Round one of 2010 is finally upon us!
But first, what’s all this business about Kanunnikov’s card?
Well, Aleksandr Kanunnikov, father of legendary Krasnaya Presnya Moskva forward Pavel Kanunnikov (1898-1974), should be considered the pioneering Russian football fan.
According to football historian Leonid Gorianov, in the early years of the twentieth century the elder Kanunnikov, well before football was fashionable, “would sit down and with a bookkeeper’s accuracy write out his schedule [of matches] and what route to take, a difficult matter for those times, with only a few trams running on weekends.”
For sure, we are neither as accurate or as diligent as Kanunnikov, nor as hampered—thanks to the internet and satellite television–by the same Moskva transportation system. Nevertheless, while acknowledging the hyper-romanticism of the sentiment, we’ll try to channel Kanunnikov’s enthusiasm for the Russian game by offering up the weekly schedule of matches in the Premier-Liga and highlight those definitely worth catching.
Friday. 12 March
- CSKA Mosvka vs. Amkar Perm
You can’t miss the first match of the season! Coming off a disappointing 0-1 loss to Rubin Kazan in the Super Cup, CSKA is already feeling a bit gloomy even before the season officially gets under way. But the club has a few things to be look forward to: a new home turf (Arena Khimki), an exciting new central midfielder (Keisuke Honda), and a newly healthy sensation (Alan Dzagoev). Will all the novelty yield a good result? No need for trepidation, Amkar is faced with an even graver predicament this year.
Saturday, 13 March
Three matches in total, we have to highlight the early game.
- Krylia Sovetov vs. Zenit St. Petersburg
The first official match for new coach Luciano Spalletti has unfortunately been overshadowed by the desperate events taking place at Krylia. Board room shuffling, unpaid debts, unregistered players, and a barely avoided boycott. Caretaker manager Yury Gazzaev has inspired his small group of healthy regulars not to leave their fans in the lurch and has cobbled them together with a number of youth squad players to avoid forfeiting the opener. But they will face a Zenit club that is a major contender for the championship. Krylia will need more than luck for a result (and they simply don’t have it) but it is amazing that they will even make it onto the pitch.
Also on Saturday:
- Anzhi Makhachkala vs. Spartak Nalchik
- FK Rostov vs. Tom Tomsk
Sunday, 14 March
Four matches and two of them doozies. We’ll highlight one but suggest you set aside the entire day.
- Spartak Moskva vs. Dinamo Moskva
The final match of the first round sees the People’s team playing host to the cross-town Policemen. A fine derby to kick off the new season. What makes matters even more intriguing are the new talents that both clubs will be revealing. For Karpin’s men we could see new forward Ari make it on to the pitch alongside compatriots Alex and Welliton. For Dinamo, the match will see over one-third of FK Moskva’s starting squad put to new work, the return of Igor Semshov, and the Russian debut of highly scrutinized Ukrainian striker Andriy Voronin.
Also on Sunday:
- Sibir Novosibirsk vs. Terek Grozny
- Rubin Kazan vs. Lokomotiv Moskva
- Alaniya Vladikavkaz vs. Saturn
Do Anzhi and Spartak Nalchik have any heightened hostility because of their proximity?
Dagestan vs. Kabardino-Balkar. Anzhi-Nalchik will be a good derby, for sure, but there is no anticipation of hostility beyond the local sporting rivalry, which does make it a very interesting match up. The regional proximity is mirrored in what is likely to be their place in the table at the end of the year. That is, since neither club will be terribly successful this season it will be an important relegation battle. Getting points early against your nearest competitors is vital for both clubs.
The clubs have never met in the top flight. The last time they faced off was in October of 2005 in the First Division. Nalchik won commandingly 3-1 and went on to gain promotion. However, earlier in that season Anzhi too beat Nalchik 3-1 on their home pitch. It’s too tough to really call but I expect Anzhi to be fueled by the home field crowd and come away with the victory. A nil-nil draw–given the weather (its expected to be raining)–is not out of the question. Their youth clubs just played to that score today in fact.
Go Spartak Go!!!
[...] Card: Round Two! by Andrew Skomra For those who may have missed the first installment of Kanunnikov’s card, no, it is not an obscure reference to Zenit St. Petersburg’s 18-year-old soon-to-be sensation [...]