FC Nyva Ternopil

FC Nyva Ternopil ( uk, Футбольний клуб «Нива» Тернопіль) is a Ukrainian football club from the city of Ternopil, the administrative center of Ternopil Oblast. As of the 2020–21 season, it played in the Ukrainian First League, the second tier of Ukrainian football, following promotion from the 2019–20 Ukrainian Second League. Originally the club was formed as Nyva Pidhaitsi in the small town Pidhaitsi in 1978, then moved to a district centre Berezhany changing its name to Nyva Berezhany in 1982, and finally moved to Ternopil becoming Nyva Ternopil in 1985. In 2016 the club withdrew from the professional competitions and was reestablished as PFC Nyva Ternopil.

Their home ground is the small stadium of former bird farm in village of Velyki Hayi near Ternopil, but all the major home league and cup matches they have played before in 15,150 seat Central City Stadium, which belongs to Community of the City of Ternopil.

History

Club names

* 1978–1982: FC Nyva Pidhaitsi
* 1982–1985: FC Nyva Berezhany
* 1985–2016: FC Nyva Ternopil
* 2016–2020: PFC Nyva Ternopil
* 2020–present: FC Nyva Ternopil

Soviet times

In the fifties of the 20th century in Soviet Union, the strongest team in Ternopil was ''Dynamo''. Taking part in competitions of collectives of physical culture, ''Dynamo'' several times got their way to the finals, but they were unsuccessful.

In 1958, a new team had been created – FC Avanhard Ternopil. The first success came in 1965 when they finished second in zonal tournament. Three years later, Avanhard won the champion title in the Class B. The team began to perform in the Second Group (Class A) and was renamed to Budivelnyk. The results were as follows:

1971 – 14th place; 1972 – 15; 1973 -20; 1974 – 19.

Two consecutive years of failure led to the fact that the team was disbanded.

The new club was created in 1978 at the collective farm "Shlyakh do komunizmu" (Road to the Communism) in Pidhaitsi by Ivan Potupa, the head of farm's council. Nyva played its first official match on 23 July 1978 in regional cup competition. On 16 October 1982 the team wins physical culture collectives' championship of Ukrainian SSR and moves to the biggest city in the district – Berezhany. This success gives the right to the first team from Ternopil region after 1974 to partycipate in the Soviet Second League. Three years later the team moves to Ternopil. In their first year in Soviet Second League 13th place was achieved. The next year Nyva finished on the same place. In 1985, they were 7th, 1986 – 4, 1987 – 2, 1988 – 12, 1989 – 3, 1990 – 4, 1991 – 4.

Championships of Ukraine

From 1992, Nyva Ternopil played in the Ukrainian Premier League, after being initially chosen to participate for being one of the top 9 (of 11) Ukrainian teams from the 1991 Soviet Second League, Zone West. Leonid Koltun was the head coach at that time and he created a colony of Kazakh players– Konstantin Pavlyuchenko, Anton Shokh, Evgeny Yarovenko, Sergey Timofeev and Fanas Salimov. Together with players from new formed states from former Soviet republics as kyrgyz Tagir Fasakhov, Moldovan Iurie Scala, Russian Sergei Polstianov and Ukrainians Yuriy Chystov, Ihor Pokydko, Petro Buts, Ihor Tsiselskyi, Yuriy Kulish, Valeriy Horoshynskyi, Vitaliy Rudnytskyi and Mykhailo Demyanchuk the team finished 4th in the Group B of 1992 Vyshcha Liha below Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Metalist Kharkiv respectively. The next season started with bad results which caused the head coach replacement – Dynamo Kyiv and USSR national football team legend Leonid Buryak started to manage the club. He avoided relegation in the last weeks and Nyva finished in 14th place, but reached the quarter-finals of 1992-93 Ukrainian Cup, defeating amateurs Lokomotyv Rivne in Round of 32 (0–0, 2–1), 1992 bronze medalists Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Round of 16 (3–0, 0–2) and lost only by conceding an away goal to 1992 cup holders Metalist Kharkiv in Quarter-finals (0–1, 2–1).

The season in 1993–94 Vyshcha Liha was one of the most successful in the club's history. Leonid Buryak gathered very good players: Oleh Mochulyak, who scored 14 goals in a league, Ukrainian internationals Andriy Vasylytchuk, Dmytro Tyapushkin, Serhiy Lezhentsev, the most capped team player Ihor Biskup, Mykhailo Demyanchuk, Vitaliy Rudnytskyi, Valentyn Hrehul, Ihor Sushko, Volodymyr Lobas, Dmytro Tutychenko, Matviy Nykolaychuk, Vitaliy Shumskyi, Ivan Korponay, Russia national football team player Vladislav Ternavskiy and young Russian Andrei Gashkin. Participation in domestic cup wasn't successful as last year – after Nyva Ternopil defeated Prykarpattya Ivano-Frankivsk in West Ukrainian derby matches in Round of 32 (1–1, 4–1), in the next round they lost to the future cup runner-up Tavriya Simferopol (0–0, 0–3). At the end of the season Leonid Buryak left the team for his hometown's Chornomorets Odesa and took the best goalscorer Oleh Mochulyak and talented winger Andrei Gashkin with him. Dmytro Tyapushkin and Vladislav Ternavskiy went to Spartak Moscow, while Serhiy Lezhentsev found his place in Dynamo Kyiv.

Yavorskyi Era

Valeriy Dushkov became new head coach for the 1994–95 Vyshcha Liha, but because of bad results he was replaced by Ihor Yavorskyi, the one of the best players in club's history and who will become the most successful head coach of Nyva Ternopil. The team finished 12th in a table, but reached cup Quarter-finals again. Yavir Krasnopillya ( 2L) were beaten in 1/16 (0–0, 4–0), then Nyva came back with a brilliant 4–0 home win after Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih defeated them heavy in the first match in Kryvyi Rih with a 3–0 score, but in Quarter-finals future cup winner Shakhtar Donetsk won 2–0 in a second leg match after 1–1 in Ternopil and went through to Semi-finals.

Current player and new playing manager Ihor Yavorskyi started to build a new team in the next season. Young talented midfielder Serhiy Shyshchenko was loaned from Shakhtar Donetsk, another young players Andriy Parkhomenko, Oleg Yashchuk and two Georgian twins – Avtandil Kapanadze and Tariel Kapanadze came to create a good collective with players who already were in a team in the last seasons – Biskup, Demyanchuk, Romanchuk, but only 13th place in the end of the season and Quarter-final again in a cup. Format had been changed and now teams played only one match. Nyva Ternopil started from Round of 32 again and defeated second league FC Khutrovyk Tysmenytsia by the only goal of Mykhailo Demyanchuk, then home win 3–1 against league competitors Volyn Lutsk and finally away defeat in Vinnytsia in the very tough match with team with a same name – Nyva Vinnytsia (0–1), which will get to the finals and lose there to Dynamo Kyiv. Oleg Yashchuk scored 10 goals in a league. Also he scored a hat-trick against Shakhtar Donetsk, which inspired Belgian scouts from R.S.C. Anderlecht. As a result, young starlet was transferred to Belgian giants during the season.

New players came before the beginning of 1996–97 season, now Ihor Yavorskyi began to bring experienced players to the squad. Ukrainian veteran Bohdan Samardak (33) came from Bukovyna Chernivtsi, Kyrgyz former international of Ukrainian descent Oleg Kazmirchuk (28) was signed as a free agent after a spell at FC Naftokhimik Kremenchuk last season, former Lithuania national football team defender/midfielder Igoris Pankratjevas (32) was transferred from Podillya Khmelnytskyi. Also the team players such as Ihor Biskup turned already 36 and Vitaliy Rudnytskyi – 32, so the most aged team in 1996–97 Vyshcha Liha finished in the midtable in 9th place, which was the best result of the time under Ihor Yavorskyi as a head coach.

The next season was the last for young head coach. ''Zhovto-zeleni'' repeated the success they had under Buryak as a head coach in 1994. Almost until the last match they held 6th place but lost it to Metalurh Donetsk which played only first year in Vyshcha Liha. Quarter-finals already became a tradition for the team from Ternopil, as they reached this round for the fourth time in 7 competitions since start in 1992. The 1997–98 Ukrainian Cup was real metallurgical competition for Nyva as they played only with teams called ''Metalurh'': Round of 32 – Metalurh Nikopol (1–1, 4–1), Round of 16 – Metalurh Zaporizhia (1–2, 3–1), QF – Metalurh Donetsk (2–1, 0–1). The new promoted team from Donetsk became a real threat for that year. Ihor Yavorskyi resigned after the 29th match in league, so the last match of the season was played under Leonid Ishchuk as a head coach. Avtandil Kapanadze became top goalscorer 15 times finding the net. Such players like goalkeepers Yuriy Chumak and Yuriy Nikitenko, field players Andriy Kyrlyk, Ihor Biskup, Oleh Mishenin, Mykola Lapa, Vitaliy Kut, Vitaliy Pervak, Tariel Kapanadze, Yuriy Fokin, Mykola Zakotyuk, Bohdan Samardak, Serhiy Turyanskyi and Andriy Shpak