Spartak Moscow Season Preview

INTRO: 10 years without a single trophy. For some, that’s nothing special. But the sad jubilee arrived for Spartak in June, while their greatest rivals were celebrating “the golden double”. The level of misunderstanding between the fans and the club keeps growing (the last was the new club emblem, which is not accepted by some fans), the team, and, personally, Valery Karpin, who’s urged to win a trophy this season as there’s just one year left on his contract. He has to prove fans wrong and, finally, win a competition that is not Copa Del Sol.

Win or die - the gladiator’s motto, which is now an all-encompassing symbol of the club, has never been so actual for Spartak. A new, less-distant stadium (that’s going to be replaced by even newer one in a year), more effective fan support, as about 11,000 season tickets have already been sold (there’s not 30 metres between the stands and the pitch at Lokomotiv Stadium) and one dream - the championship.

The tunnel’s gate opening…

GREATEST STRENGTH: Attack. I guess there are not too many teams that would not like to have an attacking line-up consisting of Yura Movsisyan, the best striker from last season along with Wanderson, Emmanuel Emenike, whose statistics in Russia and the Africa Cup are not bad at all, and Majeed Waris, who wasn’t playing much in the spring, but had a stunning 28 goals in the Swedish championship in 2012. Let’s also remember that perspective youngsters Vyacheslav Krotov and Alexandr Kozlov aren’t going anywhere and could appear on the first team squad, too. Just admitting - there’s only one striker in Karpin’s formation.

GREATEST WEAKNESS: Inability to play successfully with their rivals. I’ve counted the last four years for Spartak against the other title and Champions League contenders. If I’m not mistaken, they’ve won only 6 of 32 matches. Six. Of thirty-two. Even if we counted just the last season, there’s 2-4-4 against the teams that finished in the European six with a goal differential of 14-20. If that continues, all the dreams can be torn apart into many small pieces.

KEY PLAYER: Obviously, Dmitriy Kombarov. The Thomas Muller of the Red-Whites, who can play various positions and has no particular position on the pitch. His progress under Emery’s care was outstanding, and if he keeps that going, he’s the one who can take Spartak to the top (Ha. Haha. Hahaha.).

TRANSFERS/DEPARTURES REVIEW: All his managerial career, Valery Karpin has been doing something - cleaning the team out of useless players. This year, there’s one more. Demy De Zeeuw finally went to Anderlecht, a fact that still keeps me delighted. Plus, there’s good points to Nico Pareja’s departure. And there are many, many, many good points in Glushakov’s arrival. Although Tino Costa looks sharp, too, I wouldn’t bet on him so much. And again - someone else in defense, even the reserves’ player.

BEST CASE SCENARIO FOR THE SEASON: The team starts well, taking the points they have to take and struggles a little against top teams (however, with some points taken), then has a little blip when playing two games a week (if they qualify for the Europa League). The team is in good position before the winter break and is strengthened by a couple of decent players over the winter. After that, they’re successfully through to the Europa League round of 16 and start well in the championship (also beating all the small teams drawn in the Russian Cup). Then there are problems again, when the team loses the chances to win one of the trophies. There’s also a disgraceful loss against another top team (could be in any tournament) or away to a bad team, which makes fans outraged, but while they blasting the team and Karpin, the squad puts together a series of good games again, securing position to fight for trophies in late April and May. (There, right there, could also be a decent comeback or an unexpected victory in one of the cups which takes them to the semis or the final). In May, the team stays concentrated and takes all the required points, winning a championship. They also win a final, making the fans as happy as they have never been. Just after the season ends, Karpin’s contract is prolonged.

WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR THE SEASON: The newbies lose their guts early in the season, Karpin’s schemes do not work. They still lose to bad teams and by the winter break have no practical chances to win a trophy. They keep it going in the spring, finishing in 6th-8th. They are also beaten in the early stages of the Europa League and Russian Cups. Karpin’s contract ends, and there’s a new coach announced shortly.

KEY EARLY SEASON FIXTURE: Week 4, Kuban - Spartak. I understand that many things could happen in the previous Dynamo - Spartak match, but Kuban, while still sharp, have lost many of their best players, and the result of the match will represent the possibilities of the new team.

SEASON PREDICTION: 3rd place and a Russian Cup victory.