FC Rotor Volgograd facts for kids
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| Full name | ГАУ ВО «Спортивный клуб «Ротор» | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Sine-Golubie (Blue-cyan) | |||
| Founded | 1929 | |||
| Ground | Volgograd Arena | |||
| Capacity | 45,316 | |||
| Chairman | Pavel Nikitin | |||
| Coach | Denis Boyarintsev | |||
| League | Russian First League | |||
| 2024–25 | 9th of 18 | |||
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SC Rotor Volgograd is a professional football club from the big city of Volgograd, Russia. People also call them Sine-Golubie, which means Blue-cyan. They play in the Russian First League, which is the second-highest football league in Russia. Rotor is the biggest and most popular club in Volgograd. For most of its history, it has been the only team from the city playing in Russia's national football leagues.
The team has played at the top level of Russian football many times. This includes seasons before and after World War II, from 1989 to 1990, from 1991 to 2004, and in the 2020–21 season. In the 1990s, Rotor was one of the best clubs in Russia. They even played in European competitions four times. Recently, the club has faced money problems. This has sometimes put their professional status at risk. They currently play their home games at the Volgograd Arena, a stadium built in 2018.
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Club History and Beginnings
The club's name, "Rotor," and its old name, "Traktor," both refer to the Stalingrad Tractor Factory. This factory used to make many tractors. It was also a very important place during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II.
Early Years in Soviet Football
Before World War II, Traktor Stalingrad became well-known in Russian football. They won Group G, a fourth-level league, in 1937. After that, they moved straight up to Group A, the highest league. They stayed in the top league until 1950.
Rotor then played in regional leagues for 30 years. In the 1970s, they slowly got better. They won Zone III of the Soviet Second League in 1980 and 1981. This helped them get promoted to a higher league.
In 1988, Rotor finished second in the Soviet First League. This earned them a spot in the Soviet Top League. They were relegated in 1990 but quickly bounced back. In 1991, they won the First League. This meant they became one of the first teams in the new Russian Top Division after the Soviet Union ended.
Top League Success and European Matches
In the mid-1990s, Rotor was one of the strongest teams in Russia. They often competed with Spartak Moscow for the championship. Rotor finished as league runners-up in both 1993 and 1997.
Rotor played in European competitions for five seasons in a row, from 1994 to 1999. They usually qualified for the UEFA Cup because of their league position. In 1996–97, they played in the Intertoto Cup instead.
One famous match was against England's Manchester United in 1995–96. Rotor drew 0–0 at home. Then, in the away game at Old Trafford, Rotor scored two quick goals. Manchester United's goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel, scored a goal in the last moments. The game ended 2–2. Because of the away goals rule, Rotor moved on to the next round. This was a big achievement for the club.
Financial Challenges and Rebuilding
In the 2000s, Rotor's performance got worse. In 2004, they finished last in the Russian Premier League. The club faced serious money problems and lost its professional license in 2005.
Rotor's reserve team, Rotor-2 Volgograd, became the main team in 2006. They were renamed Rotor. The club continued to struggle financially. In 2009, the government stepped in to help. A new club, FC Volgograd, was created. Eventually, the two clubs merged, and the new Rotor Volgograd was promoted to the second-level Russian Football National League.
The club received money to help them, but they were relegated again in 2010. Former player Sergei Nechay became the manager. He led the team to win their Second Division zone in 2011–12, earning promotion again. They managed to stay in the National League for a couple of seasons.
However, financial problems continued. In 2014, government support was stopped. The club dropped down to the third-tier Professional Football League. Then, they moved to the fourth-level Russian Amateur Football League in 2015.
Return to Higher Leagues
In 2015, Rotor won the Amateur League Chernozemye division. They lost only one game all season. The new Volgograd Arena was being built, and the club wanted to play there. This made getting back to a higher league very important.
They got a license for the third-tier Russian Professional Football League for the 2016–17 season. They won their zone that season and were promoted to the second-level Russian National Football League for 2017–18.
Even though they finished in a relegation spot in 2017–18, Rotor stayed in the league. Another team above them could not get a license. On May 15, 2020, the FNL season ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. Rotor was in first place, so they were promoted to the Russian Premier League for the 2020–21 season. This was their return to the top league after 16 years.
In the 2020–21 Russian Premier League season, Rotor struggled to score goals. They finished 15th and were relegated back to the FNL. They also had two losses because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the team. In the 2021–22 Russian Football National League, Rotor finished 18th and was relegated again.
In the 2023–24 season, Rotor played in the Second League promotion play-offs. They beat FC Novosibirsk to earn promotion back to the Russian First League.
Club Achievements
Rotor Volgograd has won several titles and finished as runners-up in various leagues and cups.
League Titles
- Soviet Top League/Russian Premier League (First Tier)
- Runners-up: 1993, 1997
- Soviet/Russian First League (Second Tier)
- Winners: 1991, 2019–20
- Runners-up: 1988
- Soviet/Russian Second League (Third Tier)
- Winners: 1981, 2011–12
- Runners-up: 1979, 1980
- Soviet Second League B/Russian Amateur Football League (Fourth Tier)
- Winners: 1937, 2015 (Chernozemye Region)
Cup Competitions
- Russian Cup
- Runners-up: 1995
- King's Cup (Thailand)
- Winner: 1995
- Far East Club Championship (China)
- Winner: 1998
Current Squad
As of July 16, 2025, here are the players for Rotor Volgograd:
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Reserve Team
Rotor also has a reserve team called FC Rotor-2 Volgograd.
Club Names Through the Years
The club has had several names since it was founded:
- Traktorostroitel Stalingrad (1929~1936)
- Dzerzhinets-STZ Stalingrad (1936)
- Traktor Stalingrad (1937~47)
- Torpedo Stalingrad (1948~57)
- Traktor Stalingrad (1958~60)
- Traktor Volgograd (1961~69)
- Stal Volgograd (1970~1971)
- Barrikady Volgograd (1972~1974)
- Rotor Volgograd (1975~2004)
- Rotor-2 (2005)
- Rotor (2006~2009,2010~2014)
- Rotor Volgograd (2015~2018)
- Rotor (2018~)
Famous Players
Many talented players have played for Rotor Volgograd. Some of them have also played for their national teams. Players whose names are in bold played for their country while at Rotor.
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See also
In Spanish: FC Rotor Volgogrado para niños
