Club Profile : The Team Now Called FK Ural

 
The Russian First Divsion club that now bears the name FK Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast is based out of Yekaterinburg, (Sverdlovsk during the Soviet Union) but represents the entire region in which it resides.   The place they call home is Uralmash Stadium.  The club’s colors are orange and black. 

Yekaterinburg is Russia’s fifth largest city.  It is a major industrial hub of the country and features such industries as metal processing, metallurgy and machinery.  The city continues to develop and more modern structures are becoming increasingly prominent. 

Yekaterinburg is located on the eastern side of the Ural Mountains.  The city is situated not far from the border between Europe and Asia.  Gems and stones from the nearby Ural Mountain range can be found frequently in the city’s crafts and souvenir shops.  Gnomes holding these samples of rock are a common theme. 

The proximity to Asia provides for a diverse group of ethnicities in the city and surrounding towns.  One thing that can bring all these cultures together is the love for football.  FC Ural has a long and rich history that goes back to the Soviet Leagues. 

Ural finished 8th place this season in the Russian First Division.  After finishing 3rd place in 2006, this had to be a let down for many of the club’s faithful.  However, there is still reason to be cautiously optomistic moving forward.  One sign for such hopes was Ural’s 1 – 0 victory of Premier League powerhouse, CSKA Moskva, in the Russian Cup Round of 32.  This win would be the club’s last in this installment of the tournament however, as the Uraltsy eventually lost 1 – 2 to one of the Premier League’s newly promoted teams, Sibir Novosibirsk.

The club has their sights set on promotion to the Premier League.  First however, they’ll have to adress their roster, which includes several core players who are not under contract next season. 

But before we focus on the current state of affairs at the club and on the future moving forward, let’s take a look at the team’s previously mentioned rich history.

 

The Early Years (1930 – 1959)

The club was founded in 1930 and for the next 2 decades underwent a series of name changes.  They started out with the name Uralmashstroya.  In 1933, the team became known as Uralmashzavod.  Bearing this namesake, the Ural squad won it’s first title, becoming champions of the Sverdlovsk Region.   

The next swith came in 1947, FK Avangard.  Around this time, the club began competing in the Soviet Union football championship leagues.  This was followed by a change to FC Mashinostroitel in 1958.  A large portion of this time was spent in the lower levels of the system.  

 

The FK Uralmash Era (1960 – 2002)

 After changing names three times during the first decade of the club’s existence, the team representing the Sverdlovsk Region settled on he name FK Uralmash for a long period of time.  The club experienced some great moments during these forty plus years, which included a near trip to the UEFA Cup. 

 

The club’s first achievment as Uralmash came in 1962, where they won the Soviet Second League (equivalent of the current Second Division).  Winning the title granted them promotion to the Class First League (equivalent to the First Division).  

1965/1966 provided Uralmash’s first appearance in the Quarterfinals of the Soviet Cup.  The club continued to play in the First League until the memorable season of 1968 changed things for them. 

1968 would prove to be a memorable season, as the Uraltsy not only played for the second time in the Soviet Cup Quarterfinals, but also celebrated winning the First League title and their first move into the Soviet Top League.  Uralmash edged out runners-up, FK Karpaty Lviv (Ukraine) and FK Irtysh Omsk.  

Though it was exciting to finally see the club playing at the top level of football in the Soviet Union, the magic of being there didn’t last long.  The 1969 season of the Soviet Top League, brought an 18th place finish and relegation to the First League, the same year as their promotion.  It was especially disappointing, considering that Uralmash were only a point and a plus 2 boost in goal differential away from staying up in the top flight.  That distinction instead went to FK Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan).  Two high points were Uralmash earning 0 – 0 draws with both eventual Top League Runners – up, Dynamo Kyiv and 6th place finishers, CSKA Moskva.

After their brief stint in the Top League, FK Uralmash played for three straight seasons in the First League, hovering around the lower middle to bottom of the table.  Following a demotion to the Second League after the 1972 season, the club bounced right back up after only a year.  In the proces of doing this, they topped both SK Tavriya Simferopol (Ukraine) and FK Kuban Krasnodar, to win the Second League championship. 

From 1977 to 1980, the team occupied a place in the First League, though finishing no higher than 9th place (1979).  A 24th place finish in 1980 meant yet another trip back to the third – tier of Soviet club football.  The club would spend the next decade trying to gain promotion back to the second level. 

This sequence began with a series of middle of the pack finishes from 1981 – 1983, then 5th place in 1984.  Uralmash would be close to promotion for the next five years, but found themselves just missing out.  1990 finally brought the long awaited promotion back to the First League.  They were joined by FK Bukovyna Chernivtsi (Ukraine) and FK Neftchi Farg’ona (Uzbekistan).

Uralmash played their first year back at the second – tier in style, posting their second best finish in the First League, winning bronze medals at 3rd place (1991).   They were right behind league winner, FK Rotor Volgograd and runners – up, CS Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol (Moldova).  The club played for the third time in the Soviet Cup Quarterfinals.  This would prove to be the final year of Soviet football.  The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to each member republic forming their own football unions and leagues. 

As a result, Uralmash were granted the right to compete in the newly formed Russian Top League (equivalent to modern Russian Premier League).  This was their first time playing at the top level of domestic club football in over twenty years.  The club would continue to play there for the next five years, their best finish being 8th place, which they would post in both 1993 and 1995. 

During the new league’s inaugural season (1992),  Uralmash’s Russian striker, Yuri Matveyev was the top scorer in the campaign, tallying 20 goals.  However, the offical scoring title went to Azerbaijani striker Vali Gasimov with 16 goals.  This is because Uralmash did not qualify for the Championship Round, meaning that Matveyev’s goals came in the First Stage and Relegation Round.  The top scorer title went to whoever had the most between the First Stage and Championship Round. 

1996 would mark not only their worst finish (16th place) since returning to the top – tier, but it also meant relegation to the First Division.  In addition, this season was the club’s last appearance at the top level of Russian football.   However, despite this fact, the year wasn’t without a particual highlight of the club’s history. 

Uralmash was one of 60 clubs to participate in the 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup.  They joined fellow Russian sides, FK Rotor Volgograd and FK KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny in the tournament.  All three Russian teams finished at top of their respective groups during the Group Stage.  Uralmash completed play at the top of Group 11 with 10 points in four matches.  They defeated CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) and Kocaelispor (Turkey) at home 2 – 1 and 2 – 0, respectively.  They beat Hibernians FC (Scotland) 1 – 2 and drew RC Strasbourg 1 – 1, both on the road. 

In the Semi – Final Round, Uralmash was matched up with Silkeborg IF (Denmark).  Silkeborg won the 1st leg in Yekaterinburg, 1 – 2, netting two crucial away goals.  Uralmash fought hard in the second leg, held in Denmark, but only managed a 1 – 0 victory.  Though the aggregate score finished 2 – 2, Silkeborg advanced based on a 2 – 1 advantage in away goals. 

So far, this has been the team’s only experience in European continental play.  The next closest they’ve come to European play was as semi – finalist  in the 2006 Russian Cup (two more wins would have meant a Russian Cup title and inclusion in UEFA Cup play). 

 Despite this feel good story, the club had still been demoted to the First Division after the Russian Top League campaign.  1997 would not offer a similar cindarella story, as the team from the Urals finished 20th place and were sent down yet another level, to the Second Division.  This is where they would spend their next five seasons.  

In 2001, Uralmash won the Second Division’s Ural Zone championship.  This propelled them into a promotion playoff battle against FK SKA-Energia Khabarovsk, who won the East Zone championship.  The 1st leg was held in Yekaterinburg, the result being a 2 – 2 draw.  The 2nd leg was also a draw, this time with a 1 – 1 final score.  Uralmash again fell victim to an aggregate loss, based on away goals in a playoff matchup.  

2002 meant that the club was again victorious in the Ural Zone.  This time no playoff was necessary and all six Zone champions were sent up to the First Division.  After this latest promotion, FK Uralmash went through it’s first name change in over forty years. 

 

The Modern Era – FK Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast  (2003 – Present)

Before the start of 2003 season of Russian football, FK Uralmash rebranded themselves as FK Ural.  The results from this first season with a new name weren’t anything to write home about.  Ural finished 19th place and continued their ping – ponging back and forth between leagues, getting relegated.   

Ural would play in the Second Division for the last time up to the present, in 2004.  They would go on to win promotion back into the First Division based on winning the Urals – Volga Zone Championship (for the 2003 campaign the Urals and Volga Zone were combined due to a small number of teams competing in both areas). 

Since then, FK Ural has appeared in the First Division every year.  Their best finish came in 2006, 3rd place.  Despite finishing here, Ural (90 points) still was 7 points out of a promotion spot, which instead went to FK Khimki (99 points) and FK Kuban Krasnodar (97 points).  There was a sizeable gap after third place, the next closest club was FK KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny (77 points) in 4th place.  

Ural would follow up this strong placing by turning in 5th and 4th place finishes during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.  As mentioned earlier, the club finished a disappointing 8th place this past year in the First Division, never being a major player in the battle for promotion into the Premier League. 

While the 2006 3rd place finish was one of the best moments for the squad since becoming “Ural”, another surely has to be their performance in the 2007 – 2008 edition of the Russian Cup.  While still called “Uralmash”, the club had made 3 appearances in the Domestic Cup’s Quarterfinals.  This time around, they did one better, reaching the Semifinals. 

The memorable run ended in a 1 – 0 loss to local rivals, Amkar Perm, on the road.  The city of Perm is located in the Perm Krai Region of Russia, which is a close neighbor to Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk Region.  This geographical factor has contributed to an intense local rivalry with Amkar. 

Also included in the run was a 1 – 0 victory over Lokomotiv Moskva in extra time at Uralmash Stadium (a match which was attented by yours truly).  They also managed to defeat two other Russian Premier League teams, with a 2 – 3 win (a.e.t.) over Kuban Krasnodar on the road and a 2 – 1 win over Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast at home, in the tournament’s 1/8 Finals and Quarterfinals. 

 

Some Key Players in Club History

ST – Yuri Matveyev (RUS) :

One of the best attacking talents to ever play for the club, Matveyev has scored 75 goals in 176 appearances for FK Uralmash, with 42 of those coming in the Russian top flight.  He technically, if not officially was the top scorer of the Russian Top League’s (equivalent to Premier League) first season.  His efforts earned him 4 caps with the Russian National Team, including playing in their first game as Russia.  Playing 7 plus years in Yekaterinburg seems to have warmed his heart to the club and Matveyev is currently still employed there, now as an assistant coach.  Of course, it helps that he is from Nizhny Tagil, a nearby city also in the Sverdlovsk Region.  In fact, Matveyev got his professional club start playing at FK Uralets Nizhny Tagil.  There he showed early signs of being a true goal scoring threat. 

ST – Oleg Veretennikov (RUS) :

Veretennikov is perhaps the most famous player to ever play for Uralmash.  The reason for this recognition is the fact that he is the all – time leading scorer in the history of the Russian Premier League.  It should be noted that his record holding 143 goals came with FK Rotor Volgograd.  Veretennikov was born in nearby Revda, which is also in the Sverdlovsk Region.  He made his professional debut with Uralmash in 1986 and stayed for two seasons.  After a brief move to FK Nizhny Tagil, Veretennikov returned to Yekaterinburg and stayed for another year.  His final stint with Uralmash, came during 1991 – 1992, this was his best as well (14 goals).  During his time with the club he scored 17 goals in 81 appearances.  Verettennikov played abraod briefly, at Aris Thessaloniki FC (Greece) and Lierse SK (Belgium), scoring 4 times between both stops.  All in all he has tallied a very impressive tally of 258 goals in 652 appearances.  Veretennikov has been capped 4 times by the Russian National Team

 

 Moving Forward

 FK Ural has set promotion to the Russian Premier League as top priority, this has been the primary goal for several years now.  As mentioned earlier, the club finished a disappointing 8th place this past year.  Based on their results during the seasons preceding this one, anything less than a move upwards would have to seem a failure for the team.  

The main bright spot of this Russian football season for Ural was their 1 – 0 win over CSKA Moskva in the 2009 – 2010 Russian Cup Round of 32, at Uralmash Stadium.  Ural would play at home again in the next round and eventually lose to Sibir Novosibirsk. 

If anything can help contribute to the club’s return to the top level of Russian football, two key factors currently stand out …

First being the planned reconstruction of Uralmash Stadium, providing an upgrade at the grounds to Premier League standards.  The capacity will be increased quite substantially, going from being able to hold 13,000 spectators, to being able to fit 31,000 people.   Having a more state of the art stadium should help the club raise it’s annual income. 

  

 

 

An increase in revenue will hopefully give the club the financial flexibility to at least keep a couple from a group of several key players not under contract next season.  This includes team - leading scorer Vladimir Shishelov, (Uzbekistan) who has scored 29 goals in 56 appearances for the Uraltsi.  Shishelov has also proven to be a very influential member of the Uzbek National Team, tallying 11 goals in 28 appearances.  It comes as no suprise that he was voted by journalists from the region as the club’s best player this past season.  Replacing Shishelov’s production would be a very difficult feat for the team. 

 

Another key player who may want to try his hand in the Premier League is playmaker Anatoli Gerk, who is actually on loan from Saturn.  Before joining the Russian leagues, Gerk had stints with Anderlecht (Belgium) and FC Twente (Netherlands).  The Russian midfielder has scored 6 goals in 34 appearances for Ural.  Though Gerk’s greatest contribution has been his ability to set up teammates into scoring position with his pinpoint passing skills. 

 

A few other noteworthy member of the squad include Sergei Armishev, their rock of a goalkeeper, who has appeared 96 times for the club since 2005.  He is a fan favorite and you can often find the club’s supporters chanting his name after he makes a spectacular save. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arūnas Klimavičius is Lithuanian defender who also plays for the National Team.  He is not only a solid member of the backline, but he has also shown an ability to get involved on set pieces, scoring 6 times this past season for Ural.  He has also tallied 2 for his country. 

Adessoye Oyewole is probably the key element of Ural’s backline.  Oyewole is from a Nigerian background, but is a Russian citizen.  While a a very good defender, he also displays good on the ball skills and the ability to get forward in the attack.   He began his career at FK Zhemchuzhina-Sochi, then moved to FK Reutov, before joining Ural in 2007.  Oyewole has made a family here and has a daughter.  He will not be a worry on the club’s mind as he has already been resigned to a 3 – year contract. 

Konstantin Skrylnikov is another important part of the club.  He plays a vital role,  distributing the ball from the midfield and linking up with his teammates further up in the attack.  Skrylnikov played with Rubin Kazan in 2006 and Anzhi Makhachkala in 2007, before making the move to the Uraltsi.  He was voted by Ural journalists as the silver medalist, considered to be Ural’s second best player last season. 

 

 

Oleg Shatov is a young player who has also shown some promise, scoring 5 times in 62 appearances and linking up well with teammates.  Shatov has also played with MFK Viz – Sinara Yekaterinburg, which is the city’s team in the Russian Futsal Superliga.  Viz – Sinara have never won the domestic title, often finishing 2nd to Dynamo Moskva.  However, the team from Yekaterinburg did manage to win the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2008, defeating Spanish club ElPozo Murcia in the Final.  This victory came in a match hosted by Moskva.  The following year, Yekaterinburg hosted the tournament’s final four round, but Viz – Sinara lost in the Final to Interviu of Spain.  Shatov has also played for the Russian National Futsal Team. 

Until next spring though, Ural and it’s supporters will have to play the waiting game and see how the offseason goes on the construction and personnel fronts.  Either way, they have a rich history that the club’s fans would love to add to.

To find out more about the club, you can visit the team’s official website here.

 

Writer’s Note : One of  the good friend’s of this site … the man of many names had mentioned to us in the past that he wanted to see more profiles of different teams,  players and coaches throughout the Russian football leagues.  Well, as an immense supporter of FK Ural, I felt that I had to start there.  Even though they are not the most successful or storied club in Russian or Soviet history, I hope you enjoyed learning about this club which means a lot to me.  If anybody else out there would like to take on the same task with their favorite club, drop us an e-mail ( podcast@russianfootballnow.com ) or get in touch with us through the comments section.