The Champions League's New Boys

With the Champions League kicking off tonight and Liverpool facing their first European night in 5 years, here is a quick look at tonight's opponents Ludogorets Razgrad. Featuring in their first ever European Cup, their journey is quite spectacular from their conception 13 years ago to the present day.

Founded in 2001 as Ludogorie Football Club the club adopted the name of the town when one of the first clubs in that area was dissolved in 2006. Inpenalty tyr early years they won their group several times but due to their very small budget, were unable to progress into the higher leagues in Bulgaria. 

Only 6 years ago, they were promoted to the top tier in Bulgarian amateur football and it's pretty impressive to think that they are now competing in the most prestigious club tournament in the world. Formerly known as Razgrad 2000, the amateur side gained promotion to the professional stage in Bulgaria, and no doubt this would have been a momentous occasion for the fans. They were able to cement themselves in the second tier of the professional game in Bulgaria. 

Fans were delighted with the progress made by the club in the short space of time, but little did they know that things were to only get better. A businessman purchased the club in September 2010 and announced that he had the long term vision of taking the side from Razgrad to A Group - the highest tier in Bulgarian football. With the new owner, Kiril Domuschiev, keen to invest money in his new project, it prompted a whirlwind of transfer bids for high calibre players, particularly for a local club like Ludogorets. Whoever said a money can't win you things was wrong on this occasion, they achieved promotion in Domuschiev's first season and haven't looked back since.

Their first season among Bulgaria's elite was very successful, as they completed the domestic double. It sounded like Domuschiev was a serial 'save and reloader' on Football Manager! The 2012/2013 season was equally as impressive as they started the season with eight wins on the bounce and went on to clinch the title on the last day of the season for the second consecutive year. The next season brought more success as they won another domestic double. Now that they have conquered Bulgaria, they turn their attention to Europe.

Similar to their history, qualifying for the Champions League was equally as melodramatic. In the play off against Steaua Bucharest, defender Cosmin Moti grabbed the headlines. He was forced to embrace the goal keeping gloves following the dismissal of their goal keeper in the dying embers of extra time, and when the match went to penalties he made 2 saves to send the Bulgarians to their first ever Champions League group stage as well as scoring a penalty. That will be a cracking story to tell the grandchildren.

Now mentally preparing themselves to embrace the home turf of five times winners of the competition, nobody is expecting fireworks from the 13 year old club. If they could score a goal, I'm sure they will celebrate with exuberance. Their experience of Europa League football will stand them in good stead, particularly as they were able to reach the round of 16.

As neutral, we all want them to do well. Imagine the scenes if they were able to pinch a second place spot? Anyway it's highly unlikely, but not impossible. In the long run, the experience of playing in front of a full Bernabeu stadium and Anfield will be valuable to the whole club, fans and players as well as the finances. It's been a climb to the top, so let's hope the Bulgaria new side can remain there for years to come.