FC Zimbru Chisinau

Zimbru Chișinău

Full name	Fotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău
Nicknames	Galben-verzii (The Yellow-Greens) Zimbrii
Founded	16 May 1947 (1947-05-16) as Dinamo Chișinău
Ground	Zimbru Stadium
Capacity	10,104
Owner	Nicolae Ciornîi
President	Andriy Semenchuk
Head coach	Oleksandr Poklonskyi
League	Liga
2025–26	Liga, 3rd of 8
Website	zimbru.md
Home colours Away colours

Fotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău, commonly known as Zimbru Chișinău or simply Zimbru, is a Moldovan professional association football club based in Chișinău, which competes in the Moldovan Liga, the highest tier of Moldovan football.

Founded in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1947, the club entered the Soviet Top League in 1956 and totalled eleven participations before their last relegation in 1983. The club remained the leader of Moldavian 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 Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Moldova). 'Zimbru' is a Romanian word for 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

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.^[2]

Rivalries

In the 1990s (the first decade of Moldova's independence), Zimbru's rival was Constructorul, the other team from Chișinău, until the club relocated to Cioburciu in 2001. Another rivalry was established in the mid-2000s when Dacia Chișinău, another team from Chișinău, became one of Moldova's top teams. However, Dacia Chișinău ceased to exist in 2018. The match between them was known as "The Derby of the capital" (Romanian: Derbiul capitalei).^[3] In 1997, a new team was founded in Tiraspol, Sheriff Tiraspol. In a few years, Sheriff was promoted to the top league and became a force in Moldovan football. Considering the strength of team and the tensions between Moldova and Transnistria, 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]

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

Squad

As of 14 June 2026^[6]

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. Nation Player 3 DF  PAN Kevin Berkeley 4 DF  MDA Cristian Gonța 5 MF  BRA Matteo Amoroso 6 DF  BRA Pedro Henrique 7 MF  BRA Caio Dantas 10 MF  MDA Vlad Răileanu 11 MF  BRA Jonathas Abimael 12 GK  UKR Artem Odyntsov 14 MF  CUW Rayvien Rosario 17 MF  MDA Tudor Butucel 19 MF  MDA Stelian Trifan 20 FW  BRA Luan Andrey 22 MF  SWE Ahmed Bonnah 23 DF  BRA Marcello Gesteira 24 MF  ARG Thiago Ceijas

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 MF  BLR Ilya Vasilevich 27 MF  UKR Danylo Boiko 29 DF  CIV Abou Dosso 30 DF  MDA Andrei Macrițchii 33 DF  MDA Mihail Ștefan (captain) 34 DF  UKR Ivan Yermachkov 35 DF  BLR Nikolay Zolotov 44 DF  BRA Italo Dias 45 FW  NGA Michael Ebikabowei 77 MF  MDA Serafim Cojocari 88 GK  SRB Ivan Dokić 92 GK  MDA Cristian Sîrghi 99 FW  MDA Alexandru Bețivu — MF  MDA Eugeniu Cociuc

Out on loan

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. Nation Player — MF  MDA Ștefan Bîtca (at Zalaegerszeg until 30 June 2026)

Honours

League history

Table

Season	Tier	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Cup	Super Cup	Europe		Top scorer (league)
1992	1st	1st	22	15	5	2	40	15	35	Quarter-finals	—	—		Alexandru Spiridon Iurie Miterev – 8
1992–93		1st	30	22	6	2	66	17	50	Round of 16	—	—		Alexandru Spiridon – 12
1993–94		1st	30	25	2	3	86	22	52	Semi-finals	—	UCL	PR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 14
1994–95		1st	26	21	4	1	69	10	67	Runners-up	—	UC	PR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 11
1995–96		1st	30	26	3	1	110	11	81	Quarter-finals	—	UC	2R	Vladislav Gavriliuc – 34
1996–97		2nd	30	22	4	4	112	21	70	Winners	—	UC	PR	Iurie Miterev – 34
1997–98		1st	26	22	3	1	75	8	69	Winners	—	UCWC	QR	Serghei Cleșcenco – 25
1998–99		1st	26	18	7	1	43	9	61	Quarter-finals	—	UCL	1Q	Vladislav Gavriliuc – 10
1999–00		1st	36	25	7	4	78	21	82	Runners-up	—	UCL UC	3Q 1R	Victor Berco – 15
2000–01		2nd	28	20	6	2	46	15	66	Semi-finals	—	UCL UC	3Q 1R	Iurie Miterev – 8
2001–02		3rd	28	12	10	6	52	20	46	Semi-finals	—	UC	QR	Victor Berco – 12
2002–03		2nd	24	15	5	4	47	20	50	Winners	—	UC	1R	Vladimir Shishelov – 13
2003–04		3rd	28	14	7	7	40	23	49	Winners	Runners-up	UC	1R	Vladimir Shishelov – 15
2004–05		5th	28	12	7	9	29	15	43	Quarter-finals	Runners-up	—		Sergiu Chirilov – 7
2005–06		2nd	28	15	8	5	47	20	53	Semi-finals	—	—		Sergiu Chirilov – 11
2006–07		2nd	36	21	8	7	63	23	71	Winners	—	UC	2Q	Alexei Zhdanov – 14
2007–08		5th	30	13	13	4	43	21	52	Semi-finals	Runners-up	UC	1Q	Alexei Zhdanov – 12
2008–09		4th	30	13	7	10	42	30	46	Semi-finals	—	—		Oleg Andronic – 16
2009–10		4th	33	17	8	8	47	29	59	Quarter-finals	—	UEL	2Q	Andrei Secrieru – 7
2010–11		4th	39	22	10	7	56	20	76	Round of 16	—	—		Oleg Andronic – 9
2011–12		3rd	33	17	10	6	47	24	61	Quarter-finals	—	—		Oleg Molla – 14
2012–13		6th	33	12	10	11	53	38	46	Quarter-finals	—	UEL	2Q	Oleg Molla – 7
2013–14		4th	33	18	7	8	56	24	61	Winners	—	—		Sergey Tsyganov – 13
2014–15		6th	24	7	6	11	23	19	27	Quarter-finals	Winners	UEL	PO	Alexandru Dedov – 4
2015–16		3rd	27	15	4	8	42	26	49	Quarter-finals	—	—		Rui Miguel – 9
2016–17		5th	30	13	7	10	32	29	46	Semi-finals	—	UEL	2Q	Hugo Neto – 6
2017		8th	18	5	4	9	17	21	19	Runners-up	—	—		Jean Theodoro – 5
2018		5th	28	9	9	10	28	37	36	Semi-finals	—	—		Ilie Damașcan Ion Nicolaescu – 5
2019		7th	28	3	7	18	16	43	16	Quarter-finals	—	—		Dan Pîslă – 5
2020–21		8th	36	6	7	23	39	63	25	Round of 16	—	—		Artur Pătraș – 10
2021–22		7th	28	7	6	15	32	46	27	Quarter-finals	—	—		Eugen Sidorenco – 5
2022–23		3rd	24	7	10	7	27	26	31	Quarter-finals	—	—		Alexandru Dedov – 8
2023–24		3rd	24	13	3	8	33	23	42	Runners-up	—	UECL	2Q	João Paulino Emmanuel Alaribe – 7
2024–25		3rd	24	14	3	7	54	25	45	Semi-finals	—	UECL	2Q	Justice Ohajunwa Vlad Răileanu – 8
2025–26		3rd	31	18	8	5	70	32	62	Runners-up	—	UECL	2Q	Dzianis Kazlouski – 20

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1993–94	UEFA Champions League	PR	Beitar Jerusalem	1–1	0–2	1–3
1994–95	UEFA Cup	PR	Kispest Honvéd	0–1	1–4	1–5
1995–96	UEFA Cup	PR	Hapoel Tel Aviv	2–0	0–0	2–0
		1R	RAF Jelgava	1–0	2–1	3–1
		2R	Sparta Prague	0–2	3–4	3–6
1996–97	UEFA Cup	PR	Hajduk Split	0–4	1–2	1–6
1997–98	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	QR	Shakhtar Donetsk	1–1	0–3	1–4
1998–99	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Újpest	1–0	1–3	2–3
1999–00	UEFA Champions League	1Q	St Patrick's Athletic	5–0	5–0	10–0
		2Q	Dinamo Tbilisi	2–0	1–2	3–2
		3Q	PSV Eindhoven	0–0	0–2	0–2
	UEFA Cup	1R	Tottenham Hotspur	0–0	0–3	0–3
2000–01	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Tirana	3–2	3–2	6–4
		2Q	Maribor	2–0	0–1	2–1
		3Q	Sparta Prague	0–1	0–1	0–2
	UEFA Cup	1R	Hertha Berlin	1–2	0–2	1–4
2001–02	UEFA Cup	QR	Gaziantepspor	0–0	1–4	1–4
2002–03	UEFA Cup	QR	Göteborg	3–1	2–2	5–3
		1R	Real Betis	0–2	1–2	1–4
2003–04	UEFA Cup	QR	Litex Lovech	2–0	0–0	2–0
		1R	Aris	1–1	1–2	2–3
2006–07	UEFA Cup	1Q	Qarabağ	1–1	2–1 (a.e.t)	3–2
		2Q	Metalurh Zaporizhya	0–0	0–3	0–3
2007–08	UEFA Cup	1Q	Artmedia Petržalka	2–2	1–1	3–3 (a)
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Okzhetpes	1–2	2–0	3–2
		2Q	Paços de Ferreira	0–0	0–1	0–1
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Bangor City	2–1	0–0	2–1
		2Q	Young Boys	1–0 (a.e.t)	0–1	1–1 (1–4 p)
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Shkëndija	2–0	1–2	3–2
		2Q	CSKA Sofia	0–0	1–1	1–1 (a)
		3Q	Grödig	0–1	2–1	2–2 (a)
		PO	PAOK	1–0	0–4	1–4
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Chikhura Sachkhere	0–1	3–2	3–3 (a)
		2Q	Osmanlıspor	2–2	0–5	2–7
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	1Q	La Fiorita	1–0	1–1	2–1
		2Q	Fenerbahçe	0–4	0–5	0–9
2024–25	UEFA Conference League	2Q	Ararat-Armenia	0–3	1–3	1–6
2025–26	UEFA Conference League	2Q	Astana	0–2	1–1	1–3
2026–27	UEFA Conference League	2Q	Noah

Club officials

Technical staff As of 3 March 2026 [7] Role Name Head coach Oleg Kubarev Assistant coach Pavel Rybak Assistant coach Aleksandr Mikhailov Goalkeeping coach Eduard Tuchinskiy Fitness coach Gheorghe Codița Physiotherapist Maxim Sidoruc Masseur Petru Caraman Club doctor Ion Țînpeu Administrator Sergiu Buga

Club management As of 3 March 2026 [8] Role Name Owner Nicolae Ciornîi President Andriy Semenchuk General director Sergiu Topor Sporting director Alexei Popa Technical director Oleg Istrati Community officer Ion Jalbă Press officer Galina Tretyak

Former players

Former managers

References

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)