Russians gamble on glory

By Eduard Nisenboim & Pavle Gognidze

As the 2003 Russian Premier-Liga season begins, there has rarely been such excitement about a new campaign.

Surprise winners
Last season, FC Lokomotiv Moskva upset the status quo, breaking FC Spartak Moskva's seemingly vice-like grip on the title after a play-off decider against second-placed PFC CSKA Moskva.

Tough competition
However, for the 12th championship since independence, the three Moscow giants will face further competition from FC Dinamo Moskva and FC Torpedo Moskva as well as provincial hopefuls FC Krylya Sovetov Samara, FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast and FC Zenit St. Peterburg.

Semin warning
Lokomotiv coach Yuri Semin admitted as much when he assessed his side's prospects for the season, saying: "Our only goal is to win the title. However, the amount of challengers is bigger now, and the battle is going to be fierce."

Exotic imports
The close season in Russia has seen all of these sides jostling for position in the transfer market and the press have been spoiled for headlines with a stream of exotic arrivals crossing the Russian border. Seventy foreign players have arrived from as far afield as Morocco, Peru and Uruguay.

Record signings
CSKA took centre stage when they broke the Russian transfer record to bring Jirí Jarošík from AC Sparta Praha for €3.7m, but Krylya Sovetov's €3.5m acquisition of Brazilian international playmaker Souza - a record deal for a non-Moscow club - was even more surprising.

Buoyant trade
In a competition that has so long had so few serious contenders, Souza's signing was evidence that previously nowhere-bound clubs had raised their game for the 2003 season, and that the transfer market in Russia had bucked the European trend as clubs rushed out to invest in the best.

All change
It has been all change in other aspects of football in Russia, with five Premier-Liga clubs changing owners and top officials in the close season, four changing their names and seven clubs going into the new season with new coaches.

Italian recruits
Former Juventus FC player Sergey Aleinikov and Internazionale FC old boy Igor Shalimov are to make their coaching debuts; the former is now in charge of FC Torpedo-Metallurg Moskva while the latter has brought two Italian players to his new side, FC Uralan Elista.

Czech influx
Elsewhere, former Sparta and SK Slavia Praha coach Vlastimil Petrzela has assembled a group of players from back in the Czech Republic as he makes his Premier-Liga debut in charge of Zenit. Another Czech on the move was national-team captain Jirí Novotny, who has moved to unfancied new boys FC Rubin Kazan.

CSKA ambitions
All in all, the quality is there to make it a memorable season, and certainly the stakes are high. Having spent big, clubs need to make a major return on their investment. "We need to qualify for the UEFA Champions League and win the title," said CSKA president Eugeni Giner. "It will be very hard to do, but we must do it."

High hopes
Giner is not the only man with ambitions. "Our supporters are dreaming of the top places," said Krylya Sovetov coach Alexander Tarkhanov. "We hope to make their dreams come true." Dinamo general manager Yuri Zavarzin continued the theme when he said: "It would be irresponsible to say we will win it all. But we want a European place."

Dividing line
Ultimately, there will not be enough glory to go round in a season which will draw a dividing line between the haves and have-nots of the Premier-Liga. The stakes have been raised, but as with all games of Russian roulette, there will inevitably be losers.