FC Amkar Perm

Amkar Perm

Full name	Общественная организация г. Перми «Футбольный клуб «Амкар» (Community organization of Perm city "Football Club 'Amkar'")
Nickname(s)	Krasno-chernye (The Red and Blacks), permyaki, ammiachniye
Founded	1994 (1994)
Ground	Zvezda Stadium, Perm
Ground Capacity	17,000
Chairman	Gennady Shilov
Manager	Gadzhi Gadzhiyev
League	Russian Premier League
2014–15	11th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

FC Amkar Perm (Russian: Футбо́льный клуб "Амка́р" Пермь [fʊdˈbolʲnɨj ˈklup ɐmˈkar pʲɛrmʲ]) is a professional football club playing in the Russian Premier League. Founded in 1994, it is based in the city of Perm. It has been a participant in the Russian professional football league since 1995 and in the Russian Premier League since 2004. Amkar's home stadium is the Zvezda Stadium, which was covered with artificial turf in 2005.

History

1994–1999. Third and Second Leagues

The Amkar football club was created to represent the Perm Inorganic Fertilizer Company. The club's "birthday" is 8 May 1993, although it was only registered officially on 6 December 1994. The name "Amkar" derives from a combination of parts of the Russian words "AMmiak" (ammonia) and "KARbamid (carbamide, urea) – these two substances being the main products of the plant. The team owes the choice of club colours (red and black) to its Italian trade partners from Milan, who responded to a request for help by offering equipment from AC Milan. And so the club colours became red and black. The basis of the new team was made up of company employees. In 1994 Amkar, strengthened by amateur players from other city teams and a few former professionals, became champion of the city of Perm and the Perm region and also won the regional Cup. The club was officially registered on 6 December 1994 and applied to participate in the Russian football league. Amkar was included in the third league of the Russian Championship. In 1995, the team, reinforced by former players of Zvezda Perm, was second in the 6th group of the third league and qualified for the second league. In 1996, Amkar finished in third place in the central group of the second league and in 1997, the club was second in the tournament.

Konstantin Zyryanov – best known player from Perm

Konstantin Paramonov – most prolific goal scorer in Amkar's history – 170 goals

On 12 September 1998 Spartak Moscow paid a visit to Amkar for a Russian Cup tie. Spartak's previous visit to the Western Urals was in 1977 as a first division side, when they were close to a return to the top tier of domestic football. The match attracted enormous interest and the 25000 stadium was filled to capacity for the first time in its 30 year history. The match finished 1–0 in favour of Amkar. In the league "Permyaki" accumulated 93% of the possible number of points and scored 100 goals. Amkar took first place and earned the right to play in the First Division.

1999–2004. First Division

From 1999 to 2003, the team performed reasonably well in the First Division, finishing each year in the top six. In the 2001/02 season the club reached the semi-final of the Russian Cup but lost to CSKA Moscow 0–1. In 2003, with two matches left to play Amkar was in fourth position, one point behind Kuban Krasnodar and losing out to Tom Tomsk and Terek Grozny on the total number of wins. According to the pundits Amkar and Terek would be losers in this four-horse race but a sensational draw between Tom and Baltika Kaliningrad made the red and blacks favourites. In the final match Kuban and Terek had to play each other. In order to move up into the Premier League Amkar needed a win against Fakel Voronezh, which was duly achieved.

2004–2008

In the Premier League, Amkar at first performed satisfactorily, finishing 11th, 12th and 13th in 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively. Before the first season in the Premier League Amkar was strengthened by such players as Levenets, Shutov, Leonchenko, Sirakov, Lavrik, Olexici, Ziyati, Lincar and others and their debut match was with Kuban Krasnodar away. The game ended 0–0. In the first rounds the team played well, gathering 8 points in four games with just a single defeat. In the 2004/05 season Amkar repeated their success in the Russian Cup, once more reaching the semi-finals, but losing on aggregate 0–2 to Khimki Moscow. There were many memorable matches in the 2005 season, including a home win over Zenit St.Petersburg 1–0, a big win over Dynamo Moscow 4–1 and a defeat at the hands of Lokomotiv Moscow 3–4, although Amkar was leading 3–0 at half-time. In the middle of the 2006 season Head Coach Sergei Oborin left and was replaced by Rashid Rakhimov. Amkar began to play very good football, and in the part of the championship between the 19th and 30th rounds Amkar was 4th in the league by points accrued. In the same season Amkar had the longest series of matches in the Premier League without conceding a goal – 15.

2008. The most successful season

Martin Kushev – Amkar top scorer in Premier League – 36 goals

Miodrag Bozovic – Amkar head coach in 2008 and 2011/2012 seasons

In 2007 the club made two key acquisitions, Georgi Peev arrived from Dynamo Kiev and Nikola Drincic from the Turkish club Gaziantepspor. These players became leaders of the team and during the season the team was no longer forced to struggle for survival and could play more confidently, but several factors prevented it from rising higher than 8th place. But in the 2007/2008 Russian Cup Amkar achieved the best result in its history. On 16 April 2008 the club beat Ural Yekaterinburg 1–0 and reached the final, losing to CSKA Moscow in a penalty shootout. Before the start of the 2008 season Head Coach Rashid Rakhimov left the club for Lokomotiv Moscow and was replaced by a little-known specialist from Montenegro, Miodrag Bozovic. Before the break for the Euro-2008, Amkar was in third place in the standings, one point behind second place Spartak Moscow and six adrift of the leader, Rubin Kazan. After the break, one of the team leaders Vladimir Gabulov and the captain, graduate of Perm football, Aleksei Popov, left the team for Dynamo Moscow and Rubin respectively. Two matches in a row on the "equator" of the Championship Amkar could have topped the league table but was unable to beat Tom Tomsk and Spartak Nalchik at home. On 16 November, after beating Tom in Tomsk, with one game left to play, the team from the Urals secured fourth place in the league and booked a ticket into the qualifying round of the Europa League. Once more Amkar had the best record in the Premier League for not conceding goals – 17 matches. The 2008 season had been the best in the history of Amkar.

Amkar in the Europa League 2009/10

2009–2011

The following season Dimitar Dimitrov, having replaced Miodrag Bozovic, was unable to continue the success of his predecessor. For the first 5 rounds of the 2009 Championship the team conceded just one goal, but thereafter began to commit gross mistakes in defence on a regular basis, as a result of which the club was left fighting for survival. On 27 August Amkar was home to the English Premier League side, Fulham, in the second leg of the Europa League 2009/2010 play-off match, having lost the first leg in London 1–3, which left little hope of reaching the group stage of the tournament. The match in Perm was played before a full stadium and Amkar managed to win 1–0, but that was not enough to go through to the next round. After the 20th round of the Championship Rashid Rakhimov returned as Head Coach with the specific task of retaining the club's place in the Premier League, a task which he successfully fulfilled. In the 2009 Russian Championship Amkar's goalkeepers saved four penalties out of five.

Rashid Rakhimov – Amkar head coach in 2006–2007 and 2009–2011

In the Russian Cup Amkar beat the two Avangard clubs from Kursk and Podolsk, then in the quarterfinal was awarded a technical victory over the defunct FC Moscow but on 21 April 2010 lost at home in the semifinal to Zenit in a penalty shoot-out, having played full-time and extra time 0–0. In the 2010 season, fighting for survival until the very end, for the first time not having won a single match away from home and scoring the least number of goals, Amkar finished in 14th place and retained their place in the Premier League. After the final whistle had sounded in the last match of the season, Martin Kushev, captain and one of the best players in the history of the club, the team's top scorer in the Premier League, having played for Amkar from 2005 till 2010, announced the end of his career as a player. After the completion of his playing career at Amkar, Martin should have become assistant coach to Rakhimov, but the management offered him a place in the coaching staff of the youth team. Kushev preferred to return to Bulgaria to join Slavia Sofia. Six months later he became head coach of Slavia.

On 21 December 2010, a statement to the effect that Amkar was voluntarily to join the First Division due to financial difficulties appeared on the club's official website. As a result supporters of the club attempted to raise funds in support of Amkar, appealing to representatives of Perm business circles. However the powers that be did not rate the actions of the supporters highly. Gennady Shilov stated that he was prepared to replace retiring Valery Chuprakov as club President. Shilov also stated an intent to approach the regional authorities for help and to look for sponsors. The Premier League gave Amkar until 15 January. On 25 January 2011 Amkar withdrew its request to leave the Premier League.

Nikita Burmistrov

In 2011, the club began to give more opportunities to young players such as Mikhalyov, Kolomeytsev, Burmistrov and Sekretov. The team had an inconsistent season, memorable for the club and the fans were dramatic matches with Kuban Krasnodar, which ended in a 3–2 defeat, a draw with Zenit 1–1 at the Petrovsky Stadium and a victory over Spartak Moscow 2–1 at the Luzhniki Stadium. On 28 September 2011, after a series of 10 games without a win in official matches, the club parted with Rashid Rakhimov by mutual consent. On the next day, 29 September 2011, the team introduced their new Head Coach, Miodrag Bozovic, who had been head of Amkar in 2008 and led the club to fourth place in the Russian Championship and the final of the National Cup. After the first half of the Russian Championship season 2011/2012 the team was in 12th place.

After 2011

On 11 June 2012, Miodrag Bozovic resigned once more as Head Coach and the Youth Team Head Coach, Rustem Khuzin, was appointed acting Head Coach. Under their new coach Amkar, for the first time in their history, beat CSKA (3–1) in the second half of the Championship. In the 12th round match against Terek Grozny Amkar appeared in new kit with the Uralkali logo. However, the team played poorly for the rest of the season, managing only four points from their last eight games (an away win over Lokomotiv and a draw away to Mordovia).

Stanislav Cherchesov – appointed head coach in 2013

On January 17, 2013 in view of the fact that Rustem Huzin had been accepted on a coaching course for his UEFA Pro Licence, he became eligible for the post of Head Coach, and Trubachev's contract was terminated. From then on Huzin officially became Amkar's Head Coach. Under their new Head Coach Amkar recorded its biggest ever victory in the Premier League over Alania Vladikavkaz (5–1), and then played out draws with Dynamo (1–1), and Rubin (1–1), having lost their Spring matches to Kuban Krasnodar (1–2), and Spartak Moscow (0–2). A series without a win followed the victory over Alania and after the Dynamo match Amkar lost to Terek (1–2) and Lokomotiv (2–4). After another devastating defeat from Kuban (0–4), followed by a victory over their direct rivals Rostov (3–2), and a goalless draw with Zenit, the club retained the right to play in the Premier League. In June 2013 the club decided not to renew the contracts of Rustem Huzin and senior team coach Alexander Gorshkov, which were due to expire in the summer. Amkar's new Head Coach became Stanislav Cherchesov, who had previously been working with Terek. He was appointed on a two-year contract and was accompanied by the new senior team coach Miroslav Romaschenko, goalkeeper coach Gintaras Stauce and team doctor Eduard Tsgoev, all of whom had been at Terek.

Russian Championship and Cup results

Amkar fans

Year	League	Place	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	Pts.	Cup
1995	third league	2	26	17	5	4	50	15	56	n/a
1996	second league	3	42	28	9	5	86	31	93	n/a
1997	second league	2	40	24	11	5	69	21	83	1/64
1998	second league	1	37	34	2	1	100	12	104	1/64
1999	first division	6	42	20	10	12	65	49	70	1/8
2000	first division	6	38	17	9	12	53	38	60	1/16
2001	first division	4	34	16	8	10	46	29	56	1/4
2002	first division	5	34	15	9	10	45	31	54	1/2
2003	first division	1	42	25	12	5	50	20	87	1/16
2004	premier league	11	30	6	12	12	27	42	30	1/16
2005	premier league	12	30	7	12	11	25	36	33	1/2
2006	premier league	13	30	8	11	11	22	36	35	1/8
2007	premier league	8	30	10	11	9	30	27	41	1/8
2008	premier league	4	30	14	9	7	31	22	51	final
2009	premier league	13	30	8	9	13	27	37	33	1/8
2010	premier league	14	30	8	6	16	24	35	30	1/2
2010/11	no competition; because of format change									1/8
2011–12	premier league	10	44	14	13	17	40	51	55	1/8
2012–13	premier league	11	30	7	8	15	34	51	29	1/16
2013–14	premier league	10	30	9	11	10	36	37	38	1/16

In Europe

Amkar has participated in European football only once. Having finished 4th in the 2008 Russian Championship the club earned the right to play in the Europa League. Amkar lost the first match to the English club Fulham 1–3 and although "Permyaki" won the second match 1–0, the club was eliminated and Fulham progressed, eventually reaching the final.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	PO	Fulham F.C.	1–0	1–3 *	* = first match

Achievements

Domestic competitions

• Soviet Cup / Russian Cup:
  • Runners-up (1): 2008

• Soviet First League / Russian National Football League:
  • Winners (1): 2003

Current squads

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Roman Gerus 3 DF Petar Zanev 4 DF Nikolai Zaytsev 5 MF Janusz Gol 7 MF Georgi Peev (vice-captain) 8 MF Fegor Ogude 9 FW Aleksandr Prudnikov 11 FW Chuma Anene 14 DF Georgi Dzhikiya 15 GK Dmitri Khomich 16 MF Syarhey Balanovich 18 FW Aleksei Kurzenyov 19 DF Brian Idowu

No. Position Player 20 MF Pavel Komolov 21 DF Dmitri Belorukov (captain) 22 MF Alikhan Shavayev 23 DF Ivan Cherenchikov 33 MF Branko Jovičić 36 MF Aleksandr Pantsyrev 43 MF Izunna Uzochukwu 45 DF Andrei Pridyuk 50 DF Robert Arzumanyan 57 GK Aleksandr Selikhov 77 FW Aleksandr Salugin 91 DF Bohdan Butko

Youth squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 29 DF Rinat Guseynov 34 DF Mikhail Kondrashov 35 DF Aleksandr Mosunov 37 DF Ilya Pushkaryov 39 DF Rustam Vazitdinov 40 MF Ivan Belikov 41 GK Vladimir Otmakhov 42 MF Vsevolod Kozhin 44 MF Aleksey Orlov 46 MF Georgi Yenev 47 MF Daniil Frentsel 49 MF Igor Paramonov 51 DF Nikita Romaschenko 55 DF Daniil Petrov

No. Position Player 58 GK Ivan Srednyakov 59 MF Yevgeny Paramonov 60 FW Andrey Anfyorov 61 FW Aleksandr Melekhov 63 GK Daniil Arzhevitin 67 MF Roman Bulak 68 MF Timofey Kraev 70 FW Anton Googe 71 GK Anatoly Krasilnikov 73 MF Nikolai Smetskoy 74 DF Gleb Burkov 79 FW Bodiy Borchashvili 96 MF Vadim Chukhlantsev 98 MF Igor Murashov

Coaching staff

Post	Name of coach	Former club
First team head coach	Gadzhi Gadzhiyev	–
First team senior coach	Sergei Gurenko	PFC Spartak Nalchik
First team goalkeeper coach	Vladimir Sychov	Dynamo Bryansk
Physical fitness coach	Andrei Razin	–
Youth team head coach	Konstantin Paramonov	Amkar Perm
Youth team coach	Erik Ashurbekov	Oktan Perm
Youth team goalkeeper coach	Oleg Stepanov	Akademiya Tolyatti

Sponsors

Mineral fertilizers 1996–2007, Lukoil 2007–2012, Uralkali 2013, Bank of Moscow 2013–present.

Team captains

• 1993–1994 Vyacheslav Ogleznev
• 1995–1998 Sergei Chebanov
• 1999–2000 Konstantin Paramonov
• 2001–2004 Rustem Khuzin
• 2005–2006 Konstantin Paramonov
• 2007–30.08.2008 Aleksei Popov
• 31.08.2008–2010 Martin Kushev
• 2011–present time Dmitri Belorukov

Team colours

2012–13 home matches

2012–13 away matches

2011–12 home matches

2011–12 away matches

2010 home matches

2010 away matches

2008–09 home matches

2008–09 away matches

2007 away matches

2006 home matches

2006 away matches

2005 home matches

2005 away matches

Records

Club records

• Biggest victory – 8–1 against Magnitogorsk in 1995.
• Biggest defeat – 0–6 against Spartak Moscow in 2004.
• Biggest victories in Premier League: Alania Vladikavkaz 5–1 (home, 2013); Dynamo Moscow 4–1 (home, 2005); Krylia Sovetov Samara 4–1 (home, 2007); Khimki 3–0 (away, 2008); Volga Nizhny Novgorod 4–1 (home, 2012)
• Most appearances in Premier League – Zahari Sirakov – 233 matches.
• Youngest player – Konstantin Zyryanov – 17 years 217 days, 10.05.1995, KAMAZ-2 Naberezhnye Chelny – Amkar 1–2.
• Oldest player – Sergei Chebanov – 40 years 207 days, 7.11.1999, Rubin Kazan – Amkar 0–0.

Russian record holders from Amkar

Club stalwarts Player Games 1 Aleksei Popov 424 2 Konstantin Paramonov 337 3 Zahari Sirakov 278 4 Georgi Peev 228 5 Sergei Volkov 215 6 Dmitri Belorukov 197 7 Ivan Cherenchikov 190 8 Yevgeni Yarkov 190 9 Aleksandr Galeutdinov 175 10 Igor Bakhtin 171 10 Konstantin Zyryanov 171 12 Oleg Fomenko 170 13 Vitali Grishin 168 14 Igor Uralyov 157 15 Stanislav Krasulin 154 16 Rustem Khuzin 152 17 Sergei Chebanov 146 18 Martin Kushev 134 19 Vyacheslav Donyi 128 20 Mitar Novaković 126

Leading goalscorers Player Goals 1 Konstantin Paramonov 170 2 Konstantin Zyryanov 48 3 Georgi Peev 40 4 Martin Kushev 36 5 Aleksandr Galeutdinov 29 6 Lev Matveyev 21 7 Sergei Chebanov 20 7 Sergei Volkov 20 9 Sergei Rybakov 18 10 Yuri Khairulin 18 11 Yevgeni Yarkov 16 12 Vadim Shpitalniy 14 13 Dmitri Belorukov 13 14 Igor Bakhtin 13 15 Aleksandr Shutov 13 16 Arslon Talipov 13 17 Aleksandr Katasonov 13 18 Airat Akhmetgaliev 11 19 Vitali Grishin 11 20 Aleksei Filippov 10 20 Nikita Burmistrov 10

Managerial history

• 1993–94: Viktor Zasulsky
• 1995–06: Sergei Oborin (Jan 1, 1995 – Dec 31, 2006)
• 2006: Igor Uralyov (acting)
• 2006–07: Rashid Rakhimov (Sept 4, 2006 – Dec 31, 2007)
• 2008: Miodrag Božović (Jan 1, 2008 – Dec 31, 2008)
• 2009: Dimitar Dimitrov (Jan 1, 2009 – Sept 1, 2009)
• 2009–11: Rashid Rakhimov (Sept 5, 2009 – Sept 28, 2011)
• 2011–12: Miodrag Božović (Sept 29, 2011 – June 11, 2012)
• 2012–13: Nikolai Trubachov
• 2012–13: Rustem Khuzin (interim) (June 11, 2012 – Jan 16, 2013)
• 2013: Rustem Khuzin (Jan 17, 2013 – June 30, 2013)
• 2013–14: Stanislav Cherchesov (July 1, 2013 – April 9, 2014)
• 2014: Konstantin Paramonov (interim) (April 10, 2014 – June 16, 2014)
• 2014: Slavoljub Muslin (June 17, 2014 – December 9, 2014)
• 2014–: Gadzhi Gadzhiyev (since December 30, 2014)

Captains

• 1993–1994 Vyacheslav Ogleznev
• 1995–1998 Sergei Chebanov
• 1999–2000 Konstantin Paramonov
• 2001–2004 Rustem Khuzin
• 2005–2006 Konstantin Paramonov
• 2007–2008 Aleksei Popov
• 2008–2010 Martin Kushev
• 2011–present Dmitri Belorukov

Amkar players in International competitions

Tournament	Participant
Euro 2008	Vladimir Gabulov

See also

• Zvezda 2005 Perm
• Oktan (football club)
• FC Amkar Perm in Europe

External links

• Amkar official site (Russian)
• Amkar female supporters' site (Russian)
• Fan club site (Russian)
• Russian Premier League