When CSKA Moscow, on the 18th of May, 2005, defeated Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Cup final, they secured themselves an eternal spot in the history of Russian football. Aleksei Berezutski, Yuri Zhirkov and Vagner Love all scored for the Army club, which gave them a comfortable 3-1 victory. Here, on the tenth anniversary of the victory, we look back at the first ever European title for a Russian club.
The Road to Lisbon:
CSKA started their European campaign in the Champions League, where they finished third in their group after Chelsea and the later champions from FC Porto. At this point no one expected CSKA to win the UEFA Cup, since the club had lost two of its biggest stars in Sergey Semak and Jiri Jarosik in the winter transfer window at the beginning of 2005.
The Army Men finished the 2004 Premier League season in second place, one point behind the title winners from Lokomotiv Moscow. This was a huge blow to the ambitious squad, so the coach, Valery Gazzaev, had to find a way to motivate his players through the long winter break. Gazzaev told his players, that if they could beat Benfica in the UEFA Cup they would make it all the way to the final. Most people thought Gazzaev was crazy, even the president and club owner Evgeny Giner. The club did however plan a training camp in Kislovodsk to prepare themselves for the Benfica match.
The hard work during the winter proved to be worth it, and CSKA advanced from the Round of 32 by beating Benfica 3-1 on aggregate. Later Partizan Beograd and Auxerre were also defeated, before Italian side Parma waited in the semifinal. Just like in the previous matches CSKA drew the longest straw, and they were ready for the final against Sporting.
Proven Tactics & Pre-Game Preparation:
In the final Gazzaev trusted the 3-5-2 formation, he had used for most of the tournament with huge success. Gazzaev’s interpretation of the formation was quite offensive, with three purely attacking players. Gazzaev started working on the formation when he took over Alania Vladikavkaz in 1990, and with CSKA he found the perfect balance. Gazzaev had three solid central defenders in the Berezutski twins, Aleksei and Vasili, together with Sergei Ignashevich. He had an aggressive pressure from the two defensive midfielders Evgeni Aldonin and Elmir Rahimic, while the wingers Yuri Zhirkov and Chidi Odiah provided the needed speed. The Brazilian wizard Daniel Carvalho worked as a playmaker, and he provided the two strikers Ivica Olic and Vagner Love with beautiful passes.
With Gazzaev’s tactics, CSKA had a solid defensive base as well as the opportunity to start quick counter-attacks when they intercepted the ball. Due to CSKA’s transfer strategy of not recruiting players older than 26, their squad was young and inexperienced, with seven players in the starting line-up younger than 23 (Akinfeev, Zhirkov, Vasili & Aleksei Berezutski, Odiah, Carvalho, Vagner Love). The style of the 2005 team was quite different from the current CSKA team, since it had a much more physical and direct playing style, than to Leonid Slutsky’s CSKA who prefers a more possession based style, where they control the ball and the match. Gazzaev’s CSKA was a bit stereotypical in theory, but very effective in practice because of the efforts of each player.
The Final:
CSKA arrived in Portugal six days before the final, so they could get used to the three hour time difference. Two days before the game, Gazzaev and his team drove to a restaurant, where the Russian coach allowed his players to drink a glass of red wine. He often used this psychological trick to promote unity and solidarity among the players and staff.
The team’s preparations on and off the field went great, and everyone was confident before the important final. The players were greeted at the stadium by the newly elected president of the Russian Football Union Vitaly Mutko. According to Gazzaev, Mutko was the most nervous of them all:
“I told him: “Mr Mutko, everything will be fine, do not worry!”” Gazzaev later revealed.
Nearly two thousand Army Men fans took the trip to Lisbon to support their team at the sold out Jose Alvalade stadium, where the seats were painted in the white and green colors of the usual home team and opponent Sporting.
Gazzaev’s starting lineup was no surprise, since he used the same players who had defeated Parma in the semi-finals.
It was, as expected, very difficult for CSKA to play a final against a team in their own stadium, and it was definitely a heavy start for the Russian side. One of CSKA’s main problems in the first half was Carvalho’s non-participation in the defensive aspects of the game. They were struggling from the beginning, and both Vasili Berezutsky and Zhirkov saved dangerous situations with last-ditch tackles, and in the 26th minute Ignashevich almost scored an own goal. Only three minutes later Carvalho failed to fight for the ball and he allowed Sporting’s Rogerio to score with a powerful shot. Briefly after Carvalho got the chance to redeem himself with a great cross from the wing, but his countryman Vagner Love failed to equalize.
When the first half ended, CSKA found them self in an unpleasant situation. Zhirkov and Odiah were both completely shut down on the wings, and the central midfielders had been outmatched by Sporting’s Joao Moutinho and Fabio Rochemback. During halftime Gazzaev found exactly the right words to boost the confidence of his players, and CSKA looked like a different team in the second half.
In the 56th minute the Army Men got a free kick, where Daniel Carvalho assisted Aleksei Berezutsky, who scored with a powerful header. Only nine minutes later the Brazilian made another assist, when he found Yuri Zhirkov who easily put the ball under Ricardo in Sporting’s goal. CSKA had taken the lead and turned the match around. With 15 minutes left of the game, Sporting was putting CSKA under a lot of pressure, which forced the only 19-year-old Igor Akinfeev in goal to play one of the best games in his career. At one point Rogerio hit the post after a cross from Rodrigo Tello, but Akinfeev was first to the rebound and the danger was avoided. Instead of using up some time on the clock Akinfeev started a counter attack with a long throw to Carvalho, who then found the blue-haired striker Vagner Love. This time Love did not miss the open chance, and he closed the match with a goal to make it 3-1.
Where Are They Now?
Today, ten years later, four of the players from the magic evening in May are still to be found in Moscow: The goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and the three defenders Sergei Ignashevich, Vasili and Aleksei Berezutski. Three of them are still starters for Leonid Slutsky’s CSKA as well as on the national team, demonstrating how important they both were and are, but also the difficulty of finding sustainable replacements for them.
Igor Akinfeev became CSKA’s captain, and now holds a 130+ match clean sheet record in the Russian Premier League, while Vasili Berezutski and Sergei Ignashevich are the two best Russian central defenders today, despite their high age. Unlike the two other defenders from the UEFA Cup final has Aleksei Berezutski struggled to maintain his good form, which is why he spends most of the time on the bench these days. Aleksei is however an incredible versatile player and he can play across the back line and in defensive midfield, which explains why Slutsky likes to keep him around.
The Bosnian midfielder Elvir Rahimic retired after last season, and he is now an assistant coach of the first team.
Valery Gazzaev won the Coach of the Year award in Europe after the impressive UEFA Cup run, and he stayed with CSKA until 2008. He is currently trying to reform Russian football as well as working on a united league for Russian and Ukrainian clubs.
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