Many are anticipating the nineteenth season of the Premier-Liga to be a bifurcated competition; the wealthiest clubs will fight for medals while the rest appear to be fighting for survival. FK Rostov, however, thwarts that tidy divide. The general sense of optimism throughout the organization is warranted, as a new coach and a positive overhaul of the squad suggests that the memory of their fourteenth-place finish in 2009 will rapidly fade away.
The club bounced back from the relegation season of 2008 in the most unexpected and dramatic of fashions. However, their remarkable success against CSKA Moskva, Rubin Kazan, and Zenit St. Petersburg rapidly devolved into yet another relegation battle. It came down to the final week and it surely was not pretty but Rostov did the bare minimum to stay up.
The outlook for 2010 is quite different. Though surely a façade, the club’s stated objective is to compete for a European spot. They haven’t really deluded themselves into thinking they could outdo their sixth-place finish of 1998, as they still have some weaknesses. The confidence, if even to rally the fans behind them, is warranted; it is generally thought that new coach Oleh Protasov will field the club’s best squad in the last ten years.
Back in January, Protasov let slip that a ninth-place finish would be the mark of real progress. Given how poor they finished last year the fact that such an outlook is even possible is refreshing for both the club and for neutral supporters of the league. Beyond their final spot on the table, however, the club’s more pragmatic goal is get fans to return to the stands. When looking at the changes at the club during the off-season—and foreseeing more wins on the horizon–that goal is certainly obtainable.
Continue reading 2010 Club Preview: FK Rostov
A VfL Wolfsburg side sans Andrea Barzagli in defense and Grafite in attack was looking to wrestle at least an away goal from Rubin Kazan without conceding too much ground to their hosts. And that is exactly what took place after a beautifully taken sixty-seventh minute strike from Zvjezdan Misimovic helped the Germans obtain a strong advantage in their Europa League tie.
Rubin was rather thin in both midfield and defense. Sergey Semak was unavailable due to a yellow-card suspension and Aleksandr Ryzantzev is still out with an ankle injury. In defense Vitaly Kaleshin and Roman Sharonov were unavailable, leaving Berdiýew no choice but to play Lasha Salukvadze at right-back and Aleksandr Orekhov in the center.
The chilly Kazan atmosphere imposed itself early on. Both clubs played conservatively, hampered now doubt by the poor tundra of the pitch. Neither club were willing—or perhaps able–to maintain possession, issuing long balls that kept the game from really flowing.
Edin Džeko register the first shot of the match nine minutes in, forcing Sergey Ryzhikov to block it out of play. The subsequent corner was converted into a counterattack for Rubin, with Gökdeniz Karadeniz making a nifty move past Marcel Schäfer to set up a cross that went just beyond the reach of his compatriot Hasan Kabze.
Continue reading Rubin Kazan 1, Wolfsburg 1: Russians Out-muscled by Wolves
If Dinamo had the most impressive transfer activity this off-season, most will agree that Lokomotiv Moskva had the loudest. Much of its amplitude was generated through the mouth of president Nikolay Naumov. It wasn’t all hot air; by the end of the transfer window there was a respectable accumulation of new bodies.
Some of the moves may have been overshadowed by the grander Naumovian schemes. First there was Naumov’s courting of Roman Pavlyuchenko. Day after day, endless reports detailing contact between Loko’s front office and Harry Redknapp’s henchmen bristled forth as a move was launched to wrestle the striker away from White Hart Lane. The transfer idea—like three-fourths of Naumov’s revelries–never materialized. Nevertheless, Lokomotiv is still convinced that at the end of the English Premier League season they have a good chance of sealing the deal. Stay tuned.
The Pavlyuchenko story was momentarily superceded by the attempted, and then eventually successful, acquisition of Oleksandr Aliyev. The epic (as in drawn out, bordering on laborious) deal was first sealed, only to be dissolved, and then rekindled all in the matter of two months. Aliyev’s history with coach Yury Semin appears to have initiated and finalized the move away from Dynamo Kyiv—and Loko and the RPL are the better for it so long as the midfielder can stay healthy.
Finally, there were endless tales of Marat Izmailov. His recent good health at Sporting (Portugal) has translated into great form, sparking Loko’s remembrance of the days of yore. Or, to say it otherwise, they wanted their midfielder back. For that is how the club sees Izmailov—Loko property—and come the summer he, like Pavlyuchenko, could very well be just that.
Continue reading 2010 Club Preview: Lokomotiv Moskva
It has been well-documented that Krylia Sovetov Samara has been fighting for their very survival this off-season. Such a desperate existential mentality will unfortunately be carried onto the pitch. The last minute decree of Vladimir Putin prevented Krylia from succumbing to the same fate as FK Moskva but with the season set to commence in a matter of days caretaker manager Yury Gazzaev is struggling to even solidify a starting XI.
To quickly summarize the coach’s most imposing obstacles: until several outstanding debts are settled Krylia has been banned from signing new players by the Russian Football Union. In addition, a number of current players are threatening to strike this weekend if they themselves do not receive back pay.
The unconditionally supportive fans have faith that the debts will be mitigated in time to add to the squad. However, even if that optimistic outlook comes true—and an announcement from the club about debt restructuring that emerged on Tuesday looks promising–it is uncertain how competitive the squad can actually be. Given that the fundamental and gravest challenge will be to regularly pay their players, a struggle to stay within the top flight appears to be the only on-field objective for the Wings.
To write any half-sensible preview of the club we’ll need to bracket all the financial constraints. That proves difficult, however, because the composition of the squad will remain highly unstable until the debt issues are resolved. Take some of this, then, with a grain of salt.
Continue reading 2010 Club Preview: FK Krylia Sovetov Samara
Call it generous or call it haphazard but the Russian Football Union’s executive committee decided on Wednesday to extend the winter transfer window until 8 April.
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