Kuban Krasnodar

Origins

Football first appeared in Kuban during the early 20th century, when a number of sports clubs were created in Ekaterinodar. The first matches were intra-club, and football competed with other sports; however, interest gradually grew and friendly matches were played between clubs in different cities. The first intercity football match was played in Ekaterinodar on 6 August (or 9 August) 1912 when the Achilles club (or an Ekaterinodar city team with Achilles players) defeated Novorossiysk Olympia 5–0. Since 1913, when the first city championship was played, matches between city teams (Achilles, Sport and Victoria) have become common.

Founding

According to the club, its history began in 1928 with the organization in Krasnodar of Dynamo NKVD. According to some reports the team was founded a year earlier, but documentary evidence of that club does not exist. The team came into existence in 1928, according to documents in the archives.

Dynamo: 1928–1953

Before there was a national championship, Dynamo played friendly matches with the best teams in Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus. In addition to these matches, tournaments were played in the city (including the Lottery Friendship Cup, played by sports clubs and teams from the Krasnodar military garrison).

In 1931 Dynamo moved into its own stadium, in the center of Krasnodar, which is now the city's oldest existing sports facility. That year, the club received the Sportspeople of the Northern Caucasus award.

In 1935, Dynamo (the only Krasnodar team) played in the intercity USSR Championship. In the group stage in Pyatigorsk, the team played three games in five days. On 26 June, they played to a 2–2 draw with Yerevan, and on 28 June Dynamo won 1–0 over Makhachkala. On 30 June the club lost to Pyatigorsk 1–2, finishing third in the group.

In 1948 the club played in the RSFSR championship, beginning with preliminary games in the North Caucasus (against teams from Stavropol, Rostov-on-Don, Grozny, Stalingrad, Nalchik, Makhachkala and the Krasnodar Lightning. Dynamo was undefeated in the zone tournament. The playoffs began on 3 October at the Dynamo stadium, where the hosts reached the finals undefeated. On 17 October 1948 Dynamo beat Molotov 4–0 in the final and became, for the first time in their history, RSFSR champions (winning a number of prizes).

Neftyanik: 1954–1957

In 1953 Dynamo changed its name to Neftyanik, representing Krasnodar in the Class B Soviet League the following year. The team played well in the first round of the 1953 championship but faltered in the second, eventually finishing 10th.

In the 1955 season, Neftyanik finished in fifth place and was promoted to Class A of the Soviet Top League. The following year, the club finished fourth. In the 1957 season Neftyanik again finished fourth.

Kuban: 1958–1960

In 1958 the team again changed its name, this time to Kuban. It was in the top echelon for most of the 1958–59 season despite the loss of eight players (the team's core) to the army, where most represented FC SKVO. In the 1959–60 season, Kuban finished in fifth place.

Spartak: 1960–1962

When the team moved to Spartak during the second half of the 1960 season, they finished third. The following year they finished eighth, which was blamed by fans on poor coaching.

After the first round of the 1962 championship, Spartak was in sixth place. Between rounds, a new manager (Vladimir Gorokhov, a Master of Sport in the USSR) was brought in. In the second round Spartak, unhampered by injuries, won their zonal tournament.

The final round involved the five best clubs in Krasnodar Krai. Spartak played four matches, winning three. They defeated Voronezh Trud (1–0), Army Novosibirsk (2–0) and Yaroslavl Shinnik (2–0), drawing (2–2) with Sverdlovsk Uralmash in the third match. As RSFSR zone champion, Spartak won the right to play in the Soviet Top League; however, because of a league reorganization they were not permitted to play.

Kuban: 1963–1979

In 1963, after the club changed its name back to Kuban, they played unevenly and finished 10th in the Group 2 of Class A. After two poor seasons in 1964 and 1965 (where they finished 15th and 25th, respectively) three good seasons followed in 1966, 1967 and 1969. However, despite finishing third each season the team did not win promotion. In 1970 Kuban were relegated to the Soviet Second League, and its ownership changed the following year.

In 1973, Kuban finished third in the final tournament, earning a return to the First League and winning their third RSFSR zone championship. The club struggled in the First League for two seasons until they were relegated again to the Second League in 1976. Kuban returned to the First League in 1977. After a good start in 1978 (immediately after their promotion), Kuban eventually finished in sixth place.

The 1979 season was one of the most successful ones in recent club history. Kuban finished second, earning the right to play in the following year's Top League. Unlike 1962, there was no reorganization of the Soviet League and Kuban was promoted.

1980–1991

In 1980, Kuban played for the first time in the Soviet Top League. Before the season, the Kuban Stadium was renovated with an increase in capacity. Their first home game was a scoreless tie on 7 April with Lokomotiv Moscow, and on 12 April Kuban scored their first Top League goals against Dynamo Tbilisi (2–2). At the end of the season Kuban won the "Together with the team" prize for home-field attendance. In 1981 the team finished in 13th place, the club's greatest achievement to date.