Football from Bulgaria
Final before the real final - by this way is called the today's match between CSKA-Sofia and Ludogorets from the quarterfinals for the Cup of Bulgaria. The two leading teams in the season are meeting today at 15.30 GMT at the Bulgarian Army Stadium.
The previous match between them in Sofia was equal and predetermined by a mistake of the CSKA-Sofia's goalkeeper. The Ludogorets's striker Virgil Misijan took advantage and brought the victory 1-0 in the second round of the First League.
Subsequently, CSKA-Sofia gained momentum and both teams started their pursuit at the top in the elite.
The rivalry between the two teams is reinforced by their quest for a double - championship and cup. Ludogorets is considered the undisputed favorite and hegemon, winning six consecutive titles in the championship but winning the cup only twice - in 2012 and 2014.
CSKA-Sofia is looking for its way to success, as it has been openly stated a few days ago that it is struggling to win the two awards in Bulgaria. The club said they would not sell any of their major players during the winter pause, because they believe they can make the double.
"We believe that if this team is preserved and upgraded, we can achieve our goals, namely winning the title and the Cup of Bulgaria," was stated bu the sports director Plamen Markov. "I emphasize that we are very keen to win the cup, and sooner or later we had to meet Ludogoretz, and the fate has predetermined us to play with them, and we will do our best to congratulate ourselves," he said.
"We have to stand firmly on the ground and I expect to show a good face and make our fans happy. We talked to the players and we warned them that the game would be difficult. It depends of how we will approach the match and maybe the little details will decide the outcome of the match "he said.
"The stadium will only be filled with our supporters, who will fully support us, it is terrible for the enemy and very good for us when our fans are behind us, and we hope to be at the audience level and after the game we celebrate together," added the CSKA-Sofia's coach - Stamen Belchev.
Dimitar Dimitrov expects Ludogorets to show a different face to the previous match with CSKA in Razgrad. He recalled that his team was in a difficult series after matches with "Levski" and "Braga". "I hope we are in good shape so we can oppose a good team like CSKA-Sofia," said the coach of the champions from Razgrad.
"Ludogorets" has traditionally been looking mainly to the European tournaments. The champions achieved their great goal by providing matches in League Europe in the spring. In February the team from razgrad will play with Milan in the 1/16 stage.
The match for the Cup will be important both from a sporting and psychological point of view. However, there can hardly be any major disruption to the drop team, since after the last referee's signal starts the winter pause in the championship, which will continue until mid-February.