2020–21 Moldovan National Division

The 2020–21 Moldovan National Division (Romanian: Divizia Națională) was the 30th season of top-tier football in Moldova. The season started on 3 July 2020 and ended on 26 May 2021. Sheriff Tiraspol were the defending champions. The winners of the league this season earned a spot in the first qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, and the second, third and fourth placed clubs earned a place in the first qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.[1]

Divizia Națională
Season2020–21
Dates3 July 2020 – 26 May 2021
ChampionsSheriff
19th title
RelegatedBuiucani
Champions LeagueSheriff
Conference LeagueSf. Gheorghe
Petrocub
Milsami
Matches played180
Goals scored562 (3.12 per match)
Top goalscorerFrank Castañeda
(28 goals)
Best goalkeeperCristian Avram
(15 clean sheets)
Biggest home winPetrocub 7–0 Codru
(17 July 2020)
Dinamo-Auto 7–0 Codru
(11 September 2020)
Sheriff 7–0 Dinamo-Auto
(6 March 2021)
Biggest away winSperanța 0–10 Sheriff
(16 April 2021)
Highest scoringCodru 1–9 Petrocub
(23 February 2021)
Speranța 0–10 Sheriff
(16 April 2021)
Longest winning run15 matches
Sheriff
Longest unbeaten run24 matches
Petrocub
Longest winless run19 matches
Codru
Longest losing run14 matches
Codru
2019

Teams

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A total of 10 teams competing in the league. These include 8 teams from the 2019 season and two promoted teams from the "A" Division: Florești and Dacia Buiucani, both making their debut in the top flight.

 
 
Tiraspol
 
Tiraspol teams:
Dinamo-Auto
Sheriff
 
Chișinău
 
Chișinău teams:
Dacia Buiucani
Zimbru
Team Place Ground Capacity Coach
Codru Lozova Nicolae Simatoc Stadium 1,100   Alexei Savinov
Dacia Buiucani Chișinău Zimbru-2 Stadium 2,000   Andrei Martin
Dinamo-Auto Tiraspol Dinamo-Auto Stadium 1,300   Igor Dobrovolski
Florești Florești Bender Stadium 5,000   Iurie Groșev
Milsami Orhei CSR Orhei 3,000   Serghei Dubrovin
Petrocub Hîncești Hîncești Stadium 1,200   Lilian Popescu
Sfîntul Gheorghe Suruceni Suruceni Stadium 1,500   Serghei Cebotari
Sheriff Tiraspol Sheriff Stadium 12,726   Yuriy Vernydub
Speranța Nisporeni CSR Orhei 3,000   Volodymyr Prokopynenko
Zimbru Chișinău Zimbru Stadium 10,400   Vlad Goian

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of
departure
Date of vacancy Position
in table
Replaced by Date of appointment
Zimbru   Veaceslav Sofroni End of caretaker spell 11 December 2019 Pre-season   Sandro Pochesci 11 December 2019[2]
Codru   Valeriu Andronic Signed by Moldova U15/U16 24 December 2019[3]   Simeon Bulgaru 23 January 2020[4]
Milsami   Veaceslav Rusnac Signed by Kyzylzhar 9 January 2020[5]   Serghei Dubrovin 11 March 2020[6]
Speranța   Cristian Efros Resigned 1 February 2020[7]   Iurie Osipenco 4 February 2020[8]
Florești   Oleg Șișchin Demoted to assistant coach 6 February 2020   Iurie Groșev 6 February 2020[9]
Zimbru   Sandro Pochesci Resigned 7 February 2020   Giovanni Scanu 7 February 2020[10]
Zimbru   Giovanni Scanu Released 4 March 2020[11]   Vlad Goian 10 June 2020[12]
Codru   Simeon Bulgaru Resigned 2 June 2020[13]   Sergiu Chirilov 4 July 2020[14]
Zimbru   Vlad Goian Promoted to academy technical director 16 October 2020 9th   Simeon Bulgaru (interim) 16 October 2020[15]
Sheriff   Zoran Zekić Resigned 21 October 2020 1st   Victor Mihailov (interim) 21 October 2020[16]
  Victor Mihailov End of caretaker spell 14 January 2021 1st   Yuriy Vernydub 14 January 2021[17]
Zimbru   Simeon Bulgaru Resigned 17 January 2021[18] 9th   Vlad Goian 18 January 2021[19]
Codru   Sergiu Chirilov Released 18 January 2021 10th   Alexei Savinov 18 January 2021[20]
Speranța   Iurie Osipenco Released 24 February 2021 7th   Volodymyr Prokopynenko 24 February 2021[21]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sheriff Tiraspol (C) 36 32 3 1 116 7 +109 99 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2 Petrocub Hîncești 36 25 8 3 82 18 +64 83 Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round[a]
3 Milsami Orhei 36 22 7 7 71 37 +34 73
4 Sfîntul Gheorghe 36 21 4 11 65 43 +22 67
5 Dacia Buiucani (R) 36 13 9 14 44 45 −1 48[b] Relegation to Division "A"[c]
6 Dinamo-Auto 36 12 12 12 53 58 −5 48[b]
7 Florești 36 9 5 22 37 85 −48 32
8 Zimbru Chișinău 36 6 7 23 39 63 −24 25
9 Speranța Nisporeni 36 5 8 23 29 87 −58 23 Expelled[d]
10 Codru Lozova 36 2 3 31 26 119 −93 9 Withdrew[e]
Source: FMF, UEFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-off (only if deciding champion when two teams tied); 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored; 6) Head-to-head goals scored; 7) Matches won; 8) Goal difference; 9) Goals scored; 10) Least red cards; 11) Least yellow cards.[25]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Sfîntul Gheorghe qualified for the Europa Conference League by winning the 2020–21 Moldovan Cup
  2. ^ a b Dacia Buiucani ahead of Dinamo-Auto on head-to-head points:Dacia Buiucani : 7p, Dinamo-Auto : 4p.
  3. ^ Dacia Buiucani have been relegated voluntarily due to financial reasons and will be taking part in the second tier league next season.[22]
  4. ^ Speranța Nisporeni failed to arrive for their 33rd and 34th Round games and subsequently were expelled from the competition. All remaining fixtures are awarded 0–3 against them.[23]
  5. ^ As per regulations, the tenth placed team Codru Lozova was to be relegated to Divizia A, but the club withdrew before the start of the next season.[24]

Results

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Teams will play each other four times (twice at home, twice away).

Rounds 1−18

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Matches 1−18
Home \ Away COD DAC DIN FLO MIL PET SFÎ SHE SPE ZIM
Codru Lozova 0–1 1–4 1–1 1–4 1–4 0–0 1–2 0–1 0–2
Dacia Buiucani 4–0 4–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–4 0–3 0–3 2–1
Dinamo-Auto 7–0 1–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 3–3 1–1
Florești 1–0 1–0 0–5 0–4 0–4 1–4 0–1 1–1 1–0
Milsami Orhei 3–1 2–0 1–0 3–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 2–0
Petrocub Hîncești 7–0 2–0 3–1 4–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–0
Sfîntul Gheorghe 5–1 2–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 0–4 0–1 1–0 2–0
Sheriff Tiraspol 6–0 0–0 6–0 5–0 1–0 4–1 4–1 2–0 2–0
Speranța Nisporeni 3–0 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–1 1–4 0–2 1–2 2–2
Zimbru Chișinău 3–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–3 0–4 0–2
Source: FMF, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Rounds 19−36

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Matches 19−36
Home \ Away COD DAC DIN FLO MIL PET SFÎ SHE SPE ZIM
Codru Lozova 0–4 0–2 2–1 2–4 1–9 1–2 0–6 1–2 1–5
Dacia Buiucani 5–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–4 4–1 1–1
Dinamo-Auto 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 0–2 0–7 0–0 3–0
Florești 2–1 2–0 4–1 2–5 0–1 0–4 0–3 4–4 3–1
Milsami Orhei 7–2 3–0 2–2 3–2 1–3 2–1 0–1 3–0 2–1
Petrocub Hîncești 1–0 4–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 3–0[a] 3–0
Sfîntul Gheorghe 2–2 2–0 3–1 3–2 1–3 0–3 0–2 3–0[a] 4–3
Sheriff Tiraspol 6–0 1–1 7–0 6–0 6–0 0–0 2–0 3–0 4–0
Speranța Nisporeni 0–3[a] 0–3[a] 0–4 1–3 0–4 1–3 0–3 0–10 2–2
Zimbru Chișinău 2–1 1–3 1–1 3–0 1–2 0–0 2–3 0–1 6–0
Source: FMF, Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c d Technical wins/losses

Positions by round

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Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536
Codru Lozova101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010
Dacia Buiucani436554666666665556666666666666665555
Dinamo-Auto244445555555556665555555555555556666
Florești867788988888888888888888888777777777
Milsami Orhei575666444422344333433333333333333333
Petrocub Hîncești622222222233222222222222222222222222
Sfîntul Gheorghe153333333344433444344444444444444444
Sheriff Tiraspol311111111111111111111111111111111111
Speranța Nisporeni999999877777777777777777777888899999
Zimbru Chișinău788877799999999999999999999999988888
Source: fmf.md

Results by round

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The following table represents the teams game results in each round.[26]

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Codru Lozova L L L L L L L L L D D L L L L L L L D W L L L L L L L L L L L L L L W[a] L
Dacia Buiucani W D L W L W L L L W L W L D W D L D W D D D L W W L L D L W L L W W[a] W D
Dinamo-Auto W L W W L L D L W W D L D D L D D W W D D W L L W D W L D L D L L D W W
Florești L W L L D L L W L L D L W D L L W L L L L D D L L L W W L L W W L L W L
Milsami Orhei D D W L L W W W W W W W D L W W D W L D W W L W W D W D W W W L W W L W
Petrocub Hîncești D W W W W W W L W L D W W D W W W W W D W W W W W D W D D W W W W[a] W L D
Sfîntul Gheorghe W L W W W W L W W D W D D W L W W D L W L L W W L W W W L W L W W L L W[a]
Sheriff Tiraspol W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W L D W W W W W W W W D W W W W W W W W W D
Speranța Nisporeni L D L L D L W W L L W L D D L D W L L D L L D L L L L L W L D L L[b] L[b] L[b] L[b]
Zimbru Chișinău L D L L W L D L L L L L L W L D L L L D L L W L L L D W W L L W L D L D

Top goalscorers

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Rank Player Club Goals[27]
1   Frank Castañeda Sheriff 28
2   Vladimir Ambros Petrocub 16
3   Alexandru Antoniuc Milsami 15
4   Roman Volkov Sf. Gheorghe 12
  Maxim Mihaliov Dinamo-Auto
6   Andrei Cobeț Florești 11
  Sergiu Plătică Petrocub
8   Artiom Puntus Milsami 10
  Dimitris Kolovos Sheriff
  Vadim Crîcimari Buiucani
  Artur Pătraș Zimbru

Clean sheets

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Rank Player Club Clean sheets[28]
1   Cristian Avram Petrocub 15
2   Emil Tîmbur Milsami 14
3   Dumitru Coval Buiucani 12
4   Dušan Marković Sheriff 10
  Zvonimir Mikulić Sheriff
6   Dumitru Celeadnic Sheriff 9
7   Victor Străistari Dinamo-Auto 6
  Nicolai Calancea Sf. Gheorghe
9   Vladislav Liharev Florești 5
10   Mickaël Meira Petrocub 4
  Anatol Chirinciuc Speranța

Hat-tricks

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Player Home Away Result Date
  Vladimir Ambros Petrocub Codru 7–0 17 July 2020
  Anatole Abang Sheriff Dinamo-Auto 6–0 26 July 2020
  Maxim Mihaliov Florești Dinamo-Auto 0–5 18 September 2020
  Andriy Bliznichenko Sheriff Florești 5–0 24 October 2020
  Vladimir Ambros Codru Petrocub 1–9 23 February 2021
  Alexandru Dedov Milsami Codru 7–2 12 March 2021
  Shahrom Samiev Dinamo-Auto Zimbru 3–0 12 March 2021
  Lovro Bizjak Speranța Sheriff 0–10 16 April 2021
  Peter Banda Codru Sheriff 0–6 29 April 2021
  Frank Castañeda Dinamo-Auto Sheriff 0–7 15 May 2021
  Roman Volkov Florești Sf. Gheorghe 0–4 16 May 2021

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Technical win
  2. ^ a b c d Technical loss

References

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  1. ^ "Country ranking". Bert Kassies.
  2. ^ "Schimbări la Zimbru" (in Romanian).publika.md
  3. ^ "Andronic U15/U16" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2020-01-15.fmf.md
  4. ^ "Булгару-новый главный тренер Кодру" (in Russian).[permanent dead link]sports.md
  5. ^ "Главным тренером Кызыл-Жар назначен Руснак" (in Russian).petropavltv.kz
  6. ^ "Dubrovin este noul antrenor al clubului Milsami" (in Romanian).moldfootball.com
  7. ^ "Efros s-a retras" (in Romanian).publika.md
  8. ^ "Osipenco este noul antrenor al Speranței" (in Romanian).publika.md
  9. ^ "Groșev este noul antrenor al echipei Florești" (in Romanian).ipn.md
  10. ^ "Zimbru are un nou antrenor" (in Romanian).protv.md
  11. ^ "Retragerea echipei de seniori" (in Romanian).zimbru.md
  12. ^ "Relansarea clubului" (in Romanian).zimbru.md
  13. ^ "Bulgaru a plecat de la Codru" (in Romanian).publika.md
  14. ^ "Raport de meci" (PDF) (in Romanian).fmf.md
  15. ^ "Bulgaru, antrenor principal" (in Romanian).zimbru.md
  16. ^ "Officially".fc-sheriff.com
  17. ^ "New head coach".fc-sheriff.com
  18. ^ "Bulgaru nu mai face parte din staff".moldfootball.com
  19. ^ "Zimbru a ieșit din vacanță" (in Romanian).zimbru.md
  20. ^ "Codru a efectuat primul antrenament" (in Romanian).moldfootball.com
  21. ^ "Speranța-Dinamo Auto" (in Romanian).fmf.md
  22. ^ "Deciziile comitetului executiv" (in Romanian).
  23. ^ "Deciziile comitetului de competiții" (in Romanian).
  24. ^ "Programul primelor etape" (in Romanian). Moldovan Football Federation. 9 July 2021.
  25. ^ "Regulamentul campionatului R. Moldova la fotbal ediția 2020-21" [Rules Football Championship Edition 2020-21 Moldova] (PDF). fmf.md (in Romanian). Moldovan Football Federation.
  26. ^ "Results by round". Soccerway.
  27. ^ "Players - Divizia Națională - Moldova". Soccerway.
  28. ^ "Clean sheets". soccerway.com.
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