Levski learning lessons but face fresh fine

@tvbp1985 (999)
China
November 23, 2006 7:31pm CST
SOFIA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Levski Sofia have suffered five consecutive defeats in their debut season in the Champions League group stages and look set for another fine for crowd misbehaviour. But players and coaches realise how important it is to meet teams who set the trend in European football. Bulgaria had to wait 14 years to qualify a team for Europe's elite competition and Levski have benefited by playing the likes of reigning champions Barcelona and English giants Chelsea. Levski stayed bottom in Group A after they were beaten 2-0 at home by mighty Barca on Wednesday. "It's obvious that we have to work hard to improve and take our game to a higher level, but we have learned so much in our debut season in the Champions League," said coach Stanimir Stoilov. "This is the reality," said versatile striker Hristo Yovov after Wednesday's latest defeat. "We don't have to delude ourselves. I'm glad that we brought the festive atmosphere here and our fans were really happy." He added: "It's our first year in the tournament and I'm not sure we've managed to show our best but it's always difficult to challenge such a strong opponents." Some fans were over-exuberant again on Wednesday, throwing torches and fireworks onto the pitch. Chief executive Konstantin Bazhdekov expects another heavy fine from UEFA. "I have no words to describe such a conduct," said Bazhdekov. "It's not normal to have that kind of quantity of torches and fireworks in the stadium." He added: "We can't blame most of the 42,000 fans who came to support our team. It's only a small group of them who did the damage." Last week, Levski were fined $40,880 because of crowd trouble during the match against Chelsea on Sept. 27. In their run to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals last season, the club totalled fines of $116,500
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