LOKOMOTIV WELCOMES SPARTAK IN MOSCOW DERBY

On Sunday, of week seventeen of the Championship of Russia all eyes will be poised on the final match of the day as Spartak visits Lokomotiv in a Moscow Derby of epic proportion.

The day kicks off with Alaniya Vladikavkaz versus relegation threatened Amkar Perm. Alaniya shocked Nalchik last week with manager Vladimir Shevchuk deploying a much more attack minded set. Amkar is in the midst of a four-match losing streak and only a point above Krylya Sovetov in the relegation zone. Rashid Rakhimov’s anaemic attack needs to find its scoring form but without playmaker Georgiy Peev, out due to injury, their advances have trickled.

Defending champions Rubin Kazan travels to Terek Grozny looking to maintain pressure on the field in pursuit of a Champions League berth. While Zenit possesses a seven-point margin, as well as an additional match to play, Rubin manager Kurban Berdyev has struck gold with the recent signings of former Newcastle striker Oba Martins and Alexey Medvedev. Grozny fell to Rostov last week in a hard fought battle and it is clear that with Blagoy Georgiev their attacking has slowed. Possibly more concerning is the lack of finishing from strikers, forcing Anatoly Baidachny to try a number of combinations.

Of strategic importance CSKA Moscow welcomes Anzhi Makhachkala to Arena Khimki with the Army-Men needing to maintain focus, less then give up more ground in the race. Leonid Slutsky’s new arrivals, Zoran Tosic and Seydou Doumbia, have been brilliant with Vágner Love not missing a beat since returning to the capital. Alan Dzagoev continues to mature into a rising star of the future, particularly from a centralist position but CSKA needs to remain its composure against Anzhi or they will be shocked. Veteran leader Gadzhi Gadzhiev has the Dagestan side in fine form and will deploy a tight, compact stance and look to thwart CSKA’s mercurial attack

In the premier match of the weekend, Spartak visits Lokomotiv in Moscow derby with both sides needing to maintain pace with Nalchik and Rostov for a spot in Europe. Spartak is deeply troubled at eighth in the table but have recently added Nicolás Pareja, from Espanyol and Aiden McGeady from Celtic, with Kirill Kombarov and Dmitriy Kombarov rumoured to be on their way from Dynamo. On the opposite end of the pitch, Lokomotiv mastermind Yuriy Semin welcomes back Oleksandr Aliyev after last week’s abysmal draw against the Samarans. He will be without Tomislav Dujmovic and Dmitriy Torbinski who were both shown red-cards. Both sides are in dire need of a victory, knowing a favourable result could propel their campaign forward, making this derby a heavyweight battle not to be missed.

Prepared by John Davies


... but nothing matches the thrill and challenge of having money on the line!

SLUTSKY EYES SUNDAY DERBY AGAINST SPARTAK

CSKA manager Leonid Slutsky shares his point of view on the coming Moscow derby between his team and Spartak, which will be held at Luzhniki stadium on Sunday.


"Sometimes I think that beating Spartak is the most significant thing for CSKA fans and that would agree on dropout of Premier League even easier than on losing to our most uncompromising competitors", Slutsky said.

"Our acquisitions have been planed long time ago. We signed Doumbia in winter so we perfectly knew that he would join our squad".

"Transfer work is always in progress, however there are no players, who are close to signing contracts with us. I count on services of those players who took part in our trainings and Vagner Love is one of them".

"In his case everything depends on emotional background of the match. If the game is favourable for us, it can give Vagner Love additional strength".

"It’s hard to assess his current form, because I haven’t worked with him before and I have nothing to compare with. Our tests show that he is 70-80% ready now".

"Honda looked not well in the match in Samara, and tests showed that he hadn’t fully recovered from the World Cup and we decided to give him a break and prepare the player for the big game with Spartak. That is why Honda missed our clash with Spartak Nalchik".

"In general World Cup participants were exhausted, because this tournament requires their physical strength and energy and it definitely tells on players’ form".

"The World Championship ended some time ago, but it’s evident that players, who took part in it, haven’t restored their best conditions".

"On Sunday we will play a special game, which is very important for both sides. Besides it is the most significant derby of our country, teams will need to earn points".

"I came up against Spartak when I worked in different teams, won four matches and lost one game in nine meetings. Of course I would be glad to improve my personal statistics, but I understand that previous successes don’t guarantee positive results in future".

... but nothing matches the thrill and challenge of having money on the line!

JUVENTUS DON’T CHANGE THEIR POSITION ON KRASIC

Juventus is not ready to change their offer on acquiring CSKA midfielder Milos Krasic.


The Italian club wants to buy the 25-year-old Serbian international for €15 million, as reported by the player’s official representative in Italy Marko Naletilic.

"Krasic told me several times that Juventus is priority variant for him", Naletilic said to sport press. "Position of Italian team is still the same and they are ready to pay particular sum of money for his transfer".

YURAN: I LIKED DYNAMO MORE THAN OTHERS

Sport press experts Yuriy Ivanov and Sergey Yuran comment on Premier League first two weeks of action.


"Russian clubs demonstrated absolutely different football at the start of the championship, and it’s clear that teams are in different form now", Yuriy Ivanov commented.

"Two weeks are not very long period of time, however it was enough for superficial acquaintance with the teams. Fans and specialists got an opportunity to assess all changes made by the clubs in winter break".

"For example, I liked new Dynamo, I was not disappointed by Rubin and CSKA, and I got pleasant impressions from Spartak and Zenit".

"Financial crisis divided teams into two groups and it influenced the first results of the season. Poorer clubs achieved modest results and I am sure that their far-going ambitions won’t compensate lack of high-class players".

"I mentioned that teams get used to the new season not very quickly", said Sergey Yuran. "And reason of it is easy to understand, because coaches want to increase tempo little by little. As the result players will gain their best form only by the fifth or sixth matchday".

"Teams also lack playing practice. Trial games don’t give clubs necessary preparation, and they have to re-establish their skills in official matches".

"After the first two weekends I liked Dynamo more than other teams. It’s surprising that looking at their well-balanced play, you don’t mention big number of their newcomers".

"I also Liked Rubin, Lokomotiv and Tom. I suppose that Rubin and Dynamo are in the group of the main contenders for the title this year. Both teams are well disciplined and stick to the head coach’s directions".

"Spartak was overwhelmed by emotions in the match with Dynamo. They didn’t show their football, though they demonstrated their best qualities".

"I agree that difference between leading group of six and other clubs is enormous this season. I don’t want to hurt Anzhi, Alaniya or Sibir, but it’s evident that difference between them and favourites are very big".

SLUTSKY SATISFIED WITH CSKA READINESS

CSKA head coach Leonid Slutsky is satisfied with his team’s readiness for the Champions League clash against Sevilla and hopes that his club will surprise Spanish side with their play tonight.


"After the first matches of the new season I understand that I would get rid of only one thing – injuries", Slutsky told sport press. "Dzagoev, Krasic and Gonzalez would look much better if not their injury problems during winter preparations".

"I am satisfied with the team’s readiness, as we begin the season in perfect form. At the same time I am not glad with poor chance conversion, but it’s consequence of injuries of leading attackers".

"We really had few scoring chances against Sevilla, but in such games there cannot be many opportunities to score. In the match with Rubin there were enough scoring episodes and we didn’t convert them at all".

"Our best football is supposed to be enough, but we should outplay Sevilla. It’s necessary not to hope that they will make mistakes, but to be better in attack".

NECID EYES SEVILLA CLASH

CSKA striker Tomas Necid believes that his club will achieve necessary result in the Champions League clash against Sevilla.


"CSKA’s start of the season was rather contradictory", Necid said. "We played well in all three matches, created a lot of scoring opportunities, especially against Sevilla and Rubin, but achieved necessary result only in the last game with Amkar".

"It’s great that we grabbed victory in injury time, because it shows our fighting character and gives us emotional boost ahead of our trip to Spain".

"It’s hard to say why we don’t score many goals. I think that our problems will disappear after the first excellent match".

"I think CSKA is in good form now and if we manage to be united team in Sevilla, we will attain necessary result. In any case I believe it will be really so".

"I have already played against Sevilla when I was in Slavia, but both times without success – 2:4 in Spain and 0:3 at home".

GINER: SADYRIN WAS RIGHT

President of CSKA Evgeniy Giner spoke about the state of affairs in the club prior to the start of the Russian Premier League season-2010.


"Talking about my feelings on the eve of the first match I can say that I am absolutely calm now," said Giner.

"I saw how the team was preparing for the season, watched its matches against Sevilla and Rubin and I confess that I like the current game of CSKA. And if there is good play there will be results."

"And though many people keep saying that the beauty of football is on the scoreboard the actually want it that the necessary score is achieved by really spectacular game."

"It is very difficult to compare seasons and the feelings preceding them: every year is unique. But from year to year I have less anxiety. Probably that comes with experience and trust in the team."

"I remember when we were starting the season with Pavel Sadyrin when CSKA got its first point in the fifth matchday only. I was in a twit and the experienced coach told me to relax and that the things would straighten out in the long run."

"And now I understand that Sadyrin was right: top clubs always amend the situation no matter how difficult it is. An excellent team can roll in the season slowly but then it will get back its own."

"And the teams of the middle level must win as many points as possible in spring when the fields are heavy and physical preparation decided a lot."

"Concerning our selection work I can say that it cannot be sufficient. While picking up new players the management of the club is guided by one simple rule: one must buy players either to fill in the troublesome positions or buy players better than ours."

"But it is impossible to buy players better than we have now: they do not want to move to Russia."

"We have almost reached the ceiling of our selection work. We fail to lure players in our team, instead they go to Real, Manchester, Barcelona."

"And those who are second best after them do not exceed our players. On the contrary, top clubs get interested in our footballers from time to time."

"I disagree that CSKA lacks depth of the squad. We have a first team and a couple of substitutes on every position. After all we have young players whom we should bring in the team."

"If we do not intend to give the youth a chance what for should we keep them in the team? Would Dzagoev, Schennikov, Mamaev be playing now if we have bought them to deepen the lineup."

"And moreover we have many all-rounders in the team able to cover several positions."

"It is senseless to think about possible injuries. In this case we must have thirty-forty equal players. Can you imagine what flow of claims will we face from those sidelined?"

"I think that for Russia, for those 30-40 matches in the season, including European Cups, a first team of 15-16 men is enough. And behind them we have youth – that is the way we organized our team."

SEASON OPENER AS AMKAR VISITS CSKA

After a three-month plus hiatus, the Rosgosstrakh Championship of Russia returns this weekend in opening series of exciting matches. The weekend commences in the capital as Amkar Perm faces CSKA Moscow at Luzhniki Stadium.


There have been many changes within the league since Rubin Kazan were crowned champions for the second consecutive period, including a number of superb new player additions to the mix as well as well as the sad loss of FC Moscow. Yet for fans of football within Russia, this likely will be one of the most exciting campaigns in recent memory, as the competition for the top six will be fierce and clubs will be fighting for points at every turn.

CSKA Moscow v Amkar Perm

The Army-Men are coming off a difficult loss to Rubin Kazan in the Russian Super Cup as well as a trying season, however look poised to threaten for the championship. Plagued with tactical problems under then-manager Zico and after equal failings with Juande Ramos in charge, they did not hit full stride until Leonid Slutsky took charge.

Club president Evgeniy Giner fulfilled his promise of stock piling CSKA with the level of talent to take them to European glory with the premier signings of Japan international Keisuke Honda from VVV-Venlo, Seydou Doumbia from Young Boys and reliable young defender Kirill Nababkin from FC Moscow.

Daniel Carvalho and Vágner Love have been loaned out and unlikely to return to Moscow but the Army-Men are laden with attacking talent, led by emerging superstar Miloš Krasić, playmaker Alan Dzagoev, Mark González, Tomáš Necid and Pavel Mamaev as well as their key new additions. CSKA's greatest weakness is within defending and will need Sergey Ignashevich and Vasiliy Berezutsky play at their best if the Army-Men are to wrestle away the hardware from Rubin Kazan.

Amkar Perm will look to rebound from a deplorable season following their fourth place finish in 2008. Returning to Amkar Perm after a difficult stint with Lokomotiv Moscow, Rashid Rakhimov brought stability to the Red-Blacks and eased them away from relegation with a careful crafted tactical plan.

The situation for the Ural side is complicated as do not have the financial resources of the upper tier clubs and will find the going tough to match their 2008 results. They have made some telling signings with young Croatian star Josip Knežević from Osijek and Denys Dedechko from Dynamo Kyiv as well as bringing Nikita Burmistrov in on-loan from CSKA Moscow and see promising Armenian defender Arthur Stepanyan return from loan assignment.

CSKA AND RUBIN BATTLE IN SUPER CUP

With the start of the Rosgosstrakh Championship of Russia less than two weeks off, hopes flourish across the league in what has the makings of one of the most exciting campaigns in recent memory.


The hands down winner in the transfer market have been CSKA Moscow who upheld club president Evgeniy Giner's promise to load the Army-Men with talent. Leonid Slutsky's has the benefit of what on paper is one of the most attacking laden units in recent memory adding Keisuke Honda and Seydou Doumbia to the mix to go with Mark González, Tomáš Necid, Alan Dzagoev and Miloš Krasić. Along with solid defending and the stalwart work of ‘keeper Igor Akinfeev, CSKA supporters eagerly look to the new year as a chance to return the championship to their side.

After Rubin Kazan's two consecutive championships, manager Kurban Berdyev has many thinking his Tatarstan side is capable of entering the world of dynasty lore with another title. However, Rubin has been quiet in the transfer market, despite losing sharpshooter Alejandro Domínguez to Valencia, with Fatih Tekke set to join from Zenit Saint Petersburg at the end of August, and could be light on the bench within attacking vision.

Russian football fans will get a sneak peak of the upcoming campaign as CSKA and Rubin clash on 7 March in the Russian Super Cup at Luzhniki Stadium in a repeat of last years encounter that the Army-Men 2-1 via an added time goal by Tomáš Necid.

CSKA, after a superb run in the friendlies, looked disjointed against Sevilla in Champions League play before Mark González saved a draw with a booming strike. Rubin's early start have seen they comfortably advance past Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the Europa League's round of sixteen to face Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg. Early season results aside, CSKA has made a habit of winning the Super Cup, four trophies since the original contest in 2003 but you can expect a heated battle from Rubin who are looking to open their run for hardware in 2010.

SLUTSKY: WE WERE CLOSER TO VICTORY

CSKA head coach Leonid Slutsky is optimistic about the overall result of two-round battle against Sevilla.


"Of course we would like to achieve something more than 1:1 draw and we were closer to victory", Slutsky said. "This result is more useful for Sevilla, but we will fight in the return match".

"We have three weeks and we will hold two official games during this time – in the Super Cup and in the championship. Moreover I hope that Alan Dzagoev will be well fit for the match in Spain. I even believe that he will be able to help us against Rubin on March 7".

"The team looked well functionally and there was no replacement for the flank players, who are substituted more than others. And I didn’t see any sense in changing someone from other zones, since there were no problems there".

GINER: “AUTUMN-SPRING” SYSTEM WOULD BE BETTER

CSKA president Evgeniy Giner believes that “autumn-spring” system of the Russian championship would help the clubs prepare for European competitions better.


"It was normal match, though we made mistakes, because it was our first match of the season", said Giner. "I want to repeat that if our championship is held according to “autumn-spring” system, we would have played two or three matches of domestic season and come to the Champions League play offs well prepared. We saw how the team caught the playing rhythm during the match and looked more self-confident in the second half of the game".

"Players had no problems with their physical form. They played 90 minutes of very tough game and we have no claims to them".

"I am not disappointed by the result, I think that we still stand good chances of progress and everything will be decided in Sevilla".

"Of course players understand that it would have been better to win and they had perfect chances to do it, but there is nothing bad in this draw. It will be necessary to score in away clash and in this case we would be able to advance to the next stage of competition".