2010 Club Preview: FK Krylia Sovetov Samara

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.

Let’s start with what is most obvious: those who are not available from last year. Krylia’s disparaging finances prevented the renewal of contracts with two key veterans; Jan Koller and Jiří Jarošík, the club’s most productive forward and their strongest defender, have left for France and Spain, respectively.

The midfield flanks are also newly bare. Vladislav Ignatyev, a talented winger whose stock perhaps rose quicker than Krylia would have liked, tore up his contract in the off-season after the RFU voted in his favor over a labor dispute and swiftly signed with Lokomotiv Moskva. To make matters even worse, Krylia still owes money to FK KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny for Ignatyev’s original transfer—one of several debts that is currently restricting their transfer abilities.

On the other side of midfield, Timofei Kalachev also wanted to get paid, so the Belarusian winger jettisoned his Samara address and returned to Rostov.

And while we are focusing on the midfield, we shouldn’t fail to mention that Krylia’s excellent midfield prospect Yevgeny Pesegov is no longer available. The club was expecting a lot from him this year but he too has all too recently decided to leave the squad and has now shacked up with FK Nizhny Novgorod.

Adding to the list of departures, the leasing of two Romans has expired. Striker Roman Adamov is possibly an even greater loss in attack than Koller. Brought in from Rubin Kazan during the summer, the 27-year-old put together a slew of resourceful performances, scoring five goals in fourteen matches in 2009. With him moving on to FK Rostov there are serious concerns about who can adequately lead the line.

The loss of Roman Shishkin, who was on loan from Spartak Moskva in 2009, also leaves a significant gap at right-back. While in some ways Shishkin has failed to live up to his promise, he may have only suffered from too high of expectations at Spartak. Krylia was a nice fit as he offered a dependability that is now sorely lacking.

Sadly, Shishkin wasn’t the only full-back to go. Last week starting left-back Leilton decided he too had enough of Krylia’s front-office debacle.

So, to quickly recap: Krylia has lost their top two forwards, their two wingmen, both full-backs, and their best central defender. Things look grave indeed.

Krylia on the whole will be relying on young, untested players as well as a few newcomers who were effectively ditched by their former clubs. Moving from back to front, Gazzaev is likely to fill in the lineup as follows:

At right-back, Gazzaev has only youth to choose from. He may be inclined to play 19-year-old Farkhod Vasiev, currently on loan from FK Saturn. However, the coach may be in the unfortunate position of calling upon young Aleksandr Lobkov given foreign player restrictions. With no disrespect intended, the 20-year-old is too inexperienced for the amount of time he will have to put in. Lobkov has only appeared in one Premier-Liga match in his short career and that came over two years ago. If he does join the squad it will be through a loan from Dinamo Moskva, where he has been since 2007.

Coach Yury Gazzaev considers Isaac Okoronkwo the most essential pick up for 2010

In replace of Jarošík in the center of defense, alongside Aleksandr Belozerov, will hopefully be Isaac Okoronkwo. If they can find the funds to sign him, the 31-year-old former Citizen would be an excellent addition for the beleaguered defensive unit. Okoronkwo has impressed Gazzaev this off-season and the coach considers him the most vital newcomer. He is prone to injury, however, so coverage is important. Thus retaining Jovan Tanasijević, who has been training with the club since leaving Dinamo at the end of 2009, will be advantageous.

To round out the defense, 30-year-old Sergey Budylin will need to start in the absence of Leilton. While not anticipated to be very adventurous going forward he should do what is expected of him to protect the flank. In addition, Gazzaev has been hoping to sign Daniil Gridnev for more coverage. The FK Anzhi Makhachkala player is also able to move up into a holding midfield position if necessary.

Despite the massive loss of players, the hallmark of the club has been their central midfielder and it will continue to be solid. Oleg Ivanov and Ivan Taranov return, as does the ever-reliable Anton Bober. A versatile triumvirate, Bober will continue to be required to be the most attacking. But with the loss of Stanislov Ivanov, who returned to Lokomotiv Moskva (then sent on loan to Rostov), all three will are crucial components. Wily 35-year-old veteran Ruslan Adzhindzhal should also not be discounted, as he will move in alongside Bober from time to time. Generally speaking, however, the club has not improved their creative midfield presence and as a result they will continue to be capable of retaining possession they will do little with it.

Of the possible newcomers in midfield Gazzaev considers Mikhail Afanasyev, formerly of Amkar Perm, the most desirable pickup as the Belarusian may offer much-needed versatility on either wing. Having played in only a handful of matches for Perm last year, his reliability as a full-time member of the starting XI will be under scrutiny. He is likely, at least initially, to be splitting time with 20-year-old Aleksandr Stavpet, formerly of FK Moskva.

The left-wing is the most indecipherable for Gazzaev. Not only has Krylia lost Kalachev, Vladislav Kulik has flown the coup for FK Kuban Kranodar. The thinnest of positions, another former FK Moskva attacker, Igor Strelkov, may be asked to occupy the wing despite being more accustomed to playing up top. Strelkov has never really had a strong Premier-Liga season, but given Krylia’s desperation he will frequently see the pitch.

Yevgeny Savin, the most talent member of the squad, is not a natural goal scorer. Unfortunately for him, Gazzaev is hoping he becomes one. Savin will be asked to play in the most advanced forward position despite him arguably being more comfortable coming in from the wing, which is where he was typically deployed in 2009. Gazzaev is left with no other real option at this point than to have him as the lone striker.

Prediction: 13th. Despite the financial chaos, the Wings will not be forced to migrate to the First Division. Their adequate defense and experienced midfield will allow the club to grind out enough an occasional, unattractive win and enough draws to stay afloat. It will be a gutsy struggle but they have enough talent (Bober, Ivanov, and Savin, in particular) and passionate enough fans to scrap by.

Probably Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Eduardo Lobos; Aleksandr Lobkov, Aleksandr Belozyorov, Isaac Okoronkwo, Sergey Budylin; Ivan Taranov; Mikhail Afanasyev, Oleg Ivanov, Anton Bober, Igor Strelkov; Yevgeny Savin.