Commonwealth of Independent States Cup
The Commonwealth of Independent States Cup (Russian: Кубок чемпионов Содружества, Кубок Содружества, Кубок чемпионов содружества стран СНГ и Балтии) is an annual regional association football tournament, recognized by FIFA.[1][2]
The tournament was initially established for football clubs of the former Soviet Union republics in 1993 (a year later since the collapse). On several occasions some national football organizations of the former Soviet republics as well as individual clubs refused participation in the tournament for different reasons. Usually the invitation was sent to the best clubs of the Commonwealth of Independent States member states, as well as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, i.e. either a champion or a runner-up, while in the later editions the Cup (before 2012) saw participation of clubs from Serbia and Finland.
History
The Commonwealth of Independent States Cup started in 1993 as an open tournament to champions from the USSR successor states (The Commonwealth of Independent States, and well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).
Ukraine boycotted the first two competitions, but joined in 1995.
In 1995-2006 the Russia national under-21 football team participated in the tournament as the 16th team, but in 2007 and 2008 Serbia replaced it as the 17th nation sending a team to play in it, and became the first non-former Soviet Union nation participating in the tournament. Unlike the rest of the states, who send their latest champions to play in the tournament, Serbia has sent OFK Beograd to play in the tournament.
In its first years the tournament was popular in the territories of the former Soviet Union, including the most titled teams from the old Soviet Top League. Spartak Moscow from Russia, and Dynamo Kyiv from Ukraine each won the cup several times but, after less than a decade, the teams from Russia and Ukraine became hesitant to send their best players to play on the artificial turf at the Olympic Stadium, so they sent their reserve players instead[3][4][5] or sometimes the league runners-up participated in their place. This resulted in the decrease of the tournament's popularity in those states particularly and in the international value of the tournament overall.
In 2006 a new tournament, Channel One Cup, started and caught the attention of the Russian and Ukrainian teams, which even more decreased the popularity of the Commonwealth of Independent States Cup tournament.
A big scandal occurred in 2006, when the Armenian champion FC Pyunik refused to play the Azerbaijani team, PFC Neftchi due to the collapse of diplomatic relations between the two countries' governments at that time around the Nagorno-Karabakh War. FC Pyunik defeated Ukrainian team FC Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 in the quarter-final, earning a place in the semi-final against PFC Neftchi. However, FC Pyunik announced that they would no play against an Azerbaijani team, and flew home from Moscow the same evening. The Russian Football Union gave FC Shakhtar Donetsk a technical victory 3-0 so they could play in the semi-final instead of FC Pyunik, but FC Shakhtar Donetsk declined the offer stating that "...we would really want to play in the semi-final, but we don't want to get there by any other way than sport". Eventually, PFC Neftchi were given a bye to the final, where they defeated the Lithuanian club FBK Kaunas 4-2.[6]
In 2007 talks began about changing the format of the cup, and uniting it with the Channel One Cup in order to bring back the interest of the Russian and Ukrainian teams,[7] and in 2007 its games were even visited by representatives from FIFA,[8] but nevertheless, nothing came out from those talks and efforts.
In October 2009, Bunyodkor coach Luis Felipe Scolari announced that his Uzbek side would not enter the 2010 tournament due to focusing on the Asian Champions League.[9]
Finals
Competition among junior squads of national teams
| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 Details |
 Russia |
4-2 |  Moldova |
SCC Peterburgsky, Saint Petersburg |
| 2015 Details |
 South Africa |
2 — 1 |  Finland |
SCC Peterburgsky, Saint Petersburg |
| 2014 Details |
 Ukraine |
4 — 0 | Russia |
SCC Peterburgsky, Saint Petersburg |
| 2013 Details |
Russia |
4 — 2 | Ukraine |
SCC Peterburgsky, Saint Petersburg |
| 2012 Details |
Russia |
2 — 0 |  Belarus |
SCC Peterburgsky, Saint Petersburg |
Club competitions
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All-time top scorers
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vladimir Beschastnykh (FC Spartak Moskva) |
20 |
| 2 | Yegor Titov (FC Spartak Moskva) |
18 |
| 3 | Valeri Kechinov (Pakhtakor Tashkent & FC Spartak Moskva) |
17 |
| * | Mikhail Mikholap (FC Skonto Rīga)  |
17 |
| 5 | Mikhail Kavelashvili (FC Dinamo Tbilisi & Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz)  |
14 |
| * | Luis Robson (FC Spartak Moskva)  |
14 |
| 7 | Andrei Tikhonov (FC Spartak Moskva) |
13 |
| 8 | Valentin Belkevich (FC Dinamo Minsk & FC Dynamo Kyiv) |
12 |
| * | Andriy Shevchenko (FC Dynamo Kyiv) |
12 |
| 10 | Gela Inalishvili (FC Dinamo Tbilisi) |
11 |
| * | Anatoliy Kanischev (Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz & FC Spartak Moskva) |
11 |
| * | Mihails Zemļinskis (FC Skonto Rīga) |
11 |
Top scorers by year
Performances by team
| Team | Titles | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Spartak Moscow |
6 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001) | 3 (1997, 1998, 2002) |
| Dynamo Kyiv |
4 (1996, 1997, 1998, 2002) | 1 (1999) |
| Russia |
3 (2012, 2013, 2016) | 1 (2014) |
| Sheriff Tiraspol |
2 (2003, 2009) | |
| Ukraine |
1 (2014) | 1 (2013) |
| Dinamo Tbilisi |
1 (2004) | 1 (1995) |
 Neftchi Baku |
1 (2006) | 1 (2005) |
 Pakhtakor Tashkent |
1 (2007) | 1 (2008) |
| South Africa |
1 (2015) | |
| Lokomotiv Moscow |
1 (2005) | |
| Khazar Lenkoran |
1 (2008) | |
| Rubin Kazan |
1 (2010) | |
| Inter Baku |
1 (2011) | |
| Skonto Riga |
3 (2001, 2003, 2004) | |
 Aktobe |
2 (2009, 2010) | |
 FBK Kaunas |
1 (2006) | |
| Belarus Minsk |
1 (1993) | |
| Neftchi Fergana |
1 (1994) | |
| Alania Vladikavkaz |
1 (1996) | |
| Zimbru Chişinău |
1 (2000) | |
| FK Ventspils |
1 (2007) | |
| Shakhtsyor Salihorsk |
1 (2011) | |
| Belarus |
1 (2012) | |
| Finland |
1 (2015) | |
| Moldova |
1 (2016) |
Performances by country the clubs came from
| Country | Titles | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Russia |
11 | 5 |
| Ukraine |
5 | 2 |
| Azerbaijan |
3 | 1 |
| Moldova |
2 | 2 |
| Uzbekistan |
1 | 2 |
| Georgia |
1 | 1 |
| South Africa |
1 | |
| Latvia |
4 | |
| Belarus |
3 | |
| Kazakhstan |
2 | |
| Lithuania |
1 | |
| Finland |
1 | |
Records
- The biggest victory ever in the tournament took place in the 1998, when Spartak Moscow (Russia) beat Vakhsh Qurghonteppa (Tajikistan) 19-0.[10][16]
- The player holding a record of appearances in the tournament is Mihails Zemļinskis from FC Skonto Riga who appeared 46 times in the tournament.[10]
- The record for most titles won by a player is four and it is held by Oleksandr Holovko from Dynamo Kyiv and Dmitri Khlestov from Spartak Moscow.[10]
- The biggest number for a team to win the cup in a row is three, and the teams who have done it where Spartak Moscow (Russia, twice. in 1993, 1994, 1995, and in 1999, 2000, 2001) and Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine. 1996, 1997, 1998).
See also
References
- ↑ Немножко мертвый — Футбол на Soccer.ru (rus.)
- ↑ Взгляд. Хотели "Динамо"? Получите! (rus.)
- ↑ Новости NEWSru.com :: Газзаев доволен игрой дублеров ЦСКА на Кубке Содружества
- ↑ (Russian) На Кубок чемпионов содружества стран СНГ и Балтии может выйти дубль «Зенита» - Новости Санкт-Петербурга - Фонтанка.Ру
- ↑ Новости NEWSru.com :: "Шахтер" все-таки приедет на Кубок Содружества
- ↑ Новости NEWSru.com :: Скандал на Кубке Содружества: чемпионы Армении отказались играть с азербайджанцами
- ↑ Новости NEWSru.com :: Виталий Мутко намерен реформировать Кубок Содружества
- ↑ Новости NEWSru.com :: На открытие Кубка Содружества приедут Блаттер и Платини
- ↑ http://www.the-afc.com/en/afc-champions-league-2009/25791-scolari-skips-cis-cup-to-focus-on-acl Scolari skips CIS Cup to focus on ACL
- 1 2 3 4 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup - Trivia
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 1993
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 1994
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 1995
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 1996
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 1997
- 1 2 Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 1998
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 1999
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2000
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2001
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2002
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2003
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2004
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2005
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2006
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2007
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2008
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2009
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2010
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2011
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2012
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2013
- ↑ Commonwealth of Independent States Cup 2014
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commonwealth of Independent States Cup. |
- Official Website
- Official Statistics and Information About The Tournament From The Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation
- A fan site. Contains information only since 1999
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