FC Luch Vladivostok
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| Full name | Football Club Luch-Energiya Vladivostok | ||
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| Founded | 1958 | ||
| Ground | Dynamo Stadium, Vladivostok | ||
| Capacity | 10,500 | ||
| Chairman |  Aleksandr Kostenko | ||
| Manager |  Semen Altman | ||
| League | Russian First Division | ||
| 2008 | Russian Premier League, 16th (relegated) | ||
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FC Luch-Energiya (Template:Lang-ru) is a Russian football club based in Vladivostok. In 2005, Luch-Energia won the Russian First Division and played in the Premier League in 2006 and 2007, although was almost relegated in the latter year.
The club was called Luch before 2003, when it was renamed Luch-Energia due to sponsorship from Dalenergo, an energy distribution company.
History
Luch has been playing in the USSR championship since 1958. The club played in the Far East regional tournament of "B-class" teams and eventually won it in 1965, earning promotion to "A-class". Luch played in this regional tournament until league reorganization in 1972.
From 1972 to 1991, Luch played in the Eastern zone of Soviet Second League. The club's best result was a runner-up position in 1984.
In 1992, after the dissolution of Soviet Union, Luch was entitled to play in the Eastern zone of Russian First League and won that tournament. Luch played in Russian Top League in 1993 and was relegated, having finished 15th.
Luch played in Russian First Division from 1994 until relegation in 1997, and in Russian Second Division from 1998 to 2003. In 2003, Luch-Energia finished 1st in the Eastern zone and earned promotion. The club spent another 2 years in First Division, earning promotion to Premier League in 2005.
Complications
Situated in the far east of the country, their location poses a significant problem for away teams. When playing FC Zenit Saint Petersburg at home, a trio of Zenit fans (Evgeny Stepanov, Aleksandr Zaraysky and Veronika Davidova) drove 15,000km across the country only for their car to break down when in Vladivostok, leaving them unable to drive home. These fans thus took the Trans-Siberian Railway back to Saint Petersburg, upon which the club rewarded them with a new car on October 1, 2006. In addition to this, Igor Akinfeev, the CSKA Moscow goalkeeper, said that "they should play in the Japanese League", after his team lost 4-0 after a seven hour flight.[1]
Current squad
As of 31 August 2008, according to the Official Russian Premier League Site.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Notable past players
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