Martin Kostadinov, "Tema sport"
A dozen days separated former CSKA coach Nestor El Maestro and the army's star recruit Stefano Sensi from working together. The Serb with a British passport took over the Cypriot Anorthosis, succeeding Mauro Camoranesi, who went to AEK Larnaca. In the following lines, we look at how the careers of the last six CSKA coaches have developed since they left Borisova Gradina.
Dušan KERKEZ, 50 (Atromitos)
The Bosnian specialist registered the weakest start in CSKA's history with 1 win, 4 draws and 3 losses, but despite this, he managed to find a new team relatively quickly after being fired by the army. He took over the Greek Atromitos in mid-November, when the team was in tenth place out of 14 teams with 9 points in 10 matches. Kerkez's goal was to get the team out of the battle for survival and the Bulgarian Cup winner with Botev Plovdiv coped with it optimally. Atromitos remained only a point away from the playoff group between 5th and 8th place, and at the end of the season they finished convincingly in ninth position with 46 points from 36 matches, a full 16 above the relegation zone. It is no coincidence that in April the Greek club offered Kerkez a new contract and he signed until the summer of 2027. In the winter, the Bosnian strengthened his squad with winger Ehdze Ukaki, with whom he had worked at Botev Pd. The Nigerian arrived on loan from English Sheffield United and made 16 appearances in the spring.
Alexander TOMASH, 47 years old (-)
Alexander Tomas is experiencing the longest period without a commitment in his coaching career, after parting ways with CSKA 13 months ago. The last time he had such a long break was between October 2019 and November 2020 after leaving Beroe and before taking over at Etar. He subsequently took another break after being relegated with Veliko Tarnovo, but between April 2022 and May 31, 2025, Tomas constantly had a job - Loko Pd, Spartak Vn, CSKA. However, the severe collapse in Borisova Gradina obviously has a very negative impact on his coaching career and no club has been found that would engage the 47-year-old specialist and his staff. At the end of last year, the former defender was close to the position at Botev Plovdiv, but due to petty bargaining with the yellow-black boss Iliyan Filipov, the negotiations failed. Tomas's managers are actively trying to find him a team abroad, but for now their efforts are hitting a snag.
Tomislav STIPIČ, 46 years old (-)
One of the biggest coaching failures in CSKA history has changed two jobs since he parted ways with the army in August 2024, but since this summer he has been on the market again. Between March 2025 and June 2025, he led the Moroccan MAS Fes in 9 matches (b.a. – 2 wins, 4 draws, 3 losses). “The sports director contacted me and presented their project to me. I liked it and accepted it. When I arrived, I signed a contract for 18 months, but it turned out that the club was unable to pay the salaries of its players and coaches. "That's how I ended the season," Stipić told Tema Sport. He then spent about 9 months without a team before taking over Vukovar in his homeland in an attempt to save its elite status. However, the humiliating 0:6 loss to Hajduk Split in his debut suggested that the mission was doomed, and the team never got out of the last tenth position. Stipić was fired after the end of the season, and so for the third consecutive summer he is looking for a new challenge.
Stamen BELCHEV, (57 years old)
The Haskovo specialist worked excellently in the CSKA reserve team, and the credit for introducing Petko Panayotov to the first team is largely his. He managed the midfielder since the Third League and was the first to bring him into the representative team. This happened during Belchev's extremely unsuccessful period between April and May 2024, when he succeeded the fired Nestor El Maestro in an attempt to qualify the army for Europe. The sad end was the lost play-off against CSKA 1948, which was interrupted by angry fans. Stamen spent a year without a job before taking over at Septemvri last summer. However, an initial series of tough matches against Ludogorets, Levski and CSKA 1948 undermined the start of the championship and after that the team never managed to get back on its feet under Belchev's leadership. So since October 27, the coach has been out of work again, revealing to “Tema Sport“ on several occasions that he was sought after from abroad, but not with a serious offer that was worth it. It was Belchev who was the last coach to lead CSKA to the Europa League groups in 2020.
Nestor EL MAESTRO, 43 (Al Najma)
Nestor Jevtić, as El Maestro is known, has been involved in two survival battles since he parted ways with CSKA in April 2024. In the spring of the 2024/25 season, he managed to save Debrecen in dramatic fashion after a 3-0 win in the final round match against Videoton. The Serb with a British passport gathered an army of former Reds players - Kristijan Malinov, Amos Juga and Maurides - and achieved his goal. However, Nestor left the Hungarian club in anticipation of further challenges. In February, he took on the impossible task of leaving Al Najma in the Saudi Arabian elite, losing 0-5 to Al Nassr in one of his first matches, with Cristiano Ronaldo among the scorers. It is certain that the financial conditions for El Maestro are excellent, and he also took former CSKA fitness coach Ilijan Mitrev into his staff. After the relegation, however, things have obviously changed and the coach has taken a change of scenery by moving to Cyprus.
Saša ILIC, 48 (Partizan)
The Serbian coach, who was one penalty away from the Bulgarian title at the helm of CSKA, has fulfilled the dream he spoke about openly while leading the Reds a few years ago. “At this moment, I don't see myself as a Partizan coach“, said the gravedigger legend during his presentation of the “Army“ in the summer of 2022, and a year later he told the Serbian media: “You never know what the day and night will bring, especially in coaching. Partizan is certainly my club, where I see myself one day. When it will be – I really don't know“. After CSKA, Sasha Ilic's path passed through the Greek Atromitos, the Russian Pari Nizhny Novgorod and the Azerbaijani Sumgait last season. To get to this summer and the long-awaited appointment in the beloved Partizan. Interestingly, Ilic's unofficial debut was against the biggest black cat in his career - CSKA 1948, which stopped him from the title three years ago. Now the team, hosting in Bistrica, crossed his path again and crushed them 3:0 in Slovenia.