FC Dnipro
| File:Dnipro-Dnipropetrovsk.png | |||
| Full name | FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukrainian: ФК Днiпро Днiпропетровськ) | ||
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| Nickname(s) | DD | ||
| Founded | 1918 | ||
| Ground | Dnipro Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 31,003 | ||
| Chairman |  Ihor Kolomoysky | ||
| Head Coach | Volodymyr Bessonov(interim) | ||
| League | Ukrainian Premier League | ||
| 2007-08 | 4th | ||
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FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukrainian: ФК "Днiпро" Днiпропетровськ, Russian: ФК "Днепр" Днепропетровск Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Dnipropetrovsk.
History
The first team that was formed in 1918 by the Petrovsky factory was named BRIT (Brianskyi Robitnychyi Industrialnyi Tekhnikum). The team participated in the regional competition (Katerynoslav championship). With the four other teams BRIT played its games on small stadium "Sokil" which was located on the corner of the Pushkin street and Yuriy Savchenko street.
Due to the World War I the team was disbanded and reestablished only on May 9th, 1925 (coincidently later it became to be known as the Victory Day). The team participated as the generic FC of Petrovsky factory. The official name it received in 1926 when it became to be known as "Petrovets". The team entered the first Soviet competition under the name of Stal (Russian for steel) in 1936 in one of the lower divisions. The team participated in the three championship before the World War II. After the war, in 1947, the team reentered the Soviet competition and was merged with another club from Dnipropetrovsk, Dynamo Dnipropetrovsk. From 1949 until 1961, the team was called Metalurg (from English metal worker). During this time the team participated for three seasons, 1950-1952, among the amateurs due to poor results. In 1954, Metalurg Dnipropetrovsk reached the semi-finals of the USSR Cup, where it lost to Spartak Yerevan.
In 1961, the team was handed over to its new sponsor, the Yugmash (the Southern machine-producing factory), which at that time was one of the most powerful factories in the entire Soviet Union. The new sponsor changed the team's name to Dnepr, but the team's performance did not change much until after 1968, when Dnepr obtained Andriy Biba and the new coach - Valery Lobanovsky. After that it took the team three years to get promoted to the Soviet Top League and eventually took sixth place in 1972.
In 1973 and 1976 Dnepr reached the semi-finals of the USSR Cup competition. In 1978 the team was relegated to the lower league for two years. Their next return to the top flight was not as inviting as their first one and the team languished at the bottom of the table for several years. In the following years, the governing body of the team hired new promising coaches - Vladimir Yemets and Gennadiy Zhizdik. After those changes, Dnepr became a strong contender for the Soviet championship winning it twice: once with Yemets and Zhizdik in 1983, and another one with Evgeny Kucherevsky in 1988. During those years, the team featured many notable players such as Oleg Protasov, Gennadiy Litovchenko, Oleksiy Cherednyk, and Oleh Taran.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Dnepr (the Russian version) took on the Ukrainian translation, Dnipro, the name of the biggest river in Ukraine, which is one of the major symbols of Ukraine, and joined the football federation of the native country. It remained one of the top contenders in the newly formed Ukrainian Premier League. The team received silver medals in 1993 as well as the bronze in 1992, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004. The team also reached the Ukrainian Cup finals in 1995, 1997 and 2004, but lost all three to Shakhtar Donetsk.
FC Dnipro is currently controlled by the Privat Group.
Stadium
Main articles: Stadium Meteor
Since club's foundation in 1925 Dnipro's only home was Stadium Meteor in Dnipropetrovsk. It was opened in 1966 and has undergone several renovations since, the last one being in 2001. However in 2002 after severals spels in European compaetitions, it has become clear that the club is in need of a new modern venue. Thus, in 2005 Pryvat Group started a construction of Dnipro Arena in the centre of Dnipropetrovsk. The club played it's last game on Meteor on 2 September 2008, against their top rival Metalist Kharkiv.
Capacity: 24381 all-seater
Pitch size: 105x68 m
Lighting: 1400 lux
Main articles: Dnipro Arena
In April 2005 the new club's arena broke ground. It was constructed by Germany's largest construction company Hochtief the construction itself took 3 years and 4 month, however a 9 month delay has occurred due to a land dispute over a site where stadiums car park was planned. Stadium's final capacity is 31,003 people and the initial estimated cost of the construction was set at €40,000,000.
The stadium was opened on 15 September 2008, the opening ceremony featured a speech by Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko, concert performance by a number of famous Ukrainian musicians and two football matches. Veterans of Dynamo Kyiv vs Spartak Moscow veterans. And Dnipro against Dynamo Kyiv. As a present to the club from the city the street that the stadium is situated on was renamed into Kucherevskyi Boulevard, in honour of Dnipro's late coach Evhen Kucherevsky. Dnipro played their first official game on 29 September 2008 against their local rivals FC Metalurh Zaporizhya, however came up short in a 1-2 defeat. The came also set a new attendance record for the Ukrainian Premier League 2008–09 season, at 31,000 spectators. Dnipro Arena is a scheduled venue for an upcoming Euro 2012 held in Poland and Ukraine, and it is also the first stadium to be completed for the competition.
Honours
- USSR Federation Cup: 2 (Record)
- 1986, 1989
- 1983, 1988
- USSR Cup: 1
- 1989
- 1988
Runner-Up
- 1993
- 1995, 1997, 2004
- 1987, 1989
- 1990
- 1983
Other
- UEFA European Cup Quarterfinalist in 1985, 1990
- USSR Championship 3rd place in 1984, 1985
- Ukrainian Championship 3rd place in 1992, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004
- Best Ukrainian club in the USSR Championship in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989
Current squad
Squad is given according to the club's official website [1], as of July 1, 2008. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see List of Ukrainian football transfers summer 2008.
Famous players
Coaches
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League and Cup history
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup Europe Notes 1992 1st 3 18 10 3 5 26 15 23 1/4 finals 1992-93 1st 2 30 18 8 4 51 20 44 1/8 finals 1993-94 1st 4 34 16 9 9 53 35 41 1/4 finals UC 2nd round 1994-95 1st 3 34 19 8 7 60 33 65 Runner-up 1995-96 1st 3 34 19 6 9 65 34 63 1/4 finals 1996-97 1st 4 30 14 13 3 48 19 55 Runner-up 1997-98 1st 4 30 17 4 9 47 27 55 1/4 finals UC 2nd qual round 1998-99 1st 12 30 9 5 16 28 46 32 1/8 finals 1999-00 1st 11 30 8 9 13 26 52 33 1/8 finals 2000-01 1st 3 26 17 4 5 37 18 55 1/2 finals 2001-02 1st 6 26 11 7 8 30 20 40 1/2 finals UC 1st round 2002-03 1st 4 30 18 5 7 48 27 59 1/2 finals 2003-04 1st 3 30 16 9 5 44 23 57 Runner-up UC 3rd round 2004-05 1st 4 30 13 9 8 38 34 48 1/2 finals UC Round of 32 2005-06 1st 6 30 11 10 9 33 23 43 1/8 finals UC Group stage 2006-07 1st 4 30 11 14 5 32 24 47 1/4 finals 2007-08 1st 4 30 18 5 7 40 27 59 1/16 finals UC 1st round 2008-09 1st 1/8 finals UC 2nd qual round
See also
- FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Reserves and Youth Team
- FC Dynamo Dnipropetrovsk
- FC Petrovsky Memorial Factory Dnipropetrovsk
- FC Lokomotyv Dnipropetrovsk
- FC Spartak Dnipropetrovsk
- FC Stal Dnipropetrovsk