Fixtures

Russia Premier League 03/30 21:00 22 Spartak Moscow vs Ural - View
Russia Cup 04/02 15:00 2 Spartak Moscow vs Zenit St Petersburg - View
Russia Premier League 04/06 21:00 23 Dinamo Moscow vs Spartak Moscow - View
Russia Premier League 04/13 21:00 24 PFC Sochi vs Spartak Moscow - View
Russia Cup 04/16 15:15 2 Zenit St Petersburg vs Spartak Moscow - View
Russia Premier League 04/20 21:00 25 Rostov vs Spartak Moscow - View

Results

Russia Cup 03/14 15:00 3 Spartak Moscow v FC Orenburg W 3-1
Russia Cup 03/12 13:00 3 Spartak Moscow v FC Orenburg - PPT.
Russia Premier League 03/10 16:00 20 Spartak Moscow v Fakel Voronezh L 0-2
Russia Premier League 03/02 16:30 19 Zenit St Petersburg v Spartak Moscow D 0-0
Europe Friendlies 02/21 13:00 - Spartak Moscow v FC Astana W 4-0
Europe Friendlies 02/20 13:00 - Spartak Moscow v FC Abdysh-Ata Kant W 4-0
Europe Friendlies 02/14 16:30 - Spartak Moscow v Kairat Almaty W 6-0
Europe Friendlies 02/09 15:45 - Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Spartak Moscow W 0-5
Europe Friendlies 02/07 16:30 - Spartak Moscow v Rostov L 0-3
Europe Friendlies 02/02 13:00 - Spartak Moscow v Torpedo Moscow W 3-2
Russia Premier League 12/09 11:00 18 Spartak Moscow v Krylia Sovetov W 3-0
Russia Premier League 12/03 16:00 17 FC Akhmat Grozny v Spartak Moscow L 2-1

Stats

 TotalHomeAway
Matches played 48 27 21
Wins 22 16 6
Draws 11 7 4
Losses 15 4 11
Goals for 89 60 29
Goals against 66 34 32
Clean sheets 14 10 4
Failed to score 12 5 7

Wikipedia - FC Spartak Moscow

FC Spartak Moscow (Russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Москва, romanized: Futbolʹnyy klub «Spartak» Moskva, pronounced [spɐrˈtak mɐˈskva]) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships (second only to Dynamo Kyiv) and a record 10 Russian championships, it is the country's most successful club. They have also won a record 10 Soviet Cups, 4 Russian Cups and one Russian Super Cup. Spartak have also reached the semi-finals of UEFA Europa cup, UEFA Champions cup and the UEFA cup winner's cup.

History

Foundation and early period (1883–1941)

Starostin brothers, founders of Spartak Moscow

In the early days of Soviet football, government agencies such as the police, army, and railroads created their own clubs. Many statesmen saw in the wins of their teams the superiority over the opponents patronising other teams. Almost all the teams had such kind of patrons; Dynamo Moscow aligned with the Militsiya, CSKA Moscow with the Red Army, and Spartak, created by a trade union public organization, was considered to be "the people's team".[]

The history of the football club and sports society "Spartak" originates from the Russian Gymnastics Society (RGO Sokol [ru]), which was founded on 16 May 1883. The society was founded under the influence of the Pan-Slavic "Sokol movement" with the aim of promoting the "Sokolsk gymnastics" and then sports including fencing, wrestling, figure skating, skating, football, hockey, lawn tennis, boxing, skis, athletics, and cycling. In the RGO Sokol began to play football in the summer of 1897; the professional football section was founded in the spring of 1909. On 1 August 1920, the football team began to officially act under the name MCS, or Moscow Sports Club.[]

In 1923, the MCS, later named Krasnaya Presnya (Red Presnya), was formed by Ivan Artemyev and involved Nikolai Starostin, especially in its football team. Presnya is a district of Moscow renowned for the radical politics of its inhabitants; for example, it represented the centre of the Moscow uprising of 1905.[]

The team grew, building a stadium, supporting itself from ticket sales and playing matches across the Russian SFSR. As part of a 1926 reorganization of football in the Soviet Union, Starostin arranged for the club to be sponsored by the food workers union and the club moved to the 13,000 seat Tomsky Stadium, known as Pishcheviki. The team changed sponsors repeatedly over the following years as it competed with Dinamo Moscow, whose 35,000 seat Dynamo Stadium lay close by.[]

The flag of Spartak sports society

As a high-profile sportsman, Starostin came into close contact with Alexander Kosarev, secretary of the Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth) who already had a strong influence on sport and wanted to extend it. In November 1934, with funding from Promkooperatsiia, Kosarev employed Starostin and his brothers to develop his team to make it more powerful. Again the team changed its name, this time to "Spartak Moscow" (the name Spartak means "Spartacus", a gladiator who led an uprising against Ancient Rome).[]

The club founders, four Starostin brothers, played a big role in the formation of the team. The Starostins played for the red-whites in the 1930s but right before World War II they were subjected to repression as the leaders of the most hated[] team by the state authorities. Elder brother Nikolai Starostin wrote in his books that he had survived in the State Prison System due to his participation in football and with Spartak (after the political rehabilitation, in 1954, he would later return to the team as the squad's manager).[]

In 1935, Starostin proposed the name Spartak. It was inspired by the Italian novel Spartaco, written by Raffaello Giovagnoli, and means Spartacus ("Spartak" in Russian), a gladiator-slave who led a rebellion against Rome. Starostin is also credited with the creation of the Spartak logo. The same year, the club became a part of newly created Spartak sports society.[]

Czechoslovak manager Antonin Fivebr is credited as the first head coach of Spartak, though he worked as a consultant in several clubs simultaneously. In 1936, the Soviet Top League was established, where its first championship was won by Dynamo Moscow while Spartak won its second, which was held in the same calendar year. Before World War II, Spartak earned two more titles. In 1937, Spartak won the football tournament of Workers' Olympiad at Antwerp.

Post-war period (1945–1991)

Spartak against HFC Haarlem in 1982

During the 1950s, Spartak, together with Dynamo, dominated the Soviet Top League. When the Soviet national team won gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics, it consisted largely of Spartak players. Spartak captain Igor Netto was the captain of the national team from 1954 to 1963. In the 1960s, Spartak won two league titles, but by the mid-1960s, Spartak was no more regarded as a leading Soviet club. The club was even less successful in the 1970s and in 1976 Spartak was relegated into the lower league.[]

During the following season, the stadium was still full as the club's fans stayed with the team during its time in the lower division. Konstantin Beskov, who became the head coach (as a footballer Beskov made his name playing for Spartak's main rivals, Dynamo Moscow), introduced several young players, including Rinat Dasayev and Georgi Yartsev. Spartak came back the next year and won the title in 1979, beating Dynamo Kyiv.[]

On 20 October 1982, disaster struck during the UEFA Cup match between Spartak and Dutch club HFC Haarlem. Sixty-six people died in a crowd crush during the match, making it Russia's worst sporting disaster.[]

In 1989, Spartak won its last USSR Championship, rivals Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 in the closing round. Spartak's striker Valery Shmarov scored the "golden" free kick with almost no time left. The next season, Spartak reached the European Cup semi-final, consequently eliminating Napoli on penalties and Real Madrid (with 3–1 away victory), but losing to Marseille.[]

Modern period (1991–present)

Initial success (1991–2004)

Rinat Dasaev, IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper in 1988

A new page in the club's history began when the Soviet Union collapsed and its championship ceased to exist. In the newly created Russian league, Spartak, led by coach and president Oleg Romantsev, dominated and won all but one title between 1992 and 2001. Year-after-year the team also represented Russia in the Champions League.[]

Problems began in the new century, however. Several charismatic players (Ilya Tsymbalar and Andrey Tikhonov among others) left the club as a result of conflict with Romantsev. Later, Romantsev sold his stock to oil magnate Andrei Chervichenko, who in 2003 became the club president. The two were soon embroiled in a row that would continue until Romantsev was sacked in 2003 with the club suffering several sub-par seasons until Chervichenko finally sold his stock in 2004. The new ownership made a number of front office changes with the aim of returning the team to the top of the Russian Premier League.

Oleg Romantsev, the most successful coach in club history

Spartak has been entitled to place a golden star on its badge since 2003 to commemorate winning five Russian championships in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997. They have won the championship another four times since 1997.

Title-less run (2004–2016)

In 2004, Leonid Fedun became the club's President and second-largest shareholder behind his business partner Vagit Alekperov.

In the 2005 season, Spartak, led by Aleksandrs Starkovs, finished second in the league to beat Lokomotiv Moscow, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Rubin Kazan to the last Champions League place.[] Following a mixed start to the 2006 season and public criticism from Dmitry Alenichev, the team's captain and one of its most experienced players, Starkovs left his position to Vladimir Fedotov.[]

Club icon Andrey Tikhonov had two spells as a Spartak player, from 1992 to 2000 and in 2011, before being appointed assistant manager

In the 2012–13 season, Spartak qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage and finished last after disappointing performances against FC Barcelona, Celtic and Benfica. In the league, Spartak finished in fourth place while in the cup it was eliminated in the round of 16 by FC Rostov 0–0 (3–5 p), completing a disappointing season.

Since 2013, the club have added another three stars as rules allowed teams to include titles won during the Soviet era.

The next 3 seasons (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16) were somewhat similar as Spartak finished 6th, 6th and 5th accordingly while the club did not qualify for European Competitions.[]

Revival (2016–2022)

By the beginning of the 2016–17 season, under ex-Juventus manager Massimo Carrera, Spartak had acquired a squad consisting of foreign talents such as Quincy Promes, Fernando, Zé Luís, Lorenzo Melgarejo and Russians such as Denis Glushakov, Roman Zobnin and Ilya Kutepov. Spartak won the 2016–17 Russian Premier League with the squad, winning most derbies and ultimately finishing with a difference of 7 points.

Massimo Carrera helped Spartak win the first league title in 16 years.

The following season, Spartak participated in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage. Despite suffering its greatest ever loss in a 7-0 result against Liverpool F.C. at Anfield, the club achieved considerable victories, including a 5-1 win against Sevilla FC.

Having finished second 2020-21 Russian Premier League under manager Domenico Tedesco, whose contract expired at the season's end, Spartak followed up with a successful run in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, now led by Rui Vitoria. Spartak topped its group, which included Napoli (which it defeated both home and away), Leicester City and Legia Warsaw. It was set to face RB Leipzig in the round of 16, but the club - along with all Russian club and national teams - was suspended from FIFA, UEFA and the ECA until further notice due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

On 29 May 2022, in the final match of Paolo Vanoli (manager since December 2021), Spartak won the 2021–22 Russian Cup.

New ownership (2022–present)

Longtime President Leonid Fedun resigned after selling the club.
Spartak Moscow FC Logotype

On August 22, 2022, PJSC Lukoil Oil Company announced the acquisition of Spartak Moscow and Otkritie Arena. This occurred after numerous changes at the club, such as the appointment of Spanish specialist Guillermo Abascal as manager, his assistants Carlos Maria Valle Moreno and Vladimir Sliskovich, physical training coaches Fernando Perez Lopez and Alexander Zaichenko, and goalkeeper coach Vasily Kuznetsov. At 33 years of age, Abascal became the youngest manager in the club's history. It was also reported that Leonid Fedun has resigned as President of the club and member of the board of directors. Under his leadership of more than 18 years, he left behind a mixed legacy. The club had won only a single Russian league, cup and supercup. Second place in the league was achieved six times, and four times the club head reached the group stage of the Champions League. A stadium solely for the use of the club was built for the first time. On September 26, 2022 Alexander Matytsyn, first vice president of Lukoil, became chairman of the board of directors of FC Spartak. Lukoil's top managers Pavel Zhdanov, Ivan Maslyaev, and Yevgeny Khavkin joined the board of directors, as did Spartak's general director Yevgeny Melezhikov (left the club in the summer of 2023), academy president Sergei Rodionov, as well as independent directors Oleg Malyshev and Yusuf Alekperov. Englishman Paul Ashworth was appointed sporting director. In December 2023, it was announced that the club was reviving a second team, closed in 2022 due to lack of funding. It will be entered in the second league.

Spartak Moscow is a professional soccer team based in Moscow, Russia. The team was founded in 1922 and has a rich history of success in both domestic and international competitions. Spartak Moscow is one of the most popular and successful soccer teams in Russia, with a large and passionate fan base.

The team plays its home matches at the Otkrytie Arena, which has a capacity of over 45,000 spectators. Spartak Moscow is known for its attacking style of play, with a focus on quick passing and movement off the ball. The team's colors are red and white, and its logo features a stylized spartan helmet.

Over the years, Spartak Moscow has won numerous domestic titles, including 12 Russian Premier League championships, 10 Soviet Top League championships, and 3 Russian Cup titles. The team has also had success in European competitions, reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League in 1995 and 1996.

Spartak Moscow has produced many talented players over the years, including legendary striker Oleg Blokhin and current Russian national team captain Artem Dzyuba. The team is currently managed by Domenico Tedesco, who took over in 2020. With a strong squad and passionate fan base, Spartak Moscow is a force to be reckoned with in Russian soccer.