FC Zimbru Chișinău

Zimbru Chișinău
Full nameFotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău
NicknamesGalben-verzii (The Yellow-Greens), Zimbrii
Founded
  • 16 May 1947; 78 years ago (1947-05-16)
    as Dinamo Chișinău
GroundZimbru Stadium
Capacity10,104
OwnerNicolae Ciornîi [ro]
PresidentAndriy Semenchuk
Head coachOleg Kubarev
LeagueLiga
2024–25Super Liga, 3rd of 8
Websitezimbru.md
Current season

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 Liga, the highest tier of Moldovan football.

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 play their home matches at the 10,104-seater Zimbru Stadium.

History

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 League (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

Zimbru Stadium
Stadionul Zimbru
The stadium hosting a Europa Conference League qualifying match in 2023
UEFA StarStarStarStar
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; 21 years ago (2004-03)
Opened20 May 2006; 19 years ago (2006-05-20)
Construction cost$11 million
ArchitectCeproserving SA
Structural engineerInconex-Com SRL
Tenants
Zimbru Chișinău (2006–present)
Moldova national 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. 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).[4] 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).[5][6]

Player of the year

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

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

Squad

As of 21 September 2025[7]

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

No.Pos. NationPlayer
4DF BRAItalo Dias
5MF BRAMatteo Amoroso
6MF BRAJonathas Abimael
7MF BRACaio Dantas
8MF BLRTsimafei Sharkouski
9FW ISRGuy Dahan
10MF MDAVladimir Fratea
15FW BLRDzianis Kazlouski
17FW MDANicky Cleșcenco
18FW MDANichita Covali
19DF MDAStelian Trifan
No.Pos. NationPlayer
20MF NGAPaul Emmanuel
23MF ANGBruno Paz
24MF ARGThiago Ceijas
29DF CIVAbou Dosso
30DF MDAAndrei Macrițchii
33DF MDAMihail Ștefan (captain)
35DF BLRNikolay Zolotov
44MF ESPIu Ranera
45FW NGAMichael Ebikabowei
77MF MDASerafim Cojocari
88GK SRBIvan Dokić

Honours

Moldova

Soviet Union

League history

Table

SeasonTierPosPldWDLGFGAPtsCupSuper CupEuropeTop scorer (league)
19921st1st221552401535Quarter-finals——Moldova Alexandru Spiridon
Moldova Iurie Miterev – 8
1992–931st302262661750Round of 16——Moldova Alexandru Spiridon – 12
1993–941st302523862252Semi-finals—UCLPRMoldova Serghei Cleșcenco – 14
1994–951st262141691067Runners-up—UCPRMoldova Serghei Cleșcenco – 11
1995–961st3026311101181Quarter-finals—UC2RMoldova Vladislav Gavriliuc – 34
1996–972nd3022441122170Winners—UCPRMoldova Iurie Miterev – 34
1997–981st26223175869Winners—UCWCQRMoldova Serghei Cleșcenco – 25
1998–991st26187143961Quarter-finals—UCL1QMoldova Vladislav Gavriliuc – 10
1999–001st362574782182Runners-up—UCL
UC		3Q
1R		Moldova Victor Berco – 15
2000–012nd282062461566Semi-finals—UCL
UC		3Q
1R		Moldova Iurie Miterev – 8
2001–023rd2812106522046Semi-finals—UCQRMoldova Victor Berco – 12
2002–032nd241554472050Winners—UC1RUzbekistan Vladimir Shishelov – 13
2003–043rd281477402349WinnersRunners-upUC1RUzbekistan Vladimir Shishelov – 15
2004–055th281279291543Quarter-finalsRunners-up—Moldova Sergiu Chirilov – 7
2005–062nd281585472053Semi-finals——Moldova Sergiu Chirilov – 11
2006–072nd362187632371Winners—UC2QRussia Alexei Zhdanov – 14
2007–085th3013134432152Semi-finalsRunners-upUC1QRussia Alexei Zhdanov – 12
2008–094th3013710423046Semi-finals——Moldova Oleg Andronic – 16
2009–104th331788472959Quarter-finals—UEL2QMoldova Andrei Secrieru – 7
2010–114th3922107562076Round of 16——Moldova Oleg Andronic – 9
2011–123rd3317106472461Quarter-finals——Moldova Oleg Molla – 14
2012–136th33121011533846Quarter-finals—UEL2QMoldova Oleg Molla – 7
2013–144th331878562461Winners——Russia Sergey Tsyganov – 13
2014–156th247611231927Quarter-finalsWinnersUELPOMoldova Alexandru Dedov – 4
2015–163rd271548422649Quarter-finals——Portugal Rui Miguel – 9
2016–175th3013710322946Semi-finals—UEL2QPortugal Hugo Neto – 6
20178th18549172119Runners-up——Brazil Jean Theodoro – 5
20185th289910283736Semi-finals——Moldova Ilie Damașcan
Moldova Ion Nicolaescu – 5
20197th283718164316Quarter-finals——Moldova Dan Pîslă – 5
2020–218th366723396325Round of 16——Moldova Artur Pătraș – 10
2021–227th287615324627Quarter-finals——Moldova Eugen Sidorenco – 5
2022–233rd247107272631Quarter-finals——Moldova Alexandru Dedov – 8
2023–243rd241338332342Runners-up—UECL2QCape Verde João Paulino
Nigeria Emmanuel Alaribe – 7
2024–253rd241437542545Semi-finals—UECL2QNigeria Justice Ohajunwa
Moldova Vlad Răileanu – 8

European record

Club officials

Former players

Former 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. ^ "Derbiul capitalei". Archived from the original on 2018-02-24. Retrieved 2018-02-24.publika.md
  5. ^ "El clasico de Moldova". Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-02-24.publika.md
  6. ^ "El clasico". Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-03-18.prime.md
  7. ^ "Squad". zimbru.md. 21 June 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Technical staff". zimbru.md. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Club management". 3 November 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  • 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)
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