The Champion

Rubin (Kazan) are the Champions again. Rubin are 8 points ahead of Spartak (Moscow), who came second and 53 points ahead of Khimki, who came the last.

Gurban Berdiýew confirmed, that he is going to stay in Kazan and “finish what he has started”. Rubin will presumably conclude a number of new sponsoring contracts, they have already change Nike for Umbro as equipment supplier.

Rubin’s new target is to preserve its top players, Cristian Ansaldi (Argentine international), Sergei Semak (Rubin captain), Aleksandr Bukharov (Rubin top striker).

The relegated

FC Khimki have gathered just 10 points in the season, winning just 2 games in the season. Coach Igor Chugainov is ready to stay in the club in 2010 and fight the way back to the Premier League.

FC Kuban were promoted last year and didn’t succeed in Russian Premier League. Coach Sergei Ovchinnikov (ex-Russian international) was fired and Armenian coach Poghos Galstyan took charge of the club.

The promoted

FC Anzhi (Makhachkala) were founded in 1991 but have already played in UEFA Cup and Russia Cup final. However they played in Russian Premier League only in 2002 season. Omari Tetradze, former Russian international, has been working with Anzhi since 2007.

FC Sibir (Novosibirsk), founded in 1936 has changed 9 names since that. Sibir has never played in Russian or USSR top league.

Who’s gonna play in Europe

Rubin (Kazan), Spartak (Moscow), Zenit (Saint Petersburg) are going to play in Champions League 2010/11. The three clubs have an impressive winning record and are likely to be tough sides in the main European football event.

Lokomotiv (Moscow) and CSKA (Moscow) will take part in UEFA Europa League. Both have enough class to reach the latest stages of the contest.

So far Zenit (Saint Petersburg) are doing not so well in the title chase. Zenit has played 10 games in Russian Premier League (20 games are left to play). With 15 points Zenit occupies 7th place in the table. Rubin (Kazan) stand first with 21 points. CSKA (Moscow), Krylia Sovetov (Samara) and FC Moscow come next, each team has 19 points.

Zenit has won 4 games, drawn 3 times and lost to FC Rostov, FC CSKA, Dynamo (Moscow). Zenit failed to win against worst rivals (Spartak, CSKA, Lokomotiv).

Several forces may ruin Zenit expectations this season.

Lost leaders

Andrei Arshavin joined Arsenal. Danny, a player bought to replace Arshavin, will presumably miss the rest of the season due to a severe injury. Captain Anatoliy Tymoschuk will probably join Bayern Munich in summer (Russian mid-season).

Misfit expectations

Igor Semshov, one of Russian national team leaders, has played just 481 minutes (out of 900) in the current season and still hasn’t established himself as a key player for Zenit.

Szabolcs Huszti has played just 152 minutes and clearly hasn’t yet impressed Zenit coaching staff. Now with Danny injured Zenit needs Huszti to put on pace.

Fatih Tekke, Turkish international, was moved to the reserve team and has been put on transfer list. That makes Pogrebnyak the only forward in Zenit squad.

Squad unbalanced

Zenit has a lot of brilliant midfielders, just enough defenders, but lacks players in the attack. Pavel Pogrebnyak and Fatih Tekke are the only forwards, Szabolcs Huszti is the only attacking midfielder fit.

Unsettled speculations

Dick Advocaat, reportedly, reached an agreement with Belgian Football Association and will take charge of Belgian national team after the season.

Pavel Pogrebnyak and Anatoliy Tymoschuk may leave the team in summer.

Zenit (Saint Petersburg)

FC Zenit, founded in 1925, is one of the best teams in Russia. Since 2007 Zenit dominates Russian football, it has gathered a great bunch of players, including a number of remarkable international players. Since the departure of Andrei Arshavin Zenit is still trying to align its attacking game.

Manager

Dick Advocaat moved to Zenit in 2006 and was expected to leave by 2007. However he is still in the club. Before Zenit Advocaat has worked in such clubs as PSV Eindhoven, Rangers (Glasgow), Borussia Mönchengladbach and also with Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and South Korea national teams.

Advocaat is the most successful manager in Zenit history, with Zenit he won UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Russian Premier League, Russian Super Cup. In 2008 Advocaat was granted the honorary citizenship of the city of Saint Petersburg.

Advocaat is often criticized for not developing young local players and considerable transfer spending.

Star players

Anatoliy Tymoschuk, Zenit captain. Tymoschuk is a key player for the team, occupying defensive midfielder position Tymoschuk effectively decreases an attacking potential of any rival. Tymoschuk is also good in offense, he has scored some important goals for Zenit. Anatoliy Tymoschuk is the heart of the team.

Danny moved to Zenit in 2008 as a replacement of Andrei Arshavin and has firmly established himself as Zenit key attacking player. Danny was bought by Zenit for a fee of €30 million, he is the most expensive player of the Russian Premier League. Danny made 5 appearances for Portugal national team but earning a firm position in Portugal starting 11 is still a prime challenge for him.

Konstantin Zyryanov, midfielder, is an extremely important player both for Zenit and Russian national team. Zyryanov is often described as the most creative player on the pitch.

Pavel Pogrebnyak, sometimes referred to as “the Great Po”, is Zenit main goalscorer, especially since the transfer of Andrei Arshavin. In Russian national team Pogrebnyak competes with Roman Pavlyuchenko for a place in starting 11, this competition started in Spartak (Moscow), were both played in 2003.

Vyacheslav Malafeev, born in 1979, is a permanent Zenit goalkeeper, one of the best goalkeepers in Russia. Malafeev is quite popular with Zenit fans, he is the head of youth fan movement. Malafeev graduated Saint Petersburg University of Physical Training and has a diploma in “Sports and football”.

Aleksandr Anyukov is one of the most important defenders in Zenit. Anyukov is skillful both in defense and in attack, has an incredible pace and stamina.

Local talent

Igor Denisov, Russian international, plays for Zenit since 2001. Denisov was born in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) and has played for two local teams before joining Zenit. Denisov’s performance in 2008 was outstanding, currently Igor Denisov occupies midfielder position.

Strengths

Squad. Zenit has the best squad in Russia, some outstanding players, such as Russian international Igor Semsov or Turkish international Fatih Tekke, even don’t even strike into starting 11.

Cooperation. A number of players have been playing in Zenit for two or more years. Fans expect effective cooperation and understanding between players.

Competition. Zenit has good players on the pitch, good players on the bench and good players on the list. Only captain Anatoliy Tymoschuk may regard himself irreplaceable, all the rest have to give the best on the pitch and during the training sessions.

Weaknesses

Pitch. Zenit play on Petrovsky Stadium, built in 1925 and reconstructed before the Olympics 1980. Zenit needs a good pitch, without mounds and puddles, to show its best, ironically its own pitch, especially in spring and autumn, doesn’t let Zenit play its best football.

Absence of “killer instinct”. Zenit often dominates the game, locks the rival on its own half, effectively shoots on goal, but doesn’t score. After such games Advocaat says that he is proud with his players, experts argue that Zenit should have won. Anyway two points are gone.

Small squad. Zenit squad includes 21 players, two of them are goalkeepers, two more are injured. That restricts rotation opportunities. On some games in Europe Zenit can’t detach 18 players to fill the registration form.

Estimates

Zenit is likely to win the title this season. Also the race for the title will be fierce, some important points will be lost, some ridiculous results will take place.