main events of the year in Russian football –

The shaky throne of Zenit

The ending of the last Russian football championship was one of the most striking in the 21st century. Over the previous five, Zenit invariably finished first, and never allowed its competitors to get closer than eight points. And in 2023, he brought CSKA, which was on the second line, 12 at once. And there were few reasons for ending the hegemony of the St. Petersburgers. Yes, Malcom and Daler Kuzyaev left the Northern capital, but Claudinho and Vendel were saved, and in the winter three more compatriots were added to them – Arthur, Pedro and Nino. However, Sergei Semak’s team suddenly began to twitch and for the first time since 2018 went to the winter break not in the rank of leaders, letting Krasnodar go ahead.

The spring part of the season turned out to be even more eventful. It all started with the sensational resignation of Vladimir Ivic from the post of head coach of the Bulls, which quite possibly cost them their first gold in history. And it continued with Dynamo’s phenomenal spurt. Before the 25th round, the blue and whites were six points behind Zenit, but won six victories in a row – and what a win! At the VTB Arena, the St. Petersburg team were beaten (1:0), and Sochi and Baltika put the squeeze on in stoppage time (3:2 twice). In both cases, Mumi Ngamalyo played the role of savior, scoring in the 95th and 99th minutes, respectively.

Before the final round, it was Dynamo that occupied first place in the table and was one step away from the coveted championship, which their fans had been waiting for for 60 years. To do this, it was enough for them not to lose to Krasnodar away, but Marcel Lička’s team failed to complete this task. The Bulls defeated their opponents and won silver medals for the first time, while the gold medals again went to Zenit. The decisive goal was scored in the 85th minute by Arthur, who took advantage of a misfire by Rostov goalkeeper Sergei Pesyakov.

It was logical to assume that after such a nervous season, Zenit would conduct a hectic summer transfer campaign and try to prevent history from repeating itself. The St. Petersburgers actually spent more than €40 million on newcomers, luring, among others, both the leader of Lokomotiv Maxim Glushenkov and the main forward of Spartak Alexander Sobolev. But they did not look any more confident and for the second year in a row they went on vacation in second place, making them look forward to the resumption of the championship.

Moving stars

By the way, the transfers of Sobolev and Glushenkov have become one of the most high-profile in the current competitive year. Since the return of Vladimir Bystrov in 2010, Zenit has not bought players from direct competitors, but after a difficult victory in the 2023/24 season, it went into all sorts of troubles. And if everything went relatively quietly with the Lokomotiv star, then the transfer of the Spartak forward turned out to be super scandalous.

What added piquancy to it was the fact that the initiator was allegedly Sobolev himself, who declared the red-whites’ inability to qualify for the trophy. And then he completely admitted to the newly appointed head coach Dejan Stankovic that “all his thoughts are occupied with the transition to Zenit.” As a result, he was transferred to the reserves and almost two months without playing practice. At one moment it might have seemed as if Alexander would remain in Moscow, but after much deliberation, Zenit still acquired him for €10 million. If we take only the Russians, then the St. Petersburgers paid more only for Alexander Bukharov (€12 million).

By this time, Glushenkov had already managed to make a fantastic start and score eight (7 + 1) points in the four starting rounds of the RPL – and this is not counting the double in the Super Cup with Krasnodar. However, he was plagued by injuries for the rest of the period. It all started with a broken wrist in the game against Khimki, and continued with damage to the femoral biceps in the confrontation with the same “bulls”. In almost four months, he recorded only a goal and an assist in the meeting with Krylia Sovetov and blurred the impression of his transfer.

But everything is learned by comparison, and Sobolev is certainly inferior in this regard. After all, it’s not easy to imagine a more disastrous start to a career at a new club for the country’s top striker. In 12 RPL matches, he did not score a single effective action and limited himself to only two goals and one assist in the Russian Cup. The result is the loss of competition to Mateo Cassierra and Luciano Gond, the role of a reserve and less than 800 minutes on the field in the first half of the season.

New challenges for Miranchuk and Safonov

Two more transfers involving Russians were no less high-profile. True, Alexey Miranchuk and Matvey Safonov did not go to help Zenit extend their hegemony in Russian football, but went to new foreign championships. Thus, the midfielder shocked many with his decision to move to the camp of the American Atlanta, and the goalkeeper himself was probably a little surprised by the interest from Paris Saint-Germain – and this while Gianluigi Donnarumma was alive. One way or another, the French paid €20 million for him and literally forced domestic fans to start closely following Ligue 1.

Of course, there was no point in counting on the fact that Luis Enrique would immediately choose the Russian over the Italian star. This did not happen, but there were still certain positive aspects. Last season, Donnarumma’s replacements – Arnau Tenas and Keylor Navas – played 528 and 540 minutes, respectively, while Safonov had already spent 698 minutes on the field by the end of December. Moreover, he appeared both in the national championship and cup, as well as in the Champions League – and far from being with outsiders. It was he who defended the Parisians’ goal in the most important confrontation with Bayern, even if it did not end very well for him. Matvey looked great, but on the corner he made a mistake and allowed Kim Min Jae to score the winning goal.

He wasn’t very impressive against Monaco either. In the first half, Safonov replaced Donnarumma, who had received spikes in the face, and conceded twice in seven minutes, making only one save in total. But already in the cup confrontation with Lens he staged an extravaganza. In regular time, he repelled three out of four shots, and in the post-match series he made two saves and helped the Parisians advance. And he himself ended up in the editorial pages of French newspapers.

As for Miranchuk, this year also became decisive for him. In the spring, he helped Atalanta win the Europa League, but spent the final with Bayer in reserve. And after a few months I decided to change the situation. Surely many expected to see him in the conditional “Torino” or another middle team in the Italian championship, but Alexey chose not the most straightforward option and set off to conquer the USA. And in light of the current political situation, such a step was perceived by many as extremely ambivalent.

However, in Atlanta, Miranchuk adapted almost immediately, scored seven (3 + 4) points in the goal + pass system and helped the team qualify for the playoffs for the second time in four years. And already there, together with the “five-lanes”, he created the main sensation of the tournament. In the first round, they came across the leader and the most star team of the championship – Inter Miami with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and other ex-Catalan players, but Alexey and the company did not flinch even after losing in the first match. In the remaining two, they broke the opponent’s resistance, and the Russian himself twice acted as an assistant. It’s a pity that they weren’t able to continue their winning pace – already in the next stage they were beaten by Orlando.

New hope for the country

In 2024, two new stars appeared in Russian football at once. The aforementioned Glushenkov finally became stronger, becoming the best assistant of the 2023/24 season and attracting the attention of Zenit, and during the course of the new championship, his ex-teammate made him talk about himself. In just a few months, Alexey Batrakov has created a real sensation and not only received the “First Five” award as the best young player of the year in the RPL, but was also named the best “kicking midfielder” under the age of 21 by the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES).

Batrakov made his debut for the main team of railway workers last season, and in May he even scored against Orenburg, but was not remembered for anything special. As a result, his incredible performance in the current championship was a real revelation. In the first round he scored against Akron, and against Akhmat he put on a show. 18-year-old Alexey distinguished himself and assisted his partners three times, setting an RPL record. At such a young age, no one in history has managed to score so many points in a match.

After that everything went smoothly. An assist in the match against Dynamo Makhachkala, a goal and pass against Rostov, doubles against Orenburg and Paris NN – in total, Batrakov scored points in exactly half of the 18 meetings in the autumn part of the championship. And with 16 (10 + 6) he was in second place in the list of the most productive football players of the tournament, second only to the suddenly scoring Manfred Ugalde (15 + 2).

Along the way, he made his debut for the Russian national team, and distinguished himself in the very first game – he took part in the “beating” of Brunei (11:0). However, not only the numbers are important, but also the overall impression that Alexey made on fans and experts. As a result – the title of the best athlete of September in the RPL and comparison with the legendary Fedor Cherenkov. There are also rumors about a possible departure abroad already in the winter transfer window. According to rumors, Manchester City itself is interested in the services of the midfielder.

Ideal team year

By the way, for the country’s national team, the victory over Brunei was the largest in history and made it possible to have a unique year in terms of results. In 2024, Valery Karpin’s team won all five matches and did not concede a single goal, while they themselves scored 26 times. And this despite the fact that not all opponents were outright passable. Although in the current conditions it was almost impossible to come to an agreement with the top teams. And it’s even more difficult to approach duels with outsiders responsibly. After all, some football players openly stated that they would prefer to train with their fellow legionnaires on a trip to the team’s headquarters.

Nevertheless, the athletes who made it to the national team did their work more than responsibly. Perhaps the confrontation with Serbia, which at that moment was preparing to compete at the European Championship, helped set the tone. Yes, it was not the first visiting team that took to the VTB Arena field, and the removal of Milan Gaich completely confused their cards, but even in these conditions, the victory with a score of 4:0 looks extremely impressive.

Subsequently, no one was able to stop Karpin’s charges. The Belarusians scored the same number of unanswered goals on the road, while the Vietnamese were awarded one less. Perhaps they saved a couple of extra goals for the meeting with Thailand, but that was not destined to take place. Typhoon Yagi intervened, putting an end to the Russians’ hopes of playing six matches in a calendar year.

Of course, the confrontation with Brunei will remain one of the most scandalous and controversial in the history of the Russian national team. The Asian team was already not up to the level of the opponent, but they were still unable to bring all the strongest to Krasnodar, provoking a huge scandal. But I paid for it. In this regard, the Syrians were much more responsible, but this did not save them from defeat – 0:4.

Of course, one should not overestimate the results of the Russians, nor draw conclusions from them about their prospects for the Euro or qualification for the World Cup. For the most part, all this was done so that fans would not forget about the existence of the national team and would enjoy watching matches with its participation. And both the RFU and Karpin’s team coped with this task.