Zimbru Chișinău
Full nameFotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău
Nickname(s)Galben-verzii (The Yellow-Greens)
Zimbrii (The Aurochs)
Founded16 May 1947 (1947-05-16)
GroundZimbru Stadium
Capacity10,500
PresidentNicolae Ciornîi
Head CoachLilian Popescu
LeagueSuper Liga
2022–23Super Liga, 3rd of 8
WebsiteClub website

Fotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău, commonly known as Zimbru Chișinău or simply Zimbru, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Chișinău, which competes in the Super Liga, the highest tier of Moldovan football.

Founded in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1947, Zimbru entered the Soviet Top League in 1956 and totalled eleven participations before their last relegation in 1983. After the independence of Moldova in 1991, the team established itself as an early force in the country, winning all the first five national titles and eight of the first nine, but have not won since. Zimbru's honours also include six Moldovan Cups and one Moldovan Super Cup.

Zimbru play their home matches at the 10,400-seater Zimbru Stadium.

History

Zimbru Chișinău was formed in 1947 in the Moldovan Soviet Republic (present day Republic of Moldova). 'Zimbru' is a Romanian word for a form of European bison, but the club also previously functioned under names such as Dinamo, Burevestnik, Moldova, Avântul, and Nistru. The Soviet Era was spent mostly in Class B of the regional league until eventual promotion to Class A. The club then flitted between Class A and Class B as well as spending time in the Soviet Top League and First League. In total, Zimbru spent 11 seasons in the Top League between 1956 and 1983. Zimbru had their biggest success in 1956 when they finished in 6th place out of 12 in the Soviet Top League and in 1963 when they reached the quarter-finals of the Soviet Cup.[1]
Zimbru's fortunes changed after the fall of the USSR and the establishment of the Republic of Moldova. The club won all five of the initial seasons of the Moldovan National Division (1992–96), and apart from finishing as runners-up to Chișinău rivals Constructorul Chișinău in 1996–97, won eight of the first nine championships. Zimbru have also won the Moldovan Cup six times, including a double in 1997–98 and the Moldovan Super Cup once.

Crest and colours

Since its foundation, Zimbru's colours always was yellow and green. Throughout history, Zimbru Chișinău had many logos. Traditional colours were always present on club crests.

Stadium

Zimbru Stadium
Stadionul Zimbru
Address1 Butucului Street
Chișinău
Moldova
OwnerZimbru Chișinău
Capacity10,500[2]
Field size105 by 68 metres (114.8 yd × 74.4 yd)
SurfaceGrass
Scoreboard1,600 lux
Construction
BuiltMarch 2004 - May 2006
Opened20 May 2006
Construction cost$11 million
ArchitectCeproserving SA
Structural engineerINCONEX-COM
Tenants
Zimbru Chișinău (2006–present)
Moldova national football team (2006–present)

FC Zimbru's home ground is Zimbru Stadium, a football-specific stadium in Botanica sector of Chișinău. It was opened in 2006. The stadium has a natural grass playing surface, and its capacity is 10,400.

Rivalries

In the 1990s (the first decade of Moldova's independence), Zimbru's rival was the other team from Chișinău, Constructorul Chișinău. Then Contructorul was dissolved. In 1997, a new team was founded in Tiraspol, Sheriff Tiraspol. In a few years, Sheriff was promoted to the first league and became a force in Moldovan football. Considering the strength of team and the tensions between Moldovans and separatist Transnistrians, the match between Zimbru and Sheriff became a derby, the most important match in country. Thus, it has been named "Derby of Moldova", being labelled even as "Moldovan El Clasico" (Romanian: El Clasico de Moldova).[3][4] Another rivalry was established in the mid 2000s when Dacia Chișinău, another team from Chișinău, became one of Moldova's top teams. The match between them is known as "The Derby of the capital" (Romanian: Derbiul capitalei).[5]

Honours

Moldova

Soviet Union

Players

Current squad

As of 7 October 2023[6][7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF Guinea GUI Fodé Camara
3 DF Moldova MDA Ștefan Burghiu (captain)
4 MF Moldova MDA Stanislav Sarain
7 MF Moldova MDA Ilie Damașcan
8 MF Cameroon CMR Jessie Guera Djou
9 FW Moldova MDA Marin Căruntu
10 MF Moldova MDA Alexandru Dedov
11 MF Cape Verde CPV João Paulino
12 GK Moldova MDA Sebastian Agachi
18 MF Guinea GUI Ibrahima Soumah
19 MF Moldova MDA Ștefan Bîtca
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 FW Nigeria NGA Emmanuel Alaribe
21 DF Moldova MDA Mihai Morozan
25 DF Romania ROU Alexandru Misarăș
27 DF Moldova MDA Dinis Ieșeanu
29 FW Guinea GUI Sylla Alya
30 DF Moldova MDA Andrei Macrițchii
31 GK Moldova MDA Igor Mostovei
33 DF Moldova MDA Mihail Ștefan
35 GK Moldova MDA Nicolai Cebotari
44 DF Moldova MDA Denis Furtună
66 FW Nigeria NGA Justice Ohajunwa
69 MF Ukraine UKR Denys Dedechko
77 MF Moldova MDA Vlad Răileanu

Player of the year

Zimbru players who received the award Moldovan Footballer of the Year:

Year Winner
1992Moldova Alexandru Spiridon
1993Moldova Alexandru Curtianu
1994Moldova Serghei Cleșcenco
1995Moldova Ion Testemițanu
1997Moldova Ion Testemițanu
1999Moldova Sergiu Epureanu
2002Moldova Boris Cebotari

League history

Table

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Top scorer (league)
1992Super Liga12215524015351/4Moldova Alexandru Spiridon
Moldova Iurie Miterev – 8
1992–9313022626617501/8Moldova Alexandru Spiridon – 12
1993–9413025238622521/2UCLPRMoldova Serghei Cleșcenco – 14
1994–951262141691067RUUCPRMoldova Serghei Cleșcenco – 11
1995–96130263111011811/4UCR2Moldova Vladislav Gavriliuc – 34
1996–9723022441122170WUCPRMoldova Iurie Miterev – 34
1997–98126223175869WCWCQRMoldova Serghei Cleșcenco – 25
1998–991261871439611/4UCLQ1Moldova Vladislav Gavriliuc – 10
1999–001362574782182RUUCL
UC
Q3
R1
Moldova Victor Berco – 15
2000–0122820624615661/2UCL
UC
Q3
R1
Moldova Iurie Miterev – 8
2001–02328121065220461/2UCQRMoldova Victor Berco – 12
2002–032241554472050WUCR1Uzbekistan Vladimir Shishelov – 13
2003–043281477402349WUCR1Uzbekistan Vladimir Shishelov – 15
2004–0552812792915431/4Moldova Sergiu Chirilov – 7
2005–0622815854720531/2Moldova Sergiu Chirilov – 11
2006–072362187632371WUCQ2Russia Alexei Zhdanov – 14
2007–08530131344321521/2UCQ1Russia Alexei Zhdanov – 12
2008–09430137104230461/2Moldova Oleg Andronic – 16
2009–1043317884729591/4UELQ2Moldova Andrei Secrieru – 7
2010–11439221075620761/8Moldova Oleg Andronic – 9
2011–12333171064724611/4Moldova Oleg Molla – 14
2012–136331210115338461/4UELQ2Moldova Oleg Molla – 7
2013–144331878562461WRussia Sergey Tsyganov – 13
2014–1562476112319271/4UELPOMoldova Alexandru Dedov – 4
2015–1632715484226491/4Portugal Rui Miguel – 9
2016–17530137103229461/2UELQ2Portugal Hugo Neto – 6
2017818549172119RUBrazil Jean Theodoro – 5
201852899102837361/2Moldova Ilie Damașcan
Moldova Ion Nicolaescu – 5
201972837181643161/4Moldova Dan Pîslă – 5
2020–2183667233963251/8Moldova Artur Pătraș – 10
2021–2272876153246271/4Moldova Eugen Sidorenco – 5
2022–2332471072726311/4Moldova Alexandru Dedov – 8

European record

UEFA Champions League
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
1993–94 PR Israel Beitar Jerusalem 1–1 0–2 1–3
1998–99 Q1 Hungary Újpest 1–0 1–3 2–3
1999–00 Q1 Republic of Ireland St Patrick's Athletic 5–0 5–0 10–0
Q2 Georgia (country) Dinamo Tbilisi 2–0 1–2 3–2
Q3 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 0–0 0–2 0–2
2000–01 Q1 Albania KF Tirana 3–2 3–2 6–4
Q2 Slovenia Maribor 2–0 0–1 2–1
Q3 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 0–1 0–1 0–2
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
1997–98 QR Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 1–1 0–3 1–4
UEFA Cup
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
1994–95 PR Hungary Budapest Honvéd 0–1 1–4 1–5
1995–96 PR Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv 2–0 0–0 2–0
R1 Latvia RAF Jelgava 1–0 2–1 3–1
R2 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 0–2 3–4 3–6
1996–97 PR Croatia Hajduk Split 0–4 1–2 1–6
1999–00 R1 England Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 0–3 0–3
2000–01 R1 Germany Hertha BSC 1–2 0–2 1–4
2001–02 QR Turkey Gaziantepspor 0–0 1–4 1–4
2002–03 QR Sweden IFK Göteborg 3–1 2–2 5–3
R1 Spain Real Betis 0–2 1–2 1–4
2003–04 QR Bulgaria Litex Lovech 2–0 0–0 2–0
R1 Greece Aris 1–1 1–2 2–3
2006–07 Q1 Azerbaijan Qarabağ 1–1 2–1 (aet) 3–2
Q2 Ukraine Metalurh Zaporizhya 0–0 0–3 0–3
2007–08 Q1 Slovakia Artmedia Bratislava 2–2 1–1 3–3 (a)
UEFA Europa League
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
2009–10 Q1 Kazakhstan Okzhetpes 1–2 2–0 3–2
Q2 Portugal Paços de Ferreira 0–0 0–1 0–1
2012–13 Q1 Wales Bangor City 2–1 0–0 2–1
Q2 Switzerland Young Boys 1–0 (aet) 0–1 1–1 (1–4 pen.)
2014–15 Q1 North Macedonia FK Shkëndija 2–0 1–2 3–2
Q2 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a)
Q3 Austria SV Grödig 0–1 2–1 2–2 (a)
PO Greece PAOK 1–0 0–4 1–4
2016–17 Q1 Georgia (country) Chikhura Sachkhere 0–1 3–2 3–3 (a)
Q2 Turkey Osmanlıspor 2–2 0–5 2–7
UEFA Europa Conference League
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
2023–24 Q1 San Marino La Fiorita 1–0 1–1 2–1
Q2 Turkey Fenerbahçe 0–4 0–5 0−9
Notes: PR – preliminary round. QR – qualifying round. R1 – First round. R2 – Second round
Q1, Q2, Q3 – qualifying rounds. PO – play-off round
.

Club officials

Former players

Former managers

References

  1. "Team history".zimbru.md
  2. "First division clubs in Europe 2011/12" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  3. "El clasico de Moldova".publika.md
  4. "El clasico".prime.md
  5. "Derbiul capitalei".publika.md
  6. "Squad - Zimbru" (in Romanian). zimbru.md.
  7. "Zimbru squad". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  8. "Technical staff". zimbru.md.
  9. "Club management". zimbru.md.
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