Ten things you never knew about Dinamo Moskva
Thursday, November 20, 2014
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They were the first Soviet champions in 1936 and are the club where Lev Yashin spent his entire career – let UEFA.com give you a potted history of FC Dinamo Moskva.
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FC Dinamo Moskva head into their matchday five encounter with Panathinaikos FC as one of four clubs already through to the UEFA Europa League round of 32 and one of two sides boasting a 100% record.
With that in mind, now seems a good time for UEFA.com to tell you ten things you might not know about the Russian team, who, but for Christopher Samba's 93rd-minute winner against AC Omonia, would have lost in the play-offs on away goals.
Formed: 1923
Nicknames: Belo-Golubye (White-Blues)
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Cup Winners' Cup: (1972)
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 11 (1976)
• USSR/Russian Cup: 7 (1995)
• Dinamo were formerly affiliated with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the chief of the Soviet Union's first secret police force, Felix Dzerzhinsky, serving as the club's honorary president. Dinamo means 'Dynamo' (electricity generator), while their motto 'Power in motion' also carries electricity connotations.
• The club won their first trophy, the Moscow Championship, in 1926. Their famous crest, a cyrillic letter D in a diamond, was adopted that same year along with their traditional blue and white colours.
• In their early years Dinamo played on waste ground behind the children's hospital near Moscow's Rizhski train station. Central Dinamo Stadium was opened in Petrovski Park in 1928 and would be home for the next 80 years. It closed for reconstruction in 2008 and is scheduled to reopen in autumn 2017. In the meantime, Dinamo are residing in Khimki.
• Dinamo became the first champions of the Soviet Union in 1936. That spring tournament featured seven teams, with the capital side winning all six matches. Dinamo did the domestic double the following year and were title winners again in 1940. They were top of the table when the 1941 campaign was halted because of World War II.
• Dinamo toured Great Britain in 1945, the first Soviet outfit to do so. They defeated Cardiff City FC (10-1) and Arsenal FC (4-3) and drew with Chelsea FC (3-3) and Rangers FC (2-2).
• The 1950s and 60s were a trophy-laden period for Dinamo thanks in no small part to the legendary Lev Yashin. The 1963 Ballon d'Or winner spent his entire career at the club, figuring in almost 500 games. He is still considered by many the best goalkeeper of all time and the greatest Russian footballer ever.
• In 1972, Dinamo became the first Soviet team to contest a UEFA final, losing 3-2 to Rangers in the European Cup Winners' Cup decider in Barcelona. That remains Dinamo's best performance on the continental stage. Dinamo have never competed in the main rounds of the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League.
• Dinamo won their last league title in spring 1976. Coaches have come and gone (Eduard Malofeev, Konstantin Beskov and Valeri Gazzaev the most notable) and numerous talented players (Igor Dobrovolski, Andrei Kobelev, Igor Kolyvanov) have worn the jersey, but their best league finish since is second place in 1986 and 1994.
• In July 2013 businessman Boris Rotenberg became club president. Rotenberg's son Boris plays for the first team while Stanislav Cherchesov Jr, the son of coach Stanislav Cherchesov, turns out for the reserves.
• Dinamo's target for the 2014/15 campaign is to finish in the top three – quite modest for one of Russia's richest clubs. "You should never be a victim of your grandiose statements," said Cherchesov. "The logic is simple: we finished fourth last year, so now we have to go at least one better." Twelve games in, Dinamo are sixth, ten points shy of leaders FC Zenit.