Football hegemonies like Bayern Munich and PSG instantly spring to mind when we think of the best in Europe. However, with 11 consecutive national championships, Bulgaria now has the most sovereignty.
The fact that all titles have Brazilian roots is the strangest thing. The Brazilian squad has never paid much attention to these players, but they have left their stamp on local football and established history in a lower division.
Filled with Brazilians, Ludogorets have won 11 titles in a row in Bulgaria
Since 2011, Bulgarian football has an owner. Before then, a team with less prestige, Ludogorets ascended to the top level and became into the nation’s nemesis. There have been 11 championships overall, the most recent being in the 2021–2022 season.
Everything changed in 2010 when billionaire Kiril Domuschiev, who became wealthy in the pharmaceutical industry, began making investments in the squad. As soon as they gained entry, Ludogorets won the Triple Crown of Bulgaria: the Bulgarian Championship, Bulgarian Cup, and Supercup.
Ludogorets are one of the finest champions of the Old Continent in the last ten years with 18 titles overall in just 11 years.
The businessman uses hiring Brazilian athletes as one of his success techniques. Numerous them have already joined the team and contributed significantly to this string of victories.
Club has five Brazilians in the squad
There are now five Brazilians in Ludogorets. Alex Santana, a midfielder who plays for the number 7 team, is the most well-known of them all. He was discovered by Internacional at the age of 27, but made a name for himself with Botafogo, scoring 12 goals there between 2019 and 2020.
The right-back Cicinho, though, is the one with the most experience. After playing for Santos, he moved to Bulgaria in 2015 and quickly became one of the team’s references. He became a citizen in 2020 and was afterwards called up to defend the home team.
Early in 2022, the squad acquired Rick, a striker that Ceará had sold. Despite playing in 12 games as part of the team that won the most recent Bulgarian Championship, he has yet to score his first goal. Midfielders Igor Thiago, who was exposed by Cruzeiro, and Cauly, who has never played professionally in Brazil, round out the roster.
Brazucas are part of Ludogorets’ history
Prior to it, several well-known Brazilian supporters played significant roles in Ludogorets’ victories. Some athletes, like Wanderson and Cicinho, were so successful that they were granted citizenship in Bulgaria and defended their country.
Learn about some notable Brazilian events that have occurred in Ludogorets:
- Marcelinho: revealed by São Paulo, he is a local idol and won the national title nine times.
- Cicinho: after spending time at Santos, he joined Ludogorets in 2015. Since then, he has become an idol, won the double citizenship and became a player for the national team.
- Wanderson: Another local legend, the attacking midfielder has never shone in Brazil, but has eight titles in Bulgaria. He is the fourth most dressed club in history (269 games) and became a naturalized Bulgarian.
- Juninho Quixadá: the forward, who played for Bragantino, was one of the pioneers and participated in the first six titles (2011-2017).
- Júnior Caiçara: former side of Santo André played between 2012 and 2015.
- Renan: goalkeeper revealed by Botafogo has four national titles in Bulgaria.
- Rafael Forster: defender of Juventude defended the team between 2017 and 2020.
- Jonathan Cafú: now in Cuiabá, he was in Bulgaria between 2015 and 2017.
- Natanael: free on the market, side played four seasons for Ludogorets (2015-2019). Afterwards, he played for Inter and Atlético-GO.
Next step is to shine in the Champions League
The squad seeks to advance in the Champions League after winning 11 national championships. Ludogorets always competes for qualifying since the nation does not have a direct berth in the group stage.
The team has more involvement in the Europa League group stage than on the two instances when the berth was attained (five). The most successful season was in 2013–2014, when they advanced to the round of 16.
Therefore, Ludogorets’ participation in the Champions League playoffs might be a historic triumph. The Brazilians’ continued dominance in Bulgarian and European football will be necessary for this.
