Sheriff FC, a team that came in as a shocker to the 2021 Champions League season, has made its presence felt after winning both matches it has played, beating Spanish club Real Madrid and Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk. 

Here is all you need to know about the emerging club:

Sheriff FC came out of a little-known European country called Moldova from a separatist region. It is based in the breakaway region of Transnistria, a self-proclaimed independent nation that is not recognized by any member state of the United Nations.

The club is relatively young in the competitive football arena of Europe. It was founded a little over two decades ago and is being funded by the Sheriff company, an organisation that reportedly has strong political ties in the Transnistria region and also maintains an economic stronghold.

Sheriff FC made its debut in the Champions League this year in the group stages and set a record to become the first team to achieve the feat after emerging out of a former Soviet region.

The lineup for the team for Tuesday’s clash against Real Madrid included players like Giorgos Athanasiadis, Fernando Peixoto Costanza, Danilo Arboleda Hurtado, Cristiano da Silva Leite, Edmund Addo, Dimitris Kolovos, Sébastien Thill, Adama Traoré, Frank Castañeda and Jasurbek Yakhshiboev.

As of Tuesday, the team leads in the Group D standings after a shocking showdown against Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk. Inter Milan will be the next team to clash against the new team.

Thill scored a 90th-minute winner as the newcomers stunned Real Madrid 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Tuesday.

Sheriff goalkeeper Giorgos Athanasiadis was named the player of the match for helping stop a Madrid attack that had more than 20 attempts.

“This is soccer,” Madrid midfielder Casemiro said. “We were in control during the entire match and had many scoring chances. They had only two and scored twice.”