FC Presnya Moscow (russian: ФК «Пресня» Москва) was a Russian football team based in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. It was founded in 1978 as FC Krasnaya Presnya Moscow. It participated in the third-tier

Soviet Second League The Soviet Second League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу (вторая лига), Soviet football championship (Second League)) was the third highest division of Soviet football, below the Soviet First League The So ...

and was notable for giving the start for the careers of

Oleg Romantsev Oleg Ivanovich Romantsev (russian: Олег Иванович Романцев; born 4 January 1954) is a Soviet/Russian former international footballer and coach. Romantsev was acclaimed for his success with Spartak Moscow, whom he led to a reco ...

Vasili Kulkov Vasili Sergeyevich Kulkov (; 11 June 1966 – 10 October 2020) was a Russian footballer. Either a central defender or defensive midfielder, he was best known for his spells at Spartak Moscow and Benfica. Having retired as a player, he contin ...

and

Aleksandr Mostovoi Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Мостово́й ; born 22 August 1968) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Known as ''O Zar de ...

History

In 1990, when perestroika policies allowed the creation of private enterprises in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, the club was purchased by an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

i businessman Hussam Al-Khalidi who renamed the club to Asmaral (after the initials of his three children – daughters Asil and Mariam and son Alan). It was the first privately owned club in Russia. Al-Khalidi hired an acclaimed coach

Konstantin Beskov Konstantin Ivanovich Beskov (russian: Константи́н Ива́нович Бе́сков; 18 November 1920 – 6 May 2006) was a Soviet/Russian footballer and coach. Beskov was born in Moscow. He played for Dynamo Moscow as forward, sc ...

and a former Spartak Moscow star

Yuri Gavrilov Yuri Vasilyevich Gavrilov (russian: Юрий Васильевич Гаврилов; born May 3, 1953 in Setun, Odintsovsky District, Moscow Oblast) is a Russian football manager and a former midfielder who played for Dynamo Moscow and ...

. After the 1991 season, the club was promoted to the second-tier

Soviet First League The Soviet First League in football (russian: Первая лига СССР по футболу) was the second highest division of Soviet football,Evgeni Kazakov. The Soviet First Football League (Первая лига СССР по футбо ...

. However, due to the dissolution of the USSR, the new Russian league system was organized, and Asmaral was accepted into the top-flight Russian Top Division, where it reached the 7th place in the inaugural 1992 season. In the next 1993 season, it was relegated to the Russian First Division, then suffered two consecutive relegations in 1995 and 1996, ending up in the

Russian Third Division Russian championship among amateur football clubs (III division) (russian: Первенство России среди любительских футбольных клубов (III дивизион)) is the fourth overall tier of the Russian fo ...

. Following the 1998 season, it lost the professional status (entering amateur leagues) and was dissolved altogether after the 1999 season, and being declared bankrupt in September 2003. Asmaral's farm club participated in the

Russian Second League The Russian Second League (russian: Первенство России II дивизиона ФНЛ), formerly Russian Professional Football League is the third level of Russian professional football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the P ...

and

Russian Third League Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...

in 1992 as FC Asmaral-d Moscow and from 1993 to 1995 as FC Presnya Moscow. A separate club called FC Presnya Moscow participated on the professional level in the Russian Second Division from 2004 to 2006.

League and cup

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Asmaral/Krasnaya Presnya. ;USSR/Russia *

* Aleksandr Prokhorov *

Sergey Rodionov Sergei Yurievich Rodionov (russian: Серге́й Юрьевич Родионов, born 3 September 1962) is a Russian football coach and former professional player, who played most of his career as a forward for Spartak Moscow. Career Dur ...

* Andrei Yakubik * Sergey Grishin *

Sergei Semak Sergei Bogdanovich Semak (russian: Серге́й Богда́нович Сема́к ; uk, Сергій Богданович Семак; born 27 February 1976) is a Russian football manager and a former international midfielder who currently ...

* Aleksandr Tochilin ;Former USSR countries *

Algimantas Briaunis Algimantas Briaunys (born 3 November 1964) is a Lithuanian professional footballer/goalkeeper coach. He played the position of goalkeeper. He won a total of four international caps for the Lithuania national football team. Coaching career From 2 ...

References

Defunct football clubs in Moscow Association football clubs established in 1978 Association football clubs disestablished in 1999 1978 establishments in Russia 1999 disestablishments in Russia {{Russia-footyclub-stub