Torch (football club, Voronezh)

• 1947-1952 - The team of the Stalin district
• 1954-1958 - The team of the city of Voronezh
• 1959-1976 - “Labor”
• 1977 - June 1992 - The Torch
• 1992, June - November - “Torch-Profus”
• 1992, November - 2001 - “Torch”
• 2002, March — June - Voronezh
• 2002, June - 2003 - “Torch-Voronezh”
• 2004–2008 - “Torch”
• 2009 - Torch-Voronezh *
• from 2010 - “Torch”

Note In late 2009, it was decided to recreate the "Torch" on the basis of the club " Torch-Voronezh ".

1947-1969

In 1947, the Krylya Sovetov sports society of the Voronezh VASO plant established a football team ^[2] . The team was named “Wings of the Soviets”, but because of the secrecy regime, in the press and in some documents it became known as the team of the Stalin district. In 1949, the team became the champion of the Voronezh region and won the right to represent Voronezh and the whole Chernozem region in the RSFSR KFC championship, where three years later it took second place and won the right to play in the B championship in 1954, as the RSFSR champion This voucher refused. So, on April 18, 1954, the Voronezh “Wings of the Soviets” debuted in the USSR Championship at a crowded home stadium. The first rival of our team was the "Miner" from the city of Donskoy Tula region . The Voronezh team lost this match with the score 1: 2. The debut game in the USSR Cup competitions “Wings of the Soviets” was held in Kiev against the local Mashinostroiteli and lost 0: 1. In the debut five-year period of participation in the USSR championships, the team from Voronezh did not gain much success, taking up space in the middle of the tournament table of zonal class B tournaments. The highest achievement was the 6th place in the seasons of 1956 and 1957. In 1959, the team of the city of Voronezh in connection with the transfer of the KFK aircraft factory in the eponymous DSO called “Work”. In 1960, the club, which was then called Trud, won the right to compete for the first time in the top division of the USSR championship (class A), but could not stay there, taking 15th place in the 1961 season . At the same time, Trud left seven teams from the capitals of the Union republics behind in the standings: Moldova (Chisinau) , Kairat (Alma-Ata) , Neftyanik (Baku) , Belarus (Minsk) , Spartak ”(Vilnius) , Daugava (Riga) and Kalev (Tallinn) . In the second all-out division (class “B” / second group “A”), the club performed from 1962 to 1969 seasons.

1970–1991

In 1970-1978, the team played in various zones of the third largest league of the USSR . Before the season of 1977, the team was transferred from the trade unions to the Trade Union Committee of KBPA (Chemical Automation Design Bureau) and changed its name to the modern one - “Torch”. At the same time, Fakel became the successor of Voronezh and Voronezh Labor teams that represented Voronezh earlier ^[3] . In 1977, in the 2nd league of the USSR championship, the club took 2nd place in the 3rd zone, passing Kuban Krasnodar ahead. In 1978, the team under the leadership of Boris Yakovlev confidently took the first line in the standings of the 1st zone of the 2nd league. In the transitional matches for the right to play in the future season in the first league , Fakel played with the winner of the 2nd (Ukrainian) zone , Metalist Kharkiv . The first match in Kharkov ended with a score of 1: 0 in favor of Kharkiv. The second match in Voronezh gathered almost 40,000 spectators in the stands. Thanks to a goal by Vladimir Mukhanov, the citizens of Voronezh managed to translate the game into extra time, but lost in a penalty shootout with a score of 3: 5. However, the decision of the Union Sports Committee all six winners of the zonal competitions, including the "Torch", went into the First League .

In the 1979 season , the Voronezh residents, who had long been walking in 2nd place, serving as a pass to the Highest League , slowed down in the second round and eventually took the 5th place, and the team's top scorer, Vladimir Mukhanov , scored 31 goals, which is still so far is a record for the team. The 1980 season “Torch” finished in 12th place out of 24 teams. In 1981, the team is headed by Victor Marienko . The next few years, "Torch" kept in the middle of the standings. In the 1984 season, the club won the First League tournament and advanced to the big leagues . In the 1984 USSR Cup, Torch reached the semi-finals. Along the way, “Torch” was beaten by Ivanovo “Textilschik” , Tashkent “Pakhtakor” and Vilnius “Zalgiris” . In a quarterfinal match, on April 28, 1984, at the Trud stadium, Voronezh residents defeated Spartak Moscow with a score 2: 0. Goals scored Vyacheslav Murashkintsev (4th minute) and Alexander Minaev (88th minute). The semi-final in Leningrad at the Kirov Stadium, with a crowd of 80,000 spectators, including 7,000 spectators from Voronezh, was lost to the future champion of the country - the Leningrad Zenit 0-1 in extra time ( Andrei Shashkin's own goal at 92- th minute). In 1985, the team from Voronezh was awarded for the second time in history to play in the country's Higher League. After the first round, “Torch” took the honorable 7th place, but the short bench did not allow Voronezh residents to stay in the top league of the USSR. Having gained 27 points, “Torch” took the last but one, 17th place and returned to the first league. In 1988, the citizens of Voronezh played in the second league, where they celebrated success and returned to the first league. In 1989-1991, the team ranked 5th, 10th and 13th, respectively. Moreover, in the period from 1977 to 1992, the regional authorities did not invest money in Torch. Until 1988, the team was on the balance of the trade union of the Central Committee of General Engineering.

1992–2000

In 1992, after the collapse of the USSR, Fakel won the right to play in the Highest League of the Russian Championship , but could not resist it. Before the start of the season, all the leaders left the team, most of whom later played in the Kamyshin Textilschik . The team had to recruit players from the football club "Buran", representing the Voronezh Aviation Plant . It was in 1992 that the debut took place on the professional arena of Valery Nenenko .

In 1993, Fakel performed unsatisfactory in the second echelon of Russian football and moved to the Second League . However, in the 1994 season, the citizens of Voronezh with 62 points took 1st place in the “Center” zone of the Second League and again received the right to play in the first league. In the 1995 season, Fakel took 13th place. In the 1996 season , having strengthened their line-up with such masters as Valery Gorodov , Oleg and Alexei Morozov, Andrei Yudin and Mikhail Zubchuk , Fakel won bronze medals, which made it possible to get the right to play in the big leagues in the 1997 season . But having gained 26 points at the end of the season, Voronezhs flew out. “Torch” again failed to gain a foothold in the Higher League for the second year. In 1998, the team took 10th place in the first league. In 1999, Yury Batishchev and Grigory Chuyko came to the leadership of the club. Valery Nenenko again became head coach. At the end of the season, Torch finished second and returned to the big leagues. The Voronezh midfielder Gennady Semin was recognized as the best player of the first league. The following season, for the first time in its history, the team managed to stay in the top division, beating Moscow Spartak , CSKA and Dynamo .

2001–2009

Vladimir Kulakov came to the governorship of the Voronezh region. In the 2001 season, Fakel took 15th place in the top division and flew into the first league. At the end of 2001, the regional administration dismissed the president of the club, Yuri Batishchev, and appointed Eduard Saenko to replace him. In early 2002, the team was renamed FC Voronezh. According to the official version of the regional administration officials, the name “Torch” in the English version sounded “unethical”. Renaming led to an outflow of fans, and management changed its name to Torch-Voronezh. Seasons 2002 and 2003 "Torch" held in the basement of the First Division , in 2003, fell into the Second Division . After the dismissal of Saenko, Arkady Mozhaitov became president of Fakel. In 2004, who returned the former name "Torch" won first place in his area and went to the First Division. Before the 2005 season , the club had a big debt, which, in many respects, was accumulated by the Saenko family ^[4] . The authorities did not seek to support the team. In 2005, the team managed to maintain residence in the first league, but in the 2006 season, Fakel took 19th place and had to fly to the Second Division. On February 26, 2007, by the decision of the PFL Association Council, on the basis of an application for voluntary withdrawal from the membership of the PFL Association, Torch was expelled from the PFL members ^[5] .

The team spent 2007 and 2008 in the LFL (third division) , and at that time (2007–2009) in the Second Division, they had time to play Voronezh Dynamo , FCS-73 , Fakel-Voronezh and Fakel-Stroy Art (FSA ) . Also, in 2008, after the transfer of FCS-73 from the LFL to the Second Division, in the Amateur Football League, along with Fakel, the FCSH-73 double played - the FCS-73-d team, and in 2009 after the FSA switched to the Second Division in the LFL there was the FSA-2, as well as Torch-Voronezh-2 and Dynamo (in 2007, in which Torch took the last but one, 16th place in the LFL ^[6] , in one with the Torch ”tournament Two other Voronezh teams took part: the 3rd place was taken by the Trud team (Voronezh), the 4th place - FTsSH-73). In 2009, the players and the administrative headquarters of Fakel were transferred to the Olympic club from Novaya Usmani , who performed at the regional level (in the championship and the Cup of the Voronezh region, as well as the MOA Cup of the Black Soil Region 2009).

2010

In December 2009, the club " Torch-Voronezh " was renamed "Torch" and declared in the second division of the national championship in 2010. Governor Alexei Gordeyev decided to head the Club’s Board of Trustees , Vladimir Klyuchnikov was re-appointed president ^[7] , and Radik Yamlikhanov was appointed head coach. However, on August 12, 2010, Konstantin Sarsaniya replaced the head coach Yamlikhanov. The remaining 12 matches the team went unbeaten. The season of the revived “Torch” finished in 4th place, losing to the Moscow- winning “Torpedo” winning tournament just 3 points.

2011/2012

In January 2011, by the decision of the General Assembly of the RFPL, FC Krasnodar was admitted to the Premier League, where it replaced the one who left the tournament “ Saturn ”. Thus, it became necessary to replace Krasnodar in the first division. Torpedo-ZIL , Lokomotiv-2 and Torch expressed willingness to take a free place. The RFU recommended the FNL to accept the Voronezh club as a member of the tournament ^[8] . The season began for Voronezh residents with a guest victory over Dynamo Bryansk with a score of 1: 0. The first home match, in the presence of 20,000 of its fans (which was a record attendance in recent years), Torch lost to Shinnik Yaroslavl with a score of 1: 2. Voronezh residents won their next victory only after 12 rounds, over the Chelny “KAMAZ” on their field with the score 1: 0. By the time the "Torch" is already firmly located at the bottom of the table. In the next 11 matches, Fakel lost 9 times and tied 2 times. And in the 24th round, in the match with Novorossiysk "Chernomorets" , "Fakel" won the third victory in the championship, the match ended with the score 1: 0. This was followed by another impressive series without victories, and only at the end of the year, Fakel scored 2 wins in 3 matches, scored 7 points, defeating Vladimir Torpedo and Novosibirsk Sibir with the same score 2: 1. The first matches of 2012 gave hope to the Voronezh fans, the team scored 3 wins in 4 matches. However, in the remaining 6 matches only one point was scored. In the Cup of Russia , Fakel reached the quarter-finals, beating FAYUR , Krasnodar and Astrakhan Volgar-Gazprom , losing on March 22 in a quarterfinal match away in a penalty shootout to Rostov . At the end of the 2011/2012 season, the team left the FNL, taking the 19th, the last but one place.

2012–2015. Division Two

The team spent the 2012/2013 season in the “Center” zone of the Second Division of Russia in football . "Torch" before the start of the season was considered the main contender for the 1st place and the exit in the FNL. The team remained those who were considered leaders in the last season in Torch. They are Gitselov, Zhitnikov, Gapon, Klopkov, Cantonists, etc. Also, one of the best scorers in the FNL, Dmitry Akimov , moved from “Siberia” to “Torch”. The team finished the championship in second place, dropping forward Tula Arsenal, which was 9 points behind in the end.

The team began the 2013–2014 season under the guidance of a new coach, Vladimir Mukhanov ^[9] . After three draws, Voronezh took the 14th place out of 16 in the “Center” zone of the second division. Then followed 3 wins in a row. After the 13th round, "Torch" was ahead of the nearest pursuer, the Saratov "Falcon" , by 4 points. But after losing in Saratov with a score of 2: 1, in the 14th round, the Voronezh footballers managed to score only two wins in six games, and for the winter break, “Torch” left on the 2nd place, 5 points behind the first place . It was decided to dismiss the head coach and appoint another specialist. They became Alexander Koreshkov ^[10] . But this "Torch" did not help. Despite the home victory over the Falcon, 2: 1, Voronezh residents eventually fell behind by nine points from Saratov and took only third place ^[11] .

Before the start of the 2014/2015 season , it was decided to appoint Pavel Gusev , the head coach of the Torch, who had already trained the Voronezh club in 2002. As in the previous 2 seasons, the club was tasked to go to the FNL . Torch started the season with seven straight victories at the start. In the eighth round, in an away match with Tambov , Fakel lost the first points of the season - 2: 2. For the winter break, the team left with a margin of 4 points from the nearest pursuer - FC Ryazan . After the break, “Torch” held the first official game on the road in Lipetsk with the local “ Metallurg ”, which ended in a 1: 1 draw. After that, Torch scored 9 victories in a row. The club went to FNL ahead of schedule, after the 27th round. Thus, "Torch" spent the season without a single defeat in the championship, gaining 80 points out of 90 possible, scored 25 victories and played a draw 5 times. In the Cup of Russia, first were chosen " Vybor-Kurbatovo " and "Lokomotiv" from Liski , in 1/32 - Nizhny Novgorod "Volga" . At 1/16 "Torch", with a crowd of 20 thousand fans, met with the Moscow "Torpedo" and lost in extra time, 1: 2.

2015 — n. at. FNL

Before the start of the start of the FNL season 2015/2016, the management of Torch set the task “to be in the top ten”.

Players from the Premier League came to Torch: Anton Amelchenko and Ruslan Abazov from Rostov , Pavel Stepanets from Ufa , Mikhail Bagaev from Torpedo . The team was supplemented by the leader of Siberia - Viktor Fresh , one of the leaders of Shinnik - Daniel Gridnev and Arthur Rylov , Alexander Kasyan from Khimik , Oleg Samsonov from Tyumen and captain of the Saratov Falcon Alexander Dutov . At the end of the season, the club took the 6th place (in the course of the season, claimed to be in the play-offs for accessing the RFPL ).

Before the start of the 2016/2017 season, “Torch” was replenished at once by several players of the main competitor for a ticket to the play-offs of the previous season - Astrakhan “Volgar”. The contract with Torch was signed by striker Ruslan Bolov , Latvian midfielder Ivans Lukyanovs and defender Dmitry Ivanov . Also, “Torch” was strengthened by Orenburg’s striker Nikita Satalkin , Siberia’s midfielder Ivan Nagibin and others. Before the start of the season, the president of Torch, Eugene M. Severgin, said that the task for the season before Torch would be set at the end of July ^[12] .

At the end of the season in which Torch took 10th place (although most of the tournament was within reach of the butt match zone), most of the players left the club, and the team began its 2017/18 season in a highly updated lineup, which affected the team’s results : final last place. However, due to the large number of refusers, no one of the teams in the relegation zone left the National Football League, and Voronezh residents retained their place in the sub-elite division.

The de facto local specialist Igor Pyvin was appointed de facto head coach instead of the one who left the club at the end of the contract term Pavel Gusev (since he does not have a Pro license, Sergey Volgin officially holds the position) after the match of the 1st round of the FNL Championship of the 2018/19 season lost in Tomsk, the local " Tom " (0: 2), there was information about the aggravated financial problems in the club (cooperation with the TNK company, which sponsored the club in recent years, was suspended) ^[13] .

Colors

Emblem

Fakel fans chose the current emblem in 2010.

•  

  2010 — n. at.

Fakel fans are traditionally considered to be among the most loyal and numerous in Russia. In the 1999 season, when Fakel played in the First Division , after which it entered the Higher League , the Voronezh team became the most visited team in Eastern Europe , with an average attendance of 25,000 spectators per game. They also became the most visited team of Russia and the RSFSR 4 times - in the seasons 1999 , 2000 , 1982 and 1985 , when they set their record for the average attendance per season - 25,676 ^[14] . It is noteworthy that almost 250,000 applications for tickets were submitted for the 2000 Russian Higher League match between Torch and Spartak Moscow ^[15] . The first fan group "Torch" appeared in the 80s. The fan group “Fiery Force” today is one of the most active, numerous, and high-quality provincial groups in Russia. The most massive departure is in Leningrad , to the USSR Cup semi-final against Zenit . Then, according to approximate calculations, from 5,000 to 10,000 Fakel fans attended the match. But the most massive departure of “torches” in Russian history is to Lipetsk in the season of 1999 . That match was attended by 2,000 Voronezh fans ^[16] .

Fan Movement History

Voronezh football fanaticism was born in the early 80s. The formation of the organized Voronezh fan movement of the new wave began at the end of 1996 and coincided with the release of Fakel to the big leagues. Since 1997, the history of the Fiery Power group has begun. Organized away activities began with a trip to Moscow on the Torpedo in June 1997, where 10 people arrived. Thanks to the new Football Club, a massive departure to Moscow , Volgograd , and Yaroslavl was carried out. Since the beginning of the 1998 season, the home fan sector on the Eastern stand has become a permanent phenomenon, home-made banners appear. Available club scarves, badges, baseball caps with the emblem of "Torch" and Fiery Power. On the sector is going to a hundred or more people. At that time, fan groups began to appear in many provincial cities of Russia. Crazy Fliers (Kristall, Smolensk), Red-Black Trains (Lokomotiv Nizhny Novgorod), Gas Gangrene (Gazovik-Gazprom) were the first to become acquainted with Voronezh citizens and became friends of Fiery Power. Throwing stones with a Voronezh fans' bus, the fans of Ramen’s “Saturn” became the first enemies. Since 1998, began a stable outbound activity of fans of "Torch". Organized support was provided to Torch at 12 away matches. 5-10 people traveled to distant cities, several hundred Voronezh residents left for neighboring Lipetsk . 1999 was the year of maximum prosperity and the beginning of the sunset Fiery Power. With the release of the elite division, the number of the sector has increased significantly. The club began to organize bus trips. The fan sector moves to the South Stand, under the scoreboard, where additional side barriers soon appeared. Currently, the fan sector is located there. The year 2000 was the final for the fan group Fiery Power, a split arose in the movement. 2003–2007 was marked by a series of clashes between Voronezh fans and opponents from Tula , Orel , Lipetsk , Saratov , Bryansk , Kursk . At that time, Voronezh residents did not have friendly teams, except Krasnodar . In 2007, the team announced in the competition LFL "Chernozemie", active support is going up. The team now plays in the “Torch” stadium, which has a positive effect on the development of the performance - there was no cordon during the first games. The special feature of the season was the home matches of Fakel StroyArt at the Liski stadium. Hundreds of Fakel fans gathered there for each game, the fan sector arranged powerful fire shows. It was this year that the Fiery Force Fakel Ultras grouping was formed, which subsequently made a lot of new things for the colorful support of “Torch” from the podium. In 2010, the revival of the "Torch". The official club of fans started organizing their own trips at the expense of money allocated by the management, and also continued to make the home sector in the East Stand. In 2010, there was a surge in visiting and home activity of fans. The home sector in the South-3 from Fiery Force Fakel Ultras collected 400-800 people. “Golden season” (fan visit of all home and away games of their team) was issued by 10 people. RPO The official fan club of FC Fakel was noted for a variety of social activities, ranging from charity to the holding of several football tournaments. ^[17] .

Attendance

The average attendance of home games "Fakela" since 1996 at a professional level (the seasons 2007, 2008 and 2009, the team missed).

     Premier League      FNL      Division Two

USSR Championship

Russian Championships

In USSR Championships

1. ↑ In accordance with the quotas of the republics of the USSR (teams that took 16-21 places (representing the republics of the USSR), remained).
2. ↑ At the final stage, the results of matches with teams of their subgroups at the first stage were taken into account.

In Russian Championships

1. ↑ Took the place of Krasnodar, who joined the RFPL instead of Saturn, in accordance with the decision of the RFU Executive Committee.
2. ↑ Retained a place in the FNL due to failure and withdrawal of a number of commands.
3. ↑ Retained a place in the FNL due to non-receipt of a license by Sakhalin and Anji.

As of June 15, 2019

Send

Gone

Currently, the club is supplied by the German company Adidas , the title sponsor is TNS Energo-Voronezh.

Stadium

Voronezh "Torch" holds their home games at the Central Trade Union Stadium at ul. Student Street 17. The stadium seats 32,750 spectators. There are 4 tribunes of the lower tier and 2 - the upper. November 17, 2010 at the stadium was a friendly match in which the Russian team lost to the national team of Belgium 0: 2.

Training Base

The training base of the Fakel football club is located in Shady (Voronezh microdistrict), located at ul. Maple Alley, 1.

Russian championship

• 13th place (1): 2000

First Division

•   Vice Champion (1): 1999
•   Bronze medalist (1): 1996

Cup FNL

•   Champion (1): 2017

Division Two

•   Champion (3): 1994 , 2004 , 2014/2015

Cup of Russia

• 1/4 Finals (1): 2011/2012

First League of the USSR

•   Winner (1): 1984
•   Bronze medalist (1): 1983

Second League of the USSR

•   Champion (2): 1978 , 1988

USSR Cup

• 1/2 finals (1): 1984

• The longest series without defeat is 31 matches (including 1 technical victory) in the period from June 5, 2014 to July 11, 2015 ^[18] .
• The longest series of victories is 18 matches in 2004 ^[19] .
• The record for scored balls for the season belongs to Vladimir Mukhanov , who hit the opponents' goal 31 times in 46 games in the 1979 season ^[20] .
• The longest series of defeats is 8 games in the 2011/2012 season ^[21] .
• The “Torch” became the most visited team of Russia (RSFSR) 4 times, in seasons: 1982, 1985, 1999, 2000. The most visited season is 1985 (25,676) ^[14] .
• Fakel fans have 2 league records: The most visited match of the second division (Torch - Arsenal Tula, 13,500 spectators) ^[22] and the most attended match of the first division (Fakel - Anji Makhachkala, 32,000 viewers) ^[23] .
• 8: 3 - the match “Torch” - “Krasnodar-2” ended in the FNL Cup 2017, which was the most productive match in history held under the auspices of the FNL.

Biggest victory

• 7: 0 ( Lokomotiv Oryol - 1962)

The biggest defeat

• 0: 6 ( Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk - 1985)

Club record holders

Record holders of the club by the number of matches played in the championship and by the number of goals scored (excluding cup meetings) ^[24] .

• In large letters, the current players of the club are highlighted.

For a complete list of players of the Torch Club (Voronezh), about which there are articles in the Russian section of Wikipedia, see here .

• Dynamo (Voronezh)
• Torch Voronezh
• Torch Arrow
• FSA (football club)
• FTsSh-73
• Choice-Kurbatovo
• Buran (football club)
• Strela (football club, Voronezh)

• "The Age of Football". 1908-2008. Anniversary edition. Voronezh, 2008. (project leader R. A. Khodeev, authors-compilers A. A. Gudkov, S. V. Pogrebenchenko)

• Official site of FC Fakel Voronezh
• Fan Club Site
• The official community in VKontakte
• "Torch" Voronezh. Club web encyclopedia
• https://instagram.com/fcfakel