FC Ufa

FC Ufa (Russian: ФК «Уфа», Bashkir: Өфө, romanized: Öfö) is a Russian football club based in Ufa that currently plays in the Russian Premier League.

Ufa
Full nameFootball Club Ufa
Nickname(s)горожане
Founded2009[1][2]
GroundBetBoom Arena, Ufa
Capacity15,234
General directorMarat Magadeyev
Head coachAleksei Stukalov
LeagueRussian Premier League
2020–21Russian Premier League, 13th of 16
WebsiteClub website

History

During the summer of 2010, Rustem Khamitov, the second President of the Republic of Bashkortostan, began considering the establishment of a football club with the intention to represent the city of Ufa and also the Republic in the Russian Premier League.

On 23 December 2010, FC Ufa was formed on the base of FC Bashinformsvyaz-Dynamo Ufa, which then plied their trade in the Russian Professional Football League, the third tier of the Russian football league system. The head coaching position of the team was first assigned to Andrei Kanchelskis, who was tasked with leading the club to the Russian First Division.

First season

The first official match of the club was against FC Syzran-2003 in the second round of the Russian Cup, which after extra time Ufa lost on penalties.

Ufa made their debut in the Russian league system on 24 April 2011 with a home match against FC Tyumen. Ufa ran out winners, 3–1, with Konstantin Ionov scoring a hat-trick for the hosts.

Ufa continued to build on their initial success to the extent that, coming to the end of the season, they were equal with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk at the top of the table with 86 points. However, Ufa's loss away to Nefthekhimik following the draw at Dynamo Stadium meant that Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk had a better head-to-head record; Ufa had to postpone promotion to the Russian First Division for another year.

However, Dynamo Bryansk's failure to meet the licensing requirements for the 2012–13 Russian First Division opened up a slot in the said division, which Ufa took, enabling their promotion from the Second Division into the First Division.

Life in the First Division

In their first season in the First Division Ufa finished in sixth, four points off the last promotion playoff spot.

The following season showed improvement by Ufa, as the club had built on the previous year's showing and managed to end up in fourth, thus enabling them to contest the promotion playoff against Tom Tomsk, who finished their campaign in the Russian Premier League in 13th.

On 18 May 2014, Ufa welcomed Tom Tomsk in Dynamo for the first leg of the playoff and Ufa managed to overpower Tom 5–1, with club captain Dmitri Golubov scoring four goals. The return leg was played four days later in Tomsk, and despite going down early in the match, Ufa managed to hold on to their aggregate lead; a 3–1 loss to Tom was moot. Ufa therefore claimed a historic promotion to the top-flight Russian Premier League after just three seasons playing in the Russian league system.

At the end of the 2017–18 season, they secured 6th spot in the Russian Premier League, which qualified them for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League due to FC Tosno, the Russian Cup winner, not applying for the UEFA license in time.

Ufa played their first ever European game at home against Slovenian side NK Domzale. The game finished in a goalless draw. Domzale dominated the return leg in Slovenia but Ufa didn't give up and a late goal saw them draw 1-1 and progress on away goals. Next was Progres Niederkorn for the Russian side, and another late goal in the return leg in Luxembourg send Ufa through 4-3 on aggregate and set them up against Scottish side Rangers in the play-off round. They lost 1-0 at Ibrox, and drew 1-1 at their stadium, which caused them to be eliminated from the play-off rounds of the Europa League. For the 2020-21 season, the club changed its colour scheme from red to purple and mint green.

Domestic history

European history

Ufa made their UEFA competition debut in July 2018, entering the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2018–19 UEFA Europa League 2Q Domžale 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a)
3Q Progrès Niederkorn 2–1 2–2 4–3
PO Rangers 1–1 0−1 1–2

Current squad

As of 15 April 2022[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  RUS Konstantin Pliyev
4 DF  RUS Aleksei Nikitin
5 DF  SVN Bojan Jokić
6 MF  RUS Ruslan Fishchenko
7 FW  RUS Dmitri Kabutov
8 MF  RUS Danila Yemelyanov
9 FW  RUS Gamid Agalarov
11 DF  SRB Nemanja Miletić
15 DF  RUS Erving Botaka
17 MF  UZB Oston Urunov (on loan from Spartak Moscow)
19 MF  RUS Oleg Ivanov
22 MF  RUS Artyom Golubev
23 MF  ANG Egas Cacintura
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF  CRO Filip Mrzljak
25 FW  RUS Aleksandr Saplinov (on loan from Rostov)
29 MF  RUS Vladislav Kamilov
31 GK  RUS Aleksandr Belenov
32 GK  BLR Anton Chichkan
33 DF  RUS Aleksandr Sukhov
44 DF  RUS Yuri Zhuravlyov
57 FW  RUS Vyacheslav Krotov
75 FW  RUS Timur Zhamaletdinov
81 GK  RUS Ivan Kukushkin
94 FW  RUS Danil Akhatov
99 FW  COL Dilan Ortiz (on loan from Proleter Novi Sad)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK  RUS Aleksey Kuznetsov (at Veles Moscow)
DF  RUS Oleg Dzantiyev (at SKA Rostov-on-Don)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF  RUS Nikita Belousov (at Spartak Tuymazy)

Reserve team

Coaching staff

Role Name
Head coach Aleksei Stukalov
Assistant coaches Nikolai Safronidi
Dmitri Beznyak
Goalkeeping coach Anatoli Zarapin
President Marat Magadeev
Sporting Director Ildus Biglov
Director Shamil Gazizov

Other clubs

WFC Ufa, a female football club, plays in the Russian First Division, the second tier of the Women Russian football system.

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Ufa.

References

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