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 name	Fotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău
Nickname(s)	Galben-verzii (The Yellow-Greens) Zimbrii (The Aurochs)
Founded	16 May 1947; 77 years ago (1947-05-16) as Dinamo
Ground	Zimbru Stadium
Capacity	10,104
President	Nicolae Ciornîi
Head Coach	Lilian Popescu
League	Super Liga
2023–24	Super Liga, 3rd of 8
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

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 10,104-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
Address	45 Dacia Boulevard Chișinău Moldova
Owner	Zimbru Chișinău
Operator	Moldovan Football Federation
Capacity	10,104^[2]
Field size	111 m × 77 m (121.4 yd × 84.2 yd)
Surface	Natural Grass
Scoreboard	1,600 lux
Construction
Broke ground	March 2004; 20 years ago (2004-03)
Opened	20 May 2006; 18 years ago (2006-05-20)
Construction cost	$11 million
Architect	Ceproserving SA
Structural engineer	Inconex-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

• Super Liga / Divizia Națională / Liga Națională / Superliga
  • Winners (8): 1992, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000
• Cupa Moldovei
  • Winners (6): 1996–97, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2013–14
• Supercupa Moldovei
  • Winners (1): 2014

Soviet Union

• Soviet First League (level 2)
  • Winners (1): 1955
• Soviet Second League (level 3)
  • Winners (2): 1987, 1988

Current squad

As of 1 March 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 25 DF   ROU Alexandru Misarăș 30 DF   MDA Andrei Macrițchii 33 DF   MDA Mihail Ștefan 44 DF   MDA Denis Furtună 7 MF   MDA Constantin Sandu 8 MF   CMR Jessie Guera Djou

No. Pos. Nation Player 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 9 FW   MDA Marin Căruntu 20 FW   NGA Emmanuel Alaribe 29 FW   GUI Alya Sylla 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	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Top scorer (league)
1992	Super Liga	1	22	15	5	2	40	15	35	1/4	–		Alexandru Spiridon   Iurie Miterev – 8
1992–93		1	30	22	6	2	66	17	50	1/8	–		Alexandru Spiridon – 12
1993–94		1	30	25	2	3	86	22	52	1/2	UCL	PR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 14
1994–95		1	26	21	4	1	69	10	67	RU	UC	PR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 11
1995–96		1	30	26	3	1	110	11	81	1/4	UC	R2	Vladislav Gavriliuc – 34
1996–97		2	30	22	4	4	112	21	70	W	UC	PR	Iurie Miterev – 34
1997–98		1	26	22	3	1	75	8	69	W	CWC	QR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 25
1998–99		1	26	18	7	1	43	9	61	1/4	UCL	Q1	Vladislav Gavriliuc – 10
1999–00		1	36	25	7	4	78	21	82	RU	UCL UC	Q3 R1	Victor Berco – 15
2000–01		2	28	20	6	2	46	15	66	1/2	UCL UC	Q3 R1	Iurie Miterev – 8
2001–02		3	28	12	10	6	52	20	46	1/2	UC	QR	Victor Berco – 12
2002–03		2	24	15	5	4	47	20	50	W	UC	R1	Vladimir Shishelov – 13
2003–04		3	28	14	7	7	40	23	49	W	UC	R1	Vladimir Shishelov – 15
2004–05		5	28	12	7	9	29	15	43	1/4	–		Sergiu Chirilov – 7
2005–06		2	28	15	8	5	47	20	53	1/2	–		Sergiu Chirilov – 11
2006–07		2	36	21	8	7	63	23	71	W	UC	Q2	Alexei Zhdanov – 14
2007–08		5	30	13	13	4	43	21	52	1/2	UC	Q1	Alexei Zhdanov – 12
2008–09		4	30	13	7	10	42	30	46	1/2	–		Oleg Andronic – 16
2009–10		4	33	17	8	8	47	29	59	1/4	UEL	Q2	Andrei Secrieru – 7
2010–11		4	39	22	10	7	56	20	76	1/8	–		Oleg Andronic – 9
2011–12		3	33	17	10	6	47	24	61	1/4	–		Oleg Molla – 14
2012–13		6	33	12	10	11	53	38	46	1/4	UEL	Q2	Oleg Molla – 7
2013–14		4	33	18	7	8	56	24	61	W	–		Sergey Tsyganov – 13
2014–15		6	24	7	6	11	23	19	27	1/4	UEL	PO	Alexandru Dedov – 4
2015–16		3	27	15	4	8	42	26	49	1/4	–		Rui Miguel – 9
2016–17		5	30	13	7	10	32	29	46	1/2	UEL	Q2	Hugo Neto – 6
2017		8	18	5	4	9	17	21	19	RU	–		Jean Theodoro – 5
2018		5	28	9	9	10	28	37	36	1/2	–		Ilie Damașcan   Ion Nicolaescu – 5
2019		7	28	3	7	18	16	43	16	1/4	–		Dan Pîslă – 5
2020–21		8	36	6	7	23	39	63	25	1/8	–		Artur Pătraș – 10
2021–22		7	28	7	6	15	32	46	27	1/4	–		Eugen Sidorenco – 5
2022–23		3	24	7	10	7	27	26	31	1/4	–		Alexandru Dedov – 8
2023–24		3	24	13	3	8	33	23	42	RU	ECL	Q2	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

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

Technical staff As of 11 July 2023^[9] Role Name Head coach   Lilian Popescu Assistant coach   Dumitru Arabadji Goalkeeping coach   Vladimir Mura Masseur   Petru Caraman Club doctor   Mihail Mudrenco Administrator   Dumitru Mahortov

Club management As of 11 July 2023^[10] Role Name President   Nicolae Ciornîi General director   Sergiu Topor Sporting director   Alexei Popa

Former players

For a list of many former and current FC Zimbru players, see Category:FC Zimbru Chișinău players.

Former managers

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

References

1. "Team history". from the original on 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2019-01-31.zimbru.md
2. "First division clubs in Europe 2011/12" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 2012-05-26. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
3. "Stadioane" (in Romanian). fmf.md.md. from the original on 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
4. "El clasico de Moldova". from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-02-24.publika.md
5. "El clasico". from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-03-18.prime.md
6. "Derbiul capitalei". from the original on 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2018-02-24.publika.md
7. "Squad - Zimbru" (in Romanian). zimbru.md. from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
8. "Zimbru squad". Soccerway. from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
9. "Technical staff". zimbru.md. from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
10. "Club management". zimbru.md. from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-02-24.

External links

• Official website (in Romanian, Russian, and English)
• Team profile at Soccerway (in English)
• Zimbru Chișinău at WeltFussballArchiv. 2020-11-27 at the Wayback Machine.
• Zimbru Chișinău supporters website – "OASTEA FIARĂ" 2020-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
• Team profile at footballfacts.ru (in Russian)