FC
Spartak Moscow is considered to be one of the greatest football teams in
Soviet and Russian history. In the early days of Soviet football, many
government agencies, such as the police, army, railroads, created their own
clubs. Spartak Moscow was created in 1922 as a Folk Team, one that would
unite people all across the country. The team became the main competitor by
1936, when it won its first USSR title. But the popularity of the sport grew
the most in the 1960s USSR. Spartak fared well, winning two championships in
that decade. The 1970s were a time that many fans still remember with
shivers. In 1977 Spartak was demoted into the lower league due to poor
performances. The next season stadiums were still full of people, as the
fans stayed with the team during its time in the lower division. Spartak
Moscow came back the next year and right away reclaimed the gold, beating
Dinamo Kiev.
A whole new page in the club’s history started when the USSR was divided and
its championship was no more. In Russia, Spartak took the lead role and won
9 titles out of 12. Year after year it also represented Russia in the
European tournaments of Champions League, UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup. The
problems began when Starostin, the patriarch of the club, died and left the
whole enterprise to Oleg Romantsev, who also was a coach. Spartak was
involved in financial troubles, which resulted in corruption and the
inevitable buyout of the club by a wealthy businessman, who started using
the club as a money laundering scheme. He left the club in 2004 and Spartak
is starting to slowly regain its old position back.
Honors
Champion of the USSR: 1936 (autumn), 1938, 1939, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958,
1962, 1969, 1979, 1987, 1989
Champion of Russia: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
USSR Cup: 1938/1939, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1958, 1963, 1965, 1971, 1992
Winner of the Russian Cup: 1994, 1998 |
