# 2017 Moldovan National Division

The 2017 Moldovan National Division (Romanian: Divizia Națională) was the 27th season of top-tier football in Moldova. It was played as a double round-robin tournament. This transitional season was a result of the Moldovan Football Federation's decision to change the Divizia Națională season from an Autumn–Spring schedule to a Spring–Autumn one. Sheriff Tiraspol were the defending champions. The competition began on 8 July 2017.

## Stadia and locations

| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Dacia | Chișinău | Stadionul Moldova (Speia) | 8,550 |
| Dinamo-Auto | Tiraspol | Dinamo-Auto Stadium | 1,300 |
| Milsami | Orhei | CSR Orhei | 2,539 |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | Sărata-Galbenă | Stadionul Orășenesc Hîncești | 1,500 |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | Suruceni | Suruceni Stadium | 1,500 |
| Sheriff | Tiraspol | Sheriff Stadium | 12,746 |
| Speranța | Nisporeni | Stadionul Orășenesc Hîncești | 1,500 |
| Spicul | Chișcăreni | CSR Orhei | 2,539 |
| Zaria | Bălți | Stadionul Orășenesc Bălți | 5,953 |
| Zimbru | Chișinău | Zimbru Stadium | 10,400 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Dacia | Viorel Frunză | Alexandru Pașcenco | Joma | OM |
| Dinamo-Auto | Iurie Groșev | Dumitru Popovici | Joma | - |
| Milsami | Veaceslav Rusnac | Andrei Cojocari | Kelme | Dufremol |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | Lilian Popescu | Vladimir Ambros | Joma | MAIB |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | Serghei Secu | n/a | Macron | - |
| Sheriff | Roberto Bordin | Mateo Sušić | Adidas | IDC |
| Speranța | Cristian Efros | Stefan Efros | Nike | Orom-Imexpo |
| Spicul | Denis Calincov | Petru Ojog | Joma | Salamander |
| Zaria | Stefan Stoica | Alexandru Onica | Joma | Bălți |
| Zimbru | Iurie Osipenco | Denis Rusu | Joma | - |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Vacancy | Position | Incoming manager | Appointment |
| Milsami | Adrian Sosnovschi | Mutual consent | 5 June 2016 | preseason | Veaceslav Rusnac | 5 June 2017 |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | Iurie Osipenco | Mutual consent | 6 June 2017 | preseason | Lilian Popescu | 6 June 2017 |
| Zimbru | Ștefan Stoica | Sacked | 11 July 2017 | 8th | Iurie Osipenco | 16 July 2017 |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | Vadim Boreț | Sacked | 24 July 2017 | 10th | Serghei Secu | 24 July 2017 |
| Zaria | Vlad Goian | Sacked | 26 August 2017 | 9th | Ștefan Stoica | 28 August 2017 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sheriff Tiraspol (C) | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 50 | 14 | +36 | 45 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Milsami Orhei | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 26 | 12 | +14 | 40 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Petrocub-Hîncești | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 26 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Dacia Chișinău | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 26 | −3 | 26 | withdrew |
| 5 | Zaria Bălți | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 24 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 6 | Speranța Nisporeni | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | 21 | −3 | 21 | |
| 7 | Sfîntul Gheorghe | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 20 | |
| 8 | Zimbru Chișinău | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 19 | |
| 9 | Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 38 | −24 | 15 | |
| 10 | Spicul Chișcăreni | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 35 | −21 | 14 | withdrew |
* 1 2 Since the winner of the 2017–18 Moldovan Cup (Milsami) qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the Cup winner (Europa League first qualifying round) was passed to the next best-placed team (in this case to the fifth-placed team).
* 1 2 Petrocub ahead of Dacia on head-to-head points: Petrocub–Dacia 3–0, Dacia–Petrocub 0–2
* ↑ Dacia Chișinău completed the season but withdrew from the league prior to the start of the next season.
* ↑ As per regulations, the tenth placed team Spicul Chișcăreni was to be relegated to Divizia A, but the club withdrew before the start of the next season.

## Results

The schedule consists of two rounds, each team plays each other once home-and-away for a total of 18 matches per team.
| Home \ Away | DAC | DIN | MIL | PET | SFÎ | SHE | SPE | SPI | ZAR | ZIM |
| Dacia Chișinău | — | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol | 3–2 | — | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Milsami Orhei | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Petrocub-Hîncești | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Sfîntul Gheorghe | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | — | 0–3 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 6–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 |
| Speranța Nisporeni | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–0 |
| Spicul Chișcăreni | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Zaria Bălți | 0–1 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 3–0 |
| Zimbru Chișinău | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Vitalie Damașcan | Sheriff | 13 |
| 2 | Vladimir Ambros | Petrocub-Hîncești | 9 |
| 3 | Stefan Mugoša | Sheriff | 7 |
| 4 | Josip Brezovec | Sheriff | 5 |
| 4 | Serhiy Zahynaylov | Zaria | 5 |
| 4 | Jairo | Sheriff | 5 |
| 4 | Vadim Paireli | Petrocub-Hîncești | 5 |
| 4 | Viorel Primac | Speranța | 5 |
| 4 | Jean Theodoro | Zimbru | 5 |
| 10 | Marius Obekop | Zaria | 4 |
| 10 | Douglas | Zimbru | 4 |
| 10 | Evgheni Oancea | Sheriff | 4 |
| 10 | Maxim Mihaliov | Zaria | 4 |
| 10 | Veaceslav Sofroni | Spicul | 4 |
| 10 | Bratislav Punoševac | Dacia | 4 |
| 10 | Sergiu Plătică | Speranța | 4 |
| 10 | Alexandru Dedov | Milsami | 4 |
| 10 | Alexandru Pașcenco | Dacia | 4 |
| 10 | Constantin Bogdan | Milsami | 4 |

## Hat-tricks

| Player | Home | Away | Result | Date |
| Victor Stînă | Zimbru | Sfîntul Gheorghe | 4–0 | 15 July 2017 |
| Vitalie Damașcan | Sheriff | Dinamo-Auto | 3–1 | 5 August 2017 |
| Stefan Mugoša | Sheriff | Spicul | 5–0 | 20 August 2017 |
| Jairo | Sheriff | Dacia | 6–3 | 23 September 2017 |
| Josip Brezovec | Sheriff | Dacia | 6–3 | 23 September 2017 |

## Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Radu Mîțu | Milsami | 8 |
| 2 | Dumitru Celeadnic | Petrocub-Hîncești | 7 |
| 3 | Zvonimir Mikulić | Sheriff | 6 |
| 3 | Serghei Pașcenco | Zaria | 6 |
| 5 | Nicolae Țurcan | Speranța | 5 |
| 6 | Dorian Railean | Sf. Gheorghe (3) & Dacia (1) | 4 |
| 7 | Georgi Georgiev | Dacia | 3 |
| 7 | Ilie Cebanu | Zimbru | 3 |
| 7 | Ion Rîmbu | Spicul | 3 |
| 10 | Ghenadie Moșneaga | Dinamo-Auto | 2 |

## Attendance

| Pos | Team | Played | Total | High | Low | Average |
| 1 | Zaria Bălți | 9 | 13,900 | 3,000 | 500 | 1,544 |
| 2 | Sheriff Tiraspol | 9 | 12,100 | 2,000 | 700 | 1,344 |
| 3 | Milsami Orhei | 9 | 9,100 | 1,500 | 700 | 1,011 |
| 4 | Zimbru Chișinău | 9 | 8,100 | 2,000 | 300 | 900 |
| 5 | Petrocub-Hîncești | 9 | 6,400 | 1,000 | 300 | 711 |
| 6 | Speranța Nisporeni | 9 | 4,000 | 800 | 200 | 444 |
| 7 | Spicul Chișcăreni | 9 | 2,950 | 500 | 200 | 328 |
| 8 | Sfîntul Gheorghe | 9 | 2,900 | 700 | 100 | 322 |
| 9 | Dacia Chișinău | 9 | 1,930 | 800 | 50 | 214 |
| 10 | Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol | 9 | 1,250 | 200 | 100 | 139 |
| | League total | 90 | 62,630 | 3,000 | 50 | 696 |