Russian football/soccer : Russian Premier League 2011/2012 season preview

Zenit claim second successive Russian title

Zenit St. Petersburg secured the Russian Premier League title with two games to spare last season. It clinched a domestic double for coach Luciano Spalletti in his first season in St. Petersburg after the Italian led the big-spending club, backed by Russian energy giant Gazprom, to victory in the Russian Cup in May. It was Zenit's second title since the Russian league was established in 1992. Here is a short summary of the 2010 campaign:

Champions: Zenit St. Petersburg (Champions League group stage)
Runners-up: CSKA Moscow (UEFA Champions League group stage)
Third place: Rubin Kazan (UEFA Champions League 3rd q. round)
Fourth place: Spartak Moscow (Europe League 4th q. round)
Fifth place: Lokomotiv Moscow (Europe League 3rd q. round)
Relegated: Saturn, Alania Vladikavkaz, Sibir Novosibirsk.
Promoted: Kuban Krasnodar, Volga Nischny Novgorod, Krasnodar

Saturn out, Krasnodar in

Saturn Ramenskoye have pulled out of the Russian championship because of financial difficulties. Saturn were unable to find a buyer to pay huge debts and they were replaced by Krasnodar in the top flight. Krasnodar, founded in 2007 by Russian retail billioner Sergey Galitsky, finished fifth in the second division last year but third and fourth placed finishers, Nizhny Novgorod and Kamaz, made the decision that they were not ready for the promotion. Krasnodar is one of very rare examples of privately-owned Russian football club. Almost every Russian club is dependent on a patron, usually a commodities company backed by an oligarch, the local government or some combination of the two.

team	titles	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Spartak Moscow	9	2	2	8	2	4
CSKA Moscow	3	1	3	2	5	2
Rubin Kazan	2	5	10	1	1	3
Lokomotiv Moscow	2	3	7	7	4	5
Zenit St. Petersburg	2	4	1	5	3	1
Dynamo Moscow	-	14	6	3	8	7
Amkar Perm	-	13	8	4	13	14
Tom Tomsk	-	8	11	13	9	9
Krylya Sovetov	-	10	13	6	10	13
Spartak Nalchik	-	9	12	12	11	6
Rostov	-	12	16	-	14	9
Terek Grozny	-	-	-	10	12	12
Kuban Krasnodar	-	-	15	-	15	-
Anzhi	-	-	-	-	-	11
Krasnodar	-	-	-	-	-	-
Volga	-	-	-	-	-	-

The number of titles (since 1992) for each club in Russian Premier League and their standings in the last five seasons.

Krasnozhan named Lokomotiv coach

Lokomotiv Moscow have named coach Yuri Krasnozhan as the successor to Yuri Semin, who was dismissed following the conclusion of the 2010 Russian league season. After working at Spartak Nalchik as both player and assistant coach, Krasnozhan took sole command at the club in 2003, leading them into the top flight two years later. He guided Spartak Nalchik to a respectable sixth-place finish last year, their best-ever finish. Krasnozhan has signed a contract until the summer of 2013.

The 2011/12 season will be a transitional season, as it will stretch over 18 instead of the conventional 12 months. The unusual length of the season is the result of the decision to adapt the playing year to an autumn-spring rhythm similar to most of the other European leagues. This page is introduction to the 2011/12 Russian Premier League season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Russia page.

Ruud Gullit to manage Terek Grozny

Ruud Gullit has been named coach of Russian Premier League side Terek Grozny. The former World Player of the Year and Dutch international has agreed to an 18-month contract. He takes over from Anatoly Baidachny who was in charge of the side for only one season. Gullit, who previously managed Chelsea, Newcastle and Feyenoord and has also appeared as a football pundit on television, has been set the target of a top-eight finish by club president Ramzan Kadyrov. The 48-year-old had been out of coaching since quitting Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008.

#	team	points	g.dif.	win-draw-loss
1	Zenit St. Petersburg	68	40	20-8-2 (30)
2	CSKA Moscow	62	29	18-8-4 (30)
3	Rubin Kazan	58	21	15-13-2 (30)

4	Spartak Moscow	49	10	13-10-7 (30)
5	Lokomotiv Moscow	48	5	13-9-8 (30)
6	Spartak Nalchik	44	3	12-8-10 (30)
7	Dynamo Moscow	40	7	9-13-8 (30)
8	Tom Tomsk	37	-8	10-7-13 (30)
9	Saturn	34	-11	8-10-12 (30)
10	Rostov	34	-17	10-4-16 (30)
11	Terek Groznyi	33	-6	8-9-13 (30)
12	Anzhi	33	-10	9-6-15 (30)
13	Krylya	31	-12	7-10-13 (30)
14	Amkar Perm	30	-11	8-6-16 (30)

15	Alania	30	-16	7-9-14 (30)
16	Sibir	20	-24	4-8-18 (30)

The Russian Premier League standings for season 2010.

The main contenders: Zenit, CSKA and Spartak

According to online bookmakers, CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow were considered to be Zenit St. Petersburg's main title challengers.

team	odds	team	odds
Zenit St. Petersburg	2.5	CSKA Moscow	3.15
Spartak Moscow	4.75	Rubin Kazan	8
Dynamo Moscow	10	Lokomotiv Moscow	20
Kuban Krasnodar	50	Rostov	75
Terek Groznyi	75	Anzhi Makhachkala	100
Krasnodar	150	Krylya Sovetov Samara	250
Spartak Nalchik	250	Tom Tomsk	250
Amkar Perm	500	Volga Nischny Novgorod	750

The preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2011/12 Russian Premier League posted by online bookmakers.

Russian Cup finals in last five years

2006 CSKA Moscow - Spartak Moscow 3:0
2007 Lokomotiv Moscow - FC Moscow 1:0
2008 CSKA Moscow - Amkar Perm 2:2 (4-1 penalties)
2009 CSKA Moscow - Rubin Kazan 1:0
2010 Zenit St. Peterburg - Sibir Novosibirsk 1:0

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key players
(with transfer market value in m€)

Amkar Perm

Goalkeeper Sergey Narubin (0.5); Defense: Dmitri Belorukov (2.3), Ivan Cherenchikov (1), Zahari Sirakov (0.9), Vitali Fedoriv (0.8); Midfield: Mitar Novakovic (1.9), Georgi Peev (1.8), Vitali Grishin (0.8), Andrey Topchu (0.6); Forward: Stevica Ristic (1.4), Sergey Volkov (0.5).

Anzhi Makhachkala

Goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili (0.7); Defense: Joao Carlos (4), Benoit Angbwa (3), Roberto Carlos (0.8), Rasim Tagirbekov (0.8); Midfield: Jucilei (6.5), Aleksey Ivanov (3.2), Mikhail Bakaev (0.8), Dmitri Ivanov (0.8); Forward: Diego Tardelli (4.5), Shamil Lakhiyalov (1).

CSKA Moscow

Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev (17); Defense: Sergey Ignashevich (6.2), Vasili Berezutski (5.2), Aleksey Berezutski (4.5); Midfield: Alan Dzagoev (12), Keisuke Honda (10), Zoran Tosic (9), Mark Gonzalez (6.5), Pavel Mamaev (5.5); Forward: Vagner Love (16), Seydou Doumbia (11).

Dinamo Moscow

Goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov (6.2); Defense: Leandro Fernandez (6), Luke Wilkshire (5), Alexandru Epureanu (4.5), Denis Kolodin (3); Midfield: Zvjezdan Misimovic (9), Tomislav Dujmovic (4.8), Aleksandr Samedov (4), Igor Semshov (4); Forward: Kevin Kuranyi (12), Andriy Voronin (3.5).

Krasnodar

Goalkeeper Igor Usminskiy (0.6); Defense: Aleksandr Amisulashvili (2.5), Dusan Andjelkovic (1.5), Aleksandr Martynovich (1), Nemanja Tubic (1); Midfield: Nikola Drincic (3), Joaozinho (1.2), Andrey Gorbanets (0.9), Dmitri Michkov (0.9); Forward: Yura Movsisyan (1.3), Spartak Gogniev (0.8).

Krylya Sovetov Samara

Goalkeeper Rais M'Bohli (0.9); Defense: Nenad Djordjevic (1.2), Dmitri Molosh (0.8), Ivan Taranov (0.8); Midfield: Anton Bober (1.8), Oleg Samsonov (1.2), Juan Carlos Escobar (1), Denis Kovba (0.7), Yuri Kirillov (0.6); Forward: Evgeni Savin (2.8), Nejc Pecnik (1.7).

Kuban Krasnodar

Goalkeeper Aleksandr Budakov (0.6); Defense: Zelao (3), Zuela (0.8), Igor Armas (0.5); Midfield: Dacian Varga (1.5), Vladislav Kulik (1.5), David Tsoraev (1.2), Artur Tlisov (1.2); Forward: Lacina Traore (4), Gigel Bucur (1.5), Sergey Davydov (0.7).

Lokomotiv Moscow

Goalkeeper Guilherme (5.2); Defense: Marko Basa (3.2), Renat Yanbaev (3), Ruslan Nakhushev (2.3), Andrey Ivanov (2); Midfield: Senijad Ibricic (6.5), Denis Glushakov (4), Dmitri Tarasov (3.5), Dmitri Torbinski (2.5); Forward: Dmitri Sychev (4), Maicon (3.2).

Rostov

Goalkeeper Martin Lejsal (0.6); Defense: Anis Boussaidi (1.5), Isaac Okoronkwo (0.8), Kornel Salata (0.6); Midfield: Edgaras Cesnauskis (3), Aleksey Rebko (1.2), Alexandru Gatcan (1.2), Chavdar Yankov (1), Oleg Ivanov (0.8); Forward: Dmitri Kirichenko (1), Roman Adamov (0.8).

Rubin Kazan

Goalkeeper Sergey Ryzhikov (8); Defense: Cristian Ansaldi (10), Salvatore Bocchetti (9), Cesar Navas (6.5), Oleg Kuzmin (3.2); Midfield: Carlos Eduardo (15), Christian Noboa (8), Alan Kasaev (6.5), Gokdeniz Karadeniz (5), Aleksandr Ryazantsev (4.5); Forward: Igor Lebedenko (1).

Spartak Moscow

Goalkeeper Andrey Dikan (2.5); Defense: Nicolas Pareja (7), Marek Suchy (4.5), Sergey Parshivlyuk (4); Midfield: Alex (10), Aiden McGeady (9), Dmitri Kombarov (6), Ibson (5.2), Kirill Kombarov (3.5); Forward: Welliton (13), Ari (4.2).

Spartak Nalchik

Goalkeeper Otto Fredrikson (0.8); Defense: Miodrag Dzudovic (1.4), Valentin Filatov (0.6), Evgeni Ovsienko (0.5); Midfield: Leandro (1.2), Sergiy Pilipchuk (0.8), Roman Kontsedalov (0.8), Kantemir Berkhamov (0.7), Daniil Gridnev (0.5); Forward: Bogdan Milic (0.6), David Siradze (0.4).

Terek Grozny

Goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanaev (2); Defense: Dmitri Yatchenko (1), Xavier (0.8), Antonio Ferreira (0.7); Midfield: Mbark Boussoufa (9), Blagoy Georgiev (1.5), Aleksandr Pavlenko (1.2), Mauricio (0.8); Forward: Hector Andres Bracamonte (1.2), Musawengosi Mguni (1), Shamil Asildarov (0.9).

Tom Tomsk

Goalkeeper Sergey Pesjakov (0.8); Defense: Djordje Jokic (1.2), Jan Tigorev (0.8), Ilia Gultyaev (0.7), Dmitri N. Smirnov (0.6); Midfield: Aleksandr Kharitonov (1.8), Evgeni Balyajkin (1.5), Renat Sabitov (0.9), Nam-Il Kim (0.5); Forward: Nikita Bazhenov (1.2), Maksim Kanunnikov (0.9).

Volga Nischny Novgorod

Goalkeeper Ilia Abaev (0.7); Defense: Aleksandr Belozerov (2), Lasha Salukvadze (1.5), Miklos Gaal (1.5), Andrey Bujvolov (0.8); Midfield: Gogita Gogua (1.5), Marc Crosas (0.8), Sanzhar Tursunov (0.7), Gocha Khodzhava (0.7); Forward: Otar Martsvaladze (1), Mersudin Ahmetovic (0.8).

Zenit St. Petersburg

Goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev (5); Defense: Bruno Alves (18), Aleksandr Anyukov (12.5), Nicolas Lombaerts (9.5); Midfield: Danny (23), Igor Denisov (14), Vladimir Bystrov (13), Roman Shirokov (6); Forward: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (10), Aleksandr Bukharov (8), Danko Lazovic (7.8).

Russian Premier League pages

Russian Premier League statistics, news and predictions
Russian Premier League standings
Russian Premier League transfers
Russian Premier League 2011 preview - key players, 2010 standings