FC Minsk

Not to be confused with FC Minsk (women).
FC Minsk
Full nameFootball Club Minsk
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
GroundFC Minsk Stadium
Minsk, Belarus
Capacity3,000
ChairmanIgor Shloido
ManagerArtyom Chelyadinsky
LeagueBelarusian Premier League
2024Belarusian Premier League, 13th of 15
Websitehttps://fcminsk.by/

FC Minsk (Belarusian: ФК Мінск) is a Belarusian professional football club based in Minsk. They play in the Belarusian Premier League, the highest tier of Belarusian football. Their colours are red and navy blue.

History

The club was established in 2006 and was based on the Belarusian First League club Smena Minsk. FC Minsk took over Smena's license and was able to start immediately operating in the Belarusian First League without having to first play in the Second League, the third tier in Belarus. In the club's inaugural season in the First League, they were able to finish in first place guaranteeing them promotion to the Belarusian Premier League.

In their top tier debut season, FC Minsk showed weak performances and were relegated at end of 2007, but they managed to bounce straight back the following year with a dominant campaign in the Belarusian First League scoring 72 goals and failing to win in only 3 of the 26 games. 2008 therefore saw them once again competing in the Belarusian Premier League where they have remained ever since.

A 3rd-placed finish in 2010 saw FC Minsk embark on their first ever European campaign in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League. In the first qualifying round, they were pitched against AZAL Baku of Azerbaijan and managed a 3–2 aggregate win over two legs. The second qualifying round saw them drawn against Gaziantepspor of Turkey. After a 1–1 draw at home, the away fixture in Gaziantep saw the Turkish side win 4–1 as the tie finished 5–2 on aggregate in favour of Gaziantepspor.

In 2013, FC Minsk changed their club crest for the current one. The same year they have qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League by winning Belarusian Cup. This campaign was more successful as Minsk first eliminated Valletta of Malta 3–1 on aggregate before beating the Scottish team St. Johnstone in the third qualifying round. After losing 0–1 at home, FC Minsk managed to win 1–0 in Perth and prevailed in penalty shootout 3–2, advancing to the play-offs, where they have lost to Standard Liège of Belgium 5–1 on aggregate.

Club crest

Upon their formation in 2006, FC Minsk adopted a simple white and blue crest which they kept for 7 years until 2013. In 2013, they changed their crest to the current red and navy blue.

Crest of FC Minsk (2006–2013)

Current squad

As of December 2024.[1]

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
2 DF Belarus BLR Valentin Dikhtiyevskiy
4 MF Belarus BLR Vladislav Grekovich
7 FW Belarus BLR Kirill Zabelin
8 MF Belarus BLR Arseniy Migdalyonok
9 DF Belarus BLR Yegor Lapun
10 MF Belarus BLR Semen Penchuk
11 FW Belarus BLR Fedor Lebedev
13 MF Belarus BLR Mikhail Bandarenka
16 GK Belarus BLR Matvey Sukharenko
17 MF Belarus BLR Rodion Pechura
18 DF Belarus BLR Aleksandr Mikhalenko
20 MF Belarus BLR Yevgeniy Kindruk
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF Belarus BLR Artur Nazarenko
30 GK Belarus BLR Alyaksandr Hutar
35 FW Belarus BLR Timofey Simanenka
37 GK Belarus BLR Stanislav Boldysh
44 DF Belarus BLR Gleb Krivtsov
55 MF Belarus BLR Aleksey Tumanov
71 MF Central African Republic CTA Moustapha Djimet
77 MF Belarus BLR Yevgeny Malashevich
80 MF Belarus BLR Dmitriy Denisenko
81 MF Belarus BLR Dzmitry Marozaw
— MF Belarus BLR Ivan Radzivonaw
— FW Belarus BLR Ilya Bandarenka

League and Cup history

Season Level Pos Pld W D L Goals Points Domestic Cup Notes
2006 2nd 1 26 17 5 4 44–13 56 Promoted
2007 1st 14 26 4 9 13 18–34 21 Semi-finals Relegated
2008 2nd 1 26 23 2 1 72–11 71 Round of 16 Promoted
2009 1st 9 26 11 3 12 33–26 36 Round of 16
2010 1st 3 33 18 6 9 59–32 60 Round of 16
2011 1st 9 33 8 11 14 33–40 35 Quarter-finals
2012 1st 6 30 11 6 13 36–46 39 Runners-up
2013 1st 9 32 10 8 14 36–40 38 Winners
2014 1st 7 32 16 4 12 45–36 52 Semi-finals
2015 1st 6 26 12 4 10 29–28 40 Round of 32
2016 1st 4 30 15 8 7 49–24 53 Semi-finals
2017 1st 14 30 3 14 13 19–39 23 Quarter-finals
2018 1st 11 30 7 9 14 34–42 30 Round of 16
2019 1st 9 30 9 9 12 36–44 36 Round of 16
2020 1st 11 30 11 5 14 45–57 38 Round of 16
2021 1st 12 30 8 9 13 32–52 33 Quarter-finals
2022 1st 6 30 12 8 10 47–43 44 Third round
2023 1st 9 28 8 9 11 33 Round of 16

Honours

FC Minsk in Europe

Season Competition Round Club 1st Leg 2nd Leg Aggregate
2011–12 UEFA Europa League 1Q Azerbaijan AZAL Baku 1–1 2–1 3–2
2Q Turkey Gaziantepspor 1–1 1–4 2–5
2013–14 UEFA Europa League 2Q Malta Valletta 1–1 2–0 3–1
3Q Scotland St Johnstone 0–1 1–0 (aet) 1–1 (3–2 p.)
PO Belgium Standard 0–2 1–3 1–5
Notes
  • Home results are noted in bold.
  • 1Q: First qualifying round
  • 2Q: Second qualifying round
  • 3Q: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round

European record

Competition Matches W D L GF GA
UEFA Europa League 10 3 3 4 10 14

Managers

Women's team

Main article: FC Minsk (women)

The women's team of Minsk has won the Belarusian Premier League in 2013 and 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019. It also has won the Belarusian Women's Cup in 2011, 2013 and 2014.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Футбольный клуб "Минск" – Основой состав". fcminsk.by.
  2. ^ "FK Minsk women trophies". soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014.