Amir Khuslyutdinov, aka "The Professor", has been involved in Spartak fan support and hooligan culture since 1977, only a few years after the first organized fan movements in the USSR took root. Still active in the Spartak community, Amir's 35 years of football fanaticism span several generations, from the twilight years of the Soviet Union to economic ruin in the early 90s to the more and more Westernized society of the 21st century. Khuslyutdinov talked with me about football hooligans' … [Read more...]
Summer Special in Moscow: Spartak - Dynamo Kiev
June 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
It's been decades since they battled for top honors in the Soviet league, but Spartak - Dynamo Kiev is still an important fixture, even when it's a preseason friendly. Days in advance, 8,000-plus Muscovites bought up every available ticket for the match at Eduard Streltsov Stadium on the southeast edge of downtown Moscow. Thursday's match, the first of the four-team United Tournament, featuring Spartak, Zenit, Shakhtar and Dynamo, went to the visitors, 1-0, on an Oleg Gusev penalty in the … [Read more...]
