# FC Zimbru Chișinău

Fotbal Club Zimbru Chișinău, commonly known as Zimbru Chișinău or simply Zimbru, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Chișinău, which competes in the Super Liga, the highest tier of Moldovan football.
Founded in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1947, Zimbru entered the Soviet Top League in 1956 and totaled eleven participations before their last relegation in 1983. The club remained the leader of Moldovan 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 Moldovan Soviet Republic (present day Republic of Moldova). 'Zimbru' is a Romanian word for a form of 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.
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 Division (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.

## Rivalries

In the 1990s (the first decade of Moldova's independence), Zimbru's rival was the other team from Chișinău, Constructorul Chișinău. Then Contructorul was dissolved. Another rivalry was established in the mid-2000s when Dacia Chișinău, another team from Chișinău, became one of Moldova's top teams. The match between them is known as "The Derby of the capital" (Romanian: Derbiul capitalei). In 1997, a new team was founded in Tiraspol, Sheriff Tiraspol. In a few years, Sheriff was promoted to the first league and became a force in Moldovan football. Considering the strength of team and the tensions between Moldovans and separatist Transnistrians, 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).

## Honours
### Moldova

* Divizia Națională / Liga Națională / Superliga
** Winners (8): 1992, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000
* Cupa Moldovei
** Winners (6): 1996–97, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2013–14
* Supercupa Moldovei
** Winners (1): 2014

### Soviet Union

* Soviet First League (level 2)
** Winners (1): 1955
* Soviet Second League (level 3)
** Winners (1): 1988

## Current squad

    As of 5 March 2025
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 |
| 1 | GK | MDA | Ciprian Tuhar |
| 2 | DF | POR | Diogo Rodrigues |
| 3 | DF | MDA | Ștefan Burghiu (captain) |
| 4 | DF | CIV | Abou Dosso |
| 5 | DF | TUR | Ali Yeşilyurt (on loan from Galatasaray) |
| 6 | MF | GUI | Ibrahima Soumah |
| 7 | MF | MDA | Ștefan Bîtca |
| 8 | MF | ANG | Bruno Paz |
| 10 | MF | MDA | Vlad Răileanu |
| 11 | MF | MDA | Vladimir Fratea |
| 12 | GK | MDA | Sebastian Agachi |
| 13 | FW | GUA | Arquímides Ordóñez |
| 14 | FW | MDA | Fabian Pegza |
| 15 | MF | ESP | Iu Ranera |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | MDA | Nicky Cleșcenco |
| 18 | FW | MDA | Nichita Covali |
| 20 | FW | ISR | Guy Dahan |
| 21 | MF | MDA | Lucian Radu |
| 22 | DF | MDA | Mihai Morozan |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Josep Gayá |
| 26 | FW | GUI | Buby Katty |
| 27 | DF | MDA | Artiom Rozgoniuc |
| 28 | GK | MDA | Nicolae Cebotari |
| 29 | MF | NGA | Gabriel Obekpa (on loan from Bodrum) |
| 30 | DF | MDA | Andrei Macrițchii |
| 33 | DF | MDA | Mihail Ștefan |
| 77 | MF | MDA | Serafim Cojocari |
| 96 | GK | TUR | Yavuz Aygün |

## 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 |

## League history
### Table

| Season | Tier | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Cup | Europe | Europe | Top scorer (league) |
| 1992 | 1st | 1st | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 15 | 35 | 1/4 | – | – | Alexandru Spiridon Iurie Miterev – 8 |
| 1992–93 | 1st | 1st | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 66 | 17 | 50 | 1/8 | – | – | Alexandru Spiridon – 12 |
| 1993–94 | 1st | 1st | 30 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 86 | 22 | 52 | 1/2 | CL | PR | Serghei Cleșcenco – 14 |
| 1994–95 | 1st | 1st | 26 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 69 | 10 | 67 | RU | UC | PR | Serghei Cleșcenco – 11 |
| 1995–96 | 1st | 1st | 30 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 110 | 11 | 81 | 1/4 | UC | R2 | Vladislav Gavriliuc – 34 |
| 1996–97 | 1st | 2nd | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 112 | 21 | 70 | W | UC | PR | Iurie Miterev – 34 |
| 1997–98 | 1st | 1st | 26 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 75 | 8 | 69 | W | CWC | QR | Serghei Cleșcenco – 25 |
| 1998–99 | 1st | 1st | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 9 | 61 | 1/4 | CL | Q1 | Vladislav Gavriliuc – 10 |
| 1999–00 | 1st | 1st | 36 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 78 | 21 | 82 | RU | CL UC | Q3 R1 | Victor Berco – 15 |
| 2000–01 | 1st | 2nd | 28 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 46 | 15 | 66 | 1/2 | CL UC | Q3 R1 | Iurie Miterev – 8 |
| 2001–02 | 1st | 3rd | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 52 | 20 | 46 | 1/2 | UC | QR | Victor Berco – 12 |
| 2002–03 | 1st | 2nd | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 47 | 20 | 50 | W | UC | R1 | Vladimir Shishelov – 13 |
| 2003–04 | 1st | 3rd | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 40 | 23 | 49 | W | UC | R1 | Vladimir Shishelov – 15 |
| 2004–05 | 1st | 5th | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 29 | 15 | 43 | 1/4 | – | – | Sergiu Chirilov – 7 |
| 2005–06 | 1st | 2nd | 28 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 20 | 53 | 1/2 | – | – | Sergiu Chirilov – 11 |
| 2006–07 | 1st | 2nd | 36 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 63 | 23 | 71 | W | UC | Q2 | Alexei Zhdanov – 14 |
| 2007–08 | 1st | 5th | 30 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 43 | 21 | 52 | 1/2 | UC | Q1 | Alexei Zhdanov – 12 |
| 2008–09 | 1st | 4th | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 42 | 30 | 46 | 1/2 | – | – | Oleg Andronic – 16 |
| 2009–10 | 1st | 4th | 33 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 47 | 29 | 59 | 1/4 | EL | Q2 | Andrei Secrieru – 7 |
| 2010–11 | 1st | 4th | 39 | 22 | 10 | 7 | 56 | 20 | 76 | 1/8 | – | – | Oleg Andronic – 9 |
| 2011–12 | 1st | 3rd | 33 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 47 | 24 | 61 | 1/4 | – | – | Oleg Molla – 14 |
| 2012–13 | 1st | 6th | 33 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 53 | 38 | 46 | 1/4 | EL | Q2 | Oleg Molla – 7 |
| 2013–14 | 1st | 4th | 33 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 56 | 24 | 61 | W | – | – | Sergey Tsyganov – 13 |
| 2014–15 | 1st | 6th | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 19 | 27 | 1/4 | EL | PO | Alexandru Dedov – 4 |
| 2015–16 | 1st | 3rd | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 26 | 49 | 1/4 | – | – | Rui Miguel – 9 |
| 2016–17 | 1st | 5th | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 32 | 29 | 46 | 1/2 | EL | Q2 | Hugo Neto – 6 |
| 2017 | 1st | 8th | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 21 | 19 | RU | – | – | Jean Theodoro – 5 |
| 2018 | 1st | 5th | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | 37 | 36 | 1/2 | – | – | Ilie Damașcan Ion Nicolaescu – 5 |
| 2019 | 1st | 7th | 28 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 16 | 43 | 16 | 1/4 | – | – | Dan Pîslă – 5 |
| 2020–21 | 1st | 8th | 36 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 39 | 63 | 25 | 1/8 | – | – | Artur Pătraș – 10 |
| 2021–22 | 1st | 7th | 28 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 32 | 46 | 27 | 1/4 | – | – | Eugen Sidorenco – 5 |
| 2022–23 | 1st | 3rd | 24 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 27 | 26 | 31 | 1/4 | – | – | Alexandru Dedov – 8 |
| 2023–24 | 1st | 3rd | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 33 | 23 | 42 | RU | CO | Q2 | João Paulino Emmanuel Alaribe – 7 |
| 2024–25 | 1st | | | | | | | | | | CO | Q2 | |

## European record

| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Agg. |
| 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 |
| 1995–96 | UEFA Cup | R1 | RAF Jelgava | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| 1995–96 | UEFA Cup | R2 | 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 | Q1 | Újpest | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 |
| 1999–00 | UEFA Champions League | Q1 | St Patrick's Athletic | 5–0 | 5–0 | 10–0 |
| 1999–00 | UEFA Champions League | Q2 | Dinamo Tbilisi | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| 1999–00 | UEFA Champions League | Q3 | PSV Eindhoven | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| 1999–00 | UEFA Cup | R1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 |
| 2000–01 | UEFA Champions League | Q1 | Tirana | 3–2 | 3–2 | 6–4 |
| 2000–01 | UEFA Champions League | Q2 | Maribor | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| 2000–01 | UEFA Champions League | Q3 | Sparta Prague | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| 2000–01 | UEFA Cup | R1 | 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 |
| 2002–03 | UEFA Cup | R1 | Real Betis | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 |
| 2003–04 | UEFA Cup | QR | Litex Lovech | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| 2003–04 | UEFA Cup | R1 | Aris | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | Q1 | Qarabağ | 1–1 | 2–1 (a.e.t) | 3–2 |
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | Q2 | Metalurh Zaporizhya | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 |
| 2007–08 | UEFA Cup | Q1 | Artmedia Petržalka | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–3 (a) |
| 2009–10 | UEFA Europa League | Q1 | Okzhetpes | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| 2009–10 | UEFA Europa League | Q2 | Paços de Ferreira | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| 2012–13 | UEFA Europa League | Q1 | Bangor City | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| 2012–13 | UEFA Europa League | Q2 | Young Boys | 1–0 (a.e.t) | 0–1 | 1–1 (1–4 p) |
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | Q1 | Shkëndija | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | Q2 | CSKA Sofia | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 (a) |
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | Q3 | Grödig | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 (a) |
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | PO | PAOK | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–4 |
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | Q1 | Chikhura Sachkhere | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 (a) |
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | Q2 | Osmanlıspor | 2–2 | 0–5 | 2–7 |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Q1 | La Fiorita | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| 2023–24 | UEFA Europa Conference League | Q2 | Fenerbahçe | 0–4 | 0–5 | 0–9 |
| 2024–25 | UEFA Conference League | Q2 | Ararat-Armenia | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–6 |