Zenit wins Russian league!

Wow, who would have thought at the beginning of the league. Great great work by Advocaat and his boys to break the Moscow hegemony.

Who got the other Champions League spot? I assume CSKA are in the UEFA Cup. Wagner Love, Carvalho and Akinfeev could all be getting January moves.

1. Zenit St Petersburg 58
2. Spartak Moskva 56
3. CSKA Moskva 50
4. FK Moskva 49
5. Saturn Mosk Oblast 45

Wow, *incredible* performance by Dickie

Leagues Advocaat has mastered

Holland - PSV
Scotland - Rangers
Russia - Zenit

He is now off to manage the Australian national team.

Simply impressive. Only 6-7 rounds ago it didn't look too good for them. Great job

Ajax must sign Krasic from CSKA

Isn't there a lot of controversy about this, because they've basically done a Chelsea?

There are so many Russian magnates involved with Russian football. Its natural that the managers will have a generous transfer budget.

As for Zenit, I don't think they bought too many stars like CSKA did in the past, the only big signing was one of Obispo's favourite players in Tymoschuk.

kas wrote:Isn't there a lot of controversy about this, because they've basically done a Chelsea?

CSKA have bloody Vagner, Jo, Carvalho.

Zenit sold their best striker and did bought some good players with Tekke and Tymoschuck but they didn't really did a Chelsea.

And still if they did it, it would still be a great achievment of Dick winning the title in his first season.

Fair enough, I wasn't sure that's why I was asking.

Zenit taste glory on default setting

Zenit St Petersburg's first Russian championship since 1984 was as much down to their rivals' failings as their own skill
----------------

Perhaps it was appropriate it should be decided by a scruffy goal. For all the excitement and the tension, this has, after all, been a scruffy Russian championship. Zenit St Petersburg won't care - and nor should they - but nor should it be denied that when Radek Sirl's 14th-minute shot deflected past the Saturn goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky on Sunday, it rather summed up this season. "We were lucky," Zenit midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov admitted. "But sometimes you need that."

This was Zenit's first championship since 1984, only the second in their history, and the first time the title has gone outside Moscow since 1995. A packed Petrovsky Stadium watched the game via a beam-back in St Petersburg and, if not excusable, it was understandable that their celebrations should spill over into clashes with riot police that led to around 50 arrests. Yet even in their glee, there must be a slight sense of hollowness, for the blunt truth is that Zenit are not great champions.

They are not even as good as they themselves have been at times in the recent past, but what they have had is consistency. Dick Advocaat has brought a tactical discipline, and the Ukraine international Anatoliy Tymoschuk, after an uncertain start, has added steel to the midfield. Those are laudable qualities and had it simply been that Advocaat had brought success by eliminating defensive sloppiness there would have been few complaints.

But there have been more than a few complaints - many, it must be said, emanating from the Moscow press. That Zenit have been "dry" has been a common criticism. For the past month or so it has been routine in Moscow when discussing the title race to point out that Vladimir Putin was born in St Petersburg, although why that should matter given he has shown virtually no interest in football is unclear. Perhaps it does suit some vague policy of supporting the regions, but quite how that should have been brought about - other than by the obvious investment from Zenit's sponsors, Gazprom - has never been explained.

The more valid criticism is that this was a title won almost by default. The headlines in Sovetsky Sport and Sport-Express both punned on the Peter the Great/Peter the First theme, but the truth was that this season was more about Spartak the Second. This was the third season in a row the Moscow club have finished as runners up, and this season they have only themselves to blame. Twice they outplayed Zenit this season, and twice they beat them 3-1, but they were undone by sloppiness in other fixtures. The 3-0 defeat to Khimki was a particular embarrassment, but they will look also at the 4-3 reverse against Lokomotiv in a game in which they had led 2-0, and even to the two points dropped in injury time against CSKA.

CSKA themselves will wonder what might have been had they not lost Daniel Carvalho and Igor Akinfeev to lengthy injuries, and Jo and Wagner Love to the Copa America. The biggest underachievers, though, were Lokomotiv, who finished a lowly seventh and responded by sacking their coach Anatoly Byshovets on Monday. Remarkably he wasn't even the first coach to go after the season's end, with FK Moskva getting rid of Leonid Slutsky despite finishing fourth, the best placing in their brief history.

But for all the quibbling, what Zenit have had, beyond question, is the best player in the Russian league: Andrei Arshavin. He began slowly, apparently pining for his former strike partner Alexander Kerzhakov, who was sold to Sevilla, but by the end of the season he was being granted the curiously back-handed compliment of being named by the British press as the only Russia player who might get in the England team.

Although Roman Pavlyuchenko took most of the plaudits, Arshavin was probably Russia's best player against England in Moscow last month, his touch and awareness central to the red surge that overwhelmed Steve McClaren's side in that final half hour. It is perhaps a sign of his growing maturity that he looked better once Kerzhakov had gone off, and he found in Pavlyuchenko a counterpoint with bulk as well as guile.

Given his evident flair and creative spirit, it is perhaps no great surprise to learn that Arshavin holds a university diploma in fashion design. After the England game, Patrick Barclay of the Sunday Telegraph made the observation that he reminded him of Deco, and the comparison is valid. Although Arshavin plays higher up the pitch, he shares with the Barcelona midfielder a similar slightness of physique, deftness of touch and willingness to work even outside his natural position; it would be no great surprise were he to follow Kerzhakov west.

The other revelation this season has not been one of the vaunted imports, but Zyryanov, a player who has overcome the tragedy of losing his wife and daughter five years ago. A holding player at Torpedo, he has been given a more advanced role this season, and has responded with nine goals. His reward has been a regular starting berth in the national side. It was his goal incorrectly ruled out at Wembley, and his shirt Wayne Rooney rashly tugged to concede the penalty at the Luzhniki.

For both he and Arshavin - as well as Vyacheslav Malafeev, Alexander Anyukov, Vladislav Radimov and Pavel Pogrebnyak - it has already been a wonderful year, but on Saturday in Tel Aviv an even bigger prize awaits. "Words can't describe how happy I am," said Pogrebnyak. "But if Russia now can beat Israel as well..."

Then, barring a catastrophe (or miracle, depending whose side you're on) in Andorra, Russia will be at Euro 2008, and England will not.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/11/13/zenit_taste_glory_on_default_s.html

Very strange. Dick Advocaat has a totally different view on this. Saying that government is actually favourable against Moscow clubs and that Moscow clubs always give clubs who play Zenit bonusses when they could take points away from Zenit.

Dinamo bring Sevilla's Kerzhakov home

FC Dinamo Moskva have signed Russian international striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov from Sevilla FC for a fee in the region of €7m.

Limited opportunities
The move will give the 25-year-old first-team football in the Premier-Liga as he seeks to secure a place in Russia's UEFA EURO 2008™ squad. Signed by Sevilla from FC Zenit St. Petersburg in January 2007, Kerzhakov scored eight goals in 26 Primera División games as well as featuring in the Andalusians' UEFA Cup final triumph against RCD Espanyol. However, he was limited to six league starts this term and had made no secret of his desire to be playing regularly before this summer's EURO finals. Sevilla paid Zenit around €5m for Kerzhakov who has registered 14 goals in 44 appearances for his country. The Russian season begins on 14 March with Dinamo in action two days later at FC Tom Tomsk.

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=663861.html

He will be a good signing for them. Are Dinamo in the UEFA Cup next season?

Pierre will be pleased. Chevanton should get more chances to impress.

Asharvin is wanted by quite a few prem clubs.

Wonder what the odds are for Newcastle to get him?

Arshavin is quality though, I watched him a few times for Russia towards the end of the European Championships qualification rounds.

Newcastle were interested during Allardyce's time, I wonder if that has changed because of the introduction of Keegan.

He would be a good signing for Tottenham.

Would Spurs need him?

I did a quick search on him, It said he can play right mid and attacking mid/ striker.

Villa

Well they sold Defoe in January, and Bent has hardly hardly fitted into the team.

As you have said he can play on either flank, and although Malbranque has done well in recent times, he would be a positive step forward.

He could be a cheaper alternative for Liverpool in the summer as they desperately search for new attacking talent.

I've taken a slight interest in the Russian league after Zenit's success in the UEFA Cup last year, and Russia's performances at the Euros. Probably due to their UEFA Cup hangover and the uncertainty over Arshavin (he was left out of the team for a while but is playing again nowadays since his transfer keeps dragging on), Zenit are currently down in 8th place; their last game was a 1-3 defeat at home to the bottom placed team!

Currently top, with 18 games gone, are FK Rubin Kazan. Dinamo Moscow are 2nd and FK Amkar Perm are 3rd. I have to admit I have no idea about any of these teams. The more well-known names like Spartak, CSKA, and Lokomotiv Moscow are 4th, 5th, and 7th respectively. Maxi Lopez's FC Moscow are in 10th.

Anyone watch matches of the Russian league? More info on how the season is going is welcome...

@ Kas: Try asking Asuka. She is Russian. She doesn't follow any team, but would be better placed to get information.

I try to keep up to date with how Zenit are doing, and I watch them when I both remember to and can find a stream (and these two necessities admittedly don't coincide all that often - but sometimes).

Apparently, the team Zenit lost to on Sunday hadn't, prior to the game, won away in the league for almost three years. Zenit seem to have a variety of problems. Arshavin is playing all the games, and he played on Sunday, but he doesn't seem to be playing so well - he's working but not dictating games like he did last season - and obviously his situation and all the publicity around it probably isn't helping him or the team as a whole. They've had a few injuries - Pogrebnyak has been out, Anyukov is out at the moment. And their strikers are not scoring goals - they supposedly spurned lots of chances on Sunday - Pogrebnyak has been out, but he isn't always starting now that he's fit, and he isn't scoring well; Tekke and Dominguez aren't chipping in with their fair share of goals; Arshavin isn't either - and Tymoschuk and Zyrianov are left as Zenit's two top scorers, with five goals each.

I don't know a huge deal about Rubin Kazan. The Russian league often tends to be tight, and Rubin don't seem to be romping away with things - they are winning games by the odd goal and drawing games whilst the bigger teams aren't clicking. Looking at their squad, they have a few noteable players - Semak, their captain, who played in midfield for Russia in the Euros; Roman Adamov, who they've just signed from FC Moscow, and who was joint top scorer in the Russian League last year (alongside Pavlyuchenko, who is scoring well again this season too): and they have a Turkish international, Karadeniz, who is scoring goals for them. They also have Savo Milosevic, the old Aston Villa forward, and Sergiy Rebrov, though certainly the former doesn't seem to start that often.

Dynamo, in second place, have Kerzhakov and the Portugese midfielder Danny, who has apparently just been called up to the national team by Queiroz.

Zenit's homepage comes in English:

http://www.fc-zenit.ru/eng/main.phtml

And there is a decent page here that gives a round up of the week's games:

http://english.sport-express.ru/summary/1_3012/

Zenit won 8-1 today, but judging by this video, most of the assists came from the opposition defenders:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1634737/

6 games to go, Rubin Kazan are still 7 points clear at the top, from CSKA Moskow. Zenit are now up to 5th with a game in hand...too late for a title challenge, but only 3 points off 3rd place, which is worth a UEFA Cup spot.

Rubin Kazan have won the league with 3 games to spare. CSKA Moscow are 2nd, and Zenit have just moved into the top 4.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-europerussia_pix&prov=reuters&type=lgns

So are Zenit in the UEFA Cup Kas?

Still 3 games to go.

kas wrote:Still 3 games to go.

Do you think they'll get in Europe then, still possible yes?

Yes, currently they're 4 points behind CSKA in 2nd place, with I think 2 or 3 games left. So they can still get in the CL (top 2 spots), while UEFA is even more achievable.

Don't know the remaining fixtures for 2nd/3rd/4th/5th though.

The third placed team in the Russian league qualifies for the Champions League Third Qualifying Round. So Zenit need to finish in the top three for a path into next season's Champions League. Fourth and fifth placed finishers in Russia qualify for next season's UEFA Cup.

The top six in Russia, as things stand, are:

Team-----Played--Points

Rubin--------27-----60
CSKA--------27-----50
Dynamo-----26-----44
Amkar-------27-----44
Zenit---------27-----43
Spartak------27-----43
Lokomotiv---26-----38

So teams have three or four games left to play. Zenit's three games are away at Amkar, at home to Dynamo, and they finish away at Spartak - so their run in is difficult and pretty intriguing.

Rubin???

My thoughts exactly.