Matthew Harris
Although the Russian Premier League has, for many years now, become far more cosmopolitan to the point where players from all over the world now line up alongside their home grown team-mates, it is still fairly unusual for a club from Russia to be linked with players from the British Isles. Therefore when Aiden McGeady left Scottish side Celtic for Spartak Moscow it created much media interest and more column inches than the story probably warranted.
So when Russian Premier League new boys FC Krasnodar were mentioned during the January transfer window, it brought them firmly into the public eye. Krasnodar were linked with moves for Birmingham’s Alexander Hleb and Tottenham Hotspur’s out-of-favour Niko Kranjcar and although those transfer never really looked like happening, the club’s notoriety was assured.
FC Krasnodar have enjoyed rapid promotion up the Russian league ladder and after Kuban Krasnodar won the Russian first division in 2010, the city now has two teams in the country’s elite league.
So how will these two sides fare having made the step up to Premier League football in 2011? Although FC Krasnodar didn’t lure anyone from England, there were wholesale changes and almost a completely new squad lined up for their first game of the new season.
As a result, a mix of promising, largely untested men have arrived including Yevgeni Gorodov in goal and Aleksei Bezglasny up front together with more experienced players like the Serbian Nemanja Tubic and Montenegro striker Nikola Drincic, who has chalked up four seasons in Russia with Amkar Perm and Spartak Moscow.
Early signs for FC Krasnodar have certainly been good: Their Premier League bow saw them travel to Anzhi Makhachkala where all the attention was on the host’s Roberto Carlos. Krasnodar spoiled the Brazilian’s day somewhat with a hard fought 0-0 draw.
On Saturday 19th March, Slavoljub Muslin’s men faced another testing encounter as they hosted Spartak Nalchik. Krasnodar’s opponents finished sixth in the Premier League in 2010 and this game would be a further indication as to what impact, if any, the home side would have on the league this season.
The result was a convincing 2-0 win to FC Krasnodar with goals from the Moldovan Igor Piceceac and substitute Yura Movsisyan either side of half time. Coach Muslin was particularly encouraged by his side’s second clean sheet in as many games and the form of keeper Gorodov and the men directly in front of him. Bosnian international defender Ognjen Vranjes in particular had a solid game and at just 21, looks to have a big future ahead of him.
So FC Krasnodar have made a sound start and it will be fascinating to see if they can keep this up, but what of Kuban Krasnodar and the men who were promoted as champions in 2010?
In Romanian coach Dan Petrescu, Kuban have one of the most promising young managers in world football and after their triumphant 2010 season, a good year in the top flight is expected. The Zhaby (Toads) have also brought in many new faces in an attempt to strengthen the team in all areas for the new campaign. Ivorian striker Lacina Traore, who enjoyed a promising Champions League group stage with CFR Cluj, and Costa Rican front-man Marco Urena are two players that will be relied on to supply the goals to propel Kuban forward.
At the back, Petrescu’s men have brought in Brazilian Zelao from Saturn Moscow Oblast and the Uruguayan Mauricio Prieto from River Plate amongst other new faces. Kuban were given a tough opening with a home fixture against Rubin Kazan, dethroned champions who look set to mount a strong challenge to win back their title. Petrescu’s charges impressed, but ultimately went down to two second half Rubin goals.
Week two of the Premier League saw Kuban travel to Tomsk for a tricky match against a side who finished in a creditable eighth place last year. Just on the hour, with the score at 0-0, Petrescu withdrew Traore and brought on Sergey Davydov, whose eleven goals went a long way to securing the fist division title in 2010.
And on 83 minutes, it was Davydov who scored the only goal of the game to secure the points for Kuban and to get Petrescu’s campaign off the mark. As with FC Krasnodar, Kuban face a long season, but have enjoyed a reasonable start that suggests 2011 will be a good year for the club.
In reality, both sides will probably be happy to settle for a mid-table position when the 2011/12 season comes to an end. Early signs however have shown some real quality in the ranks and a Europa League place may not be out of the question for either.
