PFC CSKA Moscow

Professional Football Club CSKA (, derived from the historical name 'Центральный спортивный клуб армии', English: "Central Sports Club of the Army"), commonly referred to as CSKA Moscow outside of Russia, or simply as CSKA (), is a Russian professional football club. It is based in Moscow, playing its home matches at the 30,000-capacity VEB Arena. It plays in red and blue colours, with various plain and striped patterns having been used.
Founded in 1911, CSKA is one of the oldest football clubs in Russia and it had its most successful period after World War II with five titles in six seasons. It won a total of 7 Soviet Top League championships and 5 Soviet Cups, including the double in the last season in 1991. The club has also won 6 Russian Premier League titles as well as a record 7 Russian Cups.
CSKA Moscow became the first club in Russia to win one of the European cup competitions, the UEFA Cup, after defeating Sporting CP in the final in Lisbon in 2005.
CSKA was the official team of the Soviet Army during the communist era. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union it has become privately owned. In 2012, the Ministry of Defence sold all of its shares (24,94%) to Bluecastle Enterprises Ltd, a conglomerate owning 100% of the club since then. On 13 December 2019, state-owned development corporation VEB.RF announced they will take control of over 75% of club shares that were used as collateral by previous owners for the VEB Arena financing. Russian businessman Roman Abramovich's Sibneft corporation was a leading sponsor of the club from 2004 to 2006.
History.
Officially, CSKA is a professional club and thus no longer a section of the Russian military's CSKA sports club. The Russian Ministry of Defense is a PFC CSKA shareholder, however, and the central club claims them as their own.
The Moscow Army men won their 10th national title back in 2006 and they are one of the most successful clubs in Russian football, having an extensive legacy in Soviet football as well. CSKA won the Soviet championship seven times (1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1970, 1991), silver – 1938, 1945, 1949, 1990, bronze – 1939, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1964, 1965; the Soviet Cup five times (1945, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1991); the Russian Cup in 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013; won the Russian Premier League champions title in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16 finishing second in 1998, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2014–15, bronze 1999, 2007, 2012 and the Russian Super Cup in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009,2012–13. After winning the Soviet championship in 1951, the club started the 1952 championship with 3 wins, but were forced to withdraw from the league as punishment for a disappointing showing of the
Soviet Union football team at the Helsinki Olympics.
In 2004, the club received a major financial infusion from a sponsorship deal with Sibneft, an oil company owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Abramovich did not take an ownership interest in the club, as he was the owner of English Premier League club Chelsea and UEFA rules allow only one club controlled by any one entity (person or corporation) to participate in European club competition in a given season. The partnership with Sibneft lasted until 2006, when VTB became the sponsor of the club. CSKA started 2009 without a shirt sponsor.
On 4 November 1992, CSKA qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League which contained only 8 teams after defeating the defending champions FC Barcelona 4–3 on aggregate. They were later eliminated in the Semi-finals after losing to eventual Champions Olympique de Marseille 0–6 at Stade Vélodrome. The Moscow team was not allowed to play its home games in Russia due to the political turmoil in the country.
2010–present.
On 16 March 2010, CSKA qualified for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Sevilla FC 3–2 on aggregate. They were later eliminated from competition by Internazionale, losing by 1–0 scorelines in both Milan and Moscow. On 7 December 2011, CSKA qualified for the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League after winning crucial 3 points by defeating Internazionale with scoreline 1–2 in Milan.
On 6 October 2016, Finland announced that Roman Eremenko had been handed a 30-day ban from football by UEFA, with UEFA announcing on 18 November 2016, that Eremenko had been handed a two-year ban from football due to testing positive for cocaine.
On 6 December 2016, CSKA announced that manager Leonid Slutsky would leave the club after seven years at the club, following their last game of 2016, away to Tottenham Hotspur. On 12 December, Viktor Goncharenko was announced as the club's new manager, signing a two-year contract. On 21 July 2018, Goncharenko extended his contract until the end of the 2019/20 season. During the summer of 2018 CSKA lost many of its leaders: Aleksei and Vasili Berezutski and Sergey Ignashevich finished their careers as professional players; Alexandr Golovin was bought by AS Monaco; Pontus Wernbloom became a PAOK player and Bibras Natkho went to Olympiacos. However, at the start of that season CSKA showed good results, being at the top-three in Russian champions table and beating Real Madrid in Champions League group stage in both home and away matches (1–0 in Moscow and 3–0 in Madrid).
On 13 December 2019, state-owned development corporation VEB.RF announced they will take control of over 75% of club shares that were used as collateral by previous owners for the VEB Arena financing.
On 22 March 2021, Viktor Goncharenko left his role as Head Coach of CSKA Moscow by mutual consent. The following day, 23 March 2021, CSKA appointed their former striker Ivica Olić as their new Head Coach.
European.
CSKA Moscow won their first, and so far only, European competition on 18 May 2005 in Lisbon, Portugal. Sergei Ignashevich lifted the 2005 UEFA Cup after CSKA ran out 3-1 winners over Sporting CP in Sporting's own Estádio José Alvalade stadium. Goals from Aleksei Berezutski, Yuri Zhirkov and Vágner Love saw CSKA become the first Russian club to win a major European title, as well as the first Russian club to complete a treble.
UEFA club coefficient ranking.
. Source: "
Nickname.
CSKA was nicknamed "Horses "because the first stadium was built on the old racecourse/hippodromo in Moscow. It was considered offensive, but later it was transformed into "The Horses", and currently this nickname is used by players and fans as the name, along with other variants such as "Army Men" () and "Red-Blues" ().
Stadium.
CSKA had its own stadium called "Light-Athletic Football Complex CSKA" and abbreviated as LFK CSKA. Its capacity is very small for a club of its stature; no more than 4,600 spectators. This is one of the primary reasons the club uses other venues in the city. 
Between 1961 and 2000, CSKA played their home games at the Grigory Fedotov Stadium. In 2007, the Grigory Fedotov Stadium was demolished in 2007, and ground was broken on the club's new stadium Arena CSKA later the same year. During construction of their new stadium, CSKA played the majority of their games at the Arena Khimki and Luzhniki Stadium. After several delays in its construction, Arena CSKA was official opened on 10 September 2016.
On 28 February 2017, CSKA Moscow announced that they had sold the naming rights to the stadium to VEB, with the stadium becoming the VEB Arena.
Supporters.
CSKA Moscow fans maintain good relations with the fans of Serbian FK Partizan, Greek PAOK FC, Polish RTS Widzew and fellow russian fans of Dynamo Moscow.
CSKA Women.
CSKA's women's football team was founded in 1990 and competed in Soviet Championship's second level. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union that same year, it registered in the Russian Supreme Division, where it competed for two seasons before it folded.
Following the disbanding of Zorky Krasnogorsk near the end of the 2015 Top Division, FK Rossiyanka filled its vacancy for the next season and the new team was registered as CSKA in the 2016 championship. Its first game, a 1–1 draw against Chertanovo, coincided with the 93rd anniversary of the CSKA's first football match. CSKA ended the championship second-to-last, while Rossiyanka won its fifth title.
In July 2017, during the inter-season summer pause, it became a CSKA official section. Two months later the team won its first title after defeating Chertanovo 1–0 in the Russian Cup final.
Notable players.
Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for CSKA.
Club records.
Appearances.
1
Top goalscorers.
1
FC CSKA-d Moscow and FC CSKA-2 Moscow.
The reserves team played on the professional level as FC CSKA-d Moscow (Russian Second League in 1992–93, Russian Third League in 1994–97, Russian Second Division in 1998–00). A separate farm club called FC CSKA-2 Moscow played in the Soviet Second League in 1986–89, Soviet Second League B in 1990–91, Russian Second League in 1992–93 and Russian Third League in 1994. That latter team was called FC Chaika-CSKA-2 Moscow for one season in 1989.