Europa-East: football rankings, week 4 and 5

Week 5 (APR. 4-11, 2011)

RFPL R4

Round 4 matches in the Russian Premier League were somewhat dry on goals and lacked meaningful excitement.  The game between the champions and the runners-up ended in a controversial 1:1 draw.  The St. Petersburg side didn’t have a home-grown player born in 1990 or later in their roster, which resulted in an automatic defeat.  The game in itself was fairly even, with each side showing attacking flare from time to time.  Mark Gonzalez opened the scoring with a well taken shot on the 32^nd minute, but the home side leveled the score right before the half with a well taken goal by Zyrianov.  Both sides had good chances in the second half but the game ended in a fair draw.

In other matches FC Krasnodar continued its unbeaten start to the campaign with a 1:0 win over Amkar.  The game between Krylia and Locomotive ended in the same score line in favor of the Samara side.  The game was played in Samara, where the pitch still hasn’t recovered from the winter months.  Contrary to the score line both teams had number of good chances especially in the second half.  After a dismal first half, Krylia started the second half with more purpose than their Moscow opponents.  A mistake by the Locomotive defense and the keeper late in the game allowed Dzhorzhevic to slide the winning goal leaving the Moscow side empty handed once again.  The Moscow side is still trying to find their style of play producing good football only on rare occasions.  Lack of concentration in the last minutes, have cost points for Locomotive in the last two games.

Three matches ended in 0:0 draws, most notably a lackluster performance by Rubin Kazan at home to Spartak-Nalchik.  After the game Runib’s head coach Berdyiev admitted that his side’s performance was the worst he has seen in a while.

Following a humiliating away defeat to FC Porto, Spartak-Moscow drew 0:0 with Terek Groznyi.  

The game that produced the most goals was another strong victory for the newly promoted Volga away at Rostov.  The win on Sunday puts Volga at the top of the league after four games.  At the bottom in addition to Tom Tomsk, who is yet to score a goal are Krylia Sovetov.  Spartak-Moscow who started the season the worst way possible are also close to the abyss.

UFPL R24

The weekend games both in Russia and especially in Ukraine were characterized by murky weather, with light rainfall throughout the weekend.  The Friday afternoon game between Zorya and Metalist started in the above described atmosphere.  The game was played in Donetsk since Zorya’s home stadium hasn’t recovered from cold March weather, and lack of under-soil heating means that the side from Lugansk won’t be playing any home games this spring.  In the first half the side from Kharkiv looked a lot stronger, unlucky not to score on few occasions and even hitting the post.  The begging of the second half determined the outcome of the game; Marco Devic came on during the second half and proved a real difference for the away side.  Zoriya was struggling to keep Metalist at bay, with most attacks coming from the right side.  One of these attacks resulted in an opening goal. Metalist’s Argentinean fullback Villagra stormed down the right side and with plenty of time and space slid the ball past Zorya’s keeper.  The second goal came only few minutes later when striker Marco Devic pounced on the carefully threaded ball from Brazilian midfielder Cleiton Xavier.  This was Marco’s 50^th goal in the league and a first defeat in the year for the Lugansk side.

On Saturday PFC Sevastopol produced a great performance by beating Volyn 4:1, all after falling 0:1 behind early in the first half.  As strange as it may sound 3 of the 5 goals came from penalties.  In other Saturday matches Dnipro had a easy outing over Vorskla 2:0, both goals came from league’s top scorer Seleznev.  Tavria got a crusial 2:1 away win over fellow European spot hopefuls FC Arsenal.  The Kyiv side went ahead on the 4^th minute through a good strike by Romanian international Mazilu.  But the Crimean side came back with two goals from young, former Shakhtar youth team midfielder Stanislav Prychynenko.  In the second half both teams created little and the Crimean side came out with all 3 points.  After this win Tavriya moves into 6^th spot above Arsenal.

After a terrible away defeat at FC Barcelona in the Champions League Shakhtar lost for the first time at home in two years.  This was also Shakhtar’s first defeat at Donbass Arena, which is their home since September of 2009.  Shakhtar suffered a 0:1 defeat to one of the smallest and least decorated top level teams in Obolon Kyiv.  It is also Shakhtar second loss to Obolon this season in the league, the first came in September with the same score line at Obolon Arena.  Obolon’s newly revamp home stadium holds only around 5,000 spectators compared to 50,000 plus Donbass Arena.  In March during the international break Kovalet’s side took a stadium tour of the Donbass Arena.  In the post game interview Obolon’s coach noted that playing in the arena is like visiting a play in a theatre.  Obolon was also the first league opposition Shakhtar faced in the new stadium in 2009, that night the club from Donetsk came out with a 4:0 victory.  Going back to the game Shakhtar made 7 substitutions to the side that started at Barcelona four days prior.  Shakhtar as expected dominated the first half and created a half a dozen good chances.  At the half the Donetsk side brought on its influential captain Dario Srna who limped off the field thirteen minutes later with a minor injury.  Three minutes later the visitors were reduced to 10 men after Panas received his second yellow.  This meant that the Kyiv side would attack even less and hope that Shakhtar doesn’t find a way to score.  On the 73^rd minute Obolon suffered another blow; keeper Rybka who was having an excellent game was injured in one of the episodes and was substituted for an inexperienced 20-year old Berezovskyy.  Shakhtar continued to mount pressure to the visitors but the goal wouldn’t come and 0:0 was eminent.  But the away side had other ideas; as the time was winding down Shakhtar midfielder Mkhitaryan committed a silly foul close to the penalty box and the substitute Kucherenko put away a superb free-kick to give his side an unprecedented lead at Donbass Arena with less than five minutes to go.  After the goal Shakhtar mounted few decent attacks, but it was the visitors who were celebrating a tremendous away win at the unlikeliest places in the Ukrainian Premier League.

The surprise results continued on Sunday.  Dynamo was held to a 1:1 draw away at the bottom side Metalurg Zaporizhzha.  The sides started on equal keel, and the home side was unlucky to be ahead in the middle of the half when a superb goal was wrongly ruled offside.  The home side did go ahead right before the half when 18 year Metalurg midfielder Tsurikov finished a good play from Metalurg’s midfield.  A minute into the second half the teams were even when superb individual effort by club veteran Shevchenko who came on at the half leveled the score line.  Both sides had good chances in the second half but a draw probably was a fair result. Also to note that Dynamo started many bench players who didn’t play in Europa League game.  In another Sunday match Karpaty easily defeated FC Illichivets 3:1, although the away side went ahead on the 7^th minute thanks to a free-kick from Kostyantyn Yaroshenko.  In the final match of round 24, Metalurg Donetsk suffered a surprising 1:0 defeat to Kryvbas, who earned their first win in 14 league games.  The first 30 minutes of the game Metalurg looked rather languid.  The home side didn’t create much either but went ahead on 12^th minute with a superb header from Beloruss international Voronkov who was between two Metalurg defenders when the ball was crossed.  Metalurg was much better in the second half, but didn’t create enough chances to level the score.  In the end of the day Kryvbas gets three valuable points that keeps the side just above the relegation zone.  On the other hand Metalurg slides down the table away from the last Europa League spot.

Here are the rankings for the week, note the full start of Belorussian league.

1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)         5-3 out 8

2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) 6-2 out 10

3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)         3-3 out 9

4. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)                 6-2 out 10

5. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS)         5-3 out 10

6. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)                 2-2 out 6

7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)         2-2 out 7

8. FC Bate Borisov (BEL)                 2-0 out 4

9. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) 2-1 out 5

10. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS)       1-2 out 4

11. FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS)         2-2 out 4

12. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR)                 3-1 out 5

13. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD)         8-1 out 11

14. SC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR)         2-0 out 5

15. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS)         1-1 out 4

16. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR)                 1-1 out 5

17. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS) 1-2 out 4

18. FC Metalurg Donetsk (UKR)         2-2 out 5

19. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)         2-1 out 5

20. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR)                 2-1 out 5

21. FC Volga Nizhniy-Novgorod (RUS) 3-1 out 3

22. FC Krasnodar (RUS)                 2-0 out 4

23. FC Zorya Lugansk (UKR)         2-1 out 5

24. FC Kuban Krasnodar (RUS)         2-2 out 3

25. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR)                 0-4 out 5

It looks like it is the last time we will see Volyn Lutsk in top 25, although their league position may still get them a spot in Europe.

Week 4 (MAR. 28- APR. 4, 2011)

RFPL R3

Week 3 in the Russian Premier League provided a full bag of surprises.  First and foremost, non of the top 6 clubs in the land have won a game.  On the other hand new comers won’t cease to amaze, taking points away from the household names.

We start with Dinamo Moscow’s trip to Nizhnii-Novgorod.  The Moscov side just came off a comfortable win at home to Rostov, but the huge number of traveling fans were very disappointed from the game on Volga river.  There was little to remember from the first half, both side created little.  Dinamo had better chances with two close affords at the end of the half.  At the half Volga made one substitution, which added more pace on the left flank that proved crucial for home side.  Two quick goals in two minute period decided the outcome of the game.  First, Tursunov pounced on the miss handled free-kick by Dinamo defense.  The assist came from Hodzhaba who himself finished a counter attack only few minutes later.  The third goal came only ten minutes later, which sealed second consecutive victory for the promoted side.  The goal came just before Dinamo boss made a tactical change by introducing second striker, which proved too late for Moscow side to salvage any points.  For his contribution to the first two goals Hodzhba got the man of the match honors, but some praise should also be given to Volga manager Tetradze who made changes at a vital point of the game.

Two other Moscow sides Locomotive and CSKA drew 1:1 at home (on the same pitch one day apart) with Rostov and Krasnodar respectably.  This was Rostov’s third game in a row against a Moscow side, second on the road.  Throughout the game Locomotive showed better football and created a number of good chances but only converted one in the middle of the first half.  Rostov played patiently and converted probably their only real opportunity late in the game; former Spartak player Grigoriev pounced on the cross in the 6-yard box to level the score on the 83^rd minute.  The game between CSKA and Krasnodar the next day followed a similar scenario.  The Moscow side got ahead half way through the first half but conceded a sloppy goal in the beginning of the second period.  For the rest of the game CSKA pressed Krasnodar’s defense, but didn’t convert chances they created.  Krasnodar produced little up front in the second half, but they are very happy to get out of Moscow with a point in the bag. 

Spartak Moscow produced another doll display this time away at Kuban.  Spartak conceded a late penalty to go behind at the half, but a quick restart for the Moscow side evened the score on the 49^th minute.  As the game moved deep into the second half, Spartak looked more flat and created little at the Kuban’s goal.  On the other hand the Krasnodar side played more comfortably and with pace, which produced two more goals.  Deservedly the home side came with a good win, giving the Moscow side their second league defeat in three games.  

Current champions Zenit only managed a point away at Nalchik.  The St. Petersburg side went ahead twice in the game, but persistent play from the home side ensured share of the spoils.  The equalizer for the home side came on the 88^th minute by free kick from Roman Kontsedalov.

In other matches Anzhi grabbed their first win at home to Rubin, the sole goal coming courtesy of Czech striker Jan Holenda on the 7^th minute.  Terek Groznyi also grabbed their first victory of the campaign on Monday with a 2:0 victory over Tom.  The game between two struggling clubs Amkar and Krylia ended in a 1:1 draw.

UFPL R23

The weekend in Ukraine opened on Friday in Mariupol, where the home side Illichivets faced champions Shakhtar.  The away side dominated early proceedings and got ahead half way through the half with a goal from Srna.  Second half was also dominated by Shakhtar who will face FC Barcelona on Wednesday in the Champion League.  The Donetsk side doubled their advantage on the 53rd minute with a goal by Luis Adriano.  After the second goal the home side finally awakened and started to counter Shakhtar’s constant threats.  The home side pulled one goal back on the 57th.  Young Budkivskyy who was a top scorer in the reserves league for Shakhtar got his first goal in the top flight.  His inclusion in the starting eleven was possibly because Antonov, Illichivet’s first choice striker received a serious injury the previous week.  Shakhtar continued dominate the play, the home side rarely bothered Pyatov’s goal.  Shakhtar finished off the game in the added time with a close strike from substitute Douglas Costa.  Illichivets defense once again was standing and watching how the Brazilian scored.

On Saturday Tavriya and Zorya produced a dull display that helped neither side.  Both teams had good chances to win it, Tavriya coming close in last minutes.  No winner was produced in Kyiv derby.  The home side was unlucky to take all three points after they went ahead on the 60th minute with a goal from Borys Baranets.  The equalizer came in the stoppage time with Arzhanov scoring for the ‘visitors’.  Dynamo had no problems against struggling Kryvbass scoring three time.  In the central game of the weekend Dnipro visited Metalurg Donetsk who is fighting to grab the sixth spot.  First goal came on the 2nd minute when Nazarenko, who deputized for injured Konoplyanka finished from outside the box with an assist from Gladkyy who headed the ball from a throw-in.  The home side equalized only few minutes later with a strike from a twenty year old striker Ivanko who scored his first ever goal for the first team.  The score remained equal until 72nd minute when Cheneryachko was fouled in the Metalurg box, Nazarenko provided a cool finish from the spot to grab his second goal.  But only three minutes later Dnipro defense again proved unreliable; during a corner Dnipro keeper saved a good shot from Adi but Adeley was first to slot the ball into top of the net from close range.  Only few minutes later Metalurg organized a quick counter-attack where substitute Golaydo slotted a good pass into Dnipro’s goal.  Metalurg earned probably their biggest win of the season and if the team continues in that direction the fans should expect higher position in the table.

On Sunday Vorskla had little trouble at home with PFC Sevastopol scoring four times.  Although the score-line flatters the home side, Sevastopol showed little to earn any points.  The visitors remain without an away win this season as they continue their fight to avoid relegation.  In the western region derby game Karpaty easily took apart Volyn Lutsk.  The visitors were 2:0 up after only 33rd minutes, both goals coming from energetic Kozhanov.  No positives can be given to the home side who are struggling to score in the spring campaign.  In the final game of the weekend Metalist left little on the field against the bottom side Metalurg.  The visitors played well the first half, but two early goals from Taison in the second half killed the intrigue in the game.  Shelyaev finished the scoring in the stoppage time with a superb strike from outside the box.

Here are the rankings after this week.

1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 4-1 out 5

2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) 6-2 out 8

3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS) 3-3 out 7

4. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 5-2 out 7

5. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS) 5-1 out 7

6. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS) 2-1 out 4

7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) 0-2 out 5

8. FC Bate Borisov (BEL) 1-0

9. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS) 1-1 out 2

10. FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS) 1-1 out 2

11. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) 1-0 out 3

12. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR) 1-1 out 3

13. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD) 6-0 out 8

14. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS) 1-1 out 2

15. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR) 1-0 out 3

16. SC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR) 1-0 out 3

17. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS) 1-1 out 2

18. FC Metalurg Donetsk (UKR) 1-1 out 3

19. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) 0-1 out 3

20. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR) 1-1 out 3

21. FC Zorya Lugansk (UKR) 2-0 out 3

22. FC Tom Tomsk (RUS) 0-2   

23. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR) 0-2 out 3

24. FC Krasnodar (RUS) 1-0 out 3

25. FC Volga Nizhniy-Novgorod (RUS) 1-1 out 2

Europa-East: football rankings, week 2 and 3

Week 2 (March 7-14, 2011)

It was a mixed week for number 2. ranked Zenit St. Petersburg; a shocking defeat away to FC Twente in the Europa League on Thursday followed by a 1:0 away win over number 22. Terek Groznyi.  The heavy away loss to FC Twente puts a big dent into Zenit's hopes of winning the competition.  The 2010 runners-up CSKA also suffered a defeat in the Europa League, the army men lost 1:0 at home to Portuguese league leaders FC Porto.  In the domestic league CSKA had little trouble with financially troubled Amkar Pern, winning 2:0 on the night.  Spartak Moskva (who wear black kits because their colors clashed with Ajax home jerseys) were victories in their voyage to the Netherlands, grabbing a surprising 1:0 win over Ajax.  The home team (Ajax) dominated the first half but couldn't penetrate Spartak's defense and keeper Dykan.  The second half both teams started evenly, and a well crafted strike by Alex proved to be a winning goal.  On the domestic front Spartak suffered a humiliating away defeat to number 17. Rostov (0:4).  In the central game in the opening weekend of games in Russia, number 9. Locomotive Moskva beat their city rivals number 10. Dinamo Moskva 3:2 at Luzhniki stadium.  Number 5. Rubin got their first win of the year by defeating newly promoted 25. Kuban, and newly promoted FC Volga beat at home number 18. FC Tom 2:0.

In Ukraine after a convincing win over AS Roma at home (3:0), number 1. Shakhtar suffered their first defeat in the league since September, away to number 12. Karpaty, who recorded their first win of the season (1:0).  Dynamo continued their flawless start of the year with two home 2:0 wins over Manchester City in the Europa League round of 16 game, and Vorskla Poltava in UFPL.  Dynamo remains the only club to win all of their games so far.  The central match in the league was between number 7. Metalist and number 11. Dnipro.  The game ended in a 2:2 draw after Metalist rallied after going behind 0:2 in the second half.

In Moldova the game between the top two teams ended in a 1:1 draw.  Both Sheriff and Dachia remain unbeaten in the league this calendar year.  We only have cup games in Belarus since their spring campaign doesn't start until first weekend in April.  Here are the rankings following all games:

1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)         3-1 out 4

2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) 4-2 out 6

3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)         3-2 out 6

4. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)                 5-0

5. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)                 1-1 out 3

6. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS)         3-1 out 5

7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)         0-2 out 4

8. FC Bate Borisov (BLR)                 1-0

9. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS) 1-0

10. FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS)         0-1

11. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) 0-0 out 2

12. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR)                 1-0 out 2

13. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS)         1-0   

14. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD)         5-0 out 7

15. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR)                 0-0 out 2

16. SC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR)         1-0 out 2

17. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS)1-0

18. FC Tom Tomsk (RUS)                 0-1

19. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)         0-1 out 2

20. FC Metalurg Donetsk (UKR)         1-1 out 2

21. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR)                 0-1 out 2

22. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR)                 1-0 out 2

23. FC Terek Groznyi (RUS)                 0-1

24. FC Zorya Lugansk (UKR)         1-0 out 2

25. FC Volga Nizhniy Novgorod (RUS) 1-0   

With pour starts to the domestic campaign both Anzhi and Kuban loose their spots in the top 25.  The teams that replace them are FC Zoria who were snubbed in the initial rankings and newly promoted Russian side FC Volga.

Week 3 (March 14-21, 2011).

In the second week of the Russian league campaign both number 2. Zenit and number 5. Rubin recorded their second wins.   Both teams won 2:0 at home against Anzhi and 23. Terek respectably.  In the Europa League Zenit won their home game against FC Twente 2:0, but the Dutch side moved on in the competition with 3:2 aggregate score.  CSKA had a uphill battle against FC Porto after suffering a home defeat a week earlier.  The Moscow side lost 2:1 away, their second defeat in the competition and second against Porto.  The Monday away game against Krylia was postponed due to pour pitch conditions in Samara.  On other hand FC Spartak recorded their second win over demoralized Ajax, 3:0 on the night and 4:0 on aggregate.  They also recorded their first win in the league by defeating 25. FC Volga 1:0 at home.   Number 9. Locomotive suffered their first defeat of the season to unranked FC Amkar.  Another Moscow side Dinamo recorded their first win of the season with a convincing win over 17. Rostov 3:1.  FC Krasnodar also produced a strong display in a 2:0 win over Spartak Nalchik.

In Ukraine 1. Shakhtar had an easy outing at home against 21. Volyn (4:0).  The sole representative from Ukraine in the Europa League Dynamo suffered their first defeat of the year to Manchester City.  Although the Ukrainian side suffered 1:0 defeat on the night, it is them who progress to the next round 2:1 on aggregate.  Only three days after their match in Manchester, the side traveled to 11. Dnipro.  The game ended with the same score-line as in Manchester, meaning that Dynamo suffered two defeats in a span on four days.  Watching the game one could see that Dynamo lacked pace and motivations, factors that helped the team in previous five games.  The long flight from Manchester straight to Dnipropetrovsk coupled with only two days of rest affected the team tremendously.  Number 7. Metalist recorded their third successive draw in the league, which means that the side from Kharkiv is yet to taste victory in the spring campaign.  Somewhat unexpectedly 12. Karpaty lost to the second team from the bottom in the league PFC Sevastopol (3:1).  Number 15. FC Arsenal recorded their first win of the season, which moved the side from the capital into the 6th position.  A real drama unveiled in Zaporizhzha, where the local side Metalurg led 2:0 for most of the game against 16. Tavriya, only to concede two goals in extra time that left the bottom side with only a point.  Here are the rankings after week 3:

1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)         4-1 out 5

2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) 6-2 out 8

3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)         3-3 out 7

4. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)                 5-2 out 7

5. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS)         5-1 out 7

6. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)                 2-1 out 4

7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)         0-2 out 5

8. FC Bate Borisov (BEL)                1-0

9. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS)      1-1 out 2

10. FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS)        1-1 out 2

11. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) 1-0 out 3

12. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR)                1-1 out 3

13. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD)        6-0 out 8

14. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS)        1-1 out 2

15. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR)                1-0 out 3

16. SC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR)        1-0 out 3

17. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS)1-1 out 2

18. FC Metalurg Donetsk (UKR)        1-1 out 3

19. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)        0-1 out 3

20. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR)                1-1 out 3

21. FC Zorya Lugansk (UKR)        2-0 out 3

22. FC Tom Tomsk (RUS)                0-2   

23. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR)                0-2 out 3

24. FC Krasnodar (RUS)               1-0 out 3

25. FC Volga Nizhniy-Novgorod (RUS) 1-1 out 2

Two strong wins for Spartak Moskva moves them into the 5th position above FC Rubin who started the domestic campaign very well.  After suffering their second consecutive defeat in the league, ambitious Terek Groznyi left the top 25 and was replaced by promoted side FC Krasnodar,  who are making their first appearance in the top 25.  Loses for FC Tom Tomsk and FC Volyn Lutsk significantly worsened positions for both clubs.  In the opposite direction, FC Zoria moved up three spots.  FC Sheriff's strong domestic campaign start pushed the Moldovan side one spot up to 13th.

There are no official games next weekend because of the international break.  The first week of April will mark the beginning of the Belorussian league and quarter-final games in both the Champion League and the Europa League.  In meantime many clubs from East Europe will play friendlies to keep in form.

Europa-East: football rankings, week 1

After a long winter break, clubs in Eastern Europe have started their spring campaigns.  This weekend there were cup games in Russia and Belarus, plus round of games in the Ukrainian Premier League.  Here are the rankings after week 1.  As a reminder draws do not count but are reflected in the number og games played by each club.

1. FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)         2-0

2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) 3-1 out 4

3. PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)         2-1 out 4

4. FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)                 3-0

5. FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)                 0-1 out 2

6. FC Spartak Moskva (RUS)         2-0 out 3

7. FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)         0-2 out 3

8. FC Bate Borisov (BEL)                 0-0 out 2

9. FC Locomotiv Moskava (RUS)

10. FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS)

11. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) 0-0 out 1

12. FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR)                 0-0 out 1

13. FC Spartak Nalchik (RUS)

14. FC Sheriff Tiraspol (MLD)         3-0 out 5

15. FC Arsenal Kyiv (UKR)                 0-0 out 1

16. SC Tavriya Simferopol (UKR)         0-0 out 1

17. FC Rostov Rostov-na-Donu (RUS)

18. FC Tom Tomsk (RUS)

19. FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)         0-0 out 1

20. FC Metalurg Donetsk (UKR)         0-1   

21. FC Volyn Lutsk (UKR)                 0-1   

22. FC Terek Grozniy (RUS)

23. FC Obolon Kyiv (UKR)                 0-0 out 1

24. FC Anzhi Makhachkala (RUS) 0-1  

25. FC Kuban Krasnodar (RUS)

As we can see no real movement in the rankings since most teams haven't played enough games.  The Sunday's Russian Super Cup game between Zenit and CSKA are reflected in the third column.  Also to note that teams in Moldova start their spring campaign in early February, that's why they already played five games.  Movement in the rankings will be based on the form of teams next to each other, which means that teams won't jump quickly in the table because they won few games in a row.  Next week rankings will reflect the first round of the league campaign in Russia plus mid-week games in the European competitions.

Ukraine: Premier League round 20 preview part 1/2

PFC Sevastopol- FC Shakhtar Donetsk, DATE: March 3, 2011, Venue: Locomotive Stadium, Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, Kick-off time: 19:00

In order to better prepare for their second leg UCL tie against AS Roma, FC Shakhtar requested that the game be played on Thursday instead of on the weekend.  Shakhtar will probably feature their strongest side in order to get players into full match fitness before the game on Tuesday.  The game against Ukrainian champions comes as an early test for the new PFC Sevastopol coach Angel Chervenkov.  The Crimean side has 11 games to avoid relegation.  There is no doubt who the favorite is for this game; only with strong defending does the Sevastopol side has a chance of positive outcome.  Since Sevastopol's home stadium is going through renovations, the two sides will meet in the Crimean capital Simferopol, a venue where Sevastopol played all of their home matches in the fall half of the season.

FC Metalurg Zaporizhzha- FC Illichivets Mariupol, DATE: March 4, 2011, Venue: Slavutych-Arena, Zaporizhzha, Ukraine, Kick-off time: 17:00

The second game of the spring campaign will feature sides fighting to avoid relegation.  FC Illichivets brought 12 new players and experienced coach in order ensure survival.  On the other hand little has changed in the Metalurg's camp, majority of the squad is the same as in the fall.  This game will shine the light on how serious is Metalurg's owners at avoiding relegation.

Ukraine: Premier League 2011 spring half preview, part 2/4.

FC Zorya Lugansk (12th)

The 2011 winter break marks the one year anniversary since the club was taken over by Donetsk businessman Yevgeniy Geller.  Since then the club has established itself as a strong mid-table team.  At the same time, 2011 marks the first year of FC Zorya football academy.  Unlike the previous year, the side opted to sign a few and yet experienced players.  Most of the training camp, which was in Turkey, the team spent building on existing structure.  The club decided not to prolong contracts with four FC Shakhtar Donetsk players who were on-loan during the fall campaign.  The first major signing in the winter campaign was FC Vorskla and Ukraine international defender Grygoriy Yarmash,  The club also signed Georgian striker Djaba Lipartia from FC WIT Georgia of Tbilisi and a few other less notable players.  Dmytro Homchenovskyy who was on-loan at FC Kryvbas in the fall half,  signed a full contract with Zorya.  The player trained with the club for the majority of February.  When he first came to the club Yevgeniy Geller announced that his aim was to take the club to European competitions, but this season the club would probably settle for finishing in top half of the table.

FC Obolon Kyiv (11th)

This is Obolon’s second season at the top level.  Under Segiy Kovalets, who has been in the club just over a year, they have found it hard to be consistent in the league.  On the one hand, Obolon is the only team in the league who beat both Dynamo and Shakhtar in the fall campaign. On the other hand though, the club found it hard to take points off teams in the middle of the table.  When the team starts producing consisting results, then they can start at aiming at places higher than mid-table.  In the summer period the club has signed a few FC Lviv players, who played for Kovalets in 2009.  The club continued with this theme this winter break when it signed four former FC Lviv players, including brothers Baranets who played at FC Karpaty in the fall.  As most other Ukrainian clubs, Obolon spent pre-season in Turkey.  The club tasted victory only once (11 games) against Rubin Kazan in mid January.  All of the new signings came late in the pre-season training campaign and will take time to adjust to the new environment.

FC Metalurg Donetsk (10th)

The biggest mystery going into the winter break was who will become the new head coach at the club.  No concrete candidates emerged, and the club went into the first week of training without a head man.  In early January the club appointed former FC Saturn head coach Andrey Gordeev, which came as a surprise to many in both Ukraine and Russia.  The only top job on the 36 year old’s resume was his two year spell at FC Saturn, who went bankrupt in January 2011.  Early in the transfer campaign the club signed on a free, talented FC Tavriya midfielder Denys Golaydo.  Former captain Vyacheslav Checher returned from a loan spell at FC Karpaty.  Former Metalurg midfielder Ricardo Fernandes also returned to the club.  The biggest loss for the club in the pre-season was striker Mguni who moved to Russian side FC Terek Grozniy.  The Chechen side became interested in the player after the friendly between the two clubs.  Two Brazilian midfielders Felipe Texeira and Klaiton have also left the team.  In response Metalurg signed Brazilian striker Junior Moraes from Romanian side Gloria Bistriţa.  In the last days of February the club signed Macedonian midfielder Mario Gjurovski from Serbian side FK Vojvodina and Polish defender Marcin Kowalczyk on loan from FC Dinamo Moskva.  As in the previous two seasons the aim for the team is to place in the Europa League.  Most of the pre-season the team spent in Turkey, mainly playing against Russian opponents.  Under the new system the team found it hard to produce quality football, which was evident in their 3:1 defeat to PFC CSKA Moskva in early February.  Goals were hard to come by with only two pure strikers in the squad.  After the arrival of Moraes the team’s game regained balance.  The club is currently 10th but is only 6 points away from the last qulifying place.  The team has young and talented players who are more than capable of placing the club in the top 6.  Gordeev’s first game in charge will be against Dynamo Kyiv, who also feature a Russian coach in Yuri Semin who was in charge of FC Locomotiv Moskva last season.

SC Tavriya Simferopol (9th)

After their trilling victory in the Ukrainian cup in 2010, the team has struggled to perform well on the top level.  The team was quickly knocked out of the Europa League in the play-off round in early August.  The team continued to struggle on the domestic front which led club officials to fire head coach Sergiy Puchkov.  First team coach Valeriy Petrov was appointed as a temporary replacement until the end of the fall campaign.  In December the club decided to keep Petrov on a permanent basis, which angered a few first team players.  In December Tavriya’s two most prominent players Oleksandr Kovpak and Denys Golaydo signed with Arsenal and Metalurg Donetsk respectively.  In the winter break the club didn’t make any grandiose signings limiting themselves to a pair of keepers and a few little know defenders.  On the last day of February the club announced the signings of two 19 year olds (d.o.b 1991) FC Shakhtar academy products Petro Oparin and Stanislav Prychynenko who trained with the team for the majority of pre-season.  The club also signed Croatian defender Ivan Graf from a Slovenian club.  These are testing times for SC Tavriya and it will be interesting to see where the new coach will take them.  The pre-season goal of finishing in the top 6 isn’t out of the question, but the club will have stiff competition from both Arsenal Kyiv and Metalurg Donetsk.  The team trained both at home and abroad in Turkey.

Ukraine: Premier League 2011 spring half preview, part 1/4.

The common feature of the last few seasons is that teams in the bottom half completely revamp their squads (8 to 15 new players) in order to insure survival.  Two different strategies are used to achieve this: first, the teams have try-outs for 20 to 30 unattached players, mainly players from neighboring leagues.  The other strategy is to fill your squad with talented reserve team players from the major clubs like Dynamo, Shakhtar, and Dnipro.  The players they get on loan are very talented but young and inexperienced.  The former strategy is widely used especially for the clubs which were promoted to the Premier League.  For example: in the beginning of this season PFC Sevastopol almost completely changed the team that won promotion.  Clubs at the foot of the table usually are not well financed and can’t solely depend on their own academy products, which means that cheap players are the way to rearm.  The latter strategy was used by two clubs last season during the winter campaign.  After months of financial uncertainty both FC Zoria Lugansk and FC Kruvbass Kryvyy-Rig were acquired by new owners.  To save the team from relegation Zoria’s coach brought in a few experienced signings from other Premier League clubs plus a half  dozen FC Shakhtar Donetsk reserve players.  At first, the side struggled for points and stayed just above the relegation zone.  But after the first four games the team finally started to produce results.  The club finished a few points above the relegation zone.  

Another case last season was FC Kryvbass, who at the winter break were at the foot of the table and destined for relegation (7 points in 20 games).  In the winter break the club acquired a new young head coach (not without controversy) from FC Obolon Kyiv, where he was successful at bringing the club to the top division and finishing in the top 10 after the first half of the season.  From Obolon he also brought a few players to Kryvbas.  But his main talent came from loaning young players from Dynamo and Dnipro.   Results didn’t come easy at first.  The club picked up points where it could, but it didn’t look like it would be enough to survive.  Only a few weeks before the end of the campaign the club got a surprising victory away at Karpaty (0:2), who finished 5^th in the league that year, and now were in touching distance from safety.  It all came down to the last game of the season.  The club started the day a point behind FC Chornomorets Odesa and needed a win in order to have any chance to stay up.  The club won its game 3:1 against FC Zakarpattia and Chornomorets drew against FC Zoria, which meant that the club would stay in the top division for another season.

Here is part 1 of the spring half preview starting with the clubs at the bottom.

FC Matalurg Zaporizhzha (16th)

Before the start of the 2010/2011 season, rumors were circling in the popular media that the club might be sold.  A prominent businessmen was rumored to be in talks with club officials, but negotiations came to a halt and the club started the campaign with the same people in charge.  It would be an understatement to say that the club struggled in the first half of the campaign.  The club finished with ten points and only one win.  No drastic changes were made during the winter break.  The club continued their policy of selling their best talent to other premier league clubs. Team leaders Arzhanov and Polevoy made the move to Arsenal Kyiv, while Nevmyvaka joined FC Illichevets. During pre-season training, the club looked at anywhere from 10 to 20 players, signing new contracts with only 2.  If no progress is made in terms of the club’s ownership, it is hard to see the club staying another year in the Ukrainian Football Premier League.

PFC Sevastopol (15th)

During the winter break the club got some much needed financial injection.  The first major acquisition for the club was the hiring of experienced Bulgarian coach Angel Chervenkov.  Besides his vast experience in charge of top Bulgarian clubs, the new coach also brought his proven knowledge of the European transfer market.  The club signed a number of players who have experience in western Europe like Besart Ibraimi from Shalke 04 and Georgian international Mate Ghvinianidze from 1860 Munich. In addition to changes on the field, the club finally made a deal with the local government about long term loan of the stadium.  The first half of the season the club was forced to play in Simferopol since their home ground didn’t pass minimum requirements of the UFPL.  The stadium needed major renovations, which the club started to implement in January after the deal with the city government was signed.  The goal for the remaining 11 games is to stay up in the division, the gap is 4 points. 

FC Illichivets Mariupol (14th)

Illichevets represents a team with the most turnover both on and off the field.  In December the club restructured, and are rumored to be in the ownership of one of Rinat Ahmetov’s business partners.  The first major change was the appointment of former FC Shakhtar Donetsk reserves coach Valeriy Yaremchenko.  The reaction of the fans was negative and a small group of them made a public protest at the first press conference.  With the renewed ties with Shakhtar the first newcomers to the team were loan signings of Shakhtar players. The first cohort featured players who played the first half of the season at FC Zorya.  At the same time all of the foreign players left the club.  For the first pre-season training camp the club invited another half a dozen Shakhtar products, this time from the reserve team, who Yaremchenko is very familiar with.  The total number of new players at the club is 12, 11 of which are on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk.  The sole non-Shakhtar player is the former Metalurg Zaporizhzha and Ukraine U21 international Dmytro Nevmyvaka.  The majority of pre-season the club spent in Turkey, playing 8 matches.  The most notable wins came against FC Minsk of Belarus (3:1), and Danish side Brøndby IF.  In the interview last week Yaremchenko noted that his side will need 12 points in the remaining 11 games to insure survival.

FC Kryvbas Kryvyy Rig (13th)

FC Kryvbas still remains one of the most mysterious clubs in Ukrainian football.  With financing from unknown sources and close links with FC Dnipro, the club spent the last two seasons in the bottom half of the table with their aim only of survival.  In the summer the club lost many on loan players from the spring of 2010, which were replaced by less talented players.  The side struggled for most of the fall campaign, which pushed the head coach to made drastic changes in the winter break.  The young, on-loan winger Dmytro Homchenovskyy decided against signing a full contract and instead went on trials first to FC Metalurg Donetsk and then FC Zorya.  Seven of FC Dnipro’s on-loan players have also left the team.  In the other direction the club took two FC Dnipro players Fedorchuk and Kankava.  The side also signed Jiří Jeslínek from Sparta Prague and Slovenian midfielder Darian Matic from an Israeli club.  The biggest signing for the club came in the end of February when it was announced that the club signed Ukrainian U21 international striker Volodymyr Lysenko from FC Metalist until the end of the season.  During pre-season the club made two trips to Turkey.  Once again the club is rebuilding the first team, and inconsistent performances will remain.  The main goal for the club is to avoid relegation.