FC Zimbru Chișinău

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.

Zimbru Chișinău
Full nameFotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău
Nickname(s)Galben-verzii (The Yellow-Greens)
Zimbrii (The Aurochs)
Founded
  • 16 May 1947 (1947-05-16)
    as Dinamo Chișinău
GroundZimbru Stadium
Capacity10,104
PresidentNicolae Ciornîi
Head CoachLilian Popescu
LeagueSuper Liga
2023–24Super Liga, 3rd of 8
WebsiteClub website

Founded in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1947, Zimbru entered the Soviet Top League in 1956 and totaled eleven participations before their last relegation in 1983. The club remained the leader of Moldovan football during most of the Soviet period and was the only one that reached and played at the Soviet top tier. 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 10,104-seater Zimbru Stadium.

History
See also: List of FC Zimbru Chișinău seasons

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
Main article: Zimbru Stadium
Zimbru Stadium
Stadionul Zimbru
The stadium hosting a UEFA Conference League match in 2023
UEFA
Address45 Dacia Boulevard
Chișinău
Moldova
OwnerZimbru Chișinău
OperatorMoldovan Football Federation
Capacity10,104[2]
Field size111 m × 77 m (121.4 yd × 84.2 yd)
SurfaceNatural Grass
Scoreboard1,600 lux
Construction
Broke groundMarch 2004 (2004-03)
Opened20 May 2006 (2006-05-20)
Construction cost$11 million
ArchitectCeproserving SA
Structural engineerInconex-Com SRL
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 10,104.[3]

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).[4][5] 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).[6]

Honours

Moldova

Soviet Union

Current squad
As of 1 June 2024[7][8]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
31 GK  MDA Sebastian Agachi
35 GK  MDA Nicolae Cebotari
2 DF  GUI Fodé Camara
3 DF  MDA Ștefan Burghiu (captain)
21 DF  MDA Mihai Morozan
23 DF  MDA David Dimitrișin
30 DF  MDA Andrei Macrițchii
33 DF  MDA Mihail Ștefan
7 MF  MDA Constantin Sandu
No. Pos. Nation Player
8 MF  CMR Jessie Guera Djou
10 MF  MDA Vlad Răileanu
11 MF  CPV João Paulino
18 MF  GUI Ibrahima Soumah
19 MF  MDA Ștefan Bîtca
69 MF  UKR Denys Dedechko
77 MF  MDA Vladimir Ghinaitis
4 FW  MDA Nichita Covali
20 FW  NGA Emmanuel Alaribe
66 FW  NGA Justice Ohajunwa

Player of the year

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

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

League history

Table
Season Division Pos Pld W D L GF GA Pts Cup Europe Top scorer (league)
1992Super Liga1st2215524015351/4– Alexandru Spiridon
Iurie Miterev – 8
1992–931st3022626617501/8– Alexandru Spiridon – 12
1993–941st3025238622521/2UCLPR Serghei Cleșcenco – 14
1994–951st262141691067RUUCPR Serghei Cleșcenco – 11
1995–961st30263111011811/4UCR2 Vladislav Gavriliuc – 34
1996–972nd3022441122170WUCPR Iurie Miterev – 34
1997–981st26223175869WCWCQR Serghei Cleșcenco – 25
1998–991st261871439611/4UCLQ1 Vladislav Gavriliuc – 10
1999–001st362574782182RUUCL
UC		Q3
R1		 Victor Berco – 15
2000–012nd2820624615661/2UCL
UC		Q3
R1		 Iurie Miterev – 8
2001–023rd28121065220461/2UCQR Victor Berco – 12
2002–032nd241554472050WUCR1 Vladimir Shishelov – 13
2003–043rd281477402349WUCR1 Vladimir Shishelov – 15
2004–055th2812792915431/4– Sergiu Chirilov – 7
2005–062nd2815854720531/2– Sergiu Chirilov – 11
2006–072nd362187632371WUCQ2 Alexei Zhdanov – 14
2007–085th30131344321521/2UCQ1 Alexei Zhdanov – 12
2008–094th30137104230461/2– Oleg Andronic – 16
2009–104th3317884729591/4UELQ2 Andrei Secrieru – 7
2010–114th39221075620761/8– Oleg Andronic – 9
2011–123rd33171064724611/4– Oleg Molla – 14
2012–136th331210115338461/4UELQ2 Oleg Molla – 7
2013–144th331878562461W– Sergey Tsyganov – 13
2014–156th2476112319271/4UELPO Alexandru Dedov – 4
2015–163rd2715484226491/4– Rui Miguel – 9
2016–175th30137103229461/2UELQ2 Hugo Neto – 6
20178th18549172119RU– Jean Theodoro – 5
20185th2899102837361/2– Ilie Damașcan
Ion Nicolaescu – 5
20197th2837181643161/4– Dan Pîslă – 5
2020–218th3667233963251/8– Artur Pătraș – 10
2021–227th2876153246271/4– Eugen Sidorenco – 5
2022–233rd2471072726311/4– Alexandru Dedov – 8
2023–243rd241338332342RUECLQ2 João Paulino
Emmanuel Alaribe – 7


European record
Main article: FC Zimbru Chișinău in European football
UEFA Champions League
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
1993–94 PR Beitar Jerusalem 1–1 0–2 1–3
1998–99 Q1 Újpest 1–0 1–3 2–3
1999–00 Q1 St Patrick's Athletic 5–0 5–0 10–0
Q2 Dinamo Tbilisi 2–0 1–2 3–2
Q3 PSV Eindhoven 0–0 0–2 0–2
2000–01 Q1 KF Tirana 3–2 3–2 6–4
Q2 Maribor 2–0 0–1 2–1
Q3 Sparta Prague 0–1 0–1 0–2
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
1997–98 QR Shakhtar Donetsk 1–1 0–3 1–4
UEFA Cup
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
1994–95 PR Budapest Honvéd 0–1 1–4 1–5
1995–96 PR Hapoel Tel Aviv 2–0 0–0 2–0
R1 RAF Jelgava 1–0 2–1 3–1
R2 Sparta Prague 0–2 3–4 3–6
1996–97 PR Hajduk Split 0–4 1–2 1–6
1999–00 R1 Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 0–3 0–3
2000–01 R1 Hertha BSC 1–2 0–2 1–4
2001–02 QR Gaziantepspor 0–0 1–4 1–4
2002–03 QR IFK Göteborg 3–1 2–2 5–3
R1 Real Betis 0–2 1–2 1–4
2003–04 QR Litex Lovech 2–0 0–0 2–0
R1 Aris 1–1 1–2 2–3
2006–07 Q1 Qarabağ 1–1 2–1 (aet) 3–2
Q2 Metalurh Zaporizhya 0–0 0–3 0–3
2007–08 Q1 Artmedia Bratislava 2–2 1–1 3–3 (a)
UEFA Europa League
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
2009–10 Q1 Okzhetpes 1–2 2–0 3–2
Q2 Paços de Ferreira 0–0 0–1 0–1
2012–13 Q1 Bangor City 2–1 0–0 2–1
Q2 Young Boys 1–0 (aet) 0–1 1–1 (1–4 pen.)
2014–15 Q1 FK Shkëndija 2–0 1–2 3–2
Q2 CSKA Sofia 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a)
Q3 SV Grödig 0–1 2–1 2–2 (a)
PO PAOK 1–0 0–4 1–4
2016–17 Q1 Chikhura Sachkhere 0–1 3–2 3–3 (a)
Q2 Osmanlıspor 2–2 0–5 2–7
UEFA Conference League
Season Round Opponents Home leg Away leg Aggregate
2023–24 Q1 La Fiorita 1–0 1–1 2–1
Q2 Fenerbahçe 0–4 0–5 0−9
2024–25 Q2 Ararat-Armenia
Notes: PR – preliminary round. QR – qualifying round. R1 – First round. R2 – Second round
Q1, Q2, Q3 – qualifying rounds. PO – play-off round.

UEFA rankings

As of 26 May 2024, Zimbru Chișinău is ranked 350th in the UEFA club coefficient rankings.

Rank Team Points
348 Kalju 3.000
349 Koper 2.650
350 Zimbru Chișinău 2.625
351 Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol 2.625
352 Speranța Nisporeni 2.625

As of 26 May 2024. Source

Club officials

Former managers
For a full list of FC Zimbru managers, see List of FC Zimbru Chișinău managers.

References
  1. "Team history". Archived from the original on 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2019-01-31.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. "Stadioane" (in Romanian). fmf.md.md. Archived from the original on 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  4. "El clasico de Moldova". Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-02-24.publika.md
  5. "El clasico". Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-03-18.prime.md
  6. "Derbiul capitalei". Archived from the original on 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2018-02-24.publika.md
  7. "Squad - Zimbru" (in Romanian). zimbru.md. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  8. "Zimbru squad". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  9. "Technical staff". zimbru.md. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  10. "Club management". zimbru.md. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
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