FC Sheriff Tiraspol stormed their way onto the footballing stage in 2021 when they beat one of European football's biggest tyrants - Real Madrid - by two goals to one in a smash and grab fashion. These winning ways emulate the side's quality as they continue to cruise through the Moldovian National Division with ease. With a squad that reflects many diverse nationalities, some of the locals identify themselves as more Russian than Moldovan. This may provide reasoning as to why they have had the backing of an ex-KGB agent in their short 24 year existence. 

Formed in 1997 - FC Sheriff is a relatively new club and they play their games in the unrecognised state of Transnistria, Tiraspol. Formerly FC Tiras Tiraspol, ex-secret service agent Victor Gusan renamed the club FC Sheriff Tiraspol soon after its inception. Also known as the Wasps, Sheriff were introduced to their first domestic competition in the Moldovan “B” Division, securing promotion in their first season. The following season showed that the Moldovan “A” Division was not a difficult task for the Wasps, who won the championship by a margin of 14 points. Now the team competes in the Divizia Națională and their debut season saw them win their first major honor with the Moldovan Cup in 1999, beating Constructorul Chișinău (now FC Tiraspol) 2-1 in extra time. However, this was a mere consolation after missing out on the league title to Zimbru Chișinău. 

It only took FC Sheriff one more season to clinch their first title, which came in the 2000/01 campaign and along with this, they still managed to retain their Moldovan Cup title. They would continue this success for the next ten years where they dominated the league each season, as well as winning the Moldovan Cup in 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. FC Sheriff were granted the Moldovan Super Cup by default on four occasions, due to winning both the League and the League Cup. The 2010/11 season proved that they weren't quite invincible as they were denied an 11th straight league title by Dacia Chișinău. Nevertheless, on September 28th 2021, FC Sheriff Tireaspol moved up the UEFA Club Coefficient Rankings from 108th to 58th after beating Real Madrid & Shakhtar Donetsk in their debut Champions League campaign, a competition in which they failed to make the group stages in 2000/01, 2008/09 and 2010/11. In this time, FC Sheriff had qualified for the Europa League group stage on four occasions, however they never made it to the knockout rounds due to finishing third in their group in 2010/11, 2013/14 and 2017/18.

At the time of the Soviet Union, nationalism was on the rise through the late 1980’s, leading to the Moldovian SSR (modern day Moldova) declaring Moldavia as the only official language within the country. At the time Moldova was made up of 26% Russian’s and 28% Ukranian’s - leading to tensions surrounding national identity. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova declared independence, causing a divide between the Russian’s, Ukranian’s and Moldovan’s who lived there. Accordingly, the Pro-Russian Separatists established the Pridnestrovian Moldovian Soviet Socialist Republic, known as Transnistria. As a result of this, conflict broke out between Moldovan police and the Transnistria Separatists, which quickly escalated to military intervention just days after Moldova gained independence. Stationed in the new state of Transnistria were the Russian 14th Guard Army who assisted the Transnistria militants with Soviet military supplies that were designed to be used against Moldova. On the 21st July 1992, seven months after the war started and with 700 people dead, a ceasefire was agreed between the two opposing sides which has lasted to this day. Modern day Transnistria lies on the border of Ukraine along the river Dniester, where the remnants of its Soviet past still remain. You can find buildings frozen in time as well as billboards and even passports still donning the infamous hammer and sickle.

The influence that FC Sheriff Tiraspol has on the state of Transnistria is a part of everyday life. Sheriff - FC Sheriff’s parent company - was formed in 1993 and remains the second largest company within the region, having been formed four years before the football team. Their founders are Viktor Gushan and Ilya Kazmaly, although only the former is affiliated with the football team. An all-encompassing company has allowed itself to become isolated from Moldova, allowing a full monopoly to occur. This includes the ownership of petrol stations, supermarkets, TV channels, construction companies, car dealerships, breweries and courtesy of the new $200 million renovation, a new 12,000 seater stadium - featuring a five star hotel. It’s not the first time sponsors have attached themselves to a club's identity, RB Leipzig in Germany is an infamous example, with the club being reformed in 2009 following the takeover by Red Bull. Fans from the Bundesliga have expressed resentment towards RB Leipzig for the way the club has competed in the league using large amounts of money from their new owners. This draws parallels to how the fans of other teams in the Divizia Națională feel about the ownership of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. Not much is known about Victor Gusan and his role at the club, however his partner Vazha Tarkhnishvili, the General Director for Sheriff Tiraspol, served as a player from 1999-2012. The veteran defender made 360 appearances and scored 19 goals for the club, he also represented Georgia twice. The current roster of players hail from a variety of different countries and they subsequently became the first team in Moldova to sign players from Africa and Brazil. New signing Adama Traoré (not to be confused with the Wolves player) has hit the ground running having scored 11 goals in 21 appearances, including one against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. Goalkeeper Giorgos Athanasiadis, man of the match in their game against Real Madrid, put in a stellar performance to deny the goal scoring behemoths of Real Madrid, including Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard and Vinicius Júnior. Other notable players include North Macedonia’s Boban Nikolov, who played at Euro 2020, Greek international Dimitris Kolovis, and Sebastien Thill - who represents Luxembourg at international level and scored FC Sheriff’s winning goal against Real Madrid. FC Sheriff Tiraspol’s next game in the Champions League is against Italian giants Inter Milan and, if FC Sheriff Tiraspol’s previous games are anything to go by, they may fancy themselves to win.

Article by Nathan Ousby