Petar Hubchev


Petar Kanchev Hubchev is a Bulgarian football manager and former player. He was a part of the Bulgarian squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup and also played at the Euro 1996.

Career

Born in the village of Glozhene, Lovech Province, Hubchev initially began his career as a centre-back at Osam Lovech and being called up for the national team while still playing in the B Group. He made his debut for the Bulgaria national team on 25 April 1984 in a match against Greece. Hubchev was subsequently bought by Levski Sofia in 1989 after 249 matches for Osam. He stayed until 1994, winning two domestic titles and two national cups. His success during the 1994 World Cup led him to a move to German club Hamburger SV, a team which he captained for a brief period. He then played for Eintracht Frankfurt until 2001, where he finished his professional career at the age of 38 and continued as an assistant manager and reserves manager, having played 128 matches and scored two goals in the German Bundesliga, as well as 44 matches in the 2. Bundesliga with another two goals.

Coaching and managerial career

In 2002, Hubchev became the assistant manager of the Bulgaria national team under head coach Plamen Markov, as he helped Bulgaria qualify for the Euro 2004. He continued afterwards as an assistant manager under new Bulgaria national team manager Hristo Stoichkov, and also briefly worked as a Slavia Sofia manager in 2005. From the summer of 2009 he went on to manage Chernomorets Pomorie, a feeder club of Chernomorets Burgas at the time in the Bulgarian B Group. Hubchev managed the team to a surprise appearance in the 2010 Bulgarian Cup Final by eliminating Minyor Pernik with 2–0 in the quarter-final and Kaliakra Kavarna respectively. Chernomorets Pomorie players were the second ones from a B Group side in the Bulgarian Cup history to appear in the final of the competition since Chernomorets Burgas' similar achievement in 1989. Chernomorets Pomorie lost the final 0–1 against Beroe Stara Zagora when Doncho Atanasov scored a late goal just before extra time was to commence. In 2011, he was appointed as a manager of Botev Plovdiv, but was shortly released after unsatisfying results.
In January 2012, he was appointed as a sports director at Beroe Stara Zagora. In October 2012, Hubchev was announced as the new head coach of Beroe Stara Zagora. The very same season he guided the team to a Bulgarian Cup triumph against Levski Sofia in the final, combined with a Super Cup brace against domestic title holders Ludogorets Razgrad. In the follow-up 2014–15 A Group, he also led Beroe Stara Zagora to a historic second place in the final league ranking, mostly by securing crucial wins at home against title contenders Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia, alongside Lokomotiv Sofia and Slavia Sofia. Beroe Stara Zagora also avoided losing against these four in the away league matches in Sofia respectively. Hubchev was released from his duties in April 2016, following a 0–2 home loss against CSKA Sofia in a first leg Bulgarian Cup semi-final match, with the management of the club proclaiming him to be the most successful manager Beroe Stara Zagora has had in the club's history.

Managerial statistics

Honours

As player

;Levski Sofia
;Chernomorets Pomorie
;Beroe Stara Zagora