Russian Empire
1910–1914
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationAll-Russian Football Union (VFS)
Всероссийский футбольный союз
Most capsVasily Zhitarev (8)
Top scorerVasily Zhitarev (4)
FIFA codeRUS
First colours
Second colours
First international
Unofficial
 Russia 5–4 Bohemia 
(Saint Petersburg, Russia; 16 October 1910)
Official
Russian Empire Finland 2–1 Russia 
(Stockholm, Sweden; 30 June 1912)
Last international
 Norway 1–1 Russia 
(Christiania, Norway; 12 July 1914)
Biggest win
 Russia 5–4 Bohemia 
(Saint Petersburg, Russia; 16 October 1910)
 Russia 1–0 Bohemia 
(Moscow, Russia; 23 October 1910)
Biggest defeat
 Germany 16–0 Russia 
(Stockholm, Sweden; 1 July 1912)
Summer Olympics
Appearances1 (first in 1912)
Best resultQuarter-finals in 1912

The Russian Empire national football team was the association football team representing the Russian Empire from 1910 to 1914.

History

The Russian Empire played its first unofficial international in October 1910 against Bohemia national team, a 5–4 win.[1] The All-Russian Football Union was founded in January 1912 and it was admitted to FIFA in the same year.[2] The first official international for the team was the second round match against Finland national team at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, with the Finns competing separately despite being a part of Russia at the time.[1]

The development of league football in Russia was stopped by the outbreak of First World War in 1914.[3] Meetings with the Germany national team and France national team were planned for the spring of 1915, but the matches were cancelled. A large number of players were killed in the war and others fled the country after the 1917 October Revolution.[3] The Soviet Union national football team was formed in August 1923[4] and it was accepted by FIFA as the successor of the Russian Empire football team, itself becoming the Russia national football team in 1992.

Russian Empire squad at the 1912 Olympics

Managers

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Greece 1896 No football tournament was held
France 1900 did not enter
United States 1904
United Kingdom 1908
Sweden 1912 Second round 11th 2 0 0 2 1 18 Squad
Total Second round 1/4 2 0 0 2 1 18 —

International record

The Russian Empire national football team played a total number of 8 official and 8 unofficial internationals between October 1910 and July 1914.[1][5]

Date Location Venue Competition Opponent Score (1)
16 October 1910 Saint Petersburg, Russia Sport Stadium Unofficial match  Bohemia 5–4
23 October 1910 Moscow, Russia ZKS Stadium Unofficial match  Bohemia 1–0
2 September 1911 Saint Petersburg, Russia Nevsky Stadium Unofficial match  England Amateurs 0–14
3 September 1911 Saint Petersburg, Russia Nevsky Stadium Unofficial match  England Amateurs 0–7
4 September 1911 Saint Petersburg, Russia Nevsky Stadium Unofficial match  England Amateurs 0–11
6 May 1912 Moscow, Russia Union Golf Club Unofficial match Russia Finland 1–1
30 June 1912 Stockholm, Sweden Olympic Stadium Summer Olympics Russia Finland 1–2
1 July 1912 Stockholm, Sweden Olympic Stadium Summer Olympics  Germany 0–16
3 July 1912 Stockholm, Sweden Tranebergs Idrottsplats Friendly match  Norway 1–2
12 July 1912 Moscow, Russia Sokolniki Park Unofficial match  Hungary 0–9
14 July 1912 Moscow, Russia Sokolniki Park Friendly match  Hungary 0–12
29 April 1913 Saint Petersburg, Russia Nevsky Stadium Unofficial match  Sweden 1–5
4 May 1913 Moscow, Russia Sokolniki Park Friendly match  Sweden 1–4
14 September 1913 Moscow, Russia Sokolniki Park Friendly match  Norway 1–1
5 July 1914 Stockholm, Sweden Olympic Stadium Friendly match  Sweden 2–2
12 July 1914 Christiania, Norway Bislett Friendly match  Norway 1–1

(1) Russian Empire's score is shown first.

Head-to-head record

Up to matches played on 12 July 1914.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD WPCT
 Bohemia 2 2 0 0 6 4 +2 100.00
 England Amateurs 3 0 0 3 0 32 −32 0.00
Russia Finland 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 0.00
 Germany 1 0 0 1 0 16 −16 0.00
 Hungary 2 0 0 2 0 21 −21 0.00
 Norway 3 0 2 1 3 4 −1 0.00
 Sweden 3 0 1 2 4 11 −7 0.00
Total 16 2 4 10 15 91 −76 12.50
Source: Results

Player records

Player records include official internationals only.[4]

As of 12 July 1914

Most capped players

Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Vasily Zhitarev 8 4 1912–1914
2 Nikita Khromov 6 0 1912–1913
3 Vasily Butusov 5 1 1912–1913
4 Andrei Akimov 4 1 1912–1913
Pyotr Sokolov 0 1912
6 Nikolai Denisov 3 0 1913–1914
Lev Favorsky 0 1912
Dmitri Matrin 0 1912–1913
Aleksandr Filippov 0 1912–1914
Fyodor Rimsha 0 1912
Sergei Romanov 0 1913–1914
Mikhail Nikolayevich Smirnov 0 1912
Ivan Vorontsov 0 1913–1914
Mikhail Yakovlev 0 1912–1913

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Vasily Zhitarev 4 8 0.5 1912–1914
2 Valentin Vasilyevich Sysoyev 1 1 1 1913
Aleksandr Krotov 1 1 1914
Andrei Akimov 4 0.25 1912–1913
Vasily Butusov 5 0.2 1912–1913

References

  1. ^ a b c Матчи Сборная России по футболу (in Russian). Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  2. ^ Football in Russia Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  3. ^ a b History of Russian Football The Premier Site for Russian Culture. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  4. ^ a b Soviet Union - International Results 1911-1935 - Details The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  5. ^ All Time Results The Website of Russian and USSR National Football Team. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
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