CFS Zimbru encyclopedia topics

The name of the club means "wisent" in Romanian. The club was previously known as Dynamo (1947-1949), Burevestnik (1950-1957), Moldova (1958-1965, 1967-1971), Avîntul (1966), and Nistru (1972-1990).

Soviet era

After the foundation Dynamo played in the class B of Soviet football. The promotion was won by Burevestnik in 1955, and in 1956 they achieved the best result in the club's history, finishing sixth in class A. After staying in the bottom of the table for several seasons, Moldova were relegated in 1964.

The team spent some time in the First League with mixed results, from fighting against relegation in 1971 to mid-table performance to winning promotion to the Top League in 1973 and 1982. Nistru went straight back down after one season on both occasions.

After relegation in 1986, Nistru spent 1987 and 1988 seasons in the Second League, winning the regional tournament on both occasions, but winning promotion only in 1988. They returned to the First League and played there until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The best achievement of the club in the Soviet Cup was a quarterfinal in 1963.

Moldovan era

Zimbru were the dominant force in the Moldovan football of the 1990s, winning eight Divizia Naţională championships in nine seasons. Since 2001 all the Moldovan championships were won by its main rival, FC Sheriff Tiraspol. Zimbru has been a runner-up in the Divizia Naţională in 1997, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, and third in 2002 and 2004.

Zimbru have won the Moldavian Cup five times and were the losing finalists twice, in 1995 and 2000.

Internationally, Zimbru's best performance in the UEFA Cup was in 1995/96, when they reached the second round proper. They have also reached the third qualifying round of the Champions League twice, in 1999/2000 and 2000/01.