FC Minsk

Not to be confused with FC Minsk (women).
FC Minsk
Full name Football Club Minsk
Founded 2006
Ground FC Minsk Stadium
Minsk, Belarus
Ground Capacity 3,000
Chairman Igor Shloido
Manager Georgi Kondratiev
League Belarusian Premier League
2015 6th

FC Minsk (Belarusian: ФК Мінск) is a Belarusian football club based in Minsk. They play in the Belarusian Premier League, the highest division in Belarusian football.

History

The club was established in 2006 and was based on the Belarusian First League club Smena Minsk. FC Minsk took over Smena's license and was able to start immediately operating in the Belarusian First League without having to first play in the Second League. In the club's inaugural season in the First League, they were able to finish in first place guaranteeing them promotion to the Belarusian Premier League.

FC Minsk's first run out in the top tier of Belarusian football contained mooted performances and ended in relegation at the end of 2007, but they managed to bounce straight back the following year with a dominant campaign in Belarusian First League netting 72 goals and failing to win in only 3 of 26 games. 2008 therefore saw them once again competing in the Belarusian Premier League where they have remained since.

A 3rd-placed finish in 2010 saw FC Minsk embark on their first ever European campaign in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. In the first qualifying round, they were pitched against AZAL Baku of Azerbaijan and managed a 3–2 aggregate win over two legs. The second qualifying round saw them drawn against Gaziantepspor of Turkey, a tie in which they weren't as fortunate. After a creditable 1–1 draw at home, the away fixture in Gaziantep saw the Turkish side hit 4 goals as the tie finished 5–2 on aggregate in favour of the Gaziantepspor.

A further continental adventure took place in the summer of 2013, where a Belarusian Cup win gave FC Minsk a bye straight into the second qualifying round of the 2014-15 Europa League. This campaign proved to be much better as Minsk first swept aside Valletta of Malta 3–1 on aggregate before taking part in a thrilling encounter with the Scottish team, St. Johnstone in the third qualifying round. After losing 0–1 at home, FC Minsk managed to win 1–0 in Perth courtesy of a 75th-minute strike from Miloš Rnić forcing the match to extra time and eventually penalties. Minsk held their nerve and triumphed 3–2, booking themselves a place in the Europa League play-offs and a chance at competing in the tournament group stage. Seasoned veterans Standard Liège of Belgium awaited in the play-off however, their experience and class showing with a 5–1 aggregate win over the Minsk side concluding another European campaign.

FC Minsk logo during 2006–13

Current squad

As of August 2016[1]

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

No. Position Player
1 Belarus GK Andrey Klimovich
5 Belarus MF Igor Shumilov
6 Belarus DF Artem Dylevskiy
7 Belarus MF Sergey Rusak
8 Belarus DF Syarhey Amelyanchuk
9 Russia MF Sergei Makarov
10 Belarus MF Anton Matsveenka
11 Belarus FW Leonid Kovel
14 Belarus MF Oleg Yevdokimov
15 Belarus MF Dmitriy Bessmertny
17 Belarus MF Ivan Bakhar
19 Belarus GK Pavel Golovenko
20 Belarus DF Alyaksandr Sachywka
21 Belarus DF Aleh Veratsila
No. Position Player
23 Belarus MF Valeriy Gromyko
24 Belarus MF Vitali Trubila
32 Belarus MF Aleksey Vakulich
39 Belarus MF Nikita Nikolayevich
46 Belarus MF Alyaksey Lyahchylin
71 Belarus GK Jemal Kurshubadze
91 Serbia FW Nemanja Čović
95 Ukraine DF Serhiy Kulynych
96 Belarus FW Yevgeniy Shevchenko
97 Belarus FW Artsyom Vasilyew
Belarus MF Albert Kapsky
Belarus GK Maksim Vysotskiy
Belarus MF Ilya Kostyushkin

League and Cup history

Season Level Pos Pld W D L Goals Points Domestic Cup Notes
2006 2nd 1 26 17 5 4 44–13 56 Promoted
2007 1st 14 26 4 9 13 18–34 21 Semi-finals Relegated
2008 2nd 1 26 23 2 1 72–11 71 Round of 16 Promoted
2009 1st 9 26 11 3 12 33–26 36 Round of 16
2010 1st 3 33 18 6 9 59–32 60 Round of 16
2011 1st 9 33 8 11 14 33–40 35 Quarter-finals
2012 1st 6 30 11 6 13 36–46 39 Runners-up
2013 1st 9 32 10 8 14 36–40 38 Winners
2014 1st 7 32 16 4 12 45–36 52 Semi-finals
2015 1st Round of 32

Honours

FC Minsk in Europe

Season Competition Round Club 1st Leg 2nd Leg Aggregate
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 1Q Azerbaijan AZAL Baku 1–1 2–1 3–2
2Q Turkey Gaziantepspor 1–1 1–4 2–5
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 2Q Malta Valletta 1–1 2–0 3–1
3Q Scotland St Johnstone 0–1 1–0 (aet) 1–1 (3–2 p.)
PO Belgium Standard 0–2 1–3 1–5
Notes

European record

Competition Matches W D L GF GA
UEFA Europa League 8 3 3 2 9 9

Managers

Women's team

Main article: FC Minsk (women)

The women's team of Minsk has won the Belarusian Premier League in 2013 and 2014. It also has won the Belarusian Women's Cup in 2011, 2013 and 2014.[2]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.