FC Spartak Moscow

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This article is about the football club. For the ice hockey club, see HC Spartak Moscow.
"FCSM" redirects here. For the French football team, see FC Sochaux-Montbéliard.

Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow crest.svg
Full nameФутбольный клуб Спартак Москва
(Football Club Spartak Moscow)
Nickname(s)Narodnaya komanda (The People's Team)
Krasno-Belye (Red-and-Whites)
Myaso (Meat)
Founded18 April 1922; 99 years ago (1922-04-18)
GroundOtkritie Arena
Capacity45,360
OwnerVagit Alekperov (largest shareholder)[1]
PresidentLeonid Fedun
ManagerRui Vitória
LeagueRussian Premier League
2020–21Russian Premier League, 2nd of 16
WebsiteClub website
Away colours
Current season

FC Spartak Moscow (Russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Москва [spɐrˈtak mɐˈskva]) is a Russian professional football club from Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships (second only to Dynamo Kyiv) and a record 10 Russian championships, it is the country's most successful club. They have also won a record 10 Soviet Cups, 3 Russian Cups and one Russian Super Cup. Spartak have also reached the semi-finals of all three European club competitions.

Historically, the club was a part of the Spartak sports society. Other teams in the society include ice hockey club HC Spartak Moscow. Currently, the club is not connected with the Spartak sports society and is an independent privately owned organisation.

History[]

Foundation[]

In the early days of Soviet football, many government agencies such as the police, army and railroads created their own clubs. So many statesmen saw in the wins of their teams the superiority over the opponents patronising other teams. Almost all the teams had such kind of patrons — Dynamo Moscow with the militsiya, CSKA Moscow with the Red Army and Spartak, created by a trade union public organization was considered to be "the people's team".

The history of the football club and sports society "Spartak" originates from the Russian Gymnastics Society (RGO "Sokol"), which was founded on May 4, 1883. The society was founded under the influence of the Pan-Slavic "Sokol movement" with the aim of promoting the "Sokolsk gymnastics" and then other sports: fencing, wrestling, figure skating, skating, football, hockey, lawn tennis, boxing, skis, Athletics, cycling ... In the spring of 1922 the RGO "Sokol" was renamed into MKS. (Moscow Sport Circle).

In 1922, the Moscow Sport Circle (Moscow sport club of Krasnopresnensky district) (МКС, Московский кружок спорта), later named Krasnaya Presnya (Red Presnya), was formed by Ivan Artemyev and involved Nikolai Starostin, especially in its football team. Presnya is a district of Moscow renowned for the radical politics of its inhabitants. For example, it was the centre of the Moscow uprising of 1905.

The team grew, building a stadium, supporting itself from ticket sales and playing matches across the Russian SFSR. As part of a 1926 reorganization of football in the Soviet Union, Starostin arranged for the club to be sponsored by the food workers union and the club moved to the 13,000 seat Tomsky Stadium, known as Pishcheviki. The team changed sponsors repeatedly over the following years as it competed with Dinamo Moscow, whose 35,000 seat Dynamo Stadium lay close by.

As a high-profile sportsman, Starostin came into close contact with Alexander Kosarev, secretary of the Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth) who already had a strong influence on sport and wanted to extend it. In November 1934, with funding from Promkooperatsiia, Kosarev employed Starostin and his brothers to develop his team to make it more powerful. Again the team changed its name, this time to "Spartak Moscow" (the name Spartak means "Spartacus", a gladiator who led an uprising against Ancient Rome).

The club founders, four Starostin brothers, played a big role in the formation of the team. The Starostins played for the red-whites in the 1930s but right before World War II they were subjected to repression as the leaders of the most hated[clarification needed] team by the state authorities. Elder brother Nikolai Starostin wrote in his books that he had survived in the State Prison System due to his participation in football and with Spartak. After the political rehabilitation, in 1954, he would later return to the team as the squad's manager.

Soviet period[]

In 1935, Starostin proposed the name Spartak. It was inspired by the Italian novel Spartaco, written by Raffaello Giovagnoli, and means Spartacus ("Spartak" in Russian), a gladiator-slave who led a rebellion against Rome. Starostin is also credited with the creation of the Spartak logo.[2] The same year, the club became a part of newly created Spartak sports society.

Czechoslovak manager Antonin Fivebr is credited as the first head coach of Spartak, though he worked as a consultant in several clubs simultaneously.[3] In 1936, the Soviet Top League was established, where its first championship was won by Dynamo Moscow while Spartak won its second, which was held in the same calendar year. Before World War II, Spartak earned two more titles.[4] In 1937 Spartak won the football tournament of Workers' Olympiad at Antwerp.

During the 1950s, Spartak, together with Dynamo, dominated the Soviet Top League. When the Soviet national team won gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics, it consisted largely of Spartak players. Spartak captain Igor Netto was the captain of the national team from 1954 to 1963. In the 1960s, Spartak won two league titles, but by the mid-1960s, Spartak was no more regarded as a leading Soviet club. The club was even less successful in the 1970s and in 1976 Spartak was relegated into the lower league.

During the following season, the stadium was still full as the club's fans stayed with the team during its time in the lower division. Konstantin Beskov, who became the head coach (as a footballer Beskov made his name playing for Spartak's main rivals, Dynamo), introduced several young players, including Rinat Dasayev and Georgi Yartsev. Spartak came back the next year and won the title in 1979, beating Dynamo Kyiv and thanks to Spartak supporters, the period is considered to be the start of the modern-style fans' movement in the Soviet Union.

On 20 October 1982, disaster struck during the UEFA Cup match between Spartak and Dutch club HFC Haarlem. Sixty-six people died in a stampede during the match,[5] making it Russia's worst sporting disaster.

In 1989, Spartak won its last USSR Championship, rivals Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 in the closing round. Spartak's striker Valery Shmarov scored the "golden" free kick with almost no time left. The next season, Spartak reached the European Cup semi-final, consequently eliminating Napoli on penalties and Real Madrid (with 3–1 away victory), but losing to Marseille.

Modern period[]

View of the Otkrytie Arena.

A new page in the club's history began when the Soviet Union collapsed and its championship ceased to exist. In the newly created Russian league, Spartak, led by coach and president Oleg Romantsev, dominated and won all but one title between 1992 and 2001. Year-after-year the team also represented Russia in the Champions League.

Problems began in the new century, however. Several charismatic players (Ilya Tsymbalar and Andrey Tikhonov among others) left the club as a result of conflict with Romantsev. Later, Romantsev sold his stock to oil magnate Andrei Chervichenko, who in 2003 became the club president. The two were soon embroiled in a row that would continue until Romantsev was sacked in 2003 with the club suffering several sub-par seasons until Chervichenko finally sold his stock in 2004. The new ownership made a number of front office changes with the aim of returning the team to the top of the Russian Premier League.[6]

In the 2005 season, Spartak, led by Aleksandrs Starkovs, finished second in the league following an impressive run to beat Lokomotiv Moscow, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Rubin Kazan to the last Champions League place.

Following a mixed start to the 2006 season and public criticism from Dmitry Alenichev, the team's captain and one of its most experienced players, Starkovs left his position to Vladimir Fedotov.

Spartak has been entitled to place a golden star on its badge since 2003 to commemorate winning five Russian championships in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997. They have won the championship another four times since 1997. Since 2013, the club have added another three stars as rules allowed teams to include titles won during the Soviet era. In the 2012–13 season, Spartak qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage and finished last after disappointing performances against FC Barcelona, Celtic and Benfica. In the league, Spartak finished in fourth place while in the cup it was eliminated in the round of 16 by FC Rostov 0–0 (3–5 p), completing a disappointing season. The next 3 seasons (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16) were somewhat similar as Spartak finished 6th, 6th and 5th accordingly while the club did not qualify for European Competitions.

Revival of Spartak[]

By the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Spartak had acquired a strong squad consisting of talented foreign players such as Quincy Promes, Fernando, Zé Luís, Lorenzo Melgarejo and noteworthy Russians such as Denis Glushakov, Roman Zobnin and Ilya Kutepov. As a result, Spartak won the 2016–17 Russian Premier League after a spectacular performance and the club won most derbies and finished with a difference of 7 points. In the 2016–17 Russian Cup, Spartak was eliminated in the round of 32 and in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League Spartak was eliminated in the third qualifying round by AEK Larnaca FC 2–1 on aggregate and did not qualify for European Competitions. However, Spartak will be participating in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage. On 6 December 2017, Spartak suffered the biggest defeat in its history, losing 0–7 in an away UCL group match against Liverpool F.C., though they earlier defeated Sevilla FC 5–1.[7]

Honours[]

Domestic competitions[]

  • Soviet Top League / Russian Premier League
  • Soviet Cup / Russian Cup
  • Russian Super Cup
  • Soviet First League
Winners: 1977
Winners:

International[]

  • Commonwealth of Independent States Cup
  • Winners (6): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001
  • Runners-up: 1997, 1998, 2002

Non-official[]

  • Match Premier Cup
Winners: 2019, 2020
Winners:
  • Copa del Sol
Winners: 2012

Notable European campaigns[]

Season Achievement Notes
European Cup / UEFA Champions League
1980–81 Quarter-final eliminated by Real Madrid 0–0 in Tbilisi, 0–2 in Madrid
1990–91 Semi-final eliminated by Marseille 1–3 in Moscow, 1–2 in Marseille
1993–94 Group stage finished third in a group with Barcelona, AS Monaco and Galatasaray
1995–96 Quarter-final eliminated by Nantes 2–2 in Moscow, 0–2 in Nantes
2000–01 Second group stage finished fourth in a group with Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Lyon
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
1972–73 Quarter-final eliminated by Milan 0–1 in Moscow, 1–1 in Milan
1992–93 Semi-final eliminated by Antwerp 1–0 in Moscow, 1–3 in Antwerp
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League
1983–84 Quarter-final eliminated by Anderlecht 2–4 in Brussels, 1–0 in Tbilisi
1997–98 Semi-final eliminated by Internazionale 1–2 in Moscow, 1–2 in Milan
2010–11 Quarter-final eliminated by Porto 1–5 in Porto, 2–5 in Moscow

UEFA club coefficient ranking[]

As of 07.05.2021, Source: [1]

Rank Team Points
87 France Stade Rennais F.C. 19.000
88 Sweden Malmö FF 18.500
89 Russia Spartak Moscow 18.500
90 Serbia FK Partizan 18.000
91 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. 17.500
As of 14 August 2018
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD Win%
UEFA Champions League 122 40 31 51 173 189 −16 032.79
UEFA Europa League 114 59 22 33 180 138 +42 051.75
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 18 10 4 4 31 17 +14 055.56
Total 254 109 57 88 382 341 +41 042.91

League history[]

Soviet Union[]

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Top scorer (league) Manager/acting manager
1st 3 6 3 1 2 12 7 13 - - Soviet Union Glazkov – 4 Soviet Union
1 7 4 2 1 19 10 17 QF - Soviet Union Glazkov – 7 Soviet Union
1937 2 16 8 5 3 24 16 37 R16 - Soviet Union Rumyantsev – 8 Soviet Union Kvashnin
1938 1 25 18 3 4 74 19 39 W - Soviet Union Sokolov – 18 Soviet Union Kvashnin
Soviet Union P.Popov
1939 1 26 14 9 3 58 23 37 W - Soviet Union Semyonov – 18 Soviet Union P.Popov
1940 3 24 13 5 6 54 35 31 - - Soviet Union Semyonov – 13
Soviet Union  – 13		 Soviet Union Gorokhov
no league competition SF - - Soviet Union Kvashnin
1945 10 22 6 3 13 22 44 15 R16 - Soviet Union  – 7 Soviet Union Isakov
Soviet Union Vollrat
1946 6 22 8 5 9 38 40 21 W - Soviet Union Salnikov – 9 Soviet UnionVollrat
1947 8 24 6 9 9 34 26 21 W - Soviet Union Dementyev – 9 Soviet UnionVollrat
1948 3 26 18 1 7 64 34 37 RU - Soviet Union  – 15 Soviet Union Kvashnin
1949 3 34 21 7 6 93 43 49 SF - Soviet Union Simonyan – 26 Soviet Union
1950 5 36 17 10 9 77 40 44 W - Soviet Union Simonyan – 34 Soviet Union
6 28 13 5 10 50 35 31 QF - Soviet Union Simonyan – 10 Soviet Union
Soviet Union Gorokhov
Soviet Union Glazkov
1 13 9 2 2 26 12 20 RU - Soviet Union Paramonov – 8 Soviet Union Sokolov
1 20 11 7 2 47 15 29 QF - Soviet Union Simonyan – 14 Soviet Union Sokolov
2 24 14 3 7 49 26 31 R16 - Soviet Union Ilyin – 11 Soviet Union Sokolov
2 22 15 3 4 55 27 33 SF - Soviet Union Parshin – 13 Soviet Union Gulyaev
1 22 15 4 3 68 28 34 - - Soviet Union Simonyan – 16 Soviet Union Gulyaev
3 22 11 6 5 43 28 28 RU - Soviet Union Simonyan – 12 Soviet Union Gulyaev
1 22 13 6 3 55 28 32 W - Soviet Union Ilyin – 19 Soviet Union Gulyaev
6 22 8 8 6 32 28 24 - - Soviet Union Isaev – 8 Soviet Union Gulyaev
7 30 15 7 8 52 32 37 R16 - Soviet Union Ilyin – 13 Soviet Union Simonyan
3 30 16 8 6 57 34 40 R16 - Soviet Union Khusainov – 14 Soviet Union Simonyan
1 32 21 5 6 61 25 47 R16 - Soviet Union Sevidov – 16 Soviet Union Simonyan
2 38 22 8 8 65 33 52 W - Soviet Union Sevidov – 15 Soviet Union Simonyan
8 32 12 8 12 34 32 32 SF - Soviet Union Sevidov – 6 Soviet Union Simonyan
8 32 10 12 10 28 26 32 W - Soviet Union Khusainov – 5
Soviet Union  – 5		 Soviet Union Simonyan
4 36 15 12 9 45 41 42 QF - Soviet Union Osyanin – 15 Soviet Union Gulyaev
7 36 13 14 9 38 30 40 R32 CWC R16 Soviet Union Khusainov – 8 Soviet Union Salnikov
Soviet Union Simonyan
2 38 21 10 7 64 43 52 R32 - Soviet Union Khusainov – 14 Soviet Union Simonyan
1 32 24 6 2 51 15 54 R32 - Soviet Union Osyanin – 16 Soviet Union Simonyan
3 32 12 14 6 43 25 38 QF - Soviet Union Khusainov – 12 Soviet Union Simonyan
6 30 9 13 8 35 31 31 W ECC R32 Soviet Union  – 5
Soviet Union  – 5
Soviet Union  – 5		 Soviet Union Simonyan
11 30 8 10 12 29 30 26 RU UC R32 Soviet Union Papaev – 4
Soviet Union  – 4
Soviet Union  – 4		 Soviet Union Simonyan
4 30 14 8 8 37 28 31 QF CWC QF Soviet Union  – 12 Soviet Union Gulyaev
2 30 15 9 6 41 23 39 QF - Soviet Union  – 10 Soviet Union Gulyaev
10 30 9 10 11 27 30 28 R16 UC R64 Soviet Union Lovchev – 8 Soviet Union Gulyaev
14 15 4 2 9 10 18 10 - UC R16 Soviet Union  – 2
Soviet Union Lovchev – 2
Soviet Union  – 2		 Soviet Union Krutikov
15 15 5 3 7 15 18 13 R32 - Soviet Union  – 6 Soviet Union Krutikov
2nd 1 38 22 10 6 83 42 54 R16 - Soviet Union Yartsev – 17 Soviet Union Beskov
1st 5 30 14 5 11 42 33 33 R16 - Soviet Union Yartsev – 19 Soviet Union Beskov
1 34 21 10 3 66 25 50 Qual. - Soviet Union Yartsev – 14 Soviet Union Beskov
2 34 18 9 7 49 26 45 SF - Soviet Union Rodionov – 7 Soviet Union Beskov
2 34 19 8 7 70 40 46 RU ECC QF Soviet Union Gavrilov – 21 Soviet Union Beskov
3 34 16 9 9 59 35 41 Qual. UC R32 Soviet Union Shavlo – 11 Soviet Union Beskov
2 34 18 9 7 60 25 45 R16 UC R16 Soviet Union Gavrilov – 18 Soviet Union Beskov
2 34 18 9 7 53 29 45 QF UC QF Soviet Union Rodionov – 13 Soviet Union Beskov
2 34 18 10 6 72 28 46 R16 UC R16 Soviet Union Rodionov – 14 Soviet Union Beskov
3 30 14 9 7 52 21 37 SF UC R16 Soviet Union Rodionov – 17 Soviet Union Beskov
1 30 16 11 3 49 26 42 R16 UC R16 Soviet Union Rodionov – 12
Soviet Union Cherenkov – 12		 Soviet Union Beskov
4 30 14 11 5 40 26 39 QF UC R32 Soviet Union Rodionov – 12 Soviet Union Beskov
1 30 17 10 3 49 19 44 QF ECC R16 Soviet Union Rodionov – 16 Soviet Union Romantsev
5 24 12 5 7 39 26 29 R16 UC R32 Soviet Union Shmarov – 12 Soviet Union Romantsev
2 30 17 7 6 57 30 41 QF ECC SF Soviet UnionRussia Mostovoi – 13
Soviet UnionRussia Radchenko – 13		 Soviet Union Romantsev
1992 - - W UC R32 - Soviet UnionRussia Romantsev

Russia[]

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Top scorer (league) Manager/acting manager
1992 1st 1 26 18 7 1 62 19 43 - - Russia Radchenko – 12 Russia Romantsev
1993 1 34 21 11 2 81 18 53 R32 CWC SF Russia Beschastnykh – 18 Russia Romantsev
1994 1 30 21 8 1 73 21 50 W UCL GS Russia Beschastnykh – 10 Russia Romantsev
1995 3 30 19 7 5 76 26 63 SF UCL GS Russia Shmarov – 16 Russia Romantsev
1996 1 35 22 9 4 72 35 75 RU UCL QF Russia Tikhonov – 16 Russia Yartsev
1997 1 34 22 7 5 67 30 73 QF UC R32 RussiaUzbekistan Kechinov – 11 Russia Romantsev
1998 1 30 17 8 5 58 27 59 W UCL
UC		 Qual.
SF		 RussiaUkraine Tsymbalar – 10 Russia Romantsev
1999 1 30 22 6 2 75 24 72 R32 UCL GS Russia Tikhonov – 19 Russia Romantsev
2000 1 30 23 1 6 69 30 70 SF UCL
UC		 GS
R32		 Russia Titov – 13 Russia Romantsev
2001 1 30 17 9 4 56 30 60 QF UCL 2nd GS Russia Titov – 11
Brazil Robson – 11		 Russia Romantsev
2002 3 30 16 7 7 49 36 55 R32 UCL GS Russia Beschastnykh – 12 Russia Romantsev
2003 10 30 10 6 14 38 48 36 W UCL GS Russia Pavlyuchenko – 10 Russia Romantsev
Russia Chernyshov
Russia Fedotov
Italy Scala
2004 8 30 11 7 12 43 44 40 R32 UC
UIC		 R16
QF		 Russia Pavlyuchenko – 10 Italy Scala
Latvia Starkov
2005 2 30 16 8 6 47 26 56 R32 - Russia Pavlyuchenko – 11 Latvia Starkov
2006 2 30 15 13 2 60 36 58 RU - Russia Pavlyuchenko – 18 Latvia Starkov
Russia Fedotov
2007 2 30 17 8 5 50 30 59 SF UCL
UC		 GS
R32		 Russia Pavlyuchenko – 14 Russia Fedotov
Russia Cherchesov
2008 8 30 11 11 8 43 39 44 R32 UCL
UC		 Qual.
R32		 Russia Bazhenov – 6
Russia Pavlyuchenko – 6
Russia Pavlenko – 6
Brazil Welliton – 6		 Russia Cherchesov
Denmark M. Laudrup
2009 2 30 17 4 9 61 33 55 QF - Brazil Welliton – 21 Denmark M. Laudrup
Russia Karpin
2010 4 30 13 10 7 43 33 10 R16 UCL
UC		 Qual.
GS		 Brazil Welliton – 19 Russia Karpin
2011–12 2 44 21 12 11 68 48 75 R16 UC Qual Nigeria Emenike – 13 Russia Karpin
2012–13 4 30 15 6 9 51 39 51 R16 UCL GS Armenia Y. Movsisyan – 13 Spain Emery
Russia Karpin
2013–14 6 30 15 5 10 46 36 50 R16 UC Qual Armenia Y. Movsisyan – 16 Russia Karpin
Russia Gunko
2014–15 6 30 12 8 10 42 42 44 R16 - Netherlands Promes – 13 Switzerland Yakin
2015–16 5 30 15 5 10 48 39 50 R16 - Netherlands Promes – 18 Russia Alenichev
2016–17 1 30 22 3 5 46 27 69 R32 UC Qual Netherlands Promes – 11 Russia Alenichev
Italy Carrera
2017–18 3 30 16 8 6 51 32 56 SF UCL GS Netherlands Promes – 15 Italy Carrera
2018–19 5 30 14 7 9 36 31 49 QF UCL
UEL		 Qual.
GS		 Cape Verde Zé Luís – 10 Italy Carrera
Russia Kononov
2019–20 7 30 11 6 13 35 33 39 QF UEL Qual. Russia Aleksandr Sobolev – 12 Russia Kononov
Germany Tedesco
2020–21 2 28 16 5 7 52 34 53 R16 - GermanyTedesco

Most league goals for Spartak[]

As of 23 September 2018 (min. 50)

  1. Soviet Union Nikita Simonyan: 133
  2. Soviet Union Sergey Rodionov: 119
  3. Soviet Union Galimzyan Khusainov: 102
  4. Soviet Union Fyodor Cherenkov: 95
  5. Soviet Union Yuri Gavrilov: 90
  6. Russia Yegor Titov: 86
  7. Soviet Union Anatoli Ilyin: 83
  8. Soviet Union Yuri Sevidov: 71
  9. Russia Roman Pavlyuchenko: 69
  10. Russia Andrey Tikhonov: 68
  11. Soviet Union Sergei Salnikov: 64
  12. Soviet Union Aleksei Paramonov: 63
  13. Netherlands Quincy Promes: 59
  14. Brazil Welliton: 57
  15. Russia Vladimir Beschastnykh: 56
  16. Soviet Union Anatoli Isayev: 54
  17. Soviet Union Georgi Yartsev: 54
  18. Soviet Union Valeri Shmarov: 54
  19. Soviet Union Nikolai Osyanin: 50

Nickname[]

The team is usually called "red-and-whites," but among the fans "The Meat" (Russian: "Мясо", "Myaso") is a very popular nickname. The origins of the nickname belong to the days of the foundation of the club; in the 1920s, the team was renamed several times, from "Moscow Sports Club" to "Red Presnya" (after the name of one of the districts of Moscow) to "Pishcheviki" ("Food industry workers") to "Promkooperatsiya" ("Industrial cooperation") and finally to "Spartak Moscow" in 1935, and for many years the team was under patronage of one of the Moscow food factories that dealt with meat products.

One of the most favourite slogans of both the fans and players is, "Who are we? We're The Meat!" (Russian: "Кто мы? Мясо!", "Kto my? Myaso!")

Kits and crests[]

FC Spartak Moscow's main colour is red. In 2014, Nike unveiled kit inspired by the club's new home.[8]

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors[]

Period Kit supplier Shirt sponsor
1979–1987 Adidas
1988 Danieli
1989 JINDO
1990–1993 Unipack
1994–1996 Urengoygazprom
1997–1998 Akai
1999
2000–2002 Lukoil
2003–2004 Umbro
2005–present Nike


Rival teams and friendships[]

At present, Spartak's archrival is CSKA Moscow, although this is a relatively recent rivalry that has only emerged after the collapse of the USSR. Seven of ten matches with the largest audience in Russian Premier League (including top three) were Spartak-CSKA derbies.[9] Historically, the most celebrated rivalry is with Dynamo Moscow, a fiercely contested matchup which is Russia's oldest derby. Matches against Lokomotiv Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg attract thousands of people as well, almost always resulting in packed stadia. Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union, Spartak's rivalry with Dynamo Kyiv, one of the leaders of the USSR championship, was lost. Since Dynamo Kyiv now plays in the Ukrainian Premier League, both teams must qualify for UEFA tournaments to meet each other.

Since the mid-2000s the supporters of Spartak maintain brotherhood relations with Red Star Belgrade and Olympiacos ultras – a friendship based on common Orthodox faith and same club colours. Also fans of Spartak have generally friendly relationships with Torpedo Moscow supporters.

Stadium[]

Until 2014, Spartak had never had its own stadium, with the team historically playing in various Moscow stadia throughout its history, even once playing an exhibition match in Red Square. The team played home games at various Moscow stadiums - especially at the Locomotiv and Luzhniki stadiums. After the purchase of the club by Andrei Chervichenko in the early 2000s, several statements were made about the speedy construction of the stadium, but construction did not begin.

After a controlling stake in the club was bought by Leonid Fedun, real steps were taken to promote the stadium project, and in 2006, the Government of Moscow allocated land at Tushino Aeropol at a size of 28.3 hectares for the construction of the stadium. The project involved the main arena of 42,000 people with natural lawn, sports, and an entertainment hall for tennis, handball, basketball and volleyball for 12,000 spectators. The ceremony of laying the first stone took place on June 2, 2007.

In February 2013, it was announced that as a result of a sponsorship deal with Otkritie FC Bank ("Discovery"), the stadium will be called Otkritie Arena for 6 years. The opening match at the new stadium took place on September 5, 2014, when Spartak drew with the Serbian side Red Star Belgrade (1-1). The first competitive match took place on September 14, 2014, in which Spartak defeated Torpedo Moscow 3–1 in the 7th round of the championship.

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 7 September 2021

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 France FRA Samuel Gigot
3 DF Belgium BEL Maximiliano Caufriez
4 MF Netherlands NED Jorrit Hendrix
6 DF Brazil BRA Ayrton
7 FW Russia RUS Aleksandr Sobolev
8 MF Nigeria NGA Victor Moses
9 FW Argentina ARG Ezequiel Ponce
10 MF Russia RUS Zelimkhan Bakayev
11 FW Sweden SWE Jordan Larsson
14 DF Russia RUS Georgi Dzhikiya (captain)
17 MF Russia RUS Aleksandr Lomovitsky
18 MF Russia RUS Nail Umyarov
21 MF Russia RUS Georgi Melkadze
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF Russia RUS Mikhail Ignatov
24 FW Netherlands NED Quincy Promes
29 DF Russia RUS Ilya Kutepov
32 GK Russia RUS Artyom Rebrov
38 DF Russia RUS Andrey Yeshchenko
39 DF Russia RUS Pavel Maslov
47 MF Russia RUS Roman Zobnin
56 DF Russia RUS Ilya Gaponov
57 GK Russia RUS Aleksandr Selikhov
68 MF Russia RUS Ruslan Litvinov
92 DF Russia RUS Nikolai Rasskazov
98 GK Russia RUS Aleksandr Maksimenko

Out on loan[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Russia RUS Ilya Golosov (at Rotor Volgograd)
— DF Russia RUS Nikita Morgunov (at Tyumen)
— MF Russia RUS Maksim Glushenkov (at Krylia Sovetov Samara)
— MF Czech Republic CZE Alex Král (at West Ham United)
— MF Russia RUS Reziuan Mirzov (at Khimki)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Netherlands NED Guus Til (at Feyenoord)
— MF Uzbekistan UZB Oston Urunov (at FC Ufa)
— FW Russia RUS Svyatoslav Kozhedub (at Valmiera)
— FW Brazil BRA Pedro Rocha (at Athletico Paranaense)

Staff[]

  • Owner: Russia Vagit Alekperov, Russia Leonid Fedun
  • Managing Director: Russia Yevgeni Melezhikov
  • Director of Sports: Russia [[]]
  • Director of communications: Russia Anton Lisin
  • Head coach: Portugal Rui Vitória
  • Assistant coach: Portugal
  • Goalkeeping coach: Portugal Luís Esteves
  • Fitness coaches: Russia Ramil Sharipov, Russia Aleksandr Zaychenko
  • Masseur team: Russia Yevgeni Lavrushko, Russia Nikolai Barkalov, Russia Andrei Pronchev
  • Medics: Russia Mikhail Butovsky, Russia Vladimir Vekovishchev, Russia Gleb Chernov
  • Physiotherapists: Russia Dmitri Mironov, Russia Pavel Guzeyev, Spain Jorge Catalán Piera
  • Reserves team head coach: Russia Aleksei Lunin
  • Reserves team assistant coach: Russia Aleksei Melyoshin
  • Reserves team goalkeeping coach: Russia Vasili Kuznetsov

Coaches[]

Notable players[]

Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Spartak. For further list, see List of FC Spartak Moscow players.

References[]

  1. ^ "Алекперов оказался акционером "Спартака"".
  2. ^ History of Spartak Archived 5 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, fcspartak.ru (in Russian)
  3. ^ "History of Spartak 1936" (in Russian). Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  4. ^ Robert Edelman, Spartak Moscow: A History of the People's Team in the Worker's State. Cornell University Press, 2009.
  5. ^ Зайкин, В. (20 July 1989). Трагедия в Лужниках. Факты и вымысел. Известия (in Russian) (202). Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  6. ^ All-star Spartak rise again, Eduard Nisenboim, uefa.com
  7. ^ "Антирекорд: "Спартак" потерпел в Ливерпуле крупнейшее поражение в истории". 7 December 2017.
  8. ^ SPARTAK MOSCOW AND NIKE UNVEIL THE NEW HOME AND AWAY KIT FOR 2014-15 SEASON
  9. ^ Samye poseschaemye matchi v istorii chempionatov Rossii(in Russian)

Further reading[]

  • Edelman, Robert (2009). Spartak Moscow: A History of the People's Team in the Workers' State. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4742-6.
  • Riordan, Jim (2008). Comrade Jim: The Spy Who Played for Spartak.

External links[]

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