FC Anzhi Makhachkala

FC Anzhi Makhachkala

Full name	Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala
Nickname(s)	Dikaya Divisiya (Wild Division)
Founded	1991 (1991)
Ground	Dinamo Stadium, Makhachkala (Capacity: 15,200)
Owner	Suleyman Kerimov
Head Coach	Guus Hiddink
League	Russian Premier League
2010	Russian Premier League, 11th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Anzhi badge from 2007 to 2009, the club went back to the original version in 2010

FC Anzhi Makhachkala (Russian: ФК "Анжи" Махачкала) is a Russian football club based in Makhachkala, capital of the Republic of Dagestan. Founded in 1991 the club plays in the Russian Premier League. Anzhi's home ground is the Dinamo Stadium situated in Makhachkala. The word "Anzhi" (in Kumyk language means "pearl") - is an ancient Kumyk name of the area that is now the city of Makhachkala.

The club popularity is rising rapidly since signing of Samuel Eto'o (now highest paid football player in the world) in summer 2011, and appointing Guus Hiddink as a manager in February 2012.

History

The club was founded in 1991 by Magomed-Sultan Magomedov, head of Dagneftprodukt and ex-football player. In first season, the team played in Dagestan league. They finished season with 16 wins, without loss and became champions of Dagestan

Next season after dissolution of Soviet Union club started to play in the Russian league. In 1992 the team entered the Second Division and finished in 5th place. Next season club won the league, but due to reorganization of Russian football championship, Makhackala had to stay there for three more seasons and played there until promotion to the First Division in 1996, when Eduard Malofeev coached them. In 1999 Anzhi won the First Division. In 2000 the team debuted in the Premier League and just missed the bronze medals. A penalty was awarded against Anzhi on the 95th minute of the last league match, and Torpedo converted it to clinch the third position. Anzhi finished fourth, recording the best result in the club's history. In 2001 they reached the final of the Russian Cup, but lost to Lokomotiv on penalties.

Anzhi were relegated from the Premier League in 2002 and played in the First Division till they won the Championship in 2009, being promoted again to the Premier League after 7 years of absence.

On 5 December 2010, defender Shamil Burziyev died in a car accident, aged 25.

Modern history (2011-)

On January 18, 2011, the club was purchased by billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, but later it was revealed that the President of Dagestan Magomedsalam Magomedov met Kerimov and gave him 100 per cent stake in the club, including 50 percent of the shares of the former owner of the club Igor Yakovlev, in exchange for financial support. Kerimov is planning to invest over $200 million in infrastructure, of which a substantial amount will go in building a new stadium with a capacity of more than 40,000 spectators, which will meet all UEFA requirements.

Winter transfers of year 2011 were historic for the club and its fans. On February 16, the club officially announced the signing of a legend of world football, 2002 World Cup winner, 37-year-old Brazilian, Roberto Carlos. On February 27, Anzhi signed a contract with Jucilei da Silva. In the last minute of the transfer window, on March 10, the club signed Moroccan Mbark Boussoufa from Anderlecht.

In summer 2011, the club signed Balázs Dzsudzsák, who put pen to paper on a four-year deal after a reported 14 million euros switch. The club also acquired Russian midfielder Yuri Zhirkov from Chelsea. On 23 August 2011, Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o was signed to play at FC Anzhi Makhachkala for a sum of around €28m, earning him 20.5 million euros a year.

In February 2012 Anzhi appointed Guus Hiddink as a new manager. He came to this position after Yuri Krasnozhan left club after two months. Anzhi first signing under Hiddink guidance was Blackburn former captain Christopher Samba for 12 million pounds.

Security and training

The club’s players live and train in Kratovo, a village near Moscow. The training base was previously used by Saturn Moscow Oblast for training sessions. The club fly in for home matches. This is for security reasons and entails, according to the BBC, "flying about 1,250 miles (2,010 km) 15 times a season" for the home games.

European competitions

Anzhi participated in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup. Their opponents were Rangers of Scotland. Instead of usual home-and-away fixtures, UEFA decided to hold a single match in a neutral venue (Warsaw) due to the unstable situation in neighbouring Chechnya. Rangers won the match 1–0.

FC Anzhi in Europe

Season	Competition	Round		Club	Score
2001–02	UEFA Cup	1R		Rangers	0–1

Achievements and records

• The highest place in the Russian Premier League: 4th ( 2000)
• Russian Cup finalist: 2000/01
• Participated in UEFA Cup: 2001/02 (1/64)
• Best scorer: Ibragim Gasanbekov (153 goals in 236 games)
• Biggest win: Anzhi - Gigant Grozny , 9:0 - 1993.
• The first goal in the First Division - Kafar Kafarov (April 9, 1997 in the away match third round with Omsk Irtysh)
• The first goal in the top flight - Predrag Ranđelović (April 8, 2000 at home match against Rostov)
• Highest transfer fee spent: Samuel Eto'o from Internazionale for €27m.
• Highest transfer fee received: Balázs Dzsudzsák to Dynamo Moscow for €19m.

Current squad

As of 26 February 2012 (2012 -02-26), according to the RFPL official site

Roberto Carlos — team captain

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Vladimir Gabulov 3 DF Roberto Carlos (captain) 4 DF Aleksei Igonin 5 MF Georgi Gabulov 6 MF Mbark Boussoufa 7 MF Kamil Agalarov 8 MF Jucilei 10 FW Shamil Lakhiyalov 13 DF Rasim Tagirbekov 15 DF Arseniy Logashov 16 DF Viktor Kuzmichyov 17 FW Jan Holenda 18 DF Benoît Angbwa 20 MF Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez

No. Position Player 21 MF Sharif Mukhammad 22 DF Christopher Samba 25 MF Odil Ahmedov 27 MF Oleg Shatov 30 DF João Carlos 31 GK Yevgeny Pomazan 61 MF Magomed Mirzabekov 63 DF Ali Gadzhibekov 77 GK Aleksandr Makarov 81 MF Yuri Zhirkov 88 MF Aleksei Ivanov 89 FW Aleksandr Prudnikov 90 MF Makhach Gadzhiyev 99 FW Samuel Eto'o

On loan

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

No. Position Player MF Irakli Klimiashvili (at Pakhtakor Tashkent) DF Oskars Kļava (at Khimki) MF Mikhail Pometsko (at Dagdizel Kaspiysk) FW Ilya Kukharchuk (at FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast)

No. Position Player GK Abdulla Gadzhikadiyev (at Dagdizel Kaspiysk) FW Myroslav Slavov (at Metalurh Donetsk) FW Arafat Djako (at Al-Arabi)

Reserve squad

Reserves are eligible to play in the league.

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

No. Position Player 29 MF Seyt-Daut Garakoyev 32 FW Shamil Mirzayev 34 MF Gamzat Aldanov 35 MF Azamat Ibragimov 41 FW Magomed Razakov 42 DF Nikita Perevozchikov 43 MF Salimkhan Dzhamiliyev 44 DF Murad Kurbanov 46 FW Ramazan Magomedov 47 MF Eldar Dzhangishiyev 48 DF Anvar Ibragimgadzhiyev

No. Position Player 49 MF Alimpasha Adzhiyev 56 DF Dzhamal Rasulov 57 MF Magomed Gamidov 70 DF Yuri Udunyan 91 GK Azamat Dzhioyev 92 GK Mekhti Dzhenetov 93 MF Islam Suleymanov 94 FW Islamnur Abdulavov 96 MF Alibeg Gerayev 97 GK Islamkhan Gadzhiyasulov 98 MF Gadzhi Gadzhiyev

Reserve team

Anzhi's reserve team played professionally in the Russian Third League from 1995 to 1997. For more details, see FC Anzhi-Bekenez Makhachkala.

Current coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Guus Hiddink
Assistant Manager	Ton du Chatinier
Assistant Manager	Željko Petrović
First Team Coach	Andrei Gordeyev
First Team Coach	Oleg Vasilenko
First Team Coach	Arsen Akayev
Goalkeeper Coach	Zaur Khapov
Fitness Trainer	Arno Philips
Fitness Trainer	Chima Onyeike
Head Youth Coach	Ruslan Agalarov

Last updated: 18 February 2012
Source:^{[citation needed]}

League history

Russia

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Top Scorer (League)
1992	3rd, Zone 1	5	38	23	2	13	77	46	48	–	–		Gasanbekov – 14
1993		1	38	27	1	10	98	31	55	R128	–		Gasanbekov – 30
1994	3rd, "West"	10	40	19	5	16	57	41	43	R256	–		Gasanbekov – 14
1995		7	42	24	4	14	47	43	76	R32	–		Gasanbekov – 24
1996		2	38	28	3	7	99	36	87	QF	–		Gasanbekov – 33
1997	2nd	13	42	18	6	18	66	72	60	R32	–		Gasanbekov – 17
1998		12	42	17	6	19	47	56	57	R64	–		Gasanbekov – 15
1999		1	42	26	8	8	55	20	86	R64	–		Sirkhaev – 11
2000	RFPL	4	30	15	7	8	44	31	52	QF	–		Ranđelović – 12
2001		13	30	7	11	12	28	34	32	RU	–		Sirkhaev – 10
2002		15	30	5	10	15	22	42	25	R16	UC	1st round	Budunov – 4
2003	2nd	6	42	19	13	10	52	33	70	SF	–		Budunov – 10
2004		8	42	16	12	14	50	53	60	R32	–		Lakhiyalov – 9
2005		11	42	14	13	15	47	48	55	R64	–		Lakhiyalov – 9
2006		15	42	15	8	19	57	66	53	R64	–		Antipenko – 14
2007		10	42	16	9	17	41	44	57	R32	–		Agalarov – 6
2008		6	42	20	12	10	63	35	72	R64	–		Ashvetiya – 17
2009		1	38	21	12	5	61	31	75	R32	–		Martsvaladze – 13
2010	RFPL	11	30	9	6	15	29	39	33	R16	–		Tsorayev – 8

Player records

Most Appearances Player App 1 Ruslan Agalarov 429 2 Rasim Tagirbekov 253 3 Ibragim Gasanbekov 236 4 Narvik Sirkhayev 230 5 Eldar Mamayev 206 6 Emin Agaev 185 7 Ilya Abayev 168 8 Budun Budunov 168 9 Getman Igor 168 10 Gadzhi Bamatov 165

Most goals Player Goals 1 Ibragim Gasanbekov 156 2 Narvik Sirkhayev 60 3 Ruslan Agalarov 48 4 Budun Budunov 37 5 Shamil Lakhiyalov 36 6 Magomedkhabib Kurbanov 26 7 Gadzhi Bamatov 24 8 Nicolae Josan 23 9 Magomed Adiev 20 10 Rasim Tagirbekov 19

Top goalscorers by season

Season	Name	League	Cup	Total
1992	Ibragim Gasanbekov	14	—	14
1993	Ibragim Gasanbekov	30	2	32
1994	Ibragim Gasanbekov	16	—	16
1995	Ibragim Gasanbekov	24	3	27
1996	Ibragim Gasanbekov	34	1	35
1997	Ibragim Gasanbekov	17	—	17
1998	Ibragim Gasanbekov	15	1	16
1999	Narvik Sirkhayev	11	—	11
2000	Predrag Ranđelović	12	1	13
2001	Narvik Sirkhayev	10	2	12
2002	Budun Budunov	4	2	6
2003	Budun Budunov	10	—	10
2004	Shamil Lakhiyalov	9	1	10
2005	Shamil Lakhiyalov	9	1	10
2006	Aleksandr Antipenko	14	—	14
2007	Ruslan Agalarov	6	1	7
2008	Mikheil Ashvetia	17	—	17
2009	Otar Martsvaladze	13	—	13
2010	David Tsorayev	8	—	8
2011

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Anzhi.

USSR/Russia Omari Tetradze Kakhaber Tskhadadze Vladimir Gabulov Sergei Grishin Aleksei Igonin Sergei Nekrasov Ruslan Nigmatullin Sergey Ryzhikov Andrei Solomatin Ilia Tsymbalar Renat Yanbayev Yuri Zhirkov Former USSR countries Ilgar Abdurakhmanov Emin Agaev Tarlan Ahmadov Arif Asadov Elshan Gambarov Ibragim Gasanbekov Vyaçeslav Lıçkin Mahir Shukurov Narvik Sirkhayev Aleksandr Zhidkov Syarhey Yaskovich Sergei Ivanov

Valeri Abramidze Kakhaber Aladashvili Mikheil Ashvetia Revazi Barabadze Aleksandr Gogoberishvili Sandro Iashvili Irakli Klimiashvili Dato Kvirkvelia Otar Martsvaladze Kakhaber Mzhavanadze Giorgi Navalovski Nukri Revishvili Edik Sadzhaya Dmitriy Byakov Roman Uzdenov Oskars Kļava Ēriks Pelcis Viktoras Olšanskis Tadas Papečkys Andrius Velička Denis Ilescu Nicolae Josan Alier Ashurmamadov Andrei Manannikov Pavel Kharchik Vladyslav Prudius

Ruslan Agalarov Odil Akhmedov Jafar Irismetov Europe Dženan Hošić Amel Mujčinovič Elvir Rahimić Balázs Dzsudzsák Marek Hollý Hadis Zubanović Africa Benoît Angbwa Samuel Eto'o Michel Pensée Luc Zoa Christopher Samba Emmanuel Osei Kuffour Mbark Boussoufa Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez Youssef Rabeh Arafat Djako Kébé Baye South America Diego Tardelli Jucilei Roberto Carlos

External links

Media related to FC Anzhi Makhachkala at Wikimedia Commons

• Official Website (English)
• Fans' website (Russian)
• A fan is a club Anji

(RPL)