midfielder Oleg Shatov, whose next
assignment will be to spark a revival
at mid-table Rubin Kazan.
Will new Lokomotiv Moscow coach
Marko Nikolic prove as bankable this
season as he did in the final few weeks
of last term? Pundits are divided,
though the smart money says he has
a fighting chance. When Nikolic was
appointed inJune to replace iconic
Lokomotiv boss Igor Semin, many fans
of the Railwaymen were not at all keen,
of the opinion that the Serb – who had
previously been employed in his native
land, Slovenia and Hungary – did not
havethestaturetotakeover.
But how wrong that verdict turned
out to be, with Nikolic’s side remaining
undefeated in his first eight games in
charge. Lokomotiv ended the campaign
in second, and qualification for the
Champions League has brought Nikolic
some much-needed respect and
breathing space. Now comes the hard
part: carrying on in the same vein.
A cool, rather aloof character,
Nikolic will take heart from the
excellent individual quality at his
disposal: evergreen Croat central
defender Vedran Corluka, Polish engine
room co-ordinator
Grzegorz
Krychowiak,
midfield enforcer
Dmitri Barinov
and the creative
Miranchuk twins,
Aleksei and Anton.
The Railwaymen
believe they have
unearthed a gem
in the shape of
18-year-old wingDzyuba
spearheading
Zenit hat-trick
Z
enit St. Petersburg director
general Alexander Medvedev,
once a prominent tennis
tournament administrator,
certainly has been producing lots of
winning volleys as he seeks to lay the
foundations for a third consecutive
Russian Premier League title for
the Blue-White-Sky Blues.
If Zenit fans are buoyantly optimistic
of completing a hat-trick of title wins in
2020-21, much of that confidence flows
from Medvedev’s successful contract
renewal talks with talismanic target man
and club captain Artem Dzyuba, who
recently inked a two-year extension with
the option of a further12 months. The
31-year-old, whose contract was due to
expire this summer, had been linked with
a move to Italy or England. His departure
would have ripped the heart out of the
Zenit attack, after topping both the goal
and assist charts in Russia in 2019-20,but as it is, his productive front-line
partnership with the lively Iranian
Sardar Azmoun can continue.
Medvedev deserves plenty of credit
too for his work on the recruitment front,
especially with regard to his £10.9 million
swoop for defender Dejan Lovren from
Liverpool. The Croatia centre-back may
havespentmostoflasttermonthe
Anfield bench, but at 31, is far from a
spent force. His vast experience, bristling
will-to-win and supreme self-confidence
is just what the Zenit doctor ordered.
Lovren will step straight into the shoes
of the veteran Serb Branislav Ivanovic,
who was allowed to walk away from
St. Petersburg as a free agent. Ivanovic
was not the only big-name player to
head for the Zenit exit this summer. Also
decamping were a long-serving pair of
Russian internationals: right-back Igor
Smolnikov, who was promptly picked up
by high-flying Krasnodar, and left-sidedwizardJasurbekJaloliddinov, a recent
signing from top Uzbek side Bunyodkor.
Unsurprisingly, forwards have featured
heavily in the transfer market done deal
column. CSKA Moscow, anxious to end
their four-year league title drought, spent
£7.65m on promising young Argentina
striker Adolfo Gaich from San Lorenzo.
Rostov acquired combative Macedonia
U23 forward David Toshevski, a teenage
tyro who had been interesting French
club Lille. And in arguably the most
sensational piece of business of the
summer, Spartak Moscow struck a
zero cost deal with Zenit for bad boy
striker Aleksandr Kokorin.
After serving a prison spell in 2019
for assault, Kokorin, 29, enjoyed a
rewarding five-month loan stint with
Sochi this spring, scoring seven league
goals in ten games. Without his sterling
efforts, Sochi surely would have been
relegated from the top flight. Spartak,
who came a disappointing seventh last
season, know they are taking a risk
with the tainted golden boy of Russian
football. They know he has a history
of controversy and scandal. But
nevertheless feel he has a genuine
shot at redemption. No question
about Kokorin’s talent. Shame that
his attitude and professionalism
has so often been lacking.
It will be interesting to see how
newly-promoted Khimki fare in the top
flight. The Red-Blacks were magnificent
in last season’s Russian Cup, knocking
out a string of elite clubs before
unluckily losing1-0 to Zenit in the final.
The showpiece result really could have
gone either way. Expect more giant-
killing acts from them in the RPL.
Nick BidwellR
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Season preview2020-21
RUSSIA PREMIER LEAGUE
Bouncing back...
Aleksandr Kokorin
is attempting to
rebuild his careerStar man...Artem
Dzyuba is staying at
Zenit after firing them
to last season’s titleSpartak know they are taking a
risk with the tainted golden boy of
Russian football...but nevertheless
feel Kokorin has a genuine shot at
redemption