Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns
BC Dnipro
Basketball Club Dnipro ( uk, баскетбольний клуб "Дніпро"), commonly known as simply Dnipro, is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that is based in Dnipro. The home court of the club is Palace of Sports Shynnik. The wome ...
and Budivelnyk Kyiv.
In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced into bankruptcy by FIFA due to multiple legal claims for failing to pay its promised monetary compensation to players and managers.
During the Soviet era, the club was a member of the Soviet Volunteer Sports Society "Metallurg" (therefore it carried names Metallurg/Metalurh and Stal) and until 1961 was under sponsorship of the Petrovsky Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant. After that, the club was sponsored by the Southern Machine-building Plant
Yuzhmash
The State Factory «Production Union Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant named after O.M. Makarov», PA Pivdenmash or formerly, PA Yuzhmash (Ukrainian: Державне підприємство «Виробниче об'єднання Півде ...
and carried both names Russian Dnepr and Ukrainian ''Dnipro'', while Dnepr was also used for international competitions. During the Soviet era, the club was the second most successful club, based in Ukraine, that participated in the
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
, winning in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
and
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
. After the
fall of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, the club was privatized.
History
BRIT
The club was formed in 1918 by the Petrovsky factory and was called BRIT (Brianskyi Robitnychyi Industrialnyi Tekhnikum). The team participated in the regional competition, the
Katerynoslav
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
championship. BRIT played its games in the "Sokil" stadium, a small venue located at the corner of Pushkin and Yuriy Savchenko streets, which it shared with four other clubs.
Petrovets – Stal – Metalurh
With the outbreak of World War I, BRIT was disbanded until 9 May 1925, when a new team was formed in Dnipropetrovsk. The team participated during the first season under the name ''Petrovsky factory,'' which was changed in 1926 to "Petrovets." The team entered the first
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
competition under the name of ''Stal'' (steel) in 1936, participating in three championships before World War II. In 1947, the team re-entered the Soviet competition after merging with another club from Dnipropetrovsk, Dynamo Dnipropetrovsk. From 1949 until 1961, the team was called ''Metalurh'' ("metal worker"). From 1950 to 1952, it was relegated to amateur status due to poor results. In 1954, ''Metalurh Dnipropetrovsk'' reached the semi-finals of the USSR Cup, where it lost to Spartak Yerevan.
Dnepr
In 1961, the team was handed over to its new sponsor, the '' Yugmash'' (the Southern machine-producing factory), which at that time was one of the most powerful factories in the entire Soviet Union and was funded by the
Ministry of Defense
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...
River, ''Dnepr'', as the Russian was the accepted language of the Soviet Union and the Soviet government. The team's performance did not change much until after 1968, when ''Dnepr'' obtained Andriy Biba and the new coach – Valery Lobanovsky. After that, it took the team three years to get promoted to the
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
and eventually finished in sixth place in 1972.
Golden generation
In 1973 and 1976, Dnepr reached the semi-finals of the USSR Cup. In 1978, the team was relegated to the lower league for two years. Their next return to the top flight was not as inviting as their first one and the team languished at the bottom of the table for several years. In the following years, the governing body of the team hired new promising coaches – ''Volodymyr Yemets'' and ''Hennadiy Zhizdik''. After those changes, ''Dnepr'' became a strong contender for the Soviet championship winning it twice: once with Yemets and Zhizdik in 1983, and another one with Yevhen Kucherevsky in 1988. Also, in 1989 ''Dnepr'' became the first professional football club in the Soviet Union. During those years, the team featured many notable players such as Oleg Protasov, Hennadiy Lytovchenko, Oleksiy Cherednyk and Oleh Taran.
Dnipro
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the club took on the Ukrainian version name of ''Dnipro'', the name of the biggest river and one of the major symbols of Ukraine. The club joined the football federation of the native country and remained one of the top contenders in the newly formed
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...
. The team received a silver medal in 1993, as well as the bronze in 1992, 1995, 1996, 2001 and 2004. The team also reached the Ukrainian Cup finals in 1995, 1997 and 2004, losing all three to
Shakhtar Donetsk
Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Шахтар» Донецьк , short nickname "miners") is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. In 2014, due to the War in Donbass, the club was f ...
. Dnipro is currently controlled by the Privat Group.
Success and downfall
On 14 May 2015, Dnipro qualified for the
2015 UEFA Europa League Final
The 2015 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, the 44th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the sixth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Eu ...
by defeating
Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
1–0 in Ukraine after having drawn 1–1 in Italy, the first time in the club's history that it reached the final in a European competition. Despite going up 1–0 in the sixth minute against Spanish side Sevilla, Dnipro eventually lost 3–2. Despite the defeat, the match crowned one of the club's greatest seasons, during which Dnipro had to play all of their home matches some 400 kilometres away in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. On 31 March 2016, the club was excluded by
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next three seasons (2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19) for violating the Financial Fair Play regulations.
In late June 2016, there were rumours that club owner
Ihor Kolomoyskyi
Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born billionaire, business magnat ...
had stopped funding the club. Kolomoyskyi immediately denied this but did state, "The club will not exist in the same form as before;" and that it was "not normal to spend crazy amounts of money" to keep the current squad intact.
The 2016–17 season was disastrous for Dnipro. Due to outstanding debts owed to coach Juande Ramos and his staff, the FFU prevented Dnipro from signing new players other than free agents. On 26 October 2016, Dnipro was assessed a penalty of 6 points for the same reason. In April 2017, 3 additional points were deducted. At the conclusion of the 2016–2017 season, Dnipro were relegated directly to the
Ukrainian Second League
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* Som ...
(third level) for the first time in club history.
In the 2017–18 season the club with a new squad started well in the Group B of the Second League, for 13 matches in row going on high positions (second-fourth places). But the points have been deducted once more with their number reaching up to 18 until the end of the season, which resulted in club finishing on 8th place.
On 7 June 2018 FIFA decided to once more relegate the club and for the 2018–19 season the club was to play
in the Amateur League. In the 2019–20 Amateur League the club did not participate. In 2019 some players, coaching and managing staff joined SC Dnipro-1, particularly the whole coaching staff of Dnipro in full composition was appointed to the Dnipro-1's under-21 team.
On 22 February 2021, FIFA dismissed the claim of Jaba Kankava who appealed with a request to recognize SC Dnipro-1 a sports successor of FC Dnipro in order to recover his unpaid salary from FC Dnipro.
Stadium
Since 1966, Dnipro's home was Meteor Stadium in Dnipropetrovsk. Prior to that, the club played at the Metalurh Stadium (formerly Stal Stadium). Meteor Stadium was built by the Soviet rocket company
Yuzhmash
The State Factory «Production Union Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant named after O.M. Makarov», PA Pivdenmash or formerly, PA Yuzhmash (Ukrainian: Державне підприємство «Виробниче об'єднання Півде ...
on the original site and has undergone several renovations since, the last one being in 2001. In 2002, however, after several spells in European competitions, it became clear that the club needed a new modern venue. Thus, in 2005, Pryvat Group started construction of
Dnipro Arena
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
in the centre of the city. The club played its last game at Meteor on 2 September 2008, against Metalist Kharkiv.
In April 2005, the club's new arena broke ground. It was constructed by Germany's largest construction company Hochtief. The construction itself took three years and four months, but a nine-month delay occurred due to a land dispute over a site where the stadium's car park was planned. The stadium's final capacity is 31,003 people and the initial estimated cost of the construction was set at €40 million.
The stadium was opened on 15 September 2008. The opening ceremony featured a speech by Ukrainian president
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010.
As an informal leader of th ...
, a concert performance by a number of famous Ukrainian musicians and two football matches: Veterans of Dynamo Kyiv vs. Spartak Moscow veterans, and Dnipro against Dynamo Kyiv. As a gift to the club from the city, the street that the stadium is situated on was renamed into Kucherevskyi Boulevard, in honour of Dnipro's late coach
Yevhen Kucherevskyi
Yevhen Mefodiyovych Kucherevskyi ( uk, Євген Мефодiйoвич Кучеревський, russian: Евгений Мефодьевич Кучеревский) (6 August 1941 – 26 August 2006) was a Ukrainian football coach. He is most f ...
. Dnipro played their first official game on 29 September 2008 against their local rivals Metalurh Zaporizhya, but Dnipro lost 1–2. They set a new attendance record for the Ukrainian Premier League 2008–09 season at 31,000 spectators.
Since the beginning of conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Dnipro have played their European matches at the
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
at the behest of
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
, although there has been comparatively less conflict in Dnipropetrovsk than other areas.
Supporters and rivalries
The formation of the fan movement in Dnipropetrovsk began in the early 1980s, which saw the appearance of the first representatives of Dnipro ultras at the stadium. Later was established one of the largest fans unions – the ''Braty po Zbroyi'' ( en, Brothers in Arms) – involving Dnipro, Dynamo Kyiv and Karpaty Lviv.
Most of the fans hold right-wing ideological views (
Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French Revol ...
). Dnipro is considered the third most popular club in Ukraine, and home and away matches are attended by large crowds. The largest Dnipro ultras groups are the ''Voice of the North Stand'' ( uk, Рупор Північної Трибуни) and ''Ultras'83'' ( uk, Ультрас'83).
The most famous derby in eastern Ukraine is the ''Skhidne Derby'' (English: Eastern Derby) between Dnipro and Metalist Kharkiv. The game at the stadium is very hard and almost every game ends in a fight between football fans from Dnipropetrovsk and
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih. In May 2016, Metalist Kharkiv was removed from Ukraine's professional football leagues. Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih is, after its 2013 bankruptcy, an amateur club.
Sponsors
Football kits and sponsors
* No information is known for the 2000–01 season.
Home colours
Honours
Domestic
*
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
** Winners (2):
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
,
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
** Runners-up (2):
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
,
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
** ''Third place (2)''
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
*
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...
** Runners-up (2):
1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
USSR Super Cup
The USSR Super Cup,, az, Futbol üzrə SSRİ Superkuboku, ka, საბჭოთა კავშირის სუპერთასი, sabch’ota k’avshiris sup’ertasi, lt, TSRS Futbolo Supertaurė, ro, Supercupa URSS, uk, Супер ...
** Winners (1): 1989
** Runners-up (1): 1984
*
Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR
The Championship of the Ukrainian SSR in football was a top competition of association football in the Ukrainian SSR in 1921-91. Number of Ukrainian clubs almost never competed in the championship such as Dynamo Kyiv.
The competitions were organ ...
** Runners-up (1): 1936
European
*
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
Hennadiy Litovchenko
Hennadiy Volodymyrovych Lytovchenko (also known as Gennadiy Vladimirovich Litovchenko, Russian-language variant; uk, Геннадій Володимирович Литовченко; russian: Геннадий Владимирович Лито ...
(1984)
*
Oleh Protasov
Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov ( uk, Олег Валерійович Протасов; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the ...
Yevhen Konoplyanka
Yevhen Olehovych Konoplyanka ( uk, Євген Олегович Коноплянка; born 29 September 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ekstraklasa club Cracovia and the Ukraine national team.
He began ...
(2010, 2012)
* Ruslan Rotan (2016)
Ukrainian Premier League Footballer of the Year
*
Oleh Protasov
Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov ( uk, Олег Валерійович Протасов; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the ...
Yevhen Konoplyanka
Yevhen Olehovych Konoplyanka ( uk, Євген Олегович Коноплянка; born 29 September 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ekstraklasa club Cracovia and the Ukraine national team.
He began ...
Nikola Kalinić
Nikola Kalinić (; born 5 January 1988) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Croatian club Hajduk Split.
Kalinić began his career with Hajduk Split in his native Croatia before moving to English club Blackburn Rove ...
;Ukraine
*
Yevhen Konoplyanka
Yevhen Olehovych Konoplyanka ( uk, Євген Олегович Коноплянка; born 29 September 1989) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ekstraklasa club Cracovia and the Ukraine national team.
He began ...
*
Dmytro Chyhrynskyi
Dmytro Anatoliiovych Chyhrynskyi ( uk, Дмитро Анатолійович Чигринський; born 7 November 1986) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League Greece club Ionikos.
He spent most ...
;Brazil
*
Giuliano People with the Italian given name or surname Giuliano () have included:
In arts and entertainment Surname
* Geoffrey Giuliano, American author
* Maurizio Giuliano, writer and Guinness-record-holding traveler Given name
* Giuliano Gemma, actor
...
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
FC Dnipro participates in European competitions since 1984 after playing its first against
Trabzonspor
Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...
. Since 2001, however, the club participates almost on annual basis with variable successes. This was interrupted in 2016, when, despite finishing third place, Dnipro was forbidden to play in the European competitions by UEFA.
Viktor Kanevskyi
Viktor Izrailyovych (Illich) Kanevskyi ( ua, Віктор Ізраїльович Каневський, russian: Виктор Израилевич Каневский; 3 October 1936 – 25 November 2018) was a Ukrainian and Soviet football player ...
Yevhen Kucherevskyi
Yevhen Mefodiyovych Kucherevskyi ( uk, Євген Мефодiйoвич Кучеревський, russian: Евгений Мефодьевич Кучеревский) (6 August 1941 – 26 August 2006) was a Ukrainian football coach. He is most f ...
(1 January 1987 – 22 March 1992)
* Mykola Pavlov (19 March 1992 – 31 December 1994)
*
Bernd Stange
Bernd Walter Stange (born 14 March 1948) is a German football manager who last managed the Syria national team.
During his playing career, he played for Chemie Gnaschwitz, Vorwärts Bautzen, and HSG DHfK Leipzig as a defender.
Playing caree ...
Yevhen Kucherevskyi
Yevhen Mefodiyovych Kucherevskyi ( uk, Євген Мефодiйoвич Кучеревський, russian: Евгений Мефодьевич Кучеревский) (6 August 1941 – 26 August 2006) was a Ukrainian football coach. He is most f ...
(1 January 2002 – 18 October 2005)
* Vadym Tyshchenko ''(interim)'' (18 October 2005 – 19 December 2005)
*
Oleh Protasov
Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov ( uk, Олег Валерійович Протасов; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the ...
(19 December 2005 – 29 August 2008)
*
Volodymyr Bezsonov
Volodymyr Vasylyovych Bezsonov ( uk, Володимир Васильович Безсонов, also spelled Vladimir Vasilijević Bessonov, born 5 March 1958) is a Ukrainian football manager and former player, he played for the Soviet Union nat ...
Ukrayinska Pravda
''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...