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A four-nil win over Tiligul brought FC Sheriff to the UEFA Champions League with Alexey Kuchuk (shown) scoring two of the goals

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - They don't want to be part of Moldova ... but since Pridnestrovie is not yet internationally recognized, the only national league that they can currently play in is Moldova's.

This is no problem for soccer team FC Sheriff Tiraspol. While Pridnestrovie may be eight times smaller than its next door neighbor, it is no match for Moldova when it comes to playing professional soccer (football).

On Friday, FC Sheriff clinched their eighth successive Moldovan league title after winning 4-0 away to FC Tiligul Tiraspol, another local Pridnestrovie team. In a paradox for a country which unsuccessfully lays claim to Pridnestrovie's territory, no team from Moldova managed to make it to the Moldovan National League ("Divizia Naţională") finals this season.

Calling for independence

Alexey Kuchuk scored twice for the champions, with Aleksandr Erokhin and Sergei Alekseev also on the scoresheet as FC Sheriff reclaimed their crown with four games to spare. With the victory, FC Sheriff has won the title a total of eight times. No other team in Pridnestrovie or Moldova has ever surpassed this. FC Sheriff Tiraspol has held its Divizia Naţională supremacy uninterrupted since the 2000-2001 season.

The team, under coach Leonid Kuchuk, is now heading to the UEFA Champions League, while FC Dacia Chisinau, FC Tiligul Tiraspol, FC Zimbru Chisinau and FC Nistru Otaci are all vying along for a UEFA Cup place.

With the Moldovan teams, FC Sheriff has rival relations, and in those matches many fans of the team hold banners calling for the independence of Pridnestrovie (also known as Transnistria) from Moldova.

See also:
» Tiraspol's FC Sheriff eyes UEFA Champions League [1]
» Pridnestrovie team ranks #137 among world's best football clubs [2]