Ground Capacity 32,464 Website Club home page Head coach Marat Dzoblayev Director Yuri Sekinayev | 2015–16 11th (FC Alania) Manager Valery Gazzaev Location Vladikavkaz, Russia | |
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Nickname(s) Ossetian: Allon Franktæ,
Russian: Alanskiye Barsy (Alanian Snow Leopards) Founded 1921; 96 years ago (1921) Ground Republican Spartak Stadium,
Vladikavkaz Arena/Stadium Republican Spartak Stadium Leagues Russian Football National League, Russian Professional Football League Profiles | ||
FC Spartak Vladikavkaz (Russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Владикавказ, Ossetian: Футболон клуб "Алани") is a Russian football club based in Vladikavkaz (formerly Ordzhonikidze), North Ossetia–Alania. Founded in 1921, the club played in the Soviet Top League during the communist era, and won its first and only league title in the 1995 Russian Top League.
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Before the 2016–17 season, FC Alania Vladikavkaz that participated in the third-tier Russian Professional Football League was dissolved and a formally new club called FC Spartak was organized again and registered for PFL. PFL did not allow the club to register with 'Alania' in their name due to accumulated debts for the club of that name.
History
At the collapse of the Soviet Union, Spartak Vladikavkaz were the only non-Muscovite Russian club competing in the old Soviet Top League. This had been their second and last season in the STL. Before that the only other season they competed in the top Soviet division was in 1970.
Their most successful season was 1995 when they managed to win the Russian Premier League champions title after several years of domination by Spartak Moscow. The team had previously won a silver medal for second place in 1992 and 1996. However, in the qualification stages of the UEFA Champions League Alania lost 10–3 on aggregate to the Scottish club Rangers.
However, after departure of manager Valery Gazzaev and several players from the club, Alania were not able to repeat its success, finishing in the bottom half of the table.
Previously, the club was known as Spartak Ordzhonikidze (1937–1990), Spartak Vladikavkaz (1990–1994, 2006 and from 2016), Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz (1995–1996 and 2003), Alania Vladikavkaz (1997–2002, 2004–2005 and from 2007 to 2016).
In season 2005 Alania was relegated from Russian Premier League after 15 seasons of top-flight football.
On 14 February 2006 Alania and another First Division club, Lokomotiv Chita, were denied professional licences by Professional Football League and excluded from professional football for juridical irregularities. On 22 February PFL decided to replace Alania and Lokomotiv with Lada Togliatti and Mashuk-KMV Pyatigorsk, the runners-up in the Second Division. The Russian Football Union did not endorse the exclusion and on 28 February decided to keep Alania and Lokomotiv in the First Division, giving them another chance to fulfill the league requirements. Consequently, on 6 March PFL decided to extend the First Division from 22 to 24 clubs, including Alania, Lokomotiv, Lada, and Mashuk-KMV.
However, on 20 March the Russian Football Union finally decided to exclude Alania and Lokomotiv from the league. This decision was announced by the Professional Football League on 21 March, five days before the start of the First Division.
Alania underwent reorganization, were renamed Spartak Vladikavkaz and on 4 April were admitted into the Russian Second Division, South zone.
After finishing first in the South Zone of 2nd division in the 2006 the team was promoted to Russian First Division and again renamed to Alania.
In 2009, Alania achieved 3rd place in the Russian First Division, just below the nominal promotion places. However, due to FC Moscow being expelled from the Russian Premier League, Alania were chosen to take their place. Their season back in the top flight was not successful and only Sibir Novosibirsk finished below them, thus going back to the First Division; despite the subsequent withdrawal of Amkar Perm and Saturn Moscow Oblast, Alania was refused a reprieve by the RPL.
In the spring of 2011, Alania qualified for the final of the 2010–11 Russian Cup, where it met PFC CSKA Moscow. CSKA already qualified for the UEFA Champions League spot, and therefore Alania secured a spot in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League regardless of the final result. That is the second occasion in Russian football history when a second-level division team qualified for European competition (the first one was FC Terek Grozny). Alania achieved a rare feat of reaching the cup final without scoring a single regular-time goal. On three occasions they won a penalty shootout after playing the game with a score of 0–0 and once they received a bye after their opponent team went bankrupt.
In February 2014, Alania pulled out of the 2013–14 Russia First Division, due to financial liquidation and sponsorship problems, and the club was dissolved. Before the 2014–15 season, former Alania's farm club, FC Alania-d Vladikavkaz, was renamed to Alania, and this club participated in the Russian Professional Football League from the 2014–15 season.
Before the 2016–17 season, FC Alania was dissolved and a formally new club called FC Spartak was organized again. Russian Professional Football League did not allow the club to register with 'Alania' in their name due to accumulated debts for the club of that name.
Current squad
As of 24 February 2017, according to the PFL website.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.