FC Minsk

Summary

FC Minsk (Belarusian: ФК Мінск) is a Belarusian professional football club based in Minsk. They play in the Belarusian Premier League, the highest tier of Belarusian football. Their colours are red and navy blue.

FC Minsk
Full nameFootball Club Minsk
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
GroundFC Minsk Stadium
Minsk, Belarus
Capacity3,000
ChairmanIgor Shloido
ManagerArtyom Chelyadinsky
LeagueBelarusian Premier League
2023Belarusian Premier League, 9th of 15
WebsiteClub website

History edit

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, the third tier in Belarus. 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.

In their top tier debut season, FC Minsk showed weak performances and were relegated at end of 2007, but they managed to bounce straight back the following year with a dominant campaign in the Belarusian First League scoring 72 goals and failing to win in only 3 of the 26 games. 2008 therefore saw them once again competing in the Belarusian Premier League where they have remained ever 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. After a 1–1 draw at home, the away fixture in Gaziantep saw the Turkish side win 4–1 as the tie finished 5–2 on aggregate in favour of Gaziantepspor.

In 2013, FC Minsk changed their club crest for the current one. The same year they have qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League by winning Belarusian Cup. This campaign was more successful as Minsk first eliminated Valletta of Malta 3–1 on aggregate before beating 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 and prevailed in penalty shootout 3–2, advancing to the play-offs, where they have lost to Standard Liège of Belgium 5–1 on aggregate.

Club crest edit

Upon their formation in 2006, FC Minsk adopted a simple white and blue crest which they kept for 7 years until 2013. In 2013, they changed their crest to the current red and navy blue.

 
Crest of FC Minsk (2006–2013)

Current squad edit

As of April 2024 [1]

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   BLR Valentin Dikhtiyevskiy
4 MF   BLR Vladislav Grekovich
5 DF   BLR Artem Sakovich
6 DF   BLR Daniil Dushevskiy
7 FW   BLR Kirill Zabelin
8 MF   BLR Arseniy Migdalyonok
9 DF   BLR Yegor Lapun
10 MF   BLR Semen Penchuk
11 FW   BLR Fedor Lebedev
13 MF   BLR Valyantsin Bandarenka
15 DF   BLR Gleb Gurban
16 GK   BLR Matvey Sukharenko
17 MF   BLR Rodion Pechura
18 DF   BLR Aleksandr Mikhalenko
19 GK   BLR Maksim Azarko
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF   BLR Yevgeniy Kindruk
22 MF   BLR Artur Kuzmich
23 MF   BLR Artur Nazarenko
35 FW   BLR Timofey Simanenka
37 GK   BLR Stanislav Boldysh
44 DF   BLR Gleb Krivtsov
55 MF   BLR Aleksey Tumanov
71 MF   UKR Maksym Shevchenko
72 DF   BLR Fedor Fedorovich
77 MF   BLR Yevgeny Malashevich
80 MF   BLR Dmitriy Denisenko
81 MF   BLR Dzmitry Marozaw
92 GK   BLR Denis Shpakovsky
MF   BLR Ivan Radzivonaw
FW   BLR Ilya Bandarenka

League and Cup history edit

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 6 26 12 4 10 29–28 40 Round of 32
2016 1st 4 30 15 8 7 49–24 53 Semi-finals
2017 1st 14 30 3 14 13 19–39 23 Quarter-finals
2018 1st 11 30 7 9 14 34–42 30 Round of 16
2019 1st 9 30 9 9 12 36–44 36 Round of 16
2020 1st 11 30 11 5 14 45–57 38 Round of 16
2021 1st 12 30 8 9 13 32–52 33 Quarter-finals
2022 1st 6 30 12 8 10 47–43 44 Third round
2023 1st 28 Round of 16

Honours edit

FC Minsk in Europe edit

Season Competition Round Club 1st Leg 2nd Leg Aggregate
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 1Q   AZAL Baku 1–1 2–1 3–2  
2Q   Gaziantepspor 1–1 1–4 2–5  
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 2Q   Valletta 1–1 2–0 3–1  
3Q   St Johnstone 0–1 1–0 (aet) 1–1 (3–2 p.)  
PO   Standard 0–2 1–3 1–5  
Notes
  • Home results are noted in bold.
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round

European record edit

Competition Matches W D L GF GA
UEFA Europa League 10 3 3 4 10 14

Managers edit

Women's team edit

The women's team of Minsk has won the Belarusian Premier League in 2013 and 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. It also has won the Belarusian Women's Cup in 2011, 2013 and 2014.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Футбольный клуб "Минск" - Основой состав". www.fcminsk.by.
  2. ^ "FK Minsk women trophies". soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014.

External links edit

  • Official website (in Belarusian, Russian, and English)
  • FC Minsk on VK