Septemvri Sofia appoints Mladen Kašćelan as new head coach

SFC Septemvri Sofia has officially presented Mladen Kašćelan as its new head coach. The club announced the appointment of the Montenegrin specialist to lead the first team, marking a new chapter for the Sofia-based side.

The change in leadership comes after former head coach Simão Freitas submitted his resignation in the middle of the month. The club's management accepted the resignation, paving the way for the search and subsequent hiring of a successor.

Kašćelan will be supported by a newly formed technical staff. Eduard Shtaynbrekher and Antonio Petkov have been appointed as assistant coaches, with Petkov also taking on the role of analyst. Hristo Nikolov will serve as the goalkeeping coach, while Martin Filipov joins as the fitness coach.

The 43-year-old coach brings significant experience from his playing days, having earned 25 caps for the Montenegro national team. His club career included spells at Karlsruhe, Jagiellonia, Arsenal Tula, Tosno, Tambov, and Baltika. Notably, he was part of the Ludogorets squad that secured both the Bulgarian league title and the Cup in the 2011/2012 season.

On the coaching front, Kašćelan previously worked within the staff at Pari Nizhny Novgorod, collaborating with Sergey Yuran and Sasha Ilich. He later took charge of Sokol Saratov. He holds a UEFA Pro license, which he obtained in May 2026.