Levski Sofia Picks Interim Coach

Georgi Ivanov will serve for the third time as interim coach of Levski Sofia. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Levski Sofia's selection manager Georgi Ivanov will serve as interim coach of the major football club until the end of April, the management decided.

This will be Ivanov third stint in this position after stepping in breifly to lead the team in 2010 and 2011.

Levski management was expected to pick on Tuesday a new boss, a day after head coach Nikolay Kostov surprisingly quit.

Stanimir Stoilov, who guided the team to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 2006, was tipped as the favorite to replace Kostov.

Other candidates for the post include Kostov's predecessor Georgi Ivanov, who resigned in the autumn following the 1-0 defeat by arch rivals CSKA Sofia, and Dimitar Dimitrov - Hero, former coach of Bulgaria's football national team, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer in October, but remained at the helm of Burgas-based Chernomorets.

Levski Sofia head coach Nikolay Kostov surprisingly resigned on Monday, saying the team is not living up to his expectations and targets.

Kostov's stint at the helm of the team started in the autumn, following a 0:1 defeat by CSKA. Under his leadership the team scored a series of wins, but on Sunday suffered a shock 1-0 home loss against mid-table Mineur Pernik.

Levski Sofia currently rank third in the Bulgarian league, trailing behind arch enemy CSKA Sofia and the surprise leader Ludogorets Razgrad.

The club continues to be among the favorites to win the club's first league title since 2009 and unlike others is financially stable.

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