Rostov (full name OJSC Football Club Rostov) is a Russian professional football club from Rostov-on-Don. It was founded in 1930 and in its ninety-year history can boast of only one set of silver medals in the Russian championship, winning the national cup and participating in the group stage of the Champions League.

The most fundamental rival of Rostov are fellow countrymen from the SKA club, who are now playing in the second division of the Russian championship. True, they often found themselves at different levels of the football leagues of the USSR and Russia, therefore they did not meet so often, having only 15 face-to-face fights behind them. So far, the overwhelming advantage is on the side of Rostov, who has eight wins, four draws and three defeats.

Yes, one can also note the confrontation between Rostov and the clubs of their neighboring Krasnodar region, but there is no historical background and a special degree of rivalry between him, but only a geographic factor. But in the cheerleader environment, matches with Rotor, which previously often ended in skirmishes, are fundamental for Rostov.

At the all-Union level, Rostov more than once took medals from the lower leagues, and after moving to the Russian championship he finished in the top three of the RPL leaders just once, winning the silver of the 2015/2016 season. The club also has two advances to the Russian Cup final, one of which, in the 2013/2014 draw, was crowned with success.

In the first championship of Russia, Rostovites performed successfully, because they took eighth place, but a year later they flew out of the elite, and upon their return they joined the number of fighters for survival. Only in the late 90s did Rostov manage to distract himself a little from this struggle, gaining a foothold in the first half of the standings for two seasons and winning the right to play in European competitions, but then again a struggle followed to maintain a residence permit in the elite.
Returning to the elite, in 2010 Rostov finished ninth, although he was only four points ahead of the relegation zone. The 2013/2014 season was truly successful for the Selmash, when, in parallel with winning the national cup, the team successfully performed in the championship, finishing seventh. Two years later, the yellow-blues presented a real sensation, having brilliantly completed the second half of the tournament distance and confidently won bronze. Kurban Berdyev's wards were only two points behind the champion CSKA.

The Rostovites first tasted the continental club tournaments in 1999, starting in the already forgotten Intertoto Cup. Having overcome the barriers in the person of the Macedonian Cementarnitsa and Croatian Varteks, Rostov met with the stellar Juventus in the semifinals, losing on aggregate 1: 9. The next attempt to prove himself in this tournament was interrupted in the first round by a defeat against the French Auxerre.

Acquaintance with the Europa League turned out to be unsuccessful and was marked by a defeat in qualification from the Turkish Trabzonspor, but after a sensational silver in the championship, a modest club from Rostov-on-Don won the right to play in the Champions League. True, to begin with, it was necessary to overcome two rounds of qualification.

Kurban Berdyev worked in Rostov for a little over two years, but left a noticeable mark in the history of the club and can rightfully be considered the most successful. It was under the guidance of an experienced specialist that Rostov became the author of a real sensation in the 2015/2016 Russian Championship, winning silver medals and a pass to the Champions League.

It was under the leadership of Berdyev that Rostov stepped into the playoff round of the qualification of the most prestigious club tournament on the continent, but before the matches with Ajax, the coach unexpectedly left the club, explaining this by the club's wage debts to the team, as well as disagreements with the regional leadership in the context of the club's development. Nevertheless, Kurban Bekievich made a significant reserve for the further progress of the Rostovites.

The laurels of the best sniper in the history of the club have been kept by Alexander Ivanov for many years, who played in Rostov-on-Don for a total of four seasons in the 70-80s of the last century and delighted the fans with excellent scoring statistics of 103 goals scored.

Coach: Karpin Valerij (Russia) Age: 51