in a draw.
The last coach to lead in two consecutive Plovdiv derbies was Azrudin Valentich in the 2021-2022 season.
Here are all Botev’s mentors:
Season 2021-2022
Botev – Lokomotiv 2:1 coach Azrudin Valentich
Season 2022-2023
Lokomotiv – Botev 1:0 coach Zelko Kopich
Botev – Lokomotiv 1:1 coach Bruno Baltazar
Season 2023-2024
Lokomotiv – Botev 1:1 coach Stanislav Genchev
Botev – Lokomotiv ?:? coach Dusan Kerkez
