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It dawns early in Razgrad. The sunlight emerges to rid us of a cold that still resists in our bodies. My mother still wonders where we have gone, she is unable to find the name of the city. And he is right, because not even zooming into Google Maps does this lost town in the northeast of Bulgaria appear. Just 50 minutes from the border, where the final stretch of the Danube separates Bulgarians and Romanians, and more than four hours by road from Sofia, which becomes 15 if you do it by train. However, our journey has been even longer. Departing from the north of Romania and stopping in Bucharest, before arriving at this mysterious place at dawn.
A heavy journey, accentuated by the slowness of the train, but with enough time to learn about the history surrounding the football club that will host us for the next 90 minutes, Ludogorets. One of those clubs that you have been watching for years roaming around Europe, but about which you barely know anything. Although with just a couple of searches in the encyclopedia that is the internet, one must be left with a proper name to understand what this team means to Bulgarian football: Kiril Domuschiev. The richest man in Bulgaria, owner of the pharmaceutical company Huvepharma and since 2010 owner of Ludogorets. A tycoon, known in his country for being the Bulgarian Abramovich, and who has catapulted the Razgrad team into European football, defying any logic. Although, given what we have seen, Mr. Money doesn’t understand that.
But let’s not go too fast, because there are many questions to be answered here. Who is Kiril Domuschiev? Born in 1969 in the capital, Sofia, who today occupies a privileged position on the Forbes list, he grew up in a select environment, studying in a French school, and learning Spanish from an early age. A man who, together with his brother Georgi, would soon enter the business world after finishing his studies, and who became involved in several clothing and footwear manufacturing companies. The Domuschievs barely had 50 years between them, but already in 1996 they owned the privatization fund Napredak Holding. At that point, they began to acquire shares in a multitude of companies from different industrial sectors, increasing a fortune that was confirmed three years later, when Kiril launched his own pharmaceutical business and founded Huvepharma EOOD.
Let’s stop. We continue on the train and the still Romanian wastelands invite reflection. Bulgaria seems to be close, but in Eastern Europe connections and transport are not a piece of cake. Between nods and nods, that match comes to mind in which Ludogorets achieved its first qualification for the champions league in 2014 with Cosmin Moti emerging as a hero in the penalty shootout. But it was not just any feat: that centre-back put on his goalkeeper gloves and saved two maximum penalties to lead Ludogorets to glory. A drama that is difficult to invent that we already told in Panenka several years ago. Well, that Ludogorets would face Real Madrid in the group stage, and although in both games it came out tails, they almost left Liverpool out of European competition.
Kiril Domuschiev, a tycoon known in his country as the Bulgarian Abramovich, has catapulted the Razgrad team into European football, defying any logic.
A Ludogorets winner in Bulgaria and competitor in Europe, but who not many years ago was roaming the depths of his country’s football. In fact, it was founded in 2001 as Razgrad 2000, taking over from Ludogorets, a club that, at that time tormented by debt, succumbed to financial collapse in 2006. That is why, Aleksandar Aleksandrov, president of the young entity , would inherit the name, the green color of his shirt (in honor of the lush forests of the Ludogorie region) and the modest history of his predecessors. Although during the first eight seasons of its existence Ludogorets moved through the country’s lower divisions without even causing a sensation, everything changed in 2008.
Things begin to make sense while one is already delirious after eight hours on the train. We still have a little way to go to Bucharest, but the setting sun tells us that we are close. We left at night, and it seems that we will also arrive at night, but thanks to Kiril Domuschiev the journey has become a little lighter. A Domuschiev who at the beginning of the century increased his fortune as he acquired more businesses, and who, with his pharmaceutical company based in Razgrad, had a brief acquaintance with Ludogorets, which played in the regional division. The club was looking for financial help, and Domuschiev responded by contributing 25,000 euros. It seemed like a philanthropic donation more than an investment, but that team managed to quickly rise to the third division. And Domuschiev’s lightbulb went on. Football lover, and curiously a follower of Spanish football, why not bet on the growth of Ludogorets. Another promotion and economic needs gave Domuscheiv the key so that, after another investment of 250,000 euros, he took ownership of the club in 2010.
At last. Bucharest North Station welcomes us. It’s not the best place to stay, so after a long walk through the center of the Romanian capital, with its spectacular parliament looming (the heaviest building in the world) and a surreal mural of Vinicius in the team’s shirt national, we will begin the final leg of our long trip with a small bus. We are going to Bulgaria. Razgrad approaches. And again, time allows us to continue digging into what seems like a story more typical of a video game than reality. Because Ludogorets, already with Domuschiev in ownership, broke into the top category of Bulgarian football for the first time in its entire history. And he didn’t do it in any way, but in style. Cup, Super Cup and League. What a declaration of intentions on the part of Domuschiev’s club, which, unlike any tycoon, opted only for money and signings. With the goal of placing Ludogorets in the European spotlight, Kiril was clear that he had to provide the club with the best resources and infrastructure. This is how with the remodeling of the stadium, where he invested more than five million, and the construction of a modern sports city, the Ludogorets project took hold, displacing both Levski and CSKA, the two historic clubs from Sofia, to one side.
The small bus leaves at night. This time the journey will be quick. Crossing the border from Ruse will take us a few hours. The eyes fall. But we cross the Danube, and Bulgaria opens between us. Of course, we only see trucks, streetlights and roads. It’s not the best welcome, of course, but there’s still the best. Meanwhile, I keep thinking about what the emergence of Ludogorets has meant for Bulgarian football. Because since that first league win in 2012, there has been no team capable of unseating Domuschiev from his throne. There are thirteen consecutive domestic titles, and this season they are going for another. In addition to three Bulgarian tops and seven Super Cups. There’s a reason everyone hates Ludogorets. Because success attracts hatred, and even more so if the greatest fortune in the country is involved.
In 2020, CSKA Sofia ultras had a tifo during a confrontation against Ludogorets where the feeling towards the owner of Razgrad was clear. His head was stuck on the spear of a Bulgarian warrior with the motto “Your God ends here”. During these years of dominance, Domuschiev’s Ludogorets have been accused of corrupting the league and having the referees in their favor. No wonder the tycoon has been accused and taken to trial on more than one occasion. However, nothing has been proven in a historically corrupt league, where whoever has power is guaranteed success. But Domuschiev’s dominance goes beyond Ludogorets’ results. That same year he bought the television rights to the league for 16 million euros through his company Football Pro Media.
Ultras from CSKA Sofia had a tifo in front of Ludogorets where the feeling towards the owner of Razgrad was clear. His head was stuck on the spear of a Bulgarian warrior with the motto “Your God ends here”
Success attracts hate. Also to the rumors. Evil tongues say that Kiril, who was involved in the management of CSKA Sofia, the club he grew up with, was rejected by the board when they questioned his way of running the club. Therefore, he decided to bet on Ludogorets as revenge. Others accuse him of using football to launder money. Whether true or not, the truth is that, while many of the Bulgarian clubs ride like runaway horses, Domuschiev has managed to implement a clear strategy betting on the future and progress in the entity. And what better way to do it than starting from scratch. In Razgrad they smile thanks to his figure. Because beyond sports results, Kiril has been involved with the city. During the pandemic, the Domuschiev brothers donated more than one hundred thousand euros to help the hospital, showing that when it comes to taking care of those at home, the tycoon has no doubt. Meanwhile, his purchasing power and power in high circles continues to increase. After all, it is the biggest fortune in Bulgaria.
Razgrad has finally been put on the map, but at the expense of the Sofia clubs. We have arrived. It’s two in the morning and we have no place to sleep. Luckily, we found a hotel that allows us to rest at the reception. Fortune has been with us. Although only until six. Because again, helpless on the street, there is nothing that can cover us from the cold. They read zero degrees, and at times, as if it were a CSKA fan, we curse Razgrad. We walk aimlessly, looking for shelter, and a gas station will become our best ally. People get up early here too. It’s match day and the first drivers with their Ludogorets hats come to refuel. Today, Europe becomes the unfinished business of a club that has everything in its country. Because they have been common, but the group stages always suffocate. Gone is that time when the Ludogorets shield was displayed on the video scoreboard Mestalla in the round of 16 of the european league. Perhaps the best European performance of the Bulgarians. But finally dawn breaks in Razgrad, and one of those adventures begins that, as my mother says, only happen when you’re young. Everything is to watch a football game.
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Photographs by Gorka Urresola.
