Russia

Is Aidan McGeady on his way to England?
Posted by Gersloveofsport.


Ex-Celtic star Aiden McGeady, now plying his trade in the Russian Premier League with Spartak Moscow has fallen out with manager Valeri Karpin.

McGeady hasn't even featured in the last two games for Spartak. According to the club, his young family haven't settled in the Russian capital, but it's widely know that himself and Karpin are at loggerheads for a while now. McGeady and his family have left Russia and flown home, with the clubs wishes, and Spartak and now actively encouraging bids for the Irishman. The Premier League has been an ambition for McGeady for a long time. Aston Villa tried to sign him before he went to Russia, while Everton boss Roberto Martinez is an admirer. Norwich boss, Irishman Chris Hughton could do with a winger, while Hull or even Stoke City would also be interested. His contract with Spartak is up at the end of the season. Where he will end up, we will wait and see, but you would think it will be destination England.


Is Hulk on his way to Chelsea?
Posted by Gersloveofsport

It appears as if Chelsea are about to renew their interest in Brazilian Striker Hulk. Word coming out of  Russia is that Hulk has asked to leave Zenit St Petersburg in January, for the right price of course.

Hulk, who made a name for himself while playing for Porto in the Portuguese league, scoring 54 goals in 99 games. In September of 2012 he signed for the Russian Giants for a whopping €40m. Chelsea have kept tabs on the burly striker since, as they were put off by the massive fee back then. He has scored 16 goals in 32 games since signing for Zenit, which is a fantastic record. With Chelsea's strikeforce not exactly firing on all cylinders this season, Jose Mourinho could press his Russian owner for the funds to make a deal happen. What price would Roman Abramovic pay for the Brazilian International now?

The Winners and Losers of the First Round Of The Russian Premier League.

Posted by James Richmond.

Isn't it unbelievable to think that we have already completed half of the 2013/14 Russian Premier League? The eternally long winter break is now upon us after the completion of Game week 19 and we must now wait three months until Russian Football action returns with Zenit St. Petersburg. Here I shall take a look at who will go into the winter break in a positive mood and those that will face a bleak Russian midwinter.

Winners: 

Stanislav Cherchesov: 
The current manager of Amkar Perm was appointed in the close season after spending a relatively successful two years at Terek Grozny. Amkar were extremely lucky to avoid the drop last season and the appointment of Cherchesov has so far proved to be a master stroke. The club sit in 7th place in the league and Cherchesov has improved his team massively. He has also handled the transfer market well, releasing 9 players and replacing them with more able players. Two defeats in Amkar’s last two games without scoring should not take the shine off Amkar’s start to the season but the challenge now for Cherchesov is to maintain the clubs lofty league position.

FC Krasnodar:
Another surprise package from this season is FC Krasnodar. After only being formed in 2008 it is amazing to think that Krasnodar are taking part in their 3rd season in Russia’s top flight and the story of the club is remarkable. Some have said that Krasnodar over achieved in their first two RPL seasons in surviving in the top tier and still considered them minnows. This season  though Krasnodar have exceeded even their own lofty expectations and currently sit in an incredible 6th place, sitting just one point behind CSKA in the final Europa League place. They will now look to replicate city rivals Kuban and achieve a Europa League place. A victory over CSKA on Friday proves that they should be taken seriously.

Lokomotiv Moscow:
Lokomotiv are now back as one of the power houses of Russian Football. Over the last couple of seasons Lokomotiv have been extremely disappointing and endured a disastrous campaign last season under former Croatia manager Slaven Bilic, finishing in 9th place. Leonid Kuchuk has come in and going into the winter break Lokomotiv will be firmly involved in an exciting title race which few expected them to be a major part of. Loko are level with Zenit on 40 points at the summit of the RPL and with Zenit not playing at their best in recent weeks, you would be fool to write of Lokomotiv’s title chances.

Losers: 

Anzhi Makhachkala:
Where do we even begin with Anzhi? In summer they were title favourites and seemingly had money to throw away as local billionaire Suleyman Kerimov tried to bankroll Anzhi to a Russian league title under the guidance of Guus Hiddink and an array of star names. In December the reality could barely be different. Kerimov slashed the budget, Hiddink jumped ship and the star players left (or were forced out) in their droves to be replaced by players that few outside of Russia had heard of. The club sit rock bottom of the league and relegation is almost a nailed on certainty. One positive thing for the club is reaching the knockout stages of the Europa League but that cannot paper over the cracks of their wretched form domestically. Who knows what will happen next?

Aiden Mcgeady:
After staring for Celtic, Mcgeady headed east in 2010 for a hefty price tag of £9.5 million. In his first few season’s Mcgeady went a long way to paying off that price tag as he transferred his impressive performances in Scotland for Celtic to Spartak. This season though has been a nightmare for Mcgeady though as a reported falling out with Spartak coach Valeri Karpin is being touted as the reason Mcgeady has found himself out of the starting line up. It’s clear that Mcgeady still has the talent to play football at a top level but it is also clear that his career at Spartak is over. He needs to get himself out of Spartak as soon as he can.

Rubin Kazan: 
Continental regulars Rubin have go in to the winter break in 11th place and will be very disappointed with their start. Soloman Rondon has been out injured and this seems to have had a much bigger effect on the club than expected. Rubin have not been able to find the goals that Rondon would have provided for them in his absence and the season has been marred with inconsistency, with the team unable to string in a run of results together. Many expected Rubin to be in a Europa league place come the end of the season and they have some serious catching up to do after the winter break in order to be involved in European completion again next season.

By James Richmond.


Anzhi Makhachkala - Cash and Corruption
Posted by Passology.

After establishing just 22 years ago in 1991, the current state of Anzhi Makhachkala is a remarkable achievement. After being purchased in January 2011 by billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, the club has gained sufficient funds to generate big name signings such as Cameroonian hitman Samuel Eto’o from Internazionale and even in the managerial position, experienced Guus Hiddink took charge in February 2012.The club was founded by a man named Magomed-Sultan Magomedov, and took part in it’s first season in the Dagestan League. Then after the dissolution of The Soviet Union the club entered The Russian Second Division in 1992. They eventually gained promotion to the top tier of Russian football in 1999, before facing relegation in 2002. They reached the Russian Cup Final for the first time in their history in 2001, losing to Lokomotiv Moscow on penalties. They returned back to the big time in 2010 and a year later reached a high with huge new investors which offered to back the club’s financial solidarity.

Kerimov was willing to invest $200m into a new club infrastructure and a new stadium that would seat 40,000 spectators. Kerimov again proved to deliver when he instantly signed Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos, Jucilei from Corinthians and Boussoufa, a young Moroccan starlet from Belgian side Anderlecht in January 2011. Then in the summer of ’11, more influxes of big names put pen to paper with deals at the club, Hungarian Dzsudzsak, Chelsea left sided player Yuri Zhirkov and Samuel Eto’o, for a club record fee of €28m on a world-record contract of €20.5m annual salary. Prestigiously respected Guus Hiddink took charge of the club (it didn’t work out in the long term), and Chris Samba from Blackburn Rovers signed for £12m. Again proving the club was heading in a positive direction under Kerimov.The Dagestan Yellows have shown significant signs of improvement in domestic form with their first return to the Russian Premier League in 2010/11 ending in 11th position, 2011/12 they finished an impressive 5th, gaining qualification to the Europa League, a continental tournament, with some of Europe’s finest teams and players. Last season they finished 3rd which was deemed very positive by club officials and fans. In the Europa League they eventually lost out to Newcastle United of the Premier League in the Round of 16. The goal that knocked them out came in the 93rd minute of the Second Leg, by a goal from Senegal international Papiss Cisse at St James’ Park. They also beat Young Boys of Switzerland, Udinese, Liverpool and Hannover along the way to the Round of 16. Indicating that Anzhi were becoming a European footballing power. 15 goals in all competitions by Samuel Eto’o and 9 league goals from the impressive Lacina Traore last season looked to fire Anzhi out of the footballing wilderness and into the European spotlight.

The majority of Anzhi’s support is from the Northern Caucasian region, particularly from the city of Makhachkala, the club also surfaces a number of fan bases from across the province of Dagestan. The club itself is hated by elements of supporters from rivaling Moscow club’s Lokomotiv, CSKA and Dinamo, and of course the big Russian power Zenit St Petersburg, it is understood that this hatred has been developed by the stimulant force of Anzhi’s wealth and North Caucasian identity.

Problems with racism are prominently developed in all levels of Russian Football, and it is something that the Russian Football Association are looking to stamp out by the FIFA World Cup in 2018. One of the many examples involving the hooliganism and thuggish behaviour of fans following racial abuse took place during a fierce encounter with close rivals Zenit St Petersburg during the clash in March 2011. The iconic left back Roberto Carlos was targeted by rivaling fans who urged to throw a half-peeled banana towards Carlos. Due to the strong mentality and courageousness of the World Cup winner, he came out and spoke to press and said that he was ‘unfazed’ by the intolerable incident. Another racial incident involving the club was in the 1-0 defeat away to Lokomotiv Moscow in March 2012 when ex-Blackburn centre half Chris Samba said he suffered racial abuse by the home fans. The incident involved shouting of racial abuse and again the use of a banana. With the hooliganism of Football fans in Russia, it is a contributing factor to the corruption of some clubs themselves. Players want to leave the country, players do not want to play Football in the country. It is not a fantastic advert for Russian Football, and especially not for the FIFA World Cup out there in 2018.

The installment and regeneration of Anzhi Makhachkala has in recent months hit a decline, which some say was predicted. On the 22nd July 2013, Guus Hiddink resigned from his job as manager ending an 18 month stint. His newly appointed assistant Rene Meulensteen, was given the nod to take charge as manager. However just 16 days later he was sacked. On the 7th August 2013 Kerimov decided to drastically cut the club’s funds. President Konstantin Remchukov suggested that the club planned a fire sale of players to trim costs. This effectively means that the club are no longer going to have the ability to spend money on buying players with large wages. Samuel Eto’o has been recently sold alongside Brazilian star to Willian to Chelsea, to free up the wage bill with his extortionate contract being a heavy burden on the clubs finances. So there we have it, the start of the fall for Anzhi Makhachkala. It just shows, if you have money, long term sustainability isn’t always guaranteed as Kerimov is about to find out…

Not one, but two Moscow derbies.
Posted by Shane Burns.

Two of the most volatile fixtures in the Russian Premier League, Spartak Moscow travelling CSKA this Saturday is arguably the biggest match in the Russian Premier League this weekend, will be played in the Khinki Stadium. Spartak go into the clash with neighbours CSKA having one the previous clash 3-0 last season. Meanwhile across the city, Dinamo and Lokomotiv will also be challenging this weekend for bragging rights.

CSKA a couple of injury doubts going into their home clash as Aleksandrs Cauna is out as is Sergey Chepchugov whilst Alan Dzagoev and Vassili Berezoutski remain doubtful for the top of the table clash. Spartak have their own injury concerns to contend with as Rómulo, Serdar Tasci, Salvatore Bocchetti, and Tino Costa who is out through suspension. Yura Movsisyan is likely to feature in the match despite being a doubt following an injury picked up against Zenit prior to the international break.

The man in the spotlight at the minute.

Lokomotiv go into the game at home to Dinamo with a few concerns of their own as Guilherme, Dmitriy Tarasov, and former West Ham player Victor Obinna will miss the clash with nearly England bound Dan Petrescu's side. The Romanian manager and former Chelsea player has a fully fit squad to chose from, however his side have a tough job on his hands trying to break down this Lokomotiv side who have kept four consecutive clean sheets at home. Jan Tigorev is expected to start in midfield for Lokomotiv with Dmitriy Tarasov missing the game through suspension.

Two eagerly anticipated fixtures in the Russian calender and I fully expect home wins in both games. However major doubt casts in my mind regarding Saturday's fixture, but the form of Swede Rasmus Elm may prove to be key in the battle at the Khinki stadium. Lokomotiv's solid defensive displays cast little doubt as to my expected victors in this clash.

Posted by @JimmyGrimble10


Zenit shocked at home.
Posted by Gerloveofsport

Luciano Spalletti's Zenit St. Petersburg were shocked at home, beaten 2-0 by Rostov in the Russian Premier League. Zenit, the league leaders by 3 points had a great opportunity to open up a gap on the teams below them as they all play each other this weekend. However, a lacklustre performance has now given those teams a chance to tie Zenit at the top of the table.

Goals from Vitali Dyakov and Timofey Kalachev had Rostov up 2-0 even before half-time. Spalletti's decision to play all of his star names backfired as tiredness crept into their play. Zenit's multinational players had travelled all over the world over the last two weeks for International play.

All it means now is that we're in for a cracking weekend's football with two Moscow Derbies to look forward to.

Published by  @gersloveofsport  22 November

Axel Witsel England bound?
Posted by Shane Burns.

Axel Witsel announced yesterday that his desire is to leave Russian giants, Zenit St. Petersburg and play for one of the top clubs in the English Premier League. The Belgian who made the move to rich Zenit in August 2012 for a staggering €40 million, signing a five year deal.

An ever present in the Belgian national team, the 24 year old expressed his wish to play for a major club in England.
"Indeed, I hope a big club comes for me", he told Belgian paper Nieuwsblade

Witsel has impressed during his time in Russia with his tough tackling and no nonsense style,
but has caused trouble within the Champions League last year where during a match with Standard Leige he broke Marcin Wasilewski's leg in a careless challenge.

A move to the Premier League seems on the cards especially with half of his national side playing in England's top league, would he be a good signing for one of the top eight in England? A move to Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City. With Chelsea and City's wealth and desire to strength in the centre of midfield, do the rest stand much of a chance of landing the Belgian?

Lets see.