It's official: Ihor Jovichevich has returned to Ludogorets

Bulgarian Ludogorets officially announced the appointment of Igor Jovichevich as the head coach of the first team. The new coach is scheduled to start work on September 24, when the Croatian will hold his first training session after returning to the club. The new team will have a strong Ukrainian representation. The coaching staff of Yovichevich included Ukrainian specialists Andrii Khanas and Yuriy Benyo, who had already worked with him in previous teams. The Spanish Javier Lorena will be responsible for the physical training of the football players. In addition, Ukrainian defensive midfielder Ivan Zhelizko, who joined Ludogorets this summer, will play under the Croatian. Jovichevich already has the most successful work experience in Razgrad. During his first arrival in the 2024/25 season, he completed a golden treble in 10 months, winning the Bulgarian Championship, the National Cup and the Super Cup. On the coaching bridge, he replaced the German specialist Thomas Rice, who left the club early and headed the Turkish Trabzonspor (the Bulgarians received 900,000 euros in compensation for this transfer). Currently, Ludogorets is third in the Bulgarian championship with one match in hand. "I am happy that I am returning to my family again. I have a dream that I believe will come true," Jovicevich said after signing the contract. We will remind that after the first departure from Ludogorets, the Croat worked in Widzew, Poland (from October 2025 to March 2026). Earlier in his career, there were Saudi Al-Raed, Ukrainian Shakhtar (championship in the 2022/23 season), Dnipro-1 and Karpaty, as well as Zagreb Dynamo and Slovenian Celje.