Football Club Krylya Sovetov Samara, usually known as Krylya Sovetov, was first established in 1942. The club has competed in the top flight of both the Soviet and the Russian league system, but has also spent a substantial amount of time in the lower divisions as well.
In early 2010, the club was suffering from severe money problems and came close to closing its doors. Krylya Sovetov owed several former players money and had to ask the authorities to delay their registration of a playing squad in order to get their finances in order. The club was hit with a transfer ban as punishment and struggled to field a side for the opening match of the season. However, new sponsorship deals eventually eased the pressure on the club.
Major honours have been out of Krylya Sovetov's reach thus far, although the club has come close to achieving major success on a few occasions. In both 1953 and 1964, Krylya Sovetov were losing finalists in the Soviet Cup. In 2004, they reached the final of the Russian Cup for the first time, but were beaten 1-0 by First Division side Terek Grozny, with the winning goal coming in stoppage time. Their best league performances were a fourth place finish in the Soviet Top League in the 1951 season and a third place finish in the Russian Premier League in 2004. The club made its first appearance in a European competition in the Intertoto Cup in 2002 and have subsequently appeared in the UEFA Europa League.
Some of the club's most notable former players include the former USSR strikers Viktor Voroshilov and Boris Kazakov, the Czech Republic international pairing of Jan Koller and Jiří Jarošík and Russian national team winger Andrei Karyaka.
Krylya Sovetov play their home matches at the Metallurg Stadion. The ground opened in 1957 and is currently able to hold 33,000 supporters.
