Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (Ukrainian: Futbol'nii klub Dinamo>> Kiyiv pronounced [dI'namo'kIjiu(pronounced [dI'namo 'kIjiu]) is an Ukrainian professional football club that is based in Kyiv. The club was established in 1927, as an affiliate of the Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, it plays in the Ukrainian Premier League, and was never relegated to the lower division. The stadium they play in is the Olimpiyskiy Stadium, which has a capacity of 70,0 National Sports Complex.
In the years since 1936 Dynamo Kyiv has spent its entire existence in the top division in Soviet as well as later Ukrainian football. The most successful times have been attributed to Valeriy Lobanovskyi who was the coach of the team for three seasons and led them in numerous championships both domestically and European championships. It was in the year 1961 that the team became the first ever to be a part of Soviet football to defeat the total dominance of Moscow-based clubs within the Soviet Top League. The Spartak Moscow-Dynamo Kiev rivalry, which began in the late 1970s, is widely regarded to be among the top and most thrilling soccer rivalries within the Soviet Union. Since being the only Soviet soccer club in the world to take part at UEFA competition in the year 1965, Dynamo Kyiv has played in European tournaments nearly every season.
Through its long history, Dynamo Kyiv have won sixteen Ukrainian Top-flight League titles and thirteen Soviet premier league championships the 11 Ukrainian cups, nine Soviet National Cup competitions and three titles in the continental competitions (including two cups from the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup). The two European Cup Winners Cups make it the sole two Soviet clubs to win the UEFA trophy, with the one is Dinamo Tbilisi. Its Dynamo Kyiv first team became the base team of the Soviet Union national football team during the 1970-1980s as well as the Ukraine national team of football during the 1990s and 2000s. Two stars on the crest of the club each represent 10 seasons of top flight football that Dynamo Kyiv won.
The club was deemed"the Eastern European Club of the 20th Century by France-Presse.
