Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Rumour Roundup: August 28th, 2013

Hello everyone. We're finally getting into the business end of the transfer window, with 9 days to go before it slams shut, meaning this is your second last Rumour Roundup of the year. I will, however, feature a general transfer window roundup the day on the Monday following the end of the window, so look forward to that.

Done Deals:
Chelsea has confirmed that it has agreed terms with Anzhi for the transfer of Willian, subject to a work permit hearing. The winger had reportedly completed a medical with Tottenham Hotspur, when Chelsea became involved and offered more in both transfer fee and wages, with the reported fee believed to be around €37 million.

Spartak has completed the transfer of Anzhi central defender Joao Carlos for an undisclosed fee. Carlos made his Spartak debut alongside Salvatore Bocchetti in the club's 2-1 loss to Amkar on Sunday.

Looking Likely:
According to the Daily Mail, Samuel Eto'o will follow Willian to Chelsea as part of the deal for the Brazilian. Jose Mourinho managed Eto'o at Inter Milan and is not believed to rate Chelsea's current forwards, having played a strikerless formation against Manchester United on Monday.

Spartak midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov could make a move to Rubin in a bid to gain playing time, via Russian Football News. Bilyaletdinov joined Spartak from Everton in January 2012, yet has only played 24 league matches in that time, scoring 4 goals.

CSKA is on the verge of signing Botafogo striker Vitinho for a fee of €10 million, as reported by the Ledger Enquirer.

50/50:
If voetbalnieuws.be is to be believed, Alan Dzagoev could be set for a move to Tottenham. The London based club are reportedly interested in Dzagoev as a partial replacement for the departing Gareth Bale, with Roma's Erik Lamela also believed to be coming in. No price has been quoted, however my estimate is around €25 million, however this could decrease if reported CSKA target Emmanuel Adebayor is included in the deal.

Low Chance:
Zenit has declared that forward Hulk is not for sale, amidst interest from Tottenham. The English club was reported to be interested for around €35 million, well short of Zenit's €46 million asking price. Hulk is believed to be eager to put his spell in Russia behind him and link back up with his manager at Porto, Andre Villas-Boas.

Spartak's move for Toby Alderweireld appears to have failed after the club signed Joao Carlos. Alderweireld is believed to be interested in a move to the English Premier League, and has been linked with North London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal in recent weeks.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 6 Recap: Rostov suffer first loss as Lokomotiv turn up the pressure

Hey everyone. It's six matchweeks in and Rostov has finally lost its first match of the season due to two red cards, while there were a couple of surprising results elsewhere.

Dynamo 1-1 Zenit
Dynamo controlled this match from almost start to finish, going ahead through a Balazs Dzsudzsak deflection in the 64th minute, yet were absolutely robbed by an Aleksandr Kerzhakov header with the absolute last touch of the match.

Tom 1-2 CSKA
Igor Portnyagin sent Tom ahead on the half hour mark, but CSKA battled back and dominated the game, taking goals from Seydou Doumbia and Ahmed Musa in the space of 9 minutes to put the visitors ahead and take the win to go top of the table.

Volga 1-0 Terek
Terek played better overall, controlling possession and taking charge of the game, but Volga's counterattacking game prevailed as Anton Putsila scored in the 75th minute to take the match for the hosts.

Anzhi 1-2 Krasnodar
Anzhi continued a dismal start to the season with a disappointing loss to Krasnodar. Krasnodar controlled the match and, despite conceding to Anzhi's Odil Ahmedov on the stroke of half time, managed to pull 2 back via Mauricio Pereyra and Wanderson to take the win.

Rubin 1-1 Krylia
In a surprisingly even match, veteran Gokdeniz Karadeniz scored the opener just 10 minutes in, before Ibrahim Tsallagov scored in first half stoppage time to equalise. Neither side were able to truly impose themselves on the match and the second half played out without note.

Kuban 3-2 Ural
football formationsBoth sides got a penalty and converted in what was a back and forth match that either team could have won. Ultimately it was Kuban, and Djibril Cisse in particular, that took the 3-2 victory, however it was not as convincing as it could have been.

Amkar 2-1 Spartak
Despite Spartak's more attacking game, it was Amkar who scored first on an excellent counter, while Pavel Yakovlev equalised just after half time. Martin Jakubko's winner should arguably have been denied due to Makhach Gadzhiev's foul on Sergei Parshivlyuk in the build up, however the referee saw nothing wrong with it and Amkar took the victory.

Lokomotiv 5-0 Rostov
Firstly, this scoreline doesn't reflect the true nature of this match. Rostov were actually playing quite well in the first half, and were unlucky to go into the interval trailing by a goal. However, they suffered the misfortune of two red cards (one to each starting fullback) and Lokomotiv took full advantage, as their crossing game led to three second half goals from open play.

Table:
1 -CSKA
2 - Lokomotiv
3 - Rostov
4 - Spartak
5 - Zenit
6 - Amkar
7 - Kuban
8 - Dynamo
9 - Krasnodar
10 - Rubin
11 - Volga
12 - Krylia
13 - Ural
14 - Terek
15 - Anzhi
16 - Tom

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Dynamo 1-1 Zenit: Visitors take undeserved point

Dynamo thoroughly outplayed Zenit today, but were robbed by Aleksandr Kerzhakov's header with the last touch of the game.

Dynamo put out an entirely unsurprising 4-2-3-1, with Luke Wilkshire replacing Nikita Chicherin as Dan Petrescu's only change from the side that drew with Krasnodar last week. Meanwhile, Luciano Spalletti put out a somewhat surprising lineup, with a front three composed of debutant Oleg Shatov and two left wingers in Danny and Andrei Arshavin. The two alternated throughout the first half, yet Arshavin was arguably the more central of the two.

Neither side opened the match particularly well, but Dynamo had the first chance of the match as Fyodor Smolov headed a perfectly weighted Balazs Dzsudzsak cross wide of the far post in just the 5th minute. Six minutes later, it was Zenit with a chance as Christian Ansaldi sent a low cross for Roman Shirokov, who was fresh off a hat-trick in Portugal on Wednesday, however Dynamo keeper Roman Berezovski got to the ball first and prevented a scoring opportunity. Next up was Dzsudzsak, who unleashed a long range shot that Yuri Lodygin only barely held, before Denisov unleashed another minutes later that also challenged the keeper. There was only one more chance for either side before the break, as Lodygin was called into action yet again, saving well at the feet of Alan Kasaev while Nicolas Lombaerts blocked Artur Yusupov's following effort.

football formationsOnly one change was made at the interval, as Spalletti shifted to a more conventional approach, replacing the ineffective Arshavin with Aleksandr Kerzhakov, a decision that would eventually prove to be the right one. Dynamo came out of the blocks on fire, and before long Dzsudzsak had put them in front from a good shot that took a deflection off the back of Lombaerts. The hosts then became content to hold onto possession and sit deep, launching the occasional attack forward, but coming to nothing for the most part. Finally, substitute Vladimir Dyadyun had a good chance, but once again Lodygin made an excellent save. Zenit immediately sent the ball up the other end and the ball fell loose in Dynamo's box, however no one was able to apply a finish. Dzsudzsak went head to head again with Lodygin in the first minute of stoppage time, but the keeper came out on top once more, and his efforts were repaid up the other end when Shirokov flicked the ball onto Kerzhakov, who finished coolly with an excellent diving header. Dynamo were punished despite being the better team for the majority, as Zenit pulled a draw out of their hats with literally the final touch of the game.

Man of the Match: Yuri Lodygin
Lodygin was on spectacular form as he went one on one with Dynamo's forwards and came out on top time after time. He was unlucky to concede off a deflection, but performed admirably considering his defenders left him to do much of their work.

Honourable Mentions:
Balazs Dzsudzsak - For most of the match, he was Dynamo's only forward offering anything going forward. His goal was somewhat lucky, but he would have scored had it not been for Lodygin's fantastic performance.
Roman Berezovski - Played well, yet was overshadowed by Lodygin's performance at the other end.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Rumour Roundup: August 21st, 2013

So everybody, for the second week running, Anzhi's transfers dominate the news, although there are some other interesting rumours going around as well.

Done Deals:
Igor Denisov, Aleksandr Kokorin and Yuri Zhirkov all transferred to Dynamo from Anzhi. You can read all about it here.

Two further Anzhi departures are Mbark Boussoufa and Lassana Diarra, who have joined Lokomotiv for around €25 million. Diarra most likely signed to cover for the recent departure of Denis Glushakov to Spartak, while Boussoufa will strengthen Lokomotiv's currently weak wings and attacking midfield.

Looking Likely:
According to a plethora of sources throughout England and Russia, Willian looks set to complete a €35 million move to Tottenham Hotspur after reportedly turning down a move to Liverpool. Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has been interested in the Brazilian since he was at Shakhtar, and Willian described Villas-Boas as a "friend" in November last year.

50/50:
If the Guardian is to be believed, Everton will continue their interest in Spartak winger Aiden McGeady. McGeady has long been a target of both Everton as a club and their new manager, Roberto Martinez, who tried to bring McGeady to England as manager of Wigan.

Low Chance:
According to Tribal FootballLuis Neto's agent has stated that his client is not interested in a move from Zenit to Inter Milan, having only joined the St. Petersburg club from Sienna in January.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 5 Recap: Rostov go top with Volga demolition

We're back with the first Matchweek Recap in 2 weeks and what a week! Anzhi's first match after the beginning of their firesale and some great performances in a few other games made this week one to watch. However, goals were somewhat hard to come by, as only Zenit and Rostov scored more than 1 goal from all of the matches this week.

Ural 0-0 Amkar
Ural and Amkar played out a goalless draw that I didn't have the misfortune to watch (although apparently it was more exciting than it sounds). From what I can tell, Ural countered Amkar's possession play and arguably deserved to edge it, but it was a mostly even match.

Zenit 3-0 Anzhi
Zenit brushed aside a weakened and collapsing Anzhi in a confident three goal win. Roman Shirokov opened the scoring after 25 minutes, before Hulk extended Zenit's lead just before the break. Zenit's new left back, Christian Ansaldi, completed the scoring 18 minutes from time to take the hosts into fourth place.

Terek 0-1 Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv were dominant, yet were held out time after time by a resilient Terek defence, and were forced to rely on a stoppage time winner from substitute Aleksandr Samedov to take the three points.

CSKA 1-0 Kuban
CSKA were the better side by virtue of a stellar performance from Alan Dzagoev, however finishing was poor for both sides and the hosts only won due to an Ahmed Musa goal in the 11th minute. Following this match, I decided that Dzagoev had put in possibly the best performance in the RPL this season, with the main competitor being Jose Manuel Jurado against Dynamo, however I didn't know how wrong I'd be come the end of the weekend.

Spartak 0-0 Rubin
Spartak had the upper hand in a match where Lucas Barrios made his debut and Salvatore Bocchetti suffered a seemingly serious injury mere minutes from time, however the game was largely uneventful otherwise and a goalless draw was a reasonable result for both sides.

Krylia 1-0 Tom
football formationsDespite going a man down when Ilya Maksimov was sent off in the 56th minute, Krylia completely outplayed Tom. Ibrahim Tsallagov scored just 5 minutes after Maksimov's departure for the only goal of the match and Krylia's first win of the season.

Krasnodar 1-1 Dynamo
Wanderson put the hosts a goal up in the 9th minute and it took Dynamo an entire match of dominance to get their equaliser. Substitute Andrei Panyukov scored in the 83rd minute to pull the scores level and neither side was able to make an impact in the remaining minutes.

Rostov 4-0 Volga
Rostov continued their spectacular start to the season with a four goal romping of Volga. Zhano Ananidze opened the scoring, before assisting Timofei Kalachev and Artem Dzyuba for the next two. Byung-Soo Yoo then scored the fourth minutes from full time. After thinking Alan Dzagoev's performance against Kuban was incredible, I was blown away by Ananidze's constant work rate and technical ability. Normally he has these things in abundance, but against Volga he took it to another level and it's nice to see such a young talent performing so well.

Table:
1 - Rostov
2 - Spartak
3 - CSKA
4 - Zenit
5 - Lokomotiv
6 - Dynamo
7 - Rubin
8 - Amkar
9 - Kuban
10 - Krylia
11 - Krasnodar
12 - Volga
13 - Ural
14 - Terek
15 - Anzhi
16 - Tom

Sunday, August 18, 2013

CSKA 1-0 Kuban: CSKA held to one goal despite overall dominance

CSKA triumphed at home, however could probably have scored more than they did in a 1-0 victory. Also, for the first time this match report will include an honourable mentions list for the man of the match award.

CSKA sent out their typical 4-2-3-1, although with a few positional switches. Dzagoev dropped into the double pivot with Pontus Wernbloom, while the attacking midfield band of 3 read as Steven Zuber, Keisuke Honda and Ahmed Musa from left to right, with Seydou Doumbia lining up at striker. Meanwhile, Kuban lined up with their traditional lineup, however Ivelin Popov dropped deep into midfield to swap it from a 4-4-2 into a 4-3-3.

CSKA came right out of the gates on the attack, troubling Kuban's midfield and defence with their fluid front four. When 10 minutes rolled around on the clock, Alan Dzagoev had the first major attempt of the match, when his 35 yard piledriver was saved by Aleksandr Belenov. However, Belenov would not do so well less than a minute later when Ahmed Musa turned and shot low to the right of goal from a long Keisuke Honda pass for the only goal of the half, and ultimately the match. CSKA didn't hold off there however, as Dzagoev sent a scintillating free kick just over Seydou Doumbia's head 12 minutes later. Kuban then turned around for their first real attempt of the match when Charles Kabore sent his long range effort straight at Igor Akinfeev, who saved confidently. Kuban followed this up 5 minutes later with a calamitous miss from point blank range by Ivelin Popov following a corner. Before long however, CSKA were back on top, and Dzagoev sent a first time shot just over the bar from the edge of the box. Unfortunately, despite their dominance CSKA only went into the half one goal to the good.

football formationsBoth sides appeared to come out after half time with a different mentality, as Kuban pressed more, while CSKA appeared happy to sit on the ball in possession, although the match progressed in much the same way as it had before the break. Dzagoev continued having a fantastic game as he dictated play all over the pitch, sending a long ball into Kuban's box just before the hour mark, however Doumbia was unable to finish the chance. CSKA's final 3 chances all came from Dzagoev as well, as he fed a through ball for Ahmed Musa 25 minutes from the end, however the Nigerian sent the ball straight at Belenov. Dzagoev also fed substitute Zoran Tosic 10 minutes from time, but again the effort was straight at the keeper. Finally in stoppage time, Dzagoev sent a strong effort at goal that Belenov got in the way of. Musa got his head to the rebound, yet Belenov was there again to stop the effort, before he also touched away Honda's point blank attempt to finish out the match.

Man of the Match: Alan Dzagoev
Dzagoev may have had the game of his career today, as he controlled the match from start to finish. Not only did he create almost every CSKA chance, but he also had two excellent shots from long range and a few excellent set pieces.

Honourable Mentions:
Aleksandr Belenov - Fantastic keeping, capped off with a triple save in stoppage time.
Charles Kabore - The key man for Kuban. Had a number of excellent passes throughout the game.
Ahmed Musa - Well taken goal, as well as good movement off the ball for the rest of the match.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Star trio head Anzhi firesale

Anzhi's firesale is in full swing after Dynamo Moscow president Gennady Solovyov confirmed that all of Igor Denisov, Aleksandr Kokorin and Yuri Zhirkov have been signed by the club and will be unveiled as Dynamo players on Friday.

Kokorin and Denisov are recent signings at Anzhi, having only spent just over a month at the club after joining from Zenit and Dynamo respectively. Denisov only made three appearances for the club, while Kokorin failed to appear due to suspension. Meanwhile, Zhirkov joined Anzhi from Chelsea in 2011 and made 46 league appearances in his time at the club. The fee for the triple transfer was undisclosed, however Anzhi is expected to make a loss on all three players after Kokorin joined for €19 million and both Denisov and Zhirkov for €15 million each.

The transfers follow the completion of Oleg Shatov's move to Zenit (ironically, this was most likely to replace Denisov), while Samuel Eto'o and Willian are believed to be in talks with English Premier League clubs Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. Foreign players such as Lassana Diarra, Lacina Traore and Christopher Samba are also expected to complete moves away from the club, in addition to lesser known Russian players like Vladimir Gabulov, Arseni Logashov and Aleksei Ionov

Speculation is all well and good, but the facts are that Anzhi's project is now officially over and that the firesale still has a long way to go. Especially after their poor start to the season, expect Anzhi to struggle greatly this year, possibly even falling into a relegation battle. Nonetheless, it is a sad time for a league that was finally gaining parity at the top, despite this being a result of excessive spending. CSKA, Spartak and Zenit are now the only likely contenders in what looks to be a three horse race for the RPL title.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Rumour Roundup: August 14th, 2013

What's up everybody? After a few weeks away, I'm finally back on full duty here at FBTIC with the first Rumour Roundup in almost a month. Also, what a week to return, with Anzhi's fire sale about to begin, meaning their players dominate the news this week.

Done Deals:
Spartak Moscow have completed the signing of Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande for a price of €7 million. Barrios only scored 5 goals in 17 games in China, yet made his name as a talented finisher at Borussia Dortmund. The Paraguayan has taken the number 9 at Spartak, formerly belonging to outcast Ari.

In a shock move, Zenit have signed Krasnodar right back Igor Smolnikov for a fee of €6 million. Smolnikov presumably joined to cover until Aleksandr Anyukov returns to the first team after his prolonged injury lay-off, with a view to becoming first choice as Anyukov declines with age.

Looking Likely:
Dynamo appears to be close to the double signing of Anzhi's Igor Denisov and Yuri Zhirkov, via RIA Novosti. Denisov only recently joined Anzhi from Zenit, playing 3 games, yet he is one of the highest earners at the club and will likely be one of the first players to go as Anzhi scale back their side. Meanwhile, Zhirkov has struggled with injuries of late and his sale would be a likely way to recoup wages.

Samuel Eto'o could be allowed to leave Anzhi for free according to Gazzetta, with both Chelsea and Inter Milan believed to be interested. Eto'o is believed to want to reunite with Jose Mourinho, while the Daily Mail claims that he may go to Napoli, despite their recent signing of another striker in Gonzalo Higuain.

50/50:
Spartak is believed to have agreed a €7 million fee with Ajax for Belgian central defender Toby Alderweireld, yet Sport-Express reports that the contract has yet to be agreed, with Alderweireld requesting wages €60,000 per week, which is higher than Spartak are willing to offer. The Belgian turned down a move to English side Norwich earlier this summer after failing to agree on personal terms, but has been linked to Tottenham Hotspur as part of a double deal along with Christian Eriksen.

Willian is believed to be angling for a move away from Anzhi, despite only joining from Shakhtar Donetsk in January. If the Guardian is to be believed, Liverpool are about to make a €35 million bid for the Brazilian, while Tottenham may also renew their interest if Gareth Bale joins Real Madrid as rumoured.

So there you have it. Anzhi's rapid decline has begun and it shall be glorious to watch.

Monday, August 5, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek Recap 4: Rostov pull level on points with Spartak

This past matchweek has been somewhat more laid back and regular than that which we've experienced so far this season. Interestingly, all of the week's draws occurred on Sunday, where Rubin and Kuban each picked up their third draws of the season. Also, this matchweek only saw 2 penalties, rather than the 8, 5 and 6 in previous weeks.

football formations
Anzhi 0-1 Rostov
Rostov went ahead through Guelor Kanga Kaku despite having less of both chances and possession and successfully held their lead until the end of the match, meaning that Rostov remained undefeated and went level at the top of the league, while Anzhi have continued their woeful start to the season, still yet to have won a match. This was also the first game this season in which Artem Dzyuba has failed to score.

Volga 1-3 Zenit
Zenit went ahead in the 19th minute through Danny, although Andrei Karyaka equalised for Volga just 2 minutes later. Hulk was then sent off with 2 yellow cards in 3 minutes, however Danny scored 2 more in the final 10 minutes to seal the result.

Tom 1-2 Ural
Denis Tumasyan scored for Ural early, but conceded a penalty to allow Igor Portnyagin to equalise. However, Artur Sarkisov hit back just 5 minutes later to hand the result to Ural and give Tom Tomsk their fourth loss from four games.

Dynamo 1-0 Terek
Terek only managed 2 shots on target from 13 total, allowing Dynamo to take advantage of mostly even possession and get a winner through Christian Noboa in the 71st minute.

Rubin 0-0 CSKA
Neither side was able to take advantage in a fantastic back-and-forth match in which both sides played fantastically. Both sides defended superbly to stop any goals being scored as an excellent display of both last-ditch defending and counter-attacking football.

Amkar 0-0 Krylia
Amkar deserved to win this match, having had more chances and higher possession, yet both sides failed to have an impact on the scoring and witnessed the second goalless draw of the day, although somewhat less exciting than the first.

Kuban 2-2 Spartak
Spartak took the lead through Emmanuel Emenike on the half hour mark, although Kuban hit back through Xandao and Ibrahima Balde to go ahead 2-1. Valery Karpin introduced Yura Movsisyan immediately following Balde's goal and the change made an immediate difference as Movsisyan equalised just 4 minutes later. The match stayed at 2-2, despite possession being at 71%-29% in Spartak's favour.

Lokomotiv 3-1 Krasnodar
Lokomotiv completely dominated Krasnodar, having 19 shots to Krasnodar's 4. Krasnodar's central defenders in particular were very poor, with Artur Jedrzejczyk picking up a red card and Aleksandr Martynovich scoring an own goal. The remaining two goals were scored by Dame N'Doye and rare starter Vitali Denisov.

Table:
1 - Spartak
2 - Rostov
3 - CSKA
4 - Lokomotiv
5 - Zenit
6 - Dynamo
7 - Kuban
8 - Rubin
9 - Amkar
10 - Volga
11 - Krasnodar
12 - Ural
13 - Anzhi
14 - Krylia
15 - Terek
16 - Tom