Spartak host underdog Swiss side St. Gallen tomorrow night at Arena Khimki in the 2nd leg of their Europa League playoff round tie. The clubs drew 1-1 last week in St. Gallen. At the pre-match press conference St. Gallen head coach Jeff Saibene shared that his team is confident ahead of the match tomorrow: "I think Spartak doesn't have a good period for now, they did not win their last four games. We did not lose any of our last six games, and I think the situation is good for us. We are … [Read more...]
Lokomotiv Batter Nine-Man Rostov
August 26, 2013 by 2 Comments
Lokomotiv came into the game with high expectations and confidence, built from the last gasp win over Terek last week. Kuchuk made four changes in the starting line up, slotting in newly-signed Boussoufa, alongside Caicedo, Mykhalyk and Samedov in place of Grigoriev, Tkachyov, Tigorev and Pavlyuchenko. Against last week's league leader Rostov, Kuchuk tried to stick to his usual 4-2-3-1, with Samedov, Maicon and Boussoufa freely swapping places to release Caicedo up-front The strategy worked … [Read more...]
From Toothless to Ruthless: How Valery Karpin Transformed Spartak
July 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
Every single fan can probably recall the warm spring night at Luzhniki last May. Boos and jeers rang around the biggest stadium in Russia, when the host drew against lowly Krylia Sovetov in what was the last game at Luzhniki before its reconstruction. The costly result against minnows almost cost them an European spot, as an entire season of finger-pointing and sacking drama continued to be a problem for Spartak. However, the complete opposite happened yesterday. They looked like a champion, … [Read more...]
Kresic’s Mistake Proves Costly for Lokomotiv
July 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
CSKA emerged victorious at Cherkizovo today, beating host Lokomotiv 2-1 in a hotly contested derby. The match was held just the day after another Moscow derby at Khimki Arena, which saw Spartak trash arch rival Dynamo, 4-1. Keisuke Honda and Ahmed Musa were on the scoresheet for CSKA this afternoon, while Dmitri Tarasov scored the loan goal for Lokomotiv. Lokomotiv began the match well enough, controlling the midfield for the first ten minutes of the game. However, CSKA Moscow started to take … [Read more...]
Derbies Take Center Stage in Moscow: Preview + Predictions
July 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
All eyes will be focused on Moscow this weekend, with two derbies set to rock the Russian capital on Saturday and Sunday. The city big four, Spartak, Dynamo, Lokomotiv and CSKA (with full respect for Torpedo), have been quite the stable of powerful horses in the Premier League title race for the past decade. All have had their own moments in topping the league, with CSKA now holding the upper hand. Even though Spartak and Dynamo have long since faded from the plate on the Cup, they'll still … [Read more...]
CSKA - Young, Ambitious and Dangerous
July 22, 2013 by 1 Comment
I had the time and made my way yesterday to a youth game between CSKA Moscow and Krylia Sovetov Samara. The game was played the day prior to Monday's senior game, as has been regulated by the RFU and RFPL and was held at CSKA's smaller, 3000-seat Oktyabr Stadium. Despite an exciting RPL Sunday, featuring Rubin - Zenit and Ural - Spartak, I opted to dive into the rain and make my way to Oktyabr. My aim was to see a few players from CSKA's well-known academy, notably Dmitri Efremov and … [Read more...]
Aleksandr Kokorin: Blessing or Trouble in Disguise?
July 21, 2013 by 2 Comments
INTRO The long-awaited decision regarding Kokorin was finally announced last week. The destination for the very promising youngster, who has even been called Russia's future, is Makhachkala. Kokorin will ply his trade next season at Anzhi Arena, far away from much-speculated St. Petersburg, the home of Zenit. The move, however, does not come cheap. It was reported that Anzhi paid almost €19m for this relatively new hot property, who so far has yet to prove himself at a higher level. … [Read more...]
Lokomotiv Make Promising Start
July 16, 2013 by 2 Comments
A precious point for the Railwaymen in Dagestan Leonid Kuchuk's men salvaged a precious point with an away draw to Anzhi. Playing in Makhachkala, it's a good result for Lokomotiv against one of the league's top clubs. Far from the level of the club that dominated the Russian league in the first half of the past decade, they put up a respectable performance against a much better team (or group of better individuals) at Anzhi Arena. The match was explosive, inside and outside the field. … [Read more...]
Kuban Krasnodar Season Preview
July 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment
INTRO: The emergence of the Yellow-Green side from Krasnodar last season has wowed many critics and attracted admiration from neutrals. Clinching the European spot on the last day has realized what was an impossible dream for the club and supporters. The celebration after the win against mega-rich Anzhi summed up a happy outing for Kuban. However, the victory does not come cheap. Being excellent for almost the whole season, led to several key players being chased by big clubs. As the transfer … [Read more...]
