Spartak Pleven

Whoever took charge of the paperwork in 2013 inherited a name and not much else.

That churn sits oddly against the ground. Stadion Pleven holds 25,000, of which only 3,000 are seats.

Which it was, briefly, in the late 1950s. Spartak reached the Bulgarian Cup final in 1957 and finished third in the championship the following season — the high point of a run that also took the club to the final of the Soviet Army Cup in 1952. Five second-tier titles are spread across the years either side of it, the first in 1961 and the last in 2001, which is a fair summary of how the club has spent its time: close to the top flight, rarely settled in it.

The name arrived in 1947, when Republicanets became Spartak under the postwar reorganisation of Bulgarian sport. The club itself dates to 10 September 1919, and it has played in blue and white throughout — sinyo-belite, as they are known locally. The White Eagles, the name most often attached to football in the town, belonged to a different club, one that folded in 2010.