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 Chișinău
Ground	Zimbru Stadium
Capacity	10,104
Owner	Nicolae Ciornîi
President	Andrii Semenchuk
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 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 Europa Conference League qualifying 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 5 September 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 1 GK  MDA Ciprian Tuhar 12 GK  MDA Sebastian Agachi 28 GK  MDA Nicolae Cebotari 2 DF  MDA Cătălin Cucoș 3 DF  MDA Ștefan Burghiu (captain) 4 DF  MDA Artiom Rozgoniuc 16 DF  MLI Ali Samake 22 DF  MDA Mihai Morozan 23 DF  MDA David Dimitrișin 24 DF  CMR Cedric Ngah 30 DF  MDA Andrei Macrițchii 33 DF  MDA Mihail Ștefan 5 MF  MDA Stanislav Sarain

No. Pos. Nation Player 6 MF  GUI Ibrahima Soumah 8 MF  CMR Jessie Guera Djou 10 MF  MDA Vlad Răileanu 11 MF  CPV João Paulino 17 MF  NGA Maxmillian İhekuna 19 MF  MDA Ștefan Bîtca 21 MF  MDA Lucian Radu 69 MF  UKR Denys Dedechko 77 MF  MDA Serafim Cojocari 9 FW  NGA Justice Ohajunwa 14 FW  MDA Fabian Pegza 18 FW  MDA Nichita Covali 20 FW  NGA Emmanuel Alaribe

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	Tier	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Cup	Europe		Top scorer (league)
1992	1st	1st	22	15	5	2	40	15	35	1/4	–		Alexandru Spiridon Iurie Miterev – 8
1992–93		1st	30	22	6	2	66	17	50	1/8	–		Alexandru Spiridon – 12
1993–94		1st	30	25	2	3	86	22	52	1/2	CL	PR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 14
1994–95		1st	26	21	4	1	69	10	67	RU	UC	PR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 11
1995–96		1st	30	26	3	1	110	11	81	1/4	UC	R2	Vladislav Gavriliuc – 34
1996–97		2nd	30	22	4	4	112	21	70	W	UC	PR	Iurie Miterev – 34
1997–98		1st	26	22	3	1	75	8	69	W	CWC	QR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 25
1998–99		1st	26	18	7	1	43	9	61	1/4	CL	Q1	Vladislav Gavriliuc – 10
1999–00		1st	36	25	7	4	78	21	82	RU	CL UC	Q3 R1	Victor Berco – 15
2000–01		2nd	28	20	6	2	46	15	66	1/2	CL UC	Q3 R1	Iurie Miterev – 8
2001–02		3rd	28	12	10	6	52	20	46	1/2	UC	QR	Victor Berco – 12
2002–03		2nd	24	15	5	4	47	20	50	W	UC	R1	Vladimir Shishelov – 13
2003–04		3rd	28	14	7	7	40	23	49	W	UC	R1	Vladimir Shishelov – 15
2004–05		5th	28	12	7	9	29	15	43	1/4	–		Sergiu Chirilov – 7
2005–06		2nd	28	15	8	5	47	20	53	1/2	–		Sergiu Chirilov – 11
2006–07		2nd	36	21	8	7	63	23	71	W	UC	Q2	Alexei Zhdanov – 14
2007–08		5th	30	13	13	4	43	21	52	1/2	UC	Q1	Alexei Zhdanov – 12
2008–09		4th	30	13	7	10	42	30	46	1/2	–		Oleg Andronic – 16
2009–10		4th	33	17	8	8	47	29	59	1/4	EL	Q2	Andrei Secrieru – 7
2010–11		4th	39	22	10	7	56	20	76	1/8	–		Oleg Andronic – 9
2011–12		3rd	33	17	10	6	47	24	61	1/4	–		Oleg Molla – 14
2012–13		6th	33	12	10	11	53	38	46	1/4	EL	Q2	Oleg Molla – 7
2013–14		4th	33	18	7	8	56	24	61	W	–		Sergey Tsyganov – 13
2014–15		6th	24	7	6	11	23	19	27	1/4	EL	PO	Alexandru Dedov – 4
2015–16		3rd	27	15	4	8	42	26	49	1/4	–		Rui Miguel – 9
2016–17		5th	30	13	7	10	32	29	46	1/2	EL	Q2	Hugo Neto – 6
2017		8th	18	5	4	9	17	21	19	RU	–		Jean Theodoro – 5
2018		5th	28	9	9	10	28	37	36	1/2	–		Ilie Damașcan Ion Nicolaescu – 5
2019		7th	28	3	7	18	16	43	16	1/4	–		Dan Pîslă – 5
2020–21		8th	36	6	7	23	39	63	25	1/8	–		Artur Pătraș – 10
2021–22		7th	28	7	6	15	32	46	27	1/4	–		Eugen Sidorenco – 5
2022–23		3rd	24	7	10	7	27	26	31	1/4	–		Alexandru Dedov – 8
2023–24		3rd	24	13	3	8	33	23	42	RU	CO	Q2	João Paulino Emmanuel Alaribe – 7
2024–25											CO	Q2

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	0–3	1–3	1–6

Notes: PR – preliminary round. QR – qualifying round. R1 – First round. R2 – Second round
Q1, Q2, Q3 – qualifying rounds. PO – play-off round.

Club officials

Technical staff As of 5 September 2024[9] Role Name Head coach Lilian Popescu Assistant coach Dumitru Arabadji Goalkeeping coach Vladimir Mura Physiotherapist Maxim Sidoruc Masseur Petru Caraman Club doctor Sergiu Ciupac Administrator Dumitru Mahortov

Club management As of 5 September 2024[10] Role Name Owner Nicolae Ciornîi President Andrii Semenchuk 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". 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.

External links

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