Georgi Dermendzhiev
Georgi Nikolov Dermendzhiev (born 4 January 1955 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian football manager and former defender. As a player, he appeared for Slavia Sofia (1976–1981), Yantra Gabrovo (1981–1988) and Spartak Plovdiv (1988–1990), totaling 219 league appearances and 5 goals.
Dermendzhiev began his managerial career with Spartak Plovdiv (1998–1999). He spent several years as an assistant at Litex Lovech, Botev Plovdiv and Sliven, before taking charge of Sliven in 2010–2011. He joined Ludogorets Razgrad as an assistant in 2011 and, in July 2014, became head coach of the club.
He led Ludogorets to the Champions League group stage in 2014, becoming the second Bulgarian manager to do so, and on 22 October 2014 he achieved Bulgaria’s first Champions League group-stage win. He resigned in May 2015, but was rehired in November 2015. In the 2016–17 Champions League season Ludogorets again reached the group stage, making them the first Bulgarian team to reach the group stage twice, both times with Dermendzhiev in charge. He left the club in August 2017.
In January 2018 he took charge of Ordabasy in Kazakhstan, staying until June. He returned to Bulgaria in January 2019 as head coach of Levski Sofia, a role he left in April 2019. In October 2019 he became head coach of the Bulgarian national team for the Euro 2020 qualifiers; his contract was extended in 2020 but ended in December 2020 after Bulgaria failed to qualify and was relegated in Nations League. He also faced criticism for not promoting more U-21 players.
Dermendzhiev returned to Ludogorets Razgrad in October 2023 for a third spell, guiding the team to a 13th consecutive league title. He stepped down in August 2024 after the club was eliminated from the Champions League by Qarabagh.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:50 (CET).