In April, Real Madrid‘s president and the big brain behind the European Super League, Florentino Perez, declared that Champions League games up until the quarter-final stage were effectively a waste of time and an inconvenience to his great club. Or words to that effect.
Less than six months later, a stony-faced Perez watched on as the mighty Real Madrid were humbled by FC Sheriff Tiraspol, the perennial champions of Moldova, at the Bernabeu in one of the greatest shocks in European Cup history.
Sheriff, making only their second appearance in the Champions League proper, had to ride their luck at times with AEK Athens loanee Georgios Athanasiadis having a game that goalkeepers usually can only dream about to keep Karim Benzema and co at bay. After Benzema finally cancelled out Uzbekistan winger Jasurbek Yakhshiboev’s opener, the result looked a foregone conclusion. That’s until Luxembourg international Sebastien Thill hammered an unstoppable half volley into the top corner in the 89th minute to seal an improbable victory for the visitors.
On a night in which Lionel Messi scored his first goal in PSG colours in the most quintessential Lionel Messi way imaginable against Manchester City, it was the minnows from Moldova (sort of, we’ll get to that), Sheriff who stole the headlines. So who are they and where exactly have they come from?
The football club has been going for 24 years after being founded by a former policeman, Viktor Gushan, who as the story goes, is an ex-KGB officer. The name Sheriff, meanwhile, comes from the company created by Gushan and his colleague Ilya Kazmaly in 1993 that has a monopoly on most things in Transnistria, a breakaway state that sits on Moldova’s border with Ukraine, where the club is situated.
Transnistria factfile
In beating Dinamo Zagreb in the third round of qualifying, FC Sheriff made history by becoming the first club from Moldova to reach the Champions League group stage. Those who call Tiraspol home will contest that FC Sheriff actually became the first club from Transnistria to reach the Champions League group stage.
Geographically, Transnistria is part of Moldova, but politically it is its own entity; Transnistria declared independence from the rest of the country back in 1991. It has its own currency, the ruble which cannot be used anywhere else, its own Soviet Union inspired flag and its official language is Russian. An imposing statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin stands outside its parliament.
Transnistria sees itself as its own country separate from Moldova, even if the rest of the world does not; it is not recognised officially by any member of the United Nations.
In the three decades since its independence, Transnistria has earned a reputation for smuggling, arms trafficking and corruption.
Sheriff’s name is plastered on petrol stations, supermarkets, a restaurant and hotel complex, a medical centre, the largest telecommunications operator in the region, a construction company, a car dealership, a TV channel and a spirits manufacturer, among countless other things.
With the company’s clout behind them, FC Sheriff have a clear financial advantage over their rivals. They have won 19 of the previous 21 Moldova Divizia Nationala titles and have a state-of-the-art $200m (£154m) stadium while their league rivals play in dilapidated grounds rented from the local authorities.
Domestic dominance hadn’t translated to European success until this season. Sheriff have reached the Europa League group stage four times before but failed to make much of an impression.
However, the recent relaxation of homegrown rules from the Moldovan Football Association seems to have given what appeared to be a faltering project a shot in the arm. There are 18 different nations represented in Sheriff’s squad ranging from Niger to Malawi, Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia and Trinidad and Tobago to Peru. There are only five Moldovans in their first-team squad and none of them started against Real.
Although Sheriff are far wealthier than their domestic rivals, their recruitment model mirrors that of many other clubs operating below Europe’s top table. Players are signed cheaply from all corners of the globe in the hope that they will develop and then be sold to a wealthier club, either in central Europe or in Russia at a large profit.
So far, it hasn’t quite worked, but after conquering European football’s most successful ever club, Sheriff’s players could finally put themselves in the shop window – and raise the profile of Transnistria in the process.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3F0b4Wx
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