History
Spartak was founded on 15 November 1947, after being evolved from three earlier Plovdiv clubs - Levski, Septemvri and Udarnik. The club is a reference to the Roman slave hero Spartacus. This reference also explains the club's nickname - The Gladiators (Bulgarian: Гладиаторите). The first team colours of the club were chosen the same year, and soon Spartak was characterized by a blue, red and white check jersey.
The 1950s and 1960s were Spartak's golden age, spending that time in the A PFG. The club has been once champions of Bulgaria (in 1963), coming second the previous year, and Bulgarian Cup winners (in 1958).
The club participated in the European Cup competition for the first time in 1963-64 vs KF Partizani Tirana (0:1, 3:1) and vs PSV (0:1, 0:0). Second continental participation was in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1966-67 vs SL Benfica (1:1, 0:3). In 1964 Spartak reached the Balkans Cup final, losing to FC Rapid Bucureşti after two legs - 1:1 at home and 0:2 away.
In 1967 Spartak was merged with SSK Akademik and Botev Plovdiv into a new club - AFD Trakia. An independent Spartak did not re-emerge until 1982. In the period from 1982 to 1994 the club spended in second and third divisions. In the 1993-94 season Spartak finished 2nd in B PFG, and qualified again for the A PFG, after 27 years break. But two seasons later, the team relegated again to B PFG. The club merged in 1998 with Komatevo Sokol`94 and were renamed Spartak-S`94. This remained club's official name till the 2001-02 season.
Read more about this topic: FC Spartak Plovdiv
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