FC Spartak Moscow (Russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Москва, romanized: Futbolʹnyy klub «Spartak» Moskva, pronounced [spɐrˈtak mɐˈskva]) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships (second only to Dynamo Kyiv) and 10 Russian championships (a record jointly held with Zenit St Petersburg), it is the country's most successful club. They have also won a record 10 Soviet Cups, 4 Russian Cups and one Russian Super Cup. Spartak have also reached the semi-finals of UEFA Europa League, UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup.
| Full name | Футбольный клуб Спартак Москва (Football Club Spartak Moscow) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Gladiatory (Gladiators) Narodnaya komanda (The People's Team) Krasno-Belye (Red-and-Whites) Myasniye (The Meat) | |||
| Founded | 18 April 1922 | |||
| Ground | Lukoil Arena | |||
| Capacity | 45,360 | |||
| Owner | Lukoil | |||
| Manager | Vadim Romanov (caretaker) | |||
| League | Russian Premier League | |||
| 2024–25 | Russian Premier League, 4th of 16 | |||
| Website | spartak | |||
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| Current season | ||||
History
Foundation and early period (1883–1941)
In the early days of Soviet football, government agencies such as the police, army, and railroads created their own clubs. Many statesmen saw in the wins of their teams the superiority over the opponents patronising other teams. Almost all the teams had such kind of patrons; Dynamo Moscow aligned with the Militsiya, CSKA Moscow with the Red Army, and Spartak, created by a trade union public organization, was considered to be "the people's team".[citation needed]
The history of the football club and sports society "Spartak" originates from the Russian Gymnastics Society (RGO Sokol), which was founded on 16 May 1883. The society was founded under the influence of the Pan-Slavic "Sokol movement" with the aim of promoting the "Sokolsk gymnastics" and then sports including fencing, wrestling, figure skating, skating, football, hockey, lawn tennis, boxing, skis, athletics, and cycling. In the RGO Sokol began to play football in the summer of 1897; the professional football section was founded in the spring of 1909. On 1 August 1920, the football team began to officially act under the name MCS, or Moscow Sports Club.[citation needed]
In 1923, the MCS, later named Krasnaya Presnya (Red Presnya), was formed by Ivan Artemyev and involved Nikolai Starostin, especially in its football team. Presnya is a district of Moscow renowned for the radical politics of its inhabitants; for example, it represented the centre of the Moscow uprising of 1905.[citation needed]
The team grew, building a stadium, supporting itself from ticket sales and playing matches across the Russian SFSR. As part of a 1926 reorganization of football in the Soviet Union, Starostin arranged for the club to be sponsored by the food workers union and the club moved to the 13,000 seat Tomsky Stadium, known as Pishcheviki. The team changed sponsors repeatedly over the following years as it competed with Dinamo Moscow, whose 35,000 seat Dynamo Stadium lay close by.[citation needed]
As a high-profile sportsman, Starostin came into close contact with Alexander Kosarev, secretary of the Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth) who already had a strong influence on sport and wanted to extend it. In November 1934, with funding from Promkooperatsiia, Kosarev employed Starostin and his brothers to develop his team to make it more powerful. Again the team changed its name, this time to "Spartak Moscow" (the name Spartak means "Spartacus", a gladiator who led an uprising against Ancient Rome).[citation needed]
The club founders, four Starostin brothers, played a big role in the formation of the team. The Starostins played for the red-whites in the 1930s but right before World War II they were subjected to repression as the leaders of the most hated[clarification needed] team by the state authorities. Elder brother Nikolai Starostin wrote in his books that he had survived in the State Prison System due to his participation in football and with Spartak (after the political rehabilitation, in 1954, he would later return to the team as the squad's manager).[citation needed]
In 1935, Starostin proposed the name Spartak. It was inspired by the Italian novel Spartaco, written by Raffaello Giovagnoli, and means Spartacus ("Spartak" in Russian), a gladiator-slave who led a rebellion against Rome. Starostin is also credited with the creation of the Spartak logo. The same year, the club became a part of newly created Spartak sports society.[citation needed]
Czechoslovak manager Antonin Fivebr is credited as the first head coach of Spartak, though he worked as a consultant in several clubs simultaneously. In 1936, the Soviet Top League was established, where its first championship was won by Dynamo Moscow while Spartak won its second, which was held in the same calendar year. Before World War II, Spartak earned two more titles. In 1937, Spartak won the football tournament of Workers' Olympiad at Antwerp.
Post-war period (1945–1991)
During the 1950s, Spartak, together with Dynamo, dominated the Soviet Top League. When the Soviet national team won gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics, it consisted largely of Spartak players. Spartak captain Igor Netto was the captain of the national team from 1954 to 1963. In the 1960s, Spartak won two league titles, but by the mid-1960s, Spartak was no more regarded as a leading Soviet club. The club was even less successful in the 1970s and in 1976 Spartak was relegated into the lower league.[citation needed]
The following season in 1979, fans stayed with the team despite being relegated to the lower division, keeping the stadium full. Konstantin Beskov became the head coach. He had made his name playing for Spartak's main rivals, Dynamo Moscow). He introduced several young players, including Rinat Dasayev and Georgi Yartsev. Spartak returned the following season and won the title in 1979, beating Dynamo Kyiv.[citation needed]
On 20 October 1982, disaster struck during the UEFA Cup match between Spartak and Dutch club HFC Haarlem. Sixty-six people died in a crowd crush during the match, making it Russia's worst sporting disaster.[citation needed]
In 1989, Spartak won its last USSR Championship, rivals Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 in the closing round. Spartak's striker Valery Shmarov scored the "golden" free kick with almost no time left. The next season, Spartak reached the European Cup semi-final, consequently eliminating Napoli on penalties and Real Madrid (with 3–1 away victory), but losing to Marseille.[citation needed]
Modern period (1991–present)
Initial success (1991–2004)
A new page in the club's history began when the Soviet Union collapsed and its championship ceased to exist. In the newly created Russian league, Spartak, led by coach and president Oleg Romantsev, dominated and won all but one title between 1992 and 2001. Season after season the team also represented Russia in the Champions League.[citation needed]
Problems began in the new century, however. Several charismatic players (Ilya Tsymbalar and Andrey Tikhonov among others) left the club as a result of conflict with Romantsev. Later, Romantsev sold his stock to oil magnate Andrei Chervichenko, who in 2003 became the club president. The two were soon embroiled in a row that would continue until Romantsev was sacked in 2003 with the club suffering several sub-par seasons until Chervichenko finally sold his stock in 2004. The new ownership made a number of front office changes with the aim of returning the team to the top of the Russian Premier League.
Spartak has been entitled to place a golden star on its badge since 2003 to commemorate winning five Russian championships in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997. They have won the championship another four times since 1997.
Title-less run (2004–2016)
In 2004, Leonid Fedun became the club's President and second-largest shareholder behind his business partner Vagit Alekperov.
In the 2005 season, Spartak, led by Aleksandrs Starkovs, finished second in the league to beat Lokomotiv Moscow, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Rubin Kazan to the last Champions League place.[citation needed] Following a mixed start to the 2006 season and public criticism from Dmitry Alenichev, the team's captain and one of its most experienced players, Starkovs left his position to Vladimir Fedotov.[citation needed]
In the 2012–13 season, Spartak qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League group stage and finished last after disappointing performances against FC Barcelona, Celtic and Benfica. In the league, Spartak finished in fourth place while in the cup it was eliminated in the round of 16 by FC Rostov 0–0 (3–5 p), completing a disappointing season.
Since 2013, the club have added another three stars as rules allowed teams to include titles won during the Soviet era.
The next 3 seasons (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16) were somewhat similar as Spartak finished 6th, 6th and 5th accordingly while the club did not qualify for European Competitions.[citation needed]
Revival (2016–2022)
By the beginning of the 2016–17 season, under ex-Juventus manager Massimo Carrera, Spartak had acquired a squad consisting of foreign talents such as Quincy Promes, Fernando, Zé Luís, Lorenzo Melgarejo and Russians such as Denis Glushakov, Roman Zobnin and Ilya Kutepov. Spartak won the 2016–17 Russian Premier League with the squad, winning most derbies and ultimately finishing with a difference of 7 points.
The following season, Spartak participated in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage. Despite suffering its greatest ever loss in a 7-0 result against Liverpool F.C. at Anfield, the club achieved considerable victories, including a 5-1 win against Sevilla FC.
Having finished second 2020-21 Russian Premier League under manager Domenico Tedesco, whose contract expired at the season's end, Spartak followed up with a successful run in the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League, now led by Rui Vitoria. Spartak topped its group, which included Napoli (which it defeated both home and away), Leicester City and Legia Warsaw. It was set to face RB Leipzig in the round of 16, but the club - along with all Russian club and national teams - was suspended from FIFA, UEFA and the ECA until further notice due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the clubs continued to play with themselves.
On 29 May 2022, in the final match of Paolo Vanoli (manager since December 2021), Spartak won the 2021–22 Russian Cup.
New ownership (2022–present)
On August 22, 2022, PJSC Lukoil Oil Company announced the acquisition of Spartak Moscow and Otkritie Arena. This occurred after numerous changes at the club, such as the appointment of Spanish specialist Guillermo Abascal as manager, his assistants Carlos Maria Valle Moreno and Vladimir Slišković, physical training coaches Fernando Perez Lopez and Alexander Zaichenko, and goalkeeper coach Vasily Kuznetsov. At 33 years of age, Abascal became the youngest manager in the club's history. It was also reported that Leonid Fedun has resigned as President of the club and member of the board of directors. Under his leadership of more than 18 years, he left behind a mixed legacy. The club had won only a single Russian league, cup and supercup. Second place in the league was achieved six times, and four times the club head reached the group stage of the Champions League. A stadium solely for the use of the club was built for the first time. On September 26, 2022 Alexander Matytsyn, first vice president of Lukoil, became chairman of the board of directors of FC Spartak. Lukoil's top managers Pavel Zhdanov, Ivan Maslyaev, and Yevgeny Khavkin joined the board of directors, as did Spartak's general director Yevgeny Melezhikov (left the club in the summer of 2023), academy president Sergei Rodionov, as well as independent directors Oleg Malyshev and Yusuf Alekperov. Englishman Paul Ashworth was appointed sporting director. In December 2023, it was announced that the club was reviving a second team, closed in 2022 due to lack of funding. It will be entered in the second league.
Honours
Domestic competitions
- Soviet Top League/Russian Premier League
- Champions (22) (record): 1936 (autumn), 1938, 1939, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1969, 1979, 1987, 1989 / 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2016–17
- Runners-up (18): 1937, 1954, 1955, 1963, 1968, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011–12, 2020–21
- Soviet Cup/Russian Cup
- Winners (14) (record): 1938, 1939, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1958, 1963, 1965, 1971, 1992, 1993–94, 1997–98, 2002–03, 2021–22
- Runners-up (7): 1948, 1952, 1957, 1972, 1981, 1995–96, 2005–06
- Russian Super Cup
- Winners: 2017
- Runners-up (4): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2022
- Soviet First League
- Champions: 1977
- USSR Federation Cup
- Winners: 1987
International
- Commonwealth of Independent States Cup
- Winners (6): 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001
- Runners-up: 1997, 1998, 2002
Non-official
- Match Premier Cup
- Winners: 2019, 2020, 2021
- Ciutat de Barcelona Trophy
- Winners: 1982
- Copa del Sol
- Winners: 2012
European record
Notable European campaigns
| Season | Achievement | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Cup / UEFA Champions League | |||
| 1980–81 | Quarter-final | eliminated by Real Madrid 0–0 in Tbilisi, 0–2 in Madrid | |
| 1990–91 | Semi-final | eliminated by Marseille 1–3 in Moscow, 1–2 in Marseille | |
| 1993–94 | Group stage | finished third in a group with Barcelona, AS Monaco and Galatasaray | |
| 1995–96 | Quarter-final | eliminated by Nantes 2–2 in Moscow, 0–2 in Nantes | |
| 2000–01 | Second group stage | finished fourth in a group with Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Lyon | |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | |||
| 1972–73 | Quarter-final | eliminated by Milan 0–1 in Moscow, 1–1 in Milan | |
| 1992–93 | Semi-final | eliminated by Antwerp 1–0 in Moscow, 1–3 in Antwerp | |
| UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | |||
| 1983–84 | Quarter-final | eliminated by Anderlecht 2–4 in Brussels, 1–0 in Tbilisi | |
| 1997–98 | Semi-final | eliminated by Internazionale 1–2 in Moscow, 1–2 in Milan | |
| 2010–11 | Quarter-final | eliminated by Porto 1–5 in Porto, 2–5 in Moscow | |
UEFA club competition record
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 122 | 40 | 31 | 51 | 173 | 189 | −16 | 32.79 |
| UEFA Europa League | 114 | 59 | 22 | 33 | 180 | 138 | +42 | 51.75 |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 17 | +14 | 55.56 |
| Total | 254 | 109 | 57 | 88 | 382 | 341 | +41 | 42.91 |
UEFA coefficient
Correct as of 21 May 2025.
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 135 | HNK Rijeka | 12.000 |
| 136 | FK Žalgiris | 12.000 |
| 137 | FC Spartak Moscow | 12.000 |
| 138 | Heart of Midlothian F.C. | 11.500 |
| 139 | Servette FC | 11.500 |
League history
Soviet Union
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Top scorer (league) Manager/acting manager 1936 (s) 1st 3 6 3 1 2 12 7 13 - - Glazkov – 4 Kozlov 1936 (a) 1 7 4 2 1 19 10 17 QF - Glazkov – 7 1937 2 16 8 5 3 24 16 37 R16 - Rumyantsev – 8 Kvashnin 1938 1 25 18 3 4 74 19 39 W - Sokolov – 18 Kvashnin
P.Popov1939 26 14 9 3 58 23 37 - Semyonov – 18 P.Popov 1940 3 24 13 5 6 54 35 31 - - Semyonov – 13
Kornilov – 13Gorokhov 1944 no league competition SF - - Kvashnin 1945 10 22 6 3 13 22 44 15 R16 - Timakov – 7 Isakov
Vollrat1946 6 22 8 5 9 38 40 21 W - Salnikov – 9 Vollrat 1947 8 24 6 9 9 34 26 21 W - Dementyev – 9 1948 3 26 18 1 7 64 34 37 RU - Konov – 15 Kvashnin 1949 3 34 21 7 6 93 43 49 SF - Simonyan – 26 Dangulov 1950 5 36 17 10 9 77 40 44 W - Simonyan – 34 1951 6 28 13 5 10 50 35 31 QF - Simonyan – 10 Dangulov
Gorokhov
Glazkov1952 1 13 9 2 2 26 12 20 RU - Paramonov – 8 Sokolov 1953 20 11 7 2 47 15 29 QF - Simonyan – 14 1954 2 24 14 3 7 49 26 31 R16 - Ilyin – 11 1955 22 15 3 4 55 27 33 SF - Parshin – 13 Gulyaev 1956 1 22 15 4 3 68 28 34 - - Simonyan – 16 1957 3 22 11 6 5 43 28 28 RU - Simonyan – 12 1958 1 22 13 6 3 55 28 32 W - Ilyin – 19 1959 6 22 8 8 6 32 28 24 - - Isaev – 8 1960 7 30 15 7 8 52 32 37 R16 - Ilyin – 13 Simonyan 1961 3 30 16 8 6 57 34 40 R16 - Khusainov – 14 1962 1 32 21 5 6 61 25 47 R16 - Sevidov – 16 1963 2 38 22 8 8 65 33 52 W - Sevidov – 15 1964 8 32 12 8 12 34 32 32 SF - Sevidov – 6 1965 8 32 10 12 10 28 26 32 W - Khusainov – 5
Reingold – 51966 4 36 15 12 9 45 41 42 QF - Osyanin – 15 Gulyaev 1967 7 36 13 14 9 38 30 40 R32 CWC R16 Khusainov – 8 Salnikov
Simonyan1968 2 38 21 10 7 64 43 52 R32 - Khusainov – 14 Simonyan 1969 1 32 24 6 2 51 15 54 R32 - Osyanin – 16 1970 3 32 12 14 6 43 25 38 QF - Khusainov – 12 1971 6 30 9 13 8 35 31 31 W ECC R32 Kiselyov – 5
Silagadze – 5
Piskarev – 51972 11 30 8 10 12 29 30 26 RU UC Papaev – 4
Andreev – 4
Piskarev – 41973 4 30 14 8 8 37 28 31 QF CWC QF Piskarev – 12 Gulyaev 1974 2 30 15 9 6 41 23 39 QF - Piskarev – 10 1975 10 30 9 10 11 27 30 28 R16 UC R64 Lovchev – 8 1976 (s) 14 15 4 2 9 10 18 10 - UC R16 Pilipko – 2
Lovchev – 2
Bulgakov – 2Krutikov 1976 (a) 15 15 5 3 7 15 18 13 R32 - Bulgakov – 6 1977 2nd 1 38 22 10 6 83 42 54 R16 - Yartsev – 17 Beskov 1978 1st 5 30 14 5 11 42 33 33 R16 - Yartsev – 19 1979 1 34 21 10 3 66 25 50 Qual. - Yartsev – 14 1980 2 34 18 9 7 49 26 45 SF - Rodionov – 7 1981 34 19 8 7 70 40 46 RU ECC QF Gavrilov – 21 1982 3 34 16 9 9 59 35 41 Qual. UC R32 Shavlo – 11 1983 2 34 18 9 7 60 25 45 R16 UC R16 Gavrilov – 18 1984 34 18 9 7 53 29 45 QF UC QF Rodionov – 13 1985 34 18 10 6 72 28 46 R16 UC R16 Rodionov – 14 1986 3 30 14 9 7 52 21 37 SF UC Rodionov – 17 1987 1 30 16 11 3 49 26 42 R16 UC Rodionov – 12
Cherenkov – 121988 4 30 14 11 5 40 26 39 QF UC R32 Rodionov – 12 1989 1 30 17 10 3 49 19 44 QF ECC R16 Rodionov – 16 Romantsev 1990 5 24 12 5 7 39 26 29 R16 UC R32 Shmarov – 12 1991 2 30 17 7 6 57 30 41 QF ECC SF Mostovoi – 13
Radchenko – 131992 - - W UC R32 - Romantsev
Russia
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Top scorer (league) Manager/acting manager 1992 1st 1 26 18 7 1 62 19 43 - - Radchenko – 12 Romantsev 1993 34 21 11 2 81 18 53 R32 CWC SF Beschastnykh – 18 1994 30 21 8 1 73 21 50 W UCL GS Beschastnykh – 10 1995 3 30 19 7 5 76 26 63 SF UCL GS Shmarov – 16 1996 1 35 22 9 4 72 35 75 RU UCL QF Tikhonov – 16 Yartsev 1997 34 22 7 5 67 30 73 QF UC R32 Kechinov – 11 Romantsev 1998 30 17 8 5 58 27 59 W UCL
UCQual.
SFTsymbalar – 10 1999 30 22 6 2 75 24 72 R32 UCL GS Tikhonov – 19 2000 30 23 1 6 69 30 70 SF UCL
UCGS
R32Titov – 13 2001 30 17 9 4 56 30 60 QF UCL 2nd GS Titov – 11
Robson – 112002 3 30 16 7 7 49 36 55 R32 UCL GS Beschastnykh – 12 2003 10 30 10 6 14 38 48 36 W UCL Pavlyuchenko – 10 Romantsev
Chernyshov
Fedotov
Scala2004 8 30 11 7 12 43 44 40 R32 UC
UICR16
QFScala
Starkov2005 2 30 16 8 6 47 26 56 R32 - Pavlyuchenko – 11 Starkov 2006 30 15 13 2 60 36 58 RU - Pavlyuchenko – 18 Starkov
Fedotov2007 30 17 8 5 50 30 59 SF UCL
UCGS
R32Pavlyuchenko – 14 Fedotov
Cherchesov2008 8 30 11 11 8 43 39 44 R32 UCL
UCQual.
R32Bazhenov – 6
Pavlyuchenko – 6
Pavlenko – 6
Welliton – 6Cherchesov
M. Laudrup2009 2 30 17 4 9 61 33 55 QF - Welliton – 21 M. Laudrup
Karpin2010 4 30 13 10 7 43 33 10 R16 UCL
UCQual.
GSWelliton – 19 Karpin 2011–12 2 44 21 12 11 68 48 75 R16 UC Qual Emenike – 13 2012–13 4 30 15 6 9 51 39 51 R16 UCL GS Y. Movsisyan – 13 Emery
Karpin2013–14 6 30 15 5 10 46 36 50 R16 UC Qual Y. Movsisyan – 16 Karpin
Gunko2014–15 30 12 8 10 42 42 44 R16 - Promes – 13 Yakin 2015–16 5 30 15 5 10 48 39 50 R16 - Promes – 18 Alenichev 2016–17 1 30 22 3 5 46 27 69 R32 UC Qual Promes – 11 Alenichev
Carrera2017–18 3 30 16 8 6 51 32 56 SF UCL GS Promes – 15 Carrera 2018–19 5 30 14 7 9 36 31 49 QF UCL
UELQual.
GSZé Luís – 10 Carrera
Kononov2019–20 7 30 11 6 13 35 33 39 QF UEL Qual. A.Sobolev – 12 Kononov
Tedesco2020–21 2 30 17 6 7 52 34 57 R16 - Larsson – 15 Tedesco 2021–22 10 30 10 8 12 16 19 38 W UEL R16 A.Sobolev – 9 Rui Vitoria
Vanoli
Notes
- Spartak Moscow had qualified for the round of 16 as a group winner, but were disqualified from the competition before playing that round due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Top goalscorers
- As of match played 12 November 2022
| Name | Years | League | Russian Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikita Simonyan | 1949–1959 | 133 (233) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 133 (233) |
| 2 | Sergey Rodionov | 1979–1990 1993–1995 | 124 (303) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 124 (303) |
| 3 | Galimzyan Khusainov | 1961–1973 | 102 (350) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 102 (350) |
| 4 | Yegor Titov | 1995–2008 | 86 (324) | 3 (42) | 15 (77) | 1 (2) | 105 (445) |
| 5 | Quincy Promes | 2014–2018 2021–Present | 80 (164) | 10 (15) | 5 (17) | 1 (2) | 98 (198) |
| 6 | Fyodor Cherenkov | 1977–1990 1991–1993 | 95 (398) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 95 (398) |
| 7 | Andrey Tikhonov | 1992–2000 2011 | 68 (192) | 4 (20) | 18 (51) | - (-) | 90 (263) |
| 8 | Yuri Gavrilov | 1977–1985 | 89 (280) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 89 (280) |
| 8 | Roman Pavlyuchenko | 2003–2008 | 69 (141) | 4 (17) | 14 (28) | 2 (3) | 89 (189) |
| 10 | Anatoli Ilyin | 1949–1962 | 83 (224) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 83 (224) |
| 11 | Yury Sevidov | 1960–1965 | 71 (146) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 71 (146) |
| 12 | Vladimir Beschastnykh | 1991–1994 2001–2002 | 56 (104) | 6 (11) | 5 (28) | - (-) | 67 (143) |
| 13 | Sergei Salnikov | 1942–1943 1946–1949 1955–1960 | 64 (201) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 64 (201) |
| 14 | Aleksei Paramonov | 1947–1959 | 63 (264) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 63 (264) |
| 15 | Welliton | 2007–2014 | 57 (126) | 2 (6) | 1 (15) | - (-) | 60 (147) |
| 16 | Georgi Yartsev | 1977–1980 | 55 (116) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 55 (116) |
| 17 | Anatoli Isayev | 1953–1962 | 54 (159) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 54 (159) |
| 17 | Valeri Shmarov | 1987–1991 | 54 (143) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 54 (143) |
| 19 | Nikolai Osyanin | 1966–1971 1974–1976 | 50 (248) | ? (?) | ? (?) | ? (?) | 50 (248) |
Nickname
The team is usually called "red-and-whites," but among the fans "The Meat" (Russian: "Мясо", "Myaso") is a very popular nickname. The origins of the nickname belong to the days of the foundation of the club; in the 1920s, the team was renamed several times, from "Moscow Sports Club" to "Red Presnya" (after the name of one of the districts of Moscow) to "Pishcheviki" ("Food industry workers") to "Promkooperatsiya" ("Industrial cooperation") and finally to "Spartak Moscow" in 1935, and for many years the team was under patronage of one of the Moscow food factories that dealt with meat products.
One of the most popular slogans among both fans and players is: "Who are we? We're The Meat!" (Russian: "Кто мы? Мясо!", "Kto my? Myaso!")
Ownerships, kits and crests
FC Spartak Moscow's main colour is red. In 2014, Nike unveiled kit inspired by the club's new home.
Owners, kit suppliers and shirt sponsors
| Period | Kit supplier | Shirt sponsor | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979–1987 | Adidas | — | Spartak society |
| 1988 | Danieli | ||
| 1989 | JINDO | ||
| 1990–1993 | Unipack | ||
| 1994–1996 | Urengoygazprom | Oleg Romantsev | |
| 1997–1998 | Akai | ||
| 1999 | — | ||
| 2000–2002 | Lukoil | Andrey Chervichenko | |
| 2003–2004 | Umbro | Leonid Fedun | |
| 2005–2023 | Nike | ||
| 2023–2024 | Wildberries | Lukoil | |
| 2024–present | Jögel |
Rival teams and friendships
At present, Spartak's archrival is CSKA Moscow, although this is a relatively recent rivalry that has only emerged after the collapse of the USSR. Seven of ten matches with the largest audience in Russian Premier League (including top three) were Spartak-CSKA derbies. Historically, the most celebrated rivalry is with Dynamo Moscow, a fiercely contested matchup which is Russia's oldest derby. Matches against Lokomotiv Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg attract thousands of people as well, almost always resulting in packed stadia. Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union, Spartak's rivalry with Dynamo Kyiv, one of the leaders of the USSR championship, was lost. Since Dynamo Kyiv now plays in the Ukrainian Premier League, both teams must qualify for UEFA tournaments to meet each other.
Since the mid-2000s the supporters of Spartak maintain brotherhood relations with Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) and Olympiacos ultras – a friendship based on common Orthodox faith and same club colours. Also fans of Spartak have generally friendly relationships with Torpedo Moscow supporters, and of supporters of Polish club Lech Poznań.
Stadium
Until 2014, Spartak had never had its own stadium, with the team historically playing in various Moscow stadia throughout its history, even once playing an exhibition match in Red Square. The team played home games at various Moscow stadiums – especially at the Locomotiv and Luzhniki stadiums. After the purchase of the club by Andrei Chervichenko in the early 2000s, several statements were made about the speedy construction of the stadium, but construction did not begin.
After a controlling stake in the club was bought by Leonid Fedun, real steps were taken to promote the stadium project, and in 2006, the Government of Moscow allocated land at Tushino Aeropol at a size of 28.3 hectares for the construction of the stadium. The project involved the main arena of 42,000 people with natural lawn, sports, and an entertainment hall for tennis, handball, basketball and volleyball for 12,000 spectators. The ceremony of laying the first stone took place on 2 June 2007.
In February 2013, it was announced that as a result of a sponsorship deal with Otkritie FC Bank ("Discovery"), the stadium will be called Otkritie Arena for 6 years. The opening match at the new stadium took place on 5 September 2014, when Spartak drew with the Serbian side Red Star Belgrade (1-1). The first competitive match took place on 14 September 2014, in which Spartak defeated Torpedo Moscow 3–1 in the 7th round of the championship.
Players
Current squad
- As of 9 September 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Other players under contract
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries, or held any club record. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Spartak. For further list, see List of FC Spartak Moscow players.
Staff
- Owner: Vagit Alekperov, Leonid Fedun
- Managing Director: Yevgeni Melezhikov
- Director of Sports: Francis Cagigao
- Caretaker head coach: Vladimir Slišković
- Assistant coach: Carlos Valle
- Goalkeeping coach: Vasili Kuznetsov
- Physical coach: Fernando Perez Lopez
- Reserves team head coach: Aleksei Lunin
- Reserves team assistant coach: Aleksei Melyoshin
- Reserves team goalkeeping coach: Vasili Kuznetsov
Coaches
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