FC Anzhi is based in Makhachkala. It was founded not so long ago, in 1991. The team once played in the Russian Cup final. In the spring of 2011 the team moved to a base in the Moscow region where Saturn Moscow Oblast used to practice.
The name of the team is derived from a Kumyk word which means ‘pearl’: it is the name of the territory where Makhachkala is now situated.
In their first year Anzhi won the Dagestan championship, which allowed the club to play in a professional league: the debut among professionals was finished in the fifth place. In a year the team won a regional tournament and was to play in the first Russian division, but due to championship restructuring Anzhi continued to play in the second division. In three years the team got promoted mostly thanks to Eduard Malofeyev, their experienced coach.
2001 was a very difficult year for the club. Championship standings were bad, Gadzhi Gadzhiyev (head coach) left the team. Then a most awful tragedy happened: in a match against the ‘Army team’ Budun Budunov, Anzhi forward, collided with Serhiy Perkhun, Moscow club goalkeeper, after which the latter died in the hospital without regaining consciousness. It was a hardest shock for everyone. That year Anzhi finished 13th in the Russian top division championship. Next May the club reached the Russian Cup final where they played against Lokomotiv: the famous Moscow club was more successful in the penalty shoot-out.
Nevertheless, Anzhi got the right to play in European competitions. The club had a fixture against Glasgow Rangers: the European club refused to go to the ‘post-conflict’ region, so the match was played at the neutral stadium in Poland. The famous Scottish club won 1-0.
In 2011 Anzhi became a major headliner for Russian football. Suleyman Kerimov, the new owner, decided to spend incredible money on star players. He invited Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Tardelli, Jucilei, Mbark Boussoufa, Lacina Traore and Balázs Dzsudzsák.
In the season 2012/2013 the team won bronze medals of the Russian Premier League under the management of Guus Hiddink. However, things changed for the worse and Kerimov had to sell all of his star players before the following season. Anzhi finished bottom of the league and were relegated to FNL.
Ibragim Gasanbekov remains the top scorer in the club history with 153 goals in 236 matches.
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