CSKA Moscow

CSKA Moscow have responded to claims their fans caused the incident with an escalator in a Roman metro station ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Champions League match against AS Roma, calling the reports "premature conclusions."

The Russian club released a statement urging patience while authorities investigate the matter (h/t Football Italia):

"We'd like to mention that the representatives of Russian Embassy in Rome and Russian Football Union immediately reacted and are also doing everything possible to help injured people. Medical and police services of Rome, despite the controversial rumors, didn't leave our citizens without support and tried their best to help them.

"Regarding the various official comments about the reasons of the accident (including the statement about pseudofans jumping on the escalator) we think that it's not the right moment for the premature conclusions.

"Our faithful fans and citizens were hurt, and now the top priority are their health and homecoming. It's up to Rome police authorities to investigate the reasons why escalator in the underground of one of the global capitals where hundred thousand people travel every day collapsed and thus threatened the people's lives."

More than 20 people were injured during the incident Tuesday night. An escalator malfunctioned and quickly picked up speed, causing the passengers riding it to smash into each other at the bottom.

Russian journalist Artur Petrosyan shared a video of the incident (warning: graphic content):

This has just happened with CSKA fans in Rome after an escalator broke down. Multiple fans have reportedly been injured. https://t.co/LNRfcKqjRF

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) October 23, 2018

According to the Football Italia report, one of the injured passengers had their foot partially amputated.

Roma expressed their support for those injured:

The thoughts of everyone at #ASRoma are with the football fans and members of the public who were injured when an escalator collapsed in a subway station in Rome on Tuesday evening.

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) October 23, 2018

Eyewitnesses reports pointed the finger at CSKA fans, who supposedly jumped and danced on the escalator until it malfunctioned. The bottom steps "crumpled," which caused the escalator to speed up.

Rome mayor Virginia Raggi presented those reports as the official version, but CSKA have now called for patience until the investigation is completed. The club also pledged its support to help those injured during the incident.

Roma beat CSKA 3-0 in Tuesday's clash to grab a share of the Group G lead. The Giallorossi are tied with Real Madrid on six points, two ahead of CSKA and five ahead of Viktoria Plzen.

The Russian Premier League have had to strip the recently crowned "Miss Charming" of her title after she was exposed as a neo-Nazi and a racist.

CSKA Moscow fan Olga Kuzkova beat off competition from other clubs' representatives to win the title, but she lost it after sharing a number of highly controversial posts on the popular Russian social network, VKontakte.

The posts include one photo of Kuzkova making a Nazi salute in front of a wall bearing Nazi graffiti, and another comparing a group of African children in dirty clothing to a bar of chocolate, with the message, "I love chocolate, but after this image I developed an… aversion.”

Upon stripping Kuzkova of her title, Sergei Cheban, executive director of the Russian Premier League, told Sport Express, as per the Moscow Times:

"We do not tolerate manifestations of fascism, nationalism and racism. I will be glad if this situation will help Olga [Kuzkova] sort out her worldview."

Russian football has long had problems with racism. Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong, who currently plays for Ufa in the Russian Premier League, was sent off at the weekend after reportedly reacting to racial abuse from Spartak Moscow fans.

Russia is set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018.

[h/t the Moscow Times]

Real Madrid were undone by a late equaliser from debutant Pontus Wernbloom away to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. Not only was it a disappointment at having failed to continue their unbeaten run in the competition, it also highlighted the ability to lose concentration—at least from a number of individuals.

The troubles of Russia and the Luzhniki stadium played their part, with Madrid unable to play their quick, fluid game. The pitch was awkward, the conditions were freezing, and it just wasn't happening in front of goal for Jose Mourinho's men.

Despite going a goal down to Real Madrid in the first half and squandering a number of opportunities for them to go further ahead, CSKA never dropped their heads. They continued to crowd the Madrid penalty area and deliver dangerous balls from the wide areas. The late, late equaliser was a trait of a team who have regularly picked up points out of nowhere.

The disappointment will surely be with the Madrid defenders, who were unable to clear the danger and allow CSKA so much time with which to snatch a draw. But for much of the game, the Russians played without fear, exploiting space behind the full-backs and using the pace of Ahmed Musa to great effect.

Sergei Chepchugov's performance on the night was heroic, to say the least. As backup to the injured Igor Akinfeev, he was sure to see much of the ball and perhaps pick it up out of his net on more than one occasion.

But the Russian was not to be beaten—at least not more than once. An early save from Sami Khedira proved to be much of what we would see from CSKA's keeper, and Real Madrid were left frustrated for much of the night. He made himself big, attacked the Madrid forwards and made sure the score line was kept down.

It was quite clear the visitors were going to dominate the game. Real Madrid saw more of possession—albeit only just ahead with 52 percent—and the home side would have to rely on their counter-attacking abilities if they were to get anything from the game.

But CSKA were not going to shy away from letting their attacking players express themselves. Keisuke Honda was introduced in the second half in replacement of a defensive option, and the home side started to open up a number of potential scoring chances.

Through much of the first half, we saw Madrid expose the weaknesses and highlight their own strengths, but they failed to capitalise on a number of good opportunities.

The decision to bring on the rusty Raul Albiol for Mesut Ozil with just over five minutes remaining may have been enough to encourage the CSKA attackers. Madrid had removed a key asset to their possession game, and the introduction of striker Tomas Necid indicated they were going to fight till the final whistle for a goal.

It was Alvaro Arbeloa's poor challenge at the death that allowed the home side to win the ball in the Madrid box and set up Wernbloom for his goal. The weak effort from the full-back was not the first mistake on the night, as he conceded possession to allow Moscow an attack on goal early in the first half

A disappointing result, of course, but far from a damaging one. CSKA will be encouraged by the way they played and that they restricted Madrid to just one goal, but the result won't be similar at the Bernabeu. The conditions will be much better, Madrid will be quicker in their attacks, and Ronaldo will surely come up with another goal to continue his scoring form.

Moreover, the centre-back partnership of Pepe and Sergio Ramos were excellent again. Fearless in their approach and allowing Madrid to push the opposition high up, it is likely we'll see a game in the second leg where Madrid keep the ball in Moscow's half. The counter-attacking threat from the Russians will be there, but the pace of the Madrid defenders will be enough to see off CSKA's attackers.

CSKA Moscow surprised everyone in their Group B UEFA Champions League match by shutting out Trabzonspor. The news was reported in the UEFA.com and Goal.com website.

The match began with a lot of fanfare, but with both teams attempting to obtain possession of the ball. CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor were unable to translate their play into goals until 29 minutes into the match.

Seidou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow) scored the first goal of the match, with an assist from Vagner Love. Vagner Love was able to take the ball with his back to the goal post and send it to Doumbia, who scored.

Doumbia was not content with the first goal, and the same applied to CSKA Moscow supporters in the match. Doumbia kicked the ball to Vagner Love, who did the same to Aleksandrs Cauna.

Cauna then kicked the ball which went past Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor goalkeeper) in order to score the second goal within 76 minutes. The goal galvanized CSKA Moscow and their supporters into action and the desire for more goals.

Doumbia did not deceive his public, and proceeded to kick the ball from a distance. The ball went past a surprised Zengin, and the result was the third goal for CSKA Moscow.

The recipients of the yellow cards for both teams were Glowacki, Zokora and Golman from Trobzonspor. CSKA Moscow is currently in first place in Group B of the UEFA Champions League, with four points.

CSKA Moscow 3-0 Trobzonspor

Olimpiyskiy Stadion Luzhniki Moscow, Russia

18,000 Attending

Referee: M. Clattenberg

Most Valued Player of the Match: Seydou Doumbia

Sekou Oliseh (CSKA Moscow Midfielder) will be unable to play against Trabzonspor (Turkish Football team and rival) in the clubs next two UEFA Champions League match. The news was reported and published by UEFA.com and the CSKA Moscow website.

Oliseh injured his right hamstring during the CSKA Moscow practice session for the match. The injury could not have come at a worse time for CSKA Moscow.

CSKA Moscow is facing Trabzonspor for the first time in its career and the UEFA Champions League. CSKA Moscow has defeated other teams from Turkey but Trabzonspor is of unknown quantity.

CSKA Moscow is in second place with 52 points behind Zenit St. Petersburg with 54 points in the Russian Premier League tables. The tables were published by FIFA.com.

CSKA Moscow is in last place in the Group B Tables of the UEFA Champions League with one point. CSKA Moscow is behind Trabszonspor, Inter Milan, and Lille and they need just one victory.

CSKA Moscow drew against Lille in its first encounter for Group B of the UEFA Champions League (UCL). CSKA Moscow lost to Inter Milan in the second encounter of the UCL

It remains to be seen what will transpire in this match between CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor.

The dream is over. In front of 55,000 strong at the Luzhniki Stadium, CSKA Moscow fell to Italian powerhouse Internazionale 1-0 and 2-0 on aggregate. An early strike from Wesley Sneijder sent Jose Mourinho's men through in fairly comfortable fashion, as CSKA's prayers went from slim to non-existent after Nigerian defender Chidi Odiah was sent off in the second half.

Leonid Slutskiy's squad came on strong for a while but Inter's defense coupled with the fact that the Army Men needed to score three times to progress weighed down the atmosphere. But it surely wasn't enough to dampen goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev's spirits about his team's overall performance.

"For us, it is a big achievement. Whatever they say, we did it and we are proud we made it this far," said Akinfeev. Slutskiy also mirrored Akinfeev's feelings.

"We came in looking for a win. But the early goal, along with Vasili's [Berezutskiy] injury, made our task a great deal tougher. The sending off of Chidi virtually eliminated our hopes. But I can't hold anything against my men today, they did all they could."

But alas, CSKA is gone and Inter moves on. So it's back to business as usual for CSKA in the Russian Premier League for now.

Also mid week, several Russian Cup matches were held. In the top half of the bracket, Zenit St. Petersburg clinically disposed of Second Division side Volga Tver at the Petrovsky Stadium while Amkar Perm received a free pass to the semifinal due to FC Moscow no longer having status as a professional club.

Alania smashed First Division Mordovia Saransk 3-0, while Sibir defeated former RPL side Luch-Energiya Vladivostok by the same score. 

The semifinals are scheduled for April 21st, and it would seem apparent that whichever club prevails in Perm will become the newest Russian Cup champions. Luciano Spalletti should have plenty of desire to win his first trophy with Zenit while Amkar will not only want to put on a good show for the fans, but use the Cup as a pass into European competition this summer.

On the Premier League front though, Spartak Nalchik sits on top of the table with 10 points while Krylia Sovetov still searches for their first point of the season. Powerhouses Zenit and Lokomotiv Moscow are set to lock horns in St. Petersburg while defending champions Rubin prepare to face the newest table toppers.

Let's get to it. Home sides listed first. A "1" stands for home victory, "X" stands for a draw, and a "2" stands for an away victory.

1. Krylia Sovetov Samara (16th) - Saturn (13th): X

Saturday, 10 April 2010, Stadion Metallurg Samara

As the Russian transfer window shut on Thursday, Samara did have a chance to add Serbian veteran Nenad Djordjevic from Partizan to shore up their patchwork back line. The 30-year-old center back could be in the lineup against Saturn, but it should turn out to be a very nice signing for the rest of the season.

However, he still won't help out their non-existent offense, which hasn't scored a single goal the entire season. They have been the beneficiary of own goals twice, but haven't been able to create a single thing coming through the midfield. Krylia Sovetov have had some excellent crowds at home recently and need to feed off the support if they have any aspirations this weekend. 

Saturn on the other hand have struggled mightily this season for long stretches of play, and could be just as offensively-challenged as their newest foes. They did manage to earn a point against Rubin last weekend after being eradicated 10-1 by the Russian champions a season ago, so the team confidence should be at a high.

Over the years, the two sides have been evenly matched. That trend should continue to start the weekend off.

2. Spartak Moscow (9th) - Terek Grozny (2nd): 1

Saturday, 10 April 2010, Luzhniki Stadium

Spartak's trip to Tomsk last weekend didn't exactly go as planned, as Valery Karpin saw his side give up two goals in the first half an hour of play. But honestly, Spartak have not looked right all season long and they have been particularly dominated through the midfield. The return of Montenegrin international Nikola Drincic can't come soon enough.

On a bright spot though, Brazilian hit man Welliton became the all-time leading foreign-born scorer in Spartak history with his 33rd goal for the Moscow club. 

Terek has been a surprise so far this season, as not a whole lot of people projected them to be sitting in second place at this point. But they've played such excellent defense and also capitalized on the chances given to them. Argentine Hector Bracamonte bagged a first-half double against Samara, but his task becomes much more difficult as the team heads to Moscow.

Tension should be high in the capital because the Chechens won't be welcome visitors, but they've also never even been able to earn a point while visiting Spartak. It's been baby steps so far, but the offense has shown up for Spartak in the past several weeks, so Karpin has to hope the defense can come next in line.

3. Dinamo Moscow (11th) - Tom Tomsk (4th): 1

Saturday, 10 April 2010, Arena Khimki

Dinamo has been what you might call a bag of tricks at the moment. Which team are they? The one who put up clean sheets in consecutive weeks against Spartak and CSKA, or the defense that has been entirely shredded to pieces by Zenit and Lokomotiv?

They finally get a break from the big boys as Tomsk comes to town. However, they can't fall asleep here because the men of Trud have played some excellent football. Their only loss to date came with nine men against Rubin Kazan, and there's certainly no shame in that.

Dinamo sporting director Konstantin Sarsania has been constantly talking for the better part of a month about adding a top striker—namely Kevin Kuranyi—but no such move was made on Thursday and the Policemen must live with Ukrainian Andriy Voronin for now. That hasn't been so bad—the former Liverpool man started off the scoring against Lokomotiv and also notched his first goal with Dinamo over the weekend.

For Tomsk, no worries up front as Sergei Kornilenko has returned. The big center forward has appeared three times and scored three goals and looks to continue his mastery over the Dinamo defense. The only thing currently going against his run for more goals is the fact that the home team has prevailed nearly every time the two sides meet for battle.

4. Sibir Novosibirsk (15th) - Anzhi (10th): 2

Sunday, 11 April 2010, Stadion Spartak Novosibirsk

The Siberians have lost every RPL match except one by multiple goals, but the even less encouraging thought is knowing that they still haven't even faced one of the Big Six clubs. They also face a new challenge this week—they were 3-0 victors in the Russian Cup this past Wednesday, but now must come back and take the field again just a few days later.

For some clubs, it's not a problem, but for a club like Sibir who fields a lot of players over age 30 and don't have much depth, it should be interesting to see how they can respond.

On the other hand, Anzhi earned their first victory of the season last weekend over Alania, winning 2-0 on goals by Czech striker Jan Holenda and another finish from Andrey Streltsov. Of the three newly promoted clubs, Anzhi has seemed to be the most comfortable with the higher level of play so far.

In the first division, both of the matches were decided by 2-1 wins for the home team, but that trend won't continue as Anzhi has made many improvements in the first four weeks and the same can not be said of Sibir.

5. Zenit St. Petersburg (5th) - Lokomotiv Moscow (8th): 1

Sunday, 11 April 2010, Petrovsky Stadium

Luciano Spalletti and Zenit had a bye week of sorts, as the high-profile clash with CSKA was rescheduled for later in the month due to lack of security forces at the Luzhniki Stadium. So instead, the club put on a mid-week show for the supporters in a 2-0 win over Volga Tver that sent them comfortably into the semifinals of the Russian Cup.

Lokomotiv were in action however, as they defeated Dinamo in a wild 3-2 contest that saw Ukrainian Oleksandr Aliev score twice more to bring his league-leading mark to five goals on the season. Now we've seen this before...

Manager Yuri Semin has also been shifting to more three striker sets, with Sychev and Odemwingie flanking Dramane Traore. The results still haven't come though, as the only goal scored by the trio has been a penalty by Sychev.

Last year, the clubs played both matches to 1-1 draws, but Lokomotiv's road woes have continued into the new season. In 2009, they finished with a sum of zero wins against European bound clubs away from the Lokomotiv Stadium and will have their hands full against a Zenit club that is just beginning to hit it's offensive stride.

Zenit will also have starting central back Fernando Meira back in the lineup, a big boost to the the team as he formed a tremendous duo with Nicolas Lombaerts in the later part of last season.

6. Alania (14th) - CSKA Moscow (7th): 2

Sunday, 11 April 2010, Republikanskiy Stadion Vladikavkaz

Alania are still searching for their first victory in the Premier League this season. While they have had absolutely no luck on the road, they have earned a pair of draws in Vladikavkaz already, but there have to be more than a few concerns about the offense. No striker has stepped up and performed.

CSKA haven't played a RPL match since March 26, but they sure haven't been sitting around doing nothing. Although the squad fell to Internazionale at the Luzhniki Stadium, they will take many newly learned lessons to domestic competition. 

This is a very friendly match up for the Army Men, as they match up very well across the board with Alania. The Snow Leopards just don't have the size on the back line or any attacking options that can really threaten CSKA and while the crowd should be raucous, this is a fixture that they would be thrilled to get a point out of. It just won't happen.

7. Rostov (12th) - Amkar Perm (6th): X

Sunday, 11 April 2010, Olympic Stadium Rostov

Rostov were slaughtered in Nalchik last weekend, allowing five goals in the most lopsided contest of the season. But it's not all gloom and doom for the Selmashi. Twenty five year old Bosnian striker Mersudin Ahmetovic has had a great season so far, scoring in two of the last three matches. 

Since losing the first match of the season in stoppage time to CSKA, Amkar hasn't failed to earn points, picking up seven of a possible nine points against newly promoted clubs. They have also been able to replace rugged defender Ivan Cherenchikov rather seamlessly, but as the season progresses the krasno-chernye are going to have to find someone aside from Bulgarian Georgi Peev that can create from a midfield role. 

Away from the Zvezda Stadium, Amkar tends to play very defensively and that philosophy shouldn't randomly change just because Rostov was shelled in their last outing. The men from Perm will play for a point and should get the result.

8. Rubin Kazan (3rd) - Spartak Nalchik (1st): 1

Monday, 12 April 2010, Central Stadium Kazan

The reigning Russian champions have run across a dry spell recently. It's 200 minutes and counting since the Tatars have last scored a goal, and even that one was almost a given as it came two men up against Tomsk. The club has been in a funk since losing it's Europa League tussle with Wolfsburg in the 119th minute of extra time, but are also visibly missing Alejandro Dominguez's presence up front.

Kurban Berdiyev has realized that he's going to have to come out of the defensive shell at some point and actually attempt to score goals. It's not that he doesn't have the personnel like other clubs, Aleksandr Bukharov is one of the finest, but they have indeed become too happy with their defensive abilities.

On the other hand, Nalchik's amazing season continues, as they blasted hapless Rostov 5-2 in front of a delirious home crowd. How is a prime relegation candidate playing so well out of nowhere? Give a ton of credit to 21-year-old midfielder Vladimir Dyadyun, who has been at the front and center of nearly everything for Nalchik. Literally.

His five points lead the league alongside Aliev of Lokomotiv, and he's been a huge factor in the success of the team as well. The club leads the RPL in goals scored and they have been getting production from all positions on the field. Oddly enough though, Dyadyun is on loan from Rubin Kazan.

This will be Nalchik's first true test of credibility on the season and surely welcome the challenge of trying to become the first team to score on Rubin this season.  

Last Week: 3-4 (.429)

Season Record: 14-17 (.452)

Current Champions: Rubin Kazan  (5)

Once again, Rubin defended their title as the best club in Russia, but for the second straight week in a row, they delivered an uninspired performance which lead to a scoreless draw. This time, they were held by Saturn in Ramenskoe despite fielding essentially a full roster. The Tatars have still not allowed a goal through 360 minutes of football however, but the deadly counter-attack from a season ago just has not been there.

An early away goal was just what the doctor ordered for Inter, as the Italian club cruised from that point on defeating CSKA Moscow 1-0 (2-0 on aggregate) to advance to the Champions League semifinals.

Wesley Sneijder did the damage in the sixth minute, tunneling the wall on a free kick from about 25 yards out and skipping it past the keepers attempted foot save. Inter took the 1-0 lead and never looked back from that point on.

This away goal put Moscow in a near impossible situation, as they now needed to outscore a strong Inter side by three goals from that point on.

Inter was keen to comfortably, and rather routinely, play out the match with this clearly in their minds.

Jose Mourinho’s men were extremely organized in the defense, as all attacking efforts from CSKA Moscow were barely even threats. Moscow was forced to long-ranged efforts that would have taken a display of absolute brilliance to beat a top quality keeper like Julio Cesar.

The Nerazzurri did a spectacular job to slow down all Moscow attacks prior to reaching the Inter penalty area. The defense also did well to contain and intervene on the passing lanes, making it extremely difficult for the Russian club to string together passes up front.

Inter showed patience by inducing a counterattacking style to what was left of this quarterfinal matchup.

Inter kept their shape in the back behind a powerful complete team display.

Even the attackers did well to backtrack well into their own defensive end to frustrate their opponents.

As if the deficit itself wasn’t enough of an obstacle for Moscow to overcome, a 49^th minute expulsion of Moscow midfielder Odiah ended any minor hopes for the few optimistic Moscow supporters that remained.

Inter put on a training display, as they were the far superior club in this quarterfinal fixture.

The mismatch didn’t provide much excitement, as the Moscow side refused to send out a wild attack when they were cornered. Instead, they sat back and died slowly.

It is a shame the Russian side were eliminated from the tournament in this fashion, but the fact that they reached the quarterfinal alone is a great positive for the club and Russian football in general.

Inter will face the defending Champions League winners in the semifinals when they meet up with Barcelona. This matchup will in no way resemble the stroll in the park Moscow was, and is sure to be filled with top class football with a place in the final at stake.

2009 Record: 16-4-10, 52 points (Fifth place and UEFA Europa League third-round qualifying)

2009 was a season filled with turbulence for CSKA. During the season, hit man Vagner Love and talented winger Yuri Zhirkov departed the club, while two different managers were fired during the course of the season.

But in spite of all the changes, CSKA qualified for the Champions League knockout round for the first time in its illustrious history.

Brazilian Zico started out at the helm, but after a disappointing summer that saw the Army Men crash out of the Kubok Rossii—a competition they had won four of the past five years—the club decided to replace him with former Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos. But in more than a month's time, Ramos couldn't get the club turned around, either—and he lost his job after only 47 days.

Krylia Sovetov manager Leonid Slutskiy was brought in next—and he immediately proved that the third time actually is the charm. His only Russian Premier League defeat came at the hands of Rubin Kazan—but more importantly, he defeated Wolfsburg and Besiktas and earned a crucial point at Old Trafford that ensured a second-place finish.

While the Army Men are locked in a heavyweight tussle with Sevilla, Slutskiy knows that fifth place in Russia again will not be an acceptable result. His team has to return to the Champions League.

Facing the team are the potential subtractions of several superstar players in the summer—but can they survive?

Manager: Leonid Slutskiy, second season, 3-0-1

Captain: GK Igor Akinfeev

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium (78,360)

RFU Top 33 Players Returning: 6. GK Igor Akinfeev, CB Sergei Ignashevich, CB Vasili Berezutskiy, LB Georgi Schennikov, RM Milos Krasic, AM Alan Dzagoev

Key 2009-10 Departures: AM Daniel Carvalho (to Al-Arabi), ST Ouwu Moussa Maazou (to Monaco), ST Ricardo Jesus (to Larissa), ST Ganiyu Osani (to Esperance Tunis)

Key 2009-10 Arrivals: GK Sergei Chepchugov (from Sibir Novosibirsk), AM Keisuke Honda (from VVV-Venlo), RB Kirill Nababkin (from FC Moscow), ST Seydou Doumbia (from BSC Young Boys Bern, to join in summer 2010)

Lineups and Roster

Goalkeeping

This starts and ends with Igor Akinfeev, one of the best keepers in the world. He has been the choice goalkeeper for CSKA since his 17th birthday, and at only 23 years old, he still has a ton of room to improve. That's a scary thought for RPL squads.

Russia's top keeper played every match in 2009—but many of the most recognizable clubs in the world have asked about his services. Will he be with the Army Men at the end of the season—or might he be showcasing his talents elsewhere? Time will tell.

Akinfeev will be backed up by newcomer Sergei Chepchugov, who played a major role in having Sibir promoted to the Premier League for the 2010 season. He's a very capable reserve keeper, and even though his time should be very limited, he has the ability to come in whenever needed.

Defense

While the two Russian internationals, Ignashevich and Berezutskiy, grab most of the attention, 18-year-old left back Georgi Schennikov sent pulses around the league in 2009. One of more than a few teenage sensations to crash the party, Schennikov won the job handily—and he has not only thrived under pressure, but he also has welcomed every bit of it.

He would never say it, but you know he was loving every second of facing Jesus Navas from Sevilla in the Champions League. There's a reason why he was named to the RFU Top 33 list at such a young age. He's simply a defender who loves his job.

A duo of Kirill Nababkin and veteran rear guard Deividas Semberas should see time at right back. Aleksei Berezutskiy, twin brother of Vasili, could also play on the right as well as in the center.

Highly lauded center back Uros Cosic should also make his debut in 2010—and many fans will be eager to see the "new Nemanja Vidic." The 17-year-old Serbian will nicely round out what has to be the best group of central defenders in the league.

Midfield

Put it this way: The midfield was so deep and so talented in the winter that they had to essentially give players away and loan them to any team who would take them.

But even though the club had a first-come, first-served December yard sale, the midfield is exceptional. Led by the duo of teenager Alan Dzagoev and Serbian superstar Milos Krasic, the group got even better with the addition of Japan international Keisuke Honda and the return of Mark "Speedy" Gonzalez.

They can beat defenses with moves, speed, or precision passing, but they all have the ability to score from distance as well. The quartet should only improve even more as the season goes on and they establish chemistry.

Pavel Mamaev and Evgeni Aldonin should take care of the holding midfield, when Slutskiy choses to utilize the position. Many times, he has replaced them with a third central defender.

19-year-old Nigerian Sekou Oliseh should also get more than a handful of chances to impress, especially in matches against relegation contenders.

Strikers 

A two-headed monster will lead the CSKA attack: Guilherme and Tomas Necid. The 21-year-old Brazilian is on loan from Dynamo Kiev until the summer. Necid, a pure center forward, has improved by quantum leaps in the last half a year. The big Czech should get the brunt of the starts, as Slutskiy normally only utilizes one striker.

But the assault force should improve even more in the summer. Ivory Coast gunner Seydou Doumbia will join the club after the World Cup, and as it stands now, Love will be joining him in Moscow. Even if not, the progress of Necid and the addition of Doumbia may give Slutskiy no other choice but to open up the offensive playbook and put in two strikers.

Analysis

This could very well be a tale of two seasons for CSKA. Akinfeev and Krasic could potentially be on their way out in the summer, while Guilherme is already assured a return ticket to Kiev. The addition of Doumbia in July could prove to be the signing of the Russian year already—if he can bring his ridiculous Swiss form to Russia.

Either way, this will be one of the most enjoyable teams to watch in 2010—and preventing a catastrophe, they will not be finishing in fifth place again. There are very few, if any, glaring weaknesses on the roster. If not the favorites to win the league, they are certainly one of the primary contenders for the crown.

The only thing that could be standing between CSKA and a fourth title in eight years are injuries, as the team isn't the deepest in the league and doesn't have a tremendous youth squad.

Projected Finish: Second

Before the start of a new season we always hope that our team will win and will compete well against other teams. Sometimes we catch ourselves evaluating teams that are not that good and other ones that can actually give a good fight for the trophy.

The Russian Premier League's dates are different from other European tournament's, the season starts on 12 March 2010 and ends on 29 Nov. 2010. This makes January transfers very important because teams add their new players to prepare them for a new season. Often in soccer, transfers play a huge role in the teams standings and skill. Transfers could turn the team around very easily in positive or negative ways. In this article I will talk about the main RPL's transfers before the 2010-11 season.

CSKA Moscow- The main players that CSKA got were Keisuke Honda, Seydou Doumbia, and Kirill Nababkin. These three players touch every position starting from defense and ending with offense. The main two players are Honda and Doumbia: Honda is a great Japanese player that makes fantastic free kicks and wide range shots and he will definitely add on to CSKA's attacking midfield. Doumbia is an Ivorian footballer that is mostly known for his goal scoring (last season Doumbia scored 37 goals in 48 games).

Dynamo Moscow- This team also brought in a couple of good players like Andriy Voronin, Igor Semshov, and Aleksandr Samedov. These transfers will make the team more sharp in their attack and midfield.

Lokomotiv Moscow- Not a lot of players were bought by Loko but the key ones are Dmitri Tarasov and Vladislav Ignatyev. Both of these players are midfielders which would be a great help to Lokomotiv next year. The team was also rumored to been having talks about Roman Pavlyuchenko but the transfer didn't happen yet.

Rubin Kazan- This team wasn't really popular with transfers this season and ended up getting only Turkish forward Fatih Tekke, who previously played for Zenit.

Zenit St.Petersburg- This team followed the similar steps as Kuban and brought in Russian forward Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who used to be at Dynamo Moscow. Zenit made a deal for Macedonian Grigoriy Pandev but failed as Inter made a bigger deal.

Terek Grozny- This team might be not that popular but they surely spent some cash on new transfers. Mauricio traveled all the way to Russia from Fluminense, Brazil on February 2. Antonio Ferreira is another Brazilian footballer that transferred from Spartak Nalchik.

Spartak Nalchik- Spartak made a deal with a Finnish goalkeeper Otto Fredrickson that previously played in Lillestrom. They also loaned out Veniamin Mandrykin from CSKA Moscow.

Krylia Sovetov Samara- This team only signed a defender, Aleksei Kozlov from KAMAZ.

Amkar Perm- Amkar bought three players before the start of the season: A Croatian midfielder, Josip Knezevic, another midfielder, Andrei Topchu, and a forward from CSKA Moscow, Nikita Burmistrov.

Anzhi Makhachkala- One of the new teams next season tied up deals with six players. The main players are Jan Holenda, Todor Timonov, and Mitar Pekovic.

FC Rostov- Rostov concentrated on buying new goalkeepe's this season and bought Dejan Radic and Maksim Kabanov. They also got two defenders—Andriy Proshin and Sorin Ghionea.

Sibir Novosibirsk- This team made some of the most transfers in RPL, they spent their cash on 11 players that will help them do their best in Premier League. A few of the 11 players are Tomas Cizek and Nicola Valentic, both coming from European clubs.

Tom Tomsk- Tom was mostly looking at South Korean players and ended up getting Shin Young-Rok, who plays for Korean Republic and Kim Nam-II, a Korean defense mid superstar that earned 89 caps for his country.

This was a brief transfer summary of the teams that are in Russian Premier League.