Gia Saralidze. Exclusively to VK
Russian Football Premier League began. Almost all favorites of this championship, both traditional and new (Makhachkala Anzhi) won their first matches. On the one hand, there is no surprise when a stronger team beats a weaker one. But if we look at the history of Russian championships, favorites have never started with victories in such a concert. There were several reasons for that.
Previously the championship began in spring, and pitches were in disastrous conditions. It eliminated class difference between favorites and weaker teams. Motivation and spirit were at the front. Newcomers always have more motivation, and often they defeated favorites in initial matches. Now it is summer, pitches are good; and class comes to the fore. Players can show well football playing, and stronger teams can win without applying super efforts.
Another reason for such a start is that this year the season became crucial for many teams. They changed coaches, like Moscow Spartak and Moscow Lokomotive. Recently Guus Hiddink has come to Anzhi. He should prove that his coming is not in vain and he is ready to fight for top places in the Russian championship. The number of teams which claim for victory has grown. It means that if favorites fail to gain points in the beginning of the championship, it will be very difficult to gain them later. There are a lot of strong rivals, and their level is serious.
Zenit from St.-Petersburg celebrated victory, 2:0. Alexander Kerzhakov scored two goals in the match against Amkar. It is notable because only a laze person didn’t criticize Kerzhakov for pale playing in the European Cup. In English a new verb appeared – to kerzhakov – which means “fail to score being close to goals.” English sportscasters introduced the term. Of course, it is offensive toward talented Kerzhakov, and he started to prove that what happened in the European Cup was a bad patch. Nobody is safe from such moments, even the greatest football players.
Makhachkala Anzhi defeated Kuban, 2:1. The African duet of Anzhi, Eto’o and Traore, played well. They scored twice and gained three points for Anzhi. In general Anzhi looks great. The team kept all stars and buy new players. However, Anzhi’s victory over Hungarian Havnet in Europa Leaugue was not outstanding, 1:0. Makhachkala players could score more, but missed opportunities. And I cannot be absolutely sure that Anzhi will qualify into the next round of Europa League. The team has done its best to participate in the League. It would be a pity to stop in the very beginning with a weak rival.
As for the first round in general, football was of higher class than it usually is in beginning of a season. Now it would be interesting to see what will happen when pitches become bad due to weather in late autumn and winter.
