INTRO: The Perm club is always hoping for a season better than just fighting off relegation. One season they even made it to Europe, and the Europa League came to the Urals. Amkar beat Fulham at home in 2009, 1-0 (before losing on aggregate 3-2.) But that is the past. Now, Amkar are just one of others in the table avoiding the drop. And their biggest hope is to avoid the “unfortunate” drop as soon as possible. New coach, Stanislav Cherchesov, fresh off a successful season at Terek comes with something to prove - can he lead Amkar to safety?
New Amkar coach Stanislav Cherchesov
GREATEST STRENGTH: If there ever was a club with tough guts in the RPL, they were from Perm. The Urals are not the best place to live and Amkar players are as strong as they can be. They sometimes lack quality, but are keen to stay at the highest level of the pyramid. In a simple word, their greatest strength is Teamwork.
GREATEST WEAKNESS: As we just outlined, the weakness is lack of quality. Not all Amkar players are wanted by other PL clubs. If Cherchesov can’t make them work together, they’ll fall down a division.
KEY PLAYERS: I’d still bet on the Bulgarian, Georgi Peev, as he’s been in Perm for a long time - since 2007 - and he is well respected in the team. But he’s 34, and I won’t be too surprised if someone takes his place.
Georgi Peev has been with Amkar since 2007.
Captain and Center-back, Dmitry Belorukov is also a key player. From St. Petersburg, and briefly with Anzhi, he has made Perm his home since 2005.
Maksim Kanunnikov, a one time Zenit top prospect, came to Amkar in 2013 and scored 14 goals in only 11 appearances. At the age of only 21, he still has a bright future in front of him, and Amkar may be a temporary stop as he moves on to a bigger club. He could eventually force his way into the National Team as well, and is one to watch for the future and a bright young player in Perm.
Maksim Kanunnikov, a 21 year old young forward for Amkar.
DEPARTURES/TRANSFER REVIEW: Nothing to discuss yet. Just nothing. I would have given a chance to Gianluca Nijholt, but club Chairman Gennady Shilov did not think that way. (Make sure to check out our 2013 Summer Transfer Table - in the event Amkar do make any significant moves.)
BEST CASE SCENARIO FOR THE SEASON: If new coach Cherchesov is that good, and Amkar make some good transfers, Amkar can hope for a top 8 finish and some success in the Cup. At absolute best, the Europa League comes back to Perm.
WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR THE SEASON: We all know what always may come. Relegation, Cherchesov struggles.
INTERESTING FACTS: The name Amkar was created by a local chemist, who proposed to make the teams name out of two chemical elements: ammonia (AMmiak) and urea (CARbamid). Amkar was only registered as a club in 1994, and adopted their black and red because AC Milan sent them the club’s first training great. Also of note, Zenit and Russian National Team midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov began his professional career with his hometown team, Amkar Perm, in the 4th division way back in 1995.
Amkar supporters during Amkar’s greatest success, a win over Fulham in the Europa League.
KEY EARLY SEASON FIXTURE: In only the second week of the season, Amkar head off to Chechnya where Cherchesov was coach of Terek last year. Cherchesov did an excellent job molding Terek into a well rounded team with a great deal of team unity. He was surprisingly not retained in Grozny. Facing his former squad in the second week will be a good litmus test of showing what Amkar really can do.
SEASON PREDICTION: Teamwork will win out, and Amkar will avoid relegation. 10th-14th place finish.
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