FC Karpaty Lviv


Football Club Karpaty Lviv is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Lviv.

History

Karpaty is one of the three surviving Ukrainian football team created in the Soviet Union that did not participate in the Football Championship of the Ukrainian SSR along with Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Early years (1963–68)

The team of Karpaty was founded on January 18, 1963. In 1962 Silmash Lviv won the championship and cup of the Lviv Oblast and, thus, obtained the rights to participate in the Soviet Class B championship. However, in 1963 the Football Federation of USSR conducted another reorganization in football national tournaments creating the Second Group of Class A and Class B became the third tier where a berth was reserved for a team from Lviv. At that time the best city team was SKA Lvov, players of which did not stay there for long, leaving it at the end of their military service, while the best would be drafted to CSKA Moscow. In light of that the city administration decided to create a civilian team, independent from the Soviet military.
In December 1962, in the building of Regional Council of Trade Unions, the head of the council and the regional football federation, Hlib Klymov, invited coaches of Silmash – Yuri Zubach and Vasyl Solomonko, as well as the director of the city plant "Lvivsilmash" Ivan Kalynychenko to discuss a new name for the club. The name Silmash was recognized as inadequate for participation on such a level. Among the proposed names were Spartak, Dynamo, Halychyna, while at the end they agreed upon the regional toponym Karpaty.
In the Soviet times all sport teams were "tied" to certain industrial unions or sport societies, therefore Karpaty joined the republican sport society of trade unions "Avanhard", while the Lviv Television Production Plant "Elektron" became its sponsor. Out of "Silmash" only two joined Karpaty: Ihor Kulchytskyi and Josef Fales. Karpaty also adopted the same jersey colors of Silmash. Also the club was reinforced with several players from SKA Lvov and transfers. The club played its first game on April 14, 1964 against Zenit Izhevsk at the Dynamo Stadium winning it 1–0. The goal was scored by the club's captain Oleksandr Filiayev. The first official game was against Lokomotiv Gomel on April 23, 1963, which Karpaty won 1–0.
Karpaty debuted in Group B in 1963 and remained there for four seasons, until in 1968 they were promoted to Soviet First League.

Winning the USSR Cup

On August 17, 1969, Karpaty became the first club in the USSR football history which won the USSR Cup while playing in the Soviet First League. The road to the cup was no less exciting as the final itself. On the way there the Lions were challenged by such Soviet heavy-weights as Ararat Yerevan and Chornomorets Odesa. The quarterfinal round matched them with Trud Voronezh that in the prior round had eliminated Spartak Moscow. After a slight victory over Voronezh, Karpaty faced Mykolaiv's Shipbuilders. The game was perceived by the Lvivians as the chance to avenge for the last year loss to the Mykolaivans, which cost them a ticket to the Soviet Premiership. A score of 2–0 was enough to secure a trip to Moscow.
In the final, Karpaty faced the Red Army team from Rostov-on-Don at the Lenin Stadium. The Rostov army-men were one of the best Soviet clubs in the mid-1960s and for that game they were considered as the favorites being the representatives of the Soviet Top League. Before the start of the game the Karpaty's captain Ihor Kulchytskyi traditionally shacked hands with every referee, except the assistant referee, Eugen Härms. The reason was that Härms, the Estonian referee in charge of their game a year earlier against Uralmash Sverdlovsk, allowed a goal from an obvious offside that eventually contributed to the Karpaty's denial of a promotion. Karpaty were trailing 0–1 already after the first 20 minutes and to the end of the half were not able to equalize, but numerous Karpaty's fans drove their team forward.
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In the second half the Ukrainians broke the course of the game flow and two goals from Lykhachov and Bulhakov put the Lions ahead. Near the end of the game the Rostov team scored another goal, but from offside. The main referee, without consulting his assistants, initially allowed the goal and the Russians ran joyfully towards the center of the field. However, a moment later he noticed the hand signal from Härms, who had identified an offside and reversed his decision, awarding the victory to Lviv.
In the following season, Karpaty's first opponent in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was Romanian Steaua Bucureşti, that led by István Kovács advanced on 4–3 aggregate.

Soviet Top League (1970–1977)

In 1970–77 and 1980, Karpaty played in the Soviet Top League. Karpaty's best achievement was 4th place in 1976. Karpaty placed 4th twice that year since the season was split into 2 separate championships. Karpaty were primed to win silver that season, but an unexpected loss in their last home game to Zenit Leningrad pushed Karpaty back into 4th place.
While playing in the Soviet First League in 1979, Karpaty were close to repeating their 1969 achievement, when they met Dynamo Moscow in the USSR Cup semi-final. The match, which was played in Moscow, went into overtime with a 1–1 score with Dynamo prevailing in the end, scoring a penalty kick in extra time.

SKA Karpaty (1981–1989)

In 1981, Karpaty were merged with another city team, SKA Lviv belonging to the Carpathian Military District. The new team, SKA Karpaty, continued playing in the Soviet First League, getting close to promotion in 1986, when CSKA Moscow was promoted ahead of Karpaty on goal difference. In 1989, the original name of the club was restored.

Ukrainian League (1991–present)

Since Ukraine gained its independence, Karpaty have primarily participated in Ukrainian Premier League competitions. They reached 3rd place in 1997-98, their highest Ukrainian top division finish to date, and were Ukrainian Cup runners-up twice, losing both times to Dynamo Kyiv in the final.
The thirteenth season in Ukrainian Premier League became an unfortunate one for Karpaty and in the 2003–04 season the team was relegated to the Persha Liha. However, Karpaty remained there only for two seasons and in the 2005–06 season, the club was successful in taking second place in the Persha Liha, which promoted them to the Vyscha Liha the following year.
Karpaty were expelled from the UPL for both the remainder of the 2019-20 season and the 2020-21 season due to their failure to fulfil two fixtures against FC Mariupol. Their remaining results were all awarded to the opponents by a 3-0 score.

Stadium

Main articles: Ukraina Stadium and Arena Lviv
FC Karpaty play their home games at the Ukraina Stadium. The stadium was built in 1963 as Druzhba Stadium and renamed into Ukraina Stadium in 1992. The stadium was renovated on several occasions since, the latest one taking place in 2001. Currently the arena has a capacity of 29,004 spectators.
The stadium was also the venue hosting the final match of the first Ukrainian Premier League season in 1992, in which Tavriya Simferopol defeated Dynamo Kyiv.
It has also been one of the venues for Ukraine national football team matches, the most recent being a 1–0 win over Belarus on September 6, 2008 during 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

Logo history

Since the club has been named after the Carpathian Mountains, the image of the forest and mountains has been present on team's logo for many years. However, the logo has since been updated, inspired by coat of arms of Lviv with a segment of a fortress and lion shown on the new crest. The club's nickname 'The Green Lions' also originated from their new logo.
The club also has a ceremonial logo, however, it is very rarely used, mostly during TV broadcasts or video packages.

Football kits and sponsors

Colours

Traditionally the club colours have been white and green. Throughout the club's history its kit has always been designed in green and white colors; other colours are almost never used and are usually highly criticized by fans.
Green is considered to be the dominant of the two in club nicknames like "Green Lions" and "Green-Whites". For some time black was also used and was even displayed on one of the club's former logos.

Rivalries

Karpaty's biggest rivals today are Volyn Lutsk and FC Lviv. The match against FC Volyn Lutsk is called the Galician-Volhynian rivalry which is the main football event in western Ukraine. Derby with FC Lviv has shorter history but is more actual as both teams play in the same league.

Galician–Volhynian rivalry

YearTournamentHomeAwayScore
1990Soviet Second LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv2:2
1990Soviet Second LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk1:0
1991Soviet Second LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv0:1
1991Soviet Second LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk0:1
13.09.1992Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv3:2
23.05.1993Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk2:1
05.09.1993Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv1:0
28.05.1994Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk1:2
22.07.1994Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk1:0
19.06.1995Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv3:0
05.11.1995Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk2:1
13.03.1996Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv1:0
01.09.2002Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk0:2
04.05.2003Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv0:1
25.10.2003Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv1:0
27.03.2004Ukrainian Top LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk0:1
30.08.2010Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk1:0
03.04.2011Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv0:3
01.10.2011Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv0:2
16.04.2012Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk1:0
13.07.2012Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv1:1
18.11.2012Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk2:0
19.08.2013Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv1:1
15.03.2014Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk0:1
17.08.2014Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv0:2
13.03.2015Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk0:2
27.09.2015Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk0:2
17.04.2016Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv0:0
02.10.2016Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Volyn LutskFC Karpaty Lviv1:1
11.03.2017Ukrainian Premier LeagueFC Karpaty LvivFC Volyn Lutsk

Former rivalries

Karpaty became the longest surviving city's professional football club and over the years participated in Lviv city derbies with SKA Lvov before the club was dissolved.
In the beginning of the 1990s a rivalry with FC Nyva Ternopil became overshadowed by the rivalry with FC Volyn Lutsk as the Ternopil club was relegated from the top division in 2001.

Supporters

Karpaty Lviv is among the most popular clubs in Ukraine and according to social polls of local polling organizations such as "RATING" and KIIS that were conducted in 2013 it was claimed that 2.7% to 5.6% of all football fans in Ukraine support the club. There have been accusations that the club's supporters in majority represent patriotic and Ukrainian nationalist views, including the ultranationalist current in the Ukrainian football fan movement.
Just before being appointed a director of the Moscow studio of Deutsche Welle, German journalist Markus Reher wrote an article in which he claimed that Ukraine is not ready to hold an event such as 2012 UEFA Euro, because there are too many "nationalist thugs" and neo-Nazis, particularly referring to Karpaty supporters. In the article an interviewed Karpaty supporter claims that supporters of the club "don't start fights" and are "just giving their team support". The supporter went on to say that "everything'll be fine" if supporters of other clubs don't provoke him or other supporters of Karpaty Lviv, and f they had foreign players at the club, they would send them back home if they could. The article claimed that the club protects its players from its nationalist fans, and Danilo Avelar, a player from Brazil, stated that he "hasn't heard of nationalist fans and hopes it isn't true". The article goes on to report that authorities have had problems in the past with violent fans in Lviv, citing a riot in Lviv's old town when ultranationalist Karpaty supporters clashed with supporters of German side Borussia Dortmund with injuries on both sides. Another British correspondent Manuel Veth, who in an article the NKVD troops who fought against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army as "Soviet anti-terrorist forces", also considers the Karpaty Lviv supporters as nationalist radicals.
The Karpaty Lviv fans are a frequent target for Russian propaganda media such as Russia Today that is among the leading promoters of the club's supporters. In Ukraine, the Russian state-funded media became notorious for biased reporting, e.g. the "Crucified Boy" incident.
The American journalist Michael Goldfarb pointed out that demonstration of antisemitism and xenophobia among the Karpaty Lviv fans could be politically influenced and is not uncommon in region including similar instances in neighboring Poland.

FC Karpaty Lviv in European competitions

Karpaty made its debut in European tournaments at the 1970–71 European Cup Winners' Cup, being eliminated by FC Steaua Bucureşti in the first round. Just four visits to European competition have followed, the most successful being a run to the Group Stage of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.
SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
1970–71UEFA Cup Winners' CupFirst round FC Steaua Bucureşti0–13–33–4
1993–94UEFA Cup Winners' CupQualifying round Shelbourne F.C.1–01–32–3
1999–00UEFA CupFirst Round Helsingborgs IF1–1 1–12–2
2010–11UEFA Europa LeagueSecond Qualifying Round KR Reykjavík3–23–06–2
2010–11UEFA Europa LeagueThird Qualifying Round FC Zestafoni1–01–02–0
2010–11UEFA Europa LeaguePlayoff Round Galatasaray S.K.1–12–23–3
2010–11UEFA Europa LeagueGroup Stage Paris Saint-Germain F.C.1–10–2Fourth Place
2010–11UEFA Europa LeagueGroup Stage Sevilla FC0–10–4Fourth Place
2010–11UEFA Europa LeagueGroup Stage Borussia Dortmund3–40–3Fourth Place
2011–12UEFA Europa LeagueThird Qualifying Round St Patrick's Athletic F.C.2–03–15–1
2011–12UEFA Europa LeaguePlayoff Round PAOK FC1–10–21–3

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 06.06.2016, Source:
RankTeamPoints
158 FK Jablonec10.585
159 FC Sheriff Tiraspol10.575
160 FC Karpaty Lviv10.476
161 Apollon Limassol FC10.435
162 Aalborg BK10.220

Honours

Domestic

Soviet Union

Current squad

U21 team squad

Out on loan

Administration and coaching

List of Senior managers

List of Presidents

Soviet Union


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from:01/07/1965 till:01/07/1966 shift: text:14
from:01/07/1966 till:01/07/1967 shift: text:7
from:01/07/1967 till:01/07/1968 shift: text:2
from:01/07/1968 till:01/07/1969 shift: text:6
from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 shift: text:1
from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971 shift: text:10
from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972 shift: text:14
from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift: text:14
from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift: text:11
from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift: text:6
from:01/07/1975 till:01/01/1976 shift: text:4
from:01/01/1976 till:01/07/1976 shift: text:4
from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift: text:15
from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift: text:4
from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift: text:1
from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift: text:17
from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift: text:11
from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1988 shift: text:merged with SKA Karpaty
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from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 color:bl2 shift: text: "1a Liga"
from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1988 color:white shift: text: "no club"
from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1991 color:rs shift: text: "Vtoraya Liga"

Ukraine


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from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift: text:8
from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift: text:8
from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift: text:5
from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift: text:3
from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift: text:4
from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift: text:9
from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift: text:10
from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift: text:8
from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift: text:7
from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift: text:15
from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift: text:6
from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift: text:2
from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift: text:8
from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift: text:10
from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift: text:9
from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift: text:5
from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift: text:5
from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift: text:14
from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift: text:14
from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift: text:11
from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift: text:13
from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift: text:7
from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift: text:10
from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift: text:8
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Soviet Union

Ukraine

Managers