Lokomotiv Moscow

Lokomotiv-2 in the Russian First Division?

2011-01-26T20:02:00.009+01:00

As you may have read from a previous post, Saturn announced that they won't participate in the 2011-2012 Russian Premier League. As a result the organisers of the Russian Premier League, the Russian Football Union, wasted no time to find a replacement and soon promoted FC Krasnodar to the Premier League. FC Krasnodar, which were formed just 4 years ago, finished the season in the 5th place but given that the 3rd and 4th place finishers, that is Nizhny Novgorod and KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny respectively declined the invitation to jump the Premier the choice fell on the club which is bankrolled by Russian multi-millionaire Sergey Galitsky and lead by former red-green coach Slavoljub Muslin.

As a result of FC Krasnodar's "promotion" to the Premier, a place was freed in the Russian First Division and as in the case of Saturn's departure, the Russian Football Union immediately started to look up for a replacement. Three clubs responded to the Union's offer and threw their names in the hat. The clubs in questions are Torpedo-Zil Moscow, Fakel Voronezh and Lokomotiv-2 Moscow, the farm club of Lokomotiv Moscow.

When questioned about Lokomotiv-2 Moscow's intentions of applying for a place in the Russian First Division, Loko Moscow President Olga Smorodskaya confirmed such news and disclosed that the letters of request have been already sent to the Russian Football Union and now they are patiently awaiting for the Board's decision. Olga continued by stating that she is adamant that should Loko-2 get the Russian First Division slot, the team can cut out a decent figure. She however stressed that to date no reply was given by the Union and thus not much can be said at the present.

On the other hand, the managing director of FC Lokomotiv-2 Moscow Igor Zelepukin stressed that it's the goal of the club to get to the highest level as possible. He continued by stating that the decision to apply for the Russian First Division slot was taken together with Lokomotiv head coach Yury Krasnozhan and President Olga Smorodskaya. He showed his pleasure towards the fact that should Loko-2 get the promotion to the Russian First Division, the main squad (Lokomotiv) will be the main benefactor as those young players who fail to make it to the main squad will be given the opportunity to stay in Moscow and gain invaluable experience by playing for Loko-2 in the First Division. He also pointed out that such measure will also ensure that the players will remain under the supervision of the main squad coaches.

When questioned about the budget credentials, which should amount to about 150 million rubles, Mr. Zelepukin replied that the budget isn't an issue as the club have already several agreements with several sponsors in place. Although showing his hope for Loko-2 chances, he conceeded that such promotion is quite unlikely as Gubkin, Tyumen and Torpedo-Zil ended the season over Lokomotiv in the final standings and together with the much supported Fakel Voronezh bid, chances of seeing a Lokomotiv in the Russian First Division look rather slim.

But well, till there is hope....who knows, maybe destiny wants Loko to face Torpedo as soon as in the next season. Let's hope so!!

~~ Meanwhile Lokomotiv-2 Moscow also confirmed the signature of former Lokomotiv Moscow and Uzbekistan national team keeper Alexey Polyakov for the upcoming season. The keeper made 28 league appearances for Lokomotiv and it won't be the first time for him to put on the Loko-2 shirt. All the best Alexey!! ~~

Rodolfo back in Brazil with Gremio

2011-01-26T19:15:00.006+01:00

Today Lokomotiv officially announced the departue of Rodolfo Dantas Bispo for Brazilian powerhouse Gremio. The transfer, which have been on the lips of everyone in the past week was settled today in the evening as Lokomotiv and Gremio settled out all the formalities of the transfers. The 28 year old Brazilian will be joining Gremio on a year-loan.

Upon his transfer to Gremio, Rodolfo admitted with fclm.ru that such transfer brought him mixed-feelings. He stated that although he's ecstatic that he will be able to return back to his country with his family, at the same time he also felt sad as he spent 4 beautiful years at Lokomotiv and in the process the club and its fan became his second family for him.

In light of this he stressed the fact that his contract expire in 2013 and this separation will not be a definite one and thus he won't be saying goodbye but just see you later! Respect the man!

Rodolfo joined Lokomotiv from Dynamo Kiev in 2007. Over the 4 seasons Rodolfo made 97 appearances for Lokomotiv in all competitions and found the net 9 times. During his time in Moscow, Rodolfo also managed to add the Russian Cup medal to his trophy cabinet.

ALL THE BEST RODOLFO AND I HOPE THAT NEXT YEAR YOU WILL BE BACK STRONGER THAN EVER!!

Nakhushev signs for Lokomotiv

2011-01-21T14:17:00.007+01:00

Ruslan Nakhushev became the 7th signing of Lokomotiv as last Tuesday he had put pen to paper with Lokomotiv. The player, who was released from Saturn Ramenskoye following their withdrawal from Russian football system signed a 3 year and half contract. The player will wear the number 51. Something to know is that although the transfer was made official on the 18th, the player had been training with the Lokomotiv squad since January 12 and thus the officialization of the transfer came of no suprise to anyone.

Upon his signature for Lokomotiv, Nakhushev said that his first days at Lokomotiv were a pleasant experience for him and as a result it was not difficult for him to accept the terms offered by Lokomotiv and put all the formalities to bed. He stated that he is looking forward to put on the red-green shirt and hopes that tomorrow (last Wednesday) he plays in the friendly match Lokomotiv have scheduled against Polonia Warsaw (a match which the Russians won thanks to a solitary goal from Djiby Fall).

Ruslan Nakhushev, who was born in Nalchik started his professional career at his hometown club Spartak Nalchik. After impressing for Spartak, he moved to Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow but unfortunately he couldn't find way into their starting line-up and thus in 2004 he left for Anzhi Makhazkhala without making a single appearance for CSKA. The next season he moved to Khimki and after scoring 6 goals in 21 appearances in quite succesful stint at Khimki, Ruslan made a jump in quality and joined Saturn Ramenskoye. After playing 4 full seasons for Saturn and racking up 94 appearances and scoring two goals in the process, Nakhushev left Saturn and moved to Lokomotiv.

ALL THE BEST RUSLAN!!

Note: I know that the purpose of this blog is to write about news related to Lokomotiv, BUT I just couldn't not mention the news that as from next season Saturn Moscow Region won't be there (Premier League). The club, which ammassed millions and millions of Russian Rubles in debts failed to find an agreement with Lithuanian tycoon Romanov (owner of Hearts) for the transfer of the ownership of the club and thus the outfit had no other way but to close its operations and cease to exist. Poor fans of Saturn indeed, fans who unlike those of FC Moscow always showed up in numbers to support their beloved club!

I am of the opinon that Fursenko & Co. should have focused on how to help such clubs (Amkar is expected to give up their place in the Premier League and go into the first division due to financial problems) to become self-sufficient rather than focusing on to move from the yearly system to August-May football system. Anyways what's done is done and there's no way back. All we can do is to show our solidarity with the Saturn fans and hope that someday their beloved club will open it's doors once again.

Goodbye, Saturn...

Anyways with FC Moscow and Saturn already out in successive seasons and Amkar expected to follow, the million dollar question is "Who will be the next...?"

Ibricic, Ibricic, IBRICIC!!!

2011-01-14T20:51:00.005+01:00

Finally, a major signing!! Obviously no disrespect intended towards the other signings as I believe that they are all good signings but in my opinion the transfer of Senijad Ibricic is a major coup for Lokomotiv. Surely he will have to be at his best in order to replace the surely outgoing Aliev but from the several videos I've viewed I believe that he have more than what it takes to make us fans forget Aleksandr Aliev in a very short time!! Unsurprisingly, from what I've saw on the various blogs the Loko fans are literally ecstatic with the signature. Although he is far from a worldclass name, the fact that we paid a sizeable sum, thought to be around the 5 million mark, coupled with his proven record in Croatia and his international pedigree are enough reasons for optimism amongst the fans. With the departure of Yury Semin and installment of Aunty Olga things looked gloomed for Lokomotiv but thankfully during the last couple of weeks the Loko management worked very hard and although it's still early to say I am of the belief that we can do well. At least the fans, including me are dreaming once again. I'm not saying that we will do a 2010 Zenit but I think that the talent to at least snatch a Champions League place is there!! Playing on Tuesdays and Wednesday is better than Thursdays isn't it?

Senijad Ibricic is 25 years old. In the past years he distinguished himself with Hajduk Split and NK Zagreb in the Croatian League and soon developed into the best player of the same Croatian League. Although no fee was mentioned, as aforementioned it is believed that the Railwaymen shelled out 5 million for the 2009-2010 Heart of Hajduk winner. Senijad, who have a Bosnian and Croation passport plays for the national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to date he made 30 apperances and scored 4 goals in the process. Ibricic, who can play as an attacking midfielder or as a second striker, signed a 3 year a half contract with Lokomotiv.

Shortly afterwards putting pen to paper, Ibiric offered his view about his move to Lokomotiv. He said that his move to Lokomotiv is a major step in his career as he is of the belief that the Russian Premier Liga is much stronger than the Prva HNL. He showed his pleasure at how things went and went on to personally thank Olga Smorodskaya and the whole club who showed a big interest in making him a red-green man. He continued the interview by conceeding the fact that he is quite sad of leaving Hajduk. He reasoned that he developed into a quality player while playing in Split and thus he feel indebted towards the club, especially the fans (of whom he was a cult hero). He ended his short interview by stating that football is all about challenges and he felt that the time was rife to leave Hajduk and seek new challenges.

Senijad Ibricic, who was born in Kotor Varoš, started his career with Podgrmeč. After banging in a remarkable 16 goals in 23 apperances in his debuting season, the 1.82 Bosnian moved on to Croatia and signed for NK Zagreb. There he managed to establish himself as one of the club's best players and therefore it was not a surprise when one of the two leading clubs in Croatia came knocking. Eventually after making 99 apperances and scoring 22 goals he moved to Hajduk Split in a 1.8mln move. In Split he continued to showcase his skills and by 2010 he was by far the best player in the Croatioan League. As of 2010, his goal-to-ratio for Hajduk was quite remarkable as despite playing in a withdrawn position he still managed to the net 35 times in 75 matches! Pretty impressive. Such form started to gain interest from overseas and despite vairious interests from various club, eventually Ibricic moved to Moscow, Lokomotiv!!!

WELCOME ON BOARD IBRICIC!!!

Lokomotiv lure Ivanov from Spartak

2011-01-11T21:28:00.004+01:00

Andrei Ivanov is a Lokomotiv player. The former Spartak and Tom Tomsk player who recently have been heavily linked with Lokomotiv have put pen to paper with the red-green and signed a 3-year and a half contract. Although the fee wasn't disclosed, Russian media reported that Lokomotiv paid Spartak 2.5million euros for the services of the versatile full back yet left-back by trade. Ivanov shall be given his number during the upcoming days.

Upon being presented by the red-green shirt, Andrei Ivanov stated that he decided to join Lokomotiv for two main reasons being the opportunity to work along Yury Krasnozhan and the opportunity to join a club of the stature of Lokomotiv. He continued by outlining the fact that while he is grateful to his former side management, it's not the first time for him to be at Lokomotiv. This is because prior to wearing the Saturn and Spartak colours, Andrei Ivanov played in various youth squads of Lokomotiv. He ended his brief interview by declaring that he is looking forward to line-up with Tarasov, Shishkin and Torbinsky, players he used to play with when all four were at Spartak Moscow.

Andrei Ivanov made his Premier League debut for Spartak in 2006. After making an additional 22 league appearances, 1 cup appearance and 3 Champions League appearances, the player decided to move to Tom in order to gather some first team experience. While in 2008 he managed to appear 19 times, Andrei Ivanov performances improved greatly in 2010 and thus it was no surprise that Spartak recalled him back midway the season of 2010. Eventually this resulted to be his last stint with the Meat as after making an additional 12 league and 2 Champions League appearances, the Moscow born defender crossed Moscow and joined Lokomotiv.

Although I am rarely in favour of signing player from rivals especially from Spartak Moscow, I must say that given the various factors such as age, experience and fee, the transfer is a good one for Lokomotiv. Apart from giving us options on the flanks, Ivanov can provide a good competition to both Yanbaev and Shishkin, which is something which we have been lacking for the recent seasons. Well done!!

ALL THE BEST IVANOV!!!

Wagner & Charles leave Lokomotiv

2011-01-09T22:43:00.004+01:00

Brazilian duo Wagner and Charles, who played little part in the past season due to injuries have both left Lokomotiv. While Wagner flew to Turkey to join Gaziantepspor, Charles went back to his homeland and signed for Brazilian powerhouse Santos.

Starting by the latter, Charles, who joined Lokomotiv from Cruzeiro back in the summer of 2008, agreed to join Santos on-loan till the end of the season. Should the diminutive midfielder impress, Santos have also the option to make the transfer permanent. Neither the loan fee nor any potential fees were mentioned. Charles adventure in Moscow was unforuntately marred by injuries racked up and eventually he managed just 24 appearances over a period of 2 years and a half.

On the same day, the Brazlian contingent present at Lokomotiv lost another compatriot as the rumours that lately have been circulating about the potential departure of Wagner finally came to fruitition. Although there was some interest from Brazilian soil, the midfielder eventually opted to stay in Europe and his preferred destination was the Turkish Super Lig. According to the Turkish club official website signed a 4.5 year contract with the same Gaziantepspor. Wágner Ferreira dos Santos, who joined Lokomotiv from Cruzeiro during the summer of 2009, made 21 apperances for Lokomotiv and scored 3 goals in the process. The reported fee of the transfer is believed to be somewhere around the 3million euro mark, that is 3millions less the Railwaymen have paid Cruzeiro for his services.

While auguring the best of luck to Wagner for his new adventure at Gaziantepspor, I wish Charles even better and hopefully come back to Moscow after his one-year stint at Santos. This is because that personally Charles was one of the player which we have sorely missed in the past season and moreover, Charles rarely let his manager down whenever he put on the red-green shirt. ALL THE BEST BOTH OF YOU and THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE FOR LOKO!!

Marenich signs for Lokomotiv

2010-12-24T17:18:00.005+01:00

Lokomotiv Moscow have signed under-21 Russian International Aleksandr Marenich on a two-year-and-a half contract. Marenich, who left Alania Vladikavkaz shortly after they were relegated, joined on a free transfer; good move! As the other newcomers, the former Alania and FC Moscow striker will be given his playing number later.

When interviewed by fclm.ru, Marenich stated that he is very looking forward to work with Yury Krasnozhan. He added that although at Vladikavkaz he often played behind the strikers, he will be more than happy to lead the line as that is his natural position.

Aleksandr Marenich, who is 21 years old, started his career with Rostov. After making a single appearance for the Rostov-on-don outfit, in 2007, the Zernograd-born moved on to FC Moscow. In his first two years at the Citizens, Aleksandr failed chances difficult to come by and thus he had to settle for a place in the youth squads of the same of FC Moscow. His official debut for FC Moscow in the Premier League finally came in May 2009, ironically against Lokomotiv. Nevertheless prior to the 2010 season and after making in total 9 appearances and scoring 1 goal in the process, Marenich left FC Moscow for Alania Vladikavkaz. There he managed to cement a place in the first team and coming the end of the season he made in total 26 appearances and scored 4 goals in quite a disappointing season for Alania where at the last day they had to suffer the agony of relegation. Nevertheless, the agony was shortlived for Aleksandr as soon he triggered the contract clause to leave the club and eventually he was snapped up by Lokomotiv.

Considering the lack of options upfront coupled with the departure of Traore and the zero cost of the transfer, I must say that the signing of Marenich was a good move. Apart of the striker's undoubted talent and potential, Marenich is versatile enough to play in various positions and this will suit Krasnozhan really well in a season which will last 18 months such as the next one.

WELCOME ON BOARD AND ALL THE BEST!!

Amelchenko joins Lokomotiv

2010-12-21T23:11:00.005+01:00

With Marek Cech and Aleksandr Krivoruchko leaving Lokomotiv at the end of the season, the Railwaymen wasted no time to make for such loss and after days of rumours, they finally made the capture of Anton Amelchenko official. The Belarussian international keeper, who passed last year turning out for Rostov joined Lokomotiv, on a free transfer and signed a contract of 3 years. Anton has yet to be given a number.

The Belarussian keeper, who had a year (2010) to remember after being voted as Rostov's Player of the Season by Rostov fans started his career at Gomel. After impressing at a tender age for Gomel, FC Moscow or better Yury Belous (current Lokomotic technical director) brought him to Russia. This happened in 2006. Anton stayed at the Moscow club till the disbandment of the club in 2009 and during his 3 year stay with the Citizens he found limited playing time as for much of the time he was deputy to international teammate Yury Zhevnov. Nevertheless, the Gomel-born still managed to make 15 appearances for FC Moscow. As aforementioned, soon after breaking free from FC Moscow Amelchenko moved on to Rostov and in Rostov he managed to showcase his talents and become a key player in the process. Nevertheless, despite signing a three year contract and making 23 appearances for Rostov, his contract was terminated after just one year for infringement and Lokomotiv immediately pounced on the 6 times capped Belarussian international keeper and made Anton the second signing of the offseason.

When interviewed, Anton Amelchenko commented that this move was a big step for his career. He added that although he is aware that he will make deputy to Guilherme, he does not fear competition and he will compete with the Brazilian keeper for the goalkeeping spot.

ALL THE BEST ANTON!!!

Quintet leave Lokomotiv

2010-12-21T22:21:00.008+01:00

Today Lokomotiv communicated that they have decided against extending the expiring contracts of five players and as a result they will all leave the capital outfit at the end of the year. The 5 players in question are goalies Marek Cech and Aleksandr Krivoruchko, long serving defenders Malkhaz Asatiani and Dmitry Sennikov and Dramane Traore.

Starting from the goalies, the latter, that is Aleksandr Krivoruchko will leave the club after just one year. The former SOYUZ-Gazprom Ishveshk and Gazovik Orenburg joined Lokomotiv from Lokomotiv-2 Moscow and despite making 23 appearances for the youth squad he failed to make a single appearance this season. Much alike Aleksandr, Marek Cech passed the 2010 season playing deputy to Guilherme and eventually ended the season without making a single league appearance. Actually his only appearance during the whole 2010 came at the cup tie versus Gornyak. The Czech keeper, who joined Lokomotiv from Luch Vladivostock at the summer of 2008, went on to make 26 appearances for Lokomotiv Moscow in his 2 and half years stop at Lokomotiv.

Another player who will leave Lokomotiv after failing to play a major role at the 2010 season is Dramane Traore. Much was expected from the Malian striker after his exploits at Kuban Krasnodar and his good preseason form but eventually his play had left much to desire and despite doing his best Traore failed to impress and eventually he ended the season with no goals to his account. Surely a season to forget for the player who was brought by Slavoljub Muslin from Club Africain of Tunisia back in 2006. Over the years Dramane played 86 matches and scored 13 goals in the process.

Finally, as aforementioned the other two who will leave the club are Malkhaz Asatiani and Dmitry Sennikov. For sure neither of the two need any introduction as for years the duo were pillars of the red-green defence and surely their experience and commitment towards the club will be sorely missed. Dmitry Sennikov, who together with Loskov were the only players remaining from the squads who won the 2002 and 2004 Russian Premier League joined Lokomotiv back in 2000 from Rubin Kazan. In addition to the two leagues, during his stay at Lokomotiv Dmitry also won the Russian Cup and Russian Super Cup twice. Over those ten memorable years the player made 266 appearances and scored 7 goals and also Sennikov represented the Russian National Time on 26 occasions.

Much alike Sennikov, Malkhaz Asatiani had been at Lokomotiv for long time - to be exact 7 years. The versatile midfielder, who in the period 2006-2007 was surely one of the best defenders in the Russian Premier Liga, joined Lokomotiv from Torpedo Kutaisi at the beginning of 2003. Since moving to Russia the defender never looked back and went on rack up 157 appearances and bag the Russian Premier League, Russian Cup and two Russian Super Cup medals. During his stay at the red-green capital of Moscow, the international Georgian defender managed to score 7 goals, with the most memorable two coming against Spartak, especially the one scored in the 2007 derby where Lokomotiv managed to win the derby at practically the last kick of the ball. Sorely, the departure of these two will continue to bring to an end the most succesful era of the history of Lokomotiv.

Nevertheless, as everything in life we have to move on and while I sincerely thank the quintet for their contribution to the club, especially Malkhaz Asatiani and Dmitry Sennikov, I would like to wish them the biggest of luck for their future!! No one will ever forget what you (Malkhaz & Dmitry) did to our beloved Lokomotiv!! Goodluck and sincerely, ALL THE BEST!! You will remain in our hearts forever!!

Volchek takes over Bilyaletdinov

2010-12-20T22:55:00.005+01:00

After 6 years at the helm, Rinat Bilyaletdinov's tenure as Lokomotiv Youth Squad manager came to an end. Bilyaletdinov senior, who as you know is the father of former Loko captain Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, now at Everton, declared that he is not ready to work with the new hierarchy and the agreement the leave the club at the end of the year was already in place. He continued by stating that he had already received from other clubs and he will make this decision during the coming days.

On the other hand Lokomotiv wasted no time to appoint a replacement and soon promoted Vladimir Volchek to the Youth Squad. Prior to such promotion, Volchek, who joined Lokomotiv back in 2008 from rivals Torpedo Moscow, held a coaching position within at the Lokomotiv Centre of Sport and Education. Other men who made part of the overhaul were Sarkis Oganesyan and Dmitry Gorkov, who both were brought from Lokomotiv-2 Moscow to assist our recently appointed manager.

BEST OF LUCK VLADIMIR!!

Lokomotiv appoint Krasnozhan - OFFICIAL

2010-12-14T11:54:00.004+01:00

At long last, the appointment was made official. Yury Krasnozhan is our new head coach. The former Spartak Nalchik head coach, who will start his Loko adventure on December 20, signed a two year contract.

Moments later, the new head coach was presented to the media and Yury Krasnozhan had the opportunity to answer several questions posed by the journalists present at the press conference. First and foremost, Yury Krasnozhan made it clear that he is not afraid of his new (bigger) responsibilites and at the end it wasn't difficult to him to accept the post offered by Olga Smorodskaya. He also stated that his main task will be that of bringing some stability to the club. Krasnozhan continued by outlining the fact that in the upcoming days he will determine those positions at which Lokomotiv needs reinforcement.

He added that Semin disciples Vladimir Maminov, Oleg Pashinin and Igor Cherevchenko will be part of coaching staff. In addition to those, Eugene Stukalov and Vladimir Kulaev are exptected to join the aforementioned from Spartak Nalchik. The 47-year old ended the conference by talking about his relationship with the players currently present at the club. He stated that no one ever played under his leadership and thus he is looking forward to get acquainted with each player in person, rather than by phone. Not a bad cameo at all!!

Yury Krasnozhan was born on June 2007, in Nalchik. Yury, a defensive minded player by trade started his football playing career with Spartak Nalchik and over a period of 4 years he managed to rack up 66 appearances and scoring 1 goal in the process. Following his stint at Spartak, Yury graduated at the Faculty of Physical Education and for the next 5 years he worked as a physical educator at a secondary school in Nalchik. In 1991 he returned to footall and signed for FC Avtozapchast Baksan. After making 88 appearances and scoring 6 goals, Yury retired and soon after Yury made way into management and was appointed assistant manager of the same Baksan outfit. After two years, Yury returned back home and after managing Spartak Nalchik reserves and acting as assistant manager, Yury was finally appointed Spartak's Nalchik manager at the begininning of 2004. Despite limited funds, Yury managed to lead the modest club to the Premier League and beat suffecient drops. This year, Yury went a step further and managed to lead Spartak Nalchik to a record 6th place.

ALL THE BEST YURY!!

Lokomotiv looking to Belarussian quintet

2010-12-10T20:46:00.009+01:00

Apparently, our new head coach Yury Krasnozhan has chosen the Belarussian National Team to look out for reinforcements. This is because according to reports emanating from Russia, Lokomotiv may approach 5 players who this year appeared for the Belarussian national team. The players in question are Anton Amelchenko of Rostov, Sergey Omelyanchuk of Terek, Dmitry Molosh of recently relegated Sibir Novosibirsk and forwards Sergey Kornilenko and Vitaly Kutuzov, who currently are on the books of Zenit St. Petersburg and AS Bari Calcio respectively. Recall that one of them, that is Sergey Omelyanchuk, already pulled off the shirt of Lokomotiv Moscow back in 2005.

Although the arrival of Amelchenko may fuel rumours that Guilherme may leave Lokomotiv, the real reason for Amelchenko's potential arrival is to replace the outgoing Marek Cech and challenge Guilherme for the no. 1 position. The Belarussian keeper is expected to command a fee of around 0.5 million euros. On the other hand, with regards to Kornilenko, the striker have long been linked with Lokomotiv and so it wasn't surprising at all to see his name linked with Lokomotiv once again. Actually, I believe that coming next year Kornilenko will be wearing the red-green shirt.

In addition to Cech, another player who is almost certain of leaving Lokomotiv is long-time serving Malkhaz Asatiani. According to the media, the Georgian international wasn't offered a contract by the Lokomotiv management and with the contract expiring, Asatiani is expected to move on and leave Lokomotiv in the same way as Cech, that is as a free agent. Moreover, another potential departures are Rodolfo, Wagner and much-maligned midfielder Dmitry Torbinsky. While the latter was linked with Spanish outfit Real Zaragoza, the Brazlian duo were linked with a move back home. This is because the Brazlian media reported that recently crowned champions Fluminense and their rivals Flamengo made Rodolfo and Wagner their respective top targets. Although no transfer was made official yet, I expect that two or even three players aforementioned may really leave the Russian capital in the upcoming weeks.

Meanwhile Zaur Khapov, who have been at Lokomotiv since 2000, will bring his stay at the red-green part of Moscow to an end. It was rumoured that although Yury Krasnozhan wanted the exprienced coach to be part of his coaching regime, the former Spartak Nalchik and Alania Vladikavkaz rejected a new contract and opted to leave Lokomotiv. Ironically Yury Krasnozhan's former side Spartak Nalchik, which for the chronicle is now being led by former Lokomotiv Moscow assitant manager Vladimir Estrekhov, is his most likely destination.

Last but not least, the media also reported that Roman Shishkin finally agreed an extension with Lokomotiv. Although the contract wasn't yet signed due to the fact that the former Spartak Moscow is currently on holiday, everything was mutually agreed and thus the only remaining thing is Shishkin's signature. In addition, Vladislav Ignatiev, who passed the last six months at Kuban Krasnodar, is expected to come back to Moscow and try his luck once again.

Let's wait and see if any the aforementioned rumours materialise!!

Lokomotiv make Sarkisov their first signing

2010-12-09T22:42:00.005+01:00

Today, Lokomotiv Moscow officially announced the signature of Artur Sarkisov from Lokomotiv-2 Moscow, Lokomotiv's farm club. The player, who is just 23 years old penned a year-and-a-half contract with the capital club. Obviously given that Loko-2 is part of the Lokomotiv football society, there was no transfer fee involved. Artur is yet to be given a shirt number.

Sarkisov, who was born in Grozny and is of Armenian descent started his professional career with FC Reutov, a small club hailing from Reutov, Moscow Oblast. After making 74 appearances and scoring 15 goals in 3 seasons for the Western Second Division club, Artur swapped the Moscow Oblast outfit with FC Lokomotiv Moscow and in two seasons he managed to develop into a key player. Actually during his two-year stay with out farm club, Sarkisov managed to top the scoring charts in as many years. Last season, despite playing just 17 games due to injury, he still managed to top Loko-2's scoring charts with 10 goals. This year, he managed to raise his game even further and coming the end of the season he banged in a tally of 21 goals from 25 appearances. Eventually such tally allowed him to top not only the Russian Second Division Western Section scoring charts but also those of all the 5 Sections put altogether - not bad at all!! At the end, and rightly so, Lokomotiv came down knocking and eventually made the striker their first signing for the forthcoming season.

When asked about his feelings following his move to the main squad, the striker replied that the trasnfer was a dream come true for him. He added that although he knew that the CEO of Lokomotiv-2 Igor Zelepukin recommended him to Lokomotiv, he didn't expected such invitation, something which eventually made the move more pleasing.

Although for sure Sarkisov's name is far from synonymous with Russian football followers, I confess that I am very pleased to finally see a youngster getting through our ranks. The reason is that I believe that in the past years Lokomotiv Moscow have relied too much on foreigners and thus many prospective youngsters failed to make the cut to the main squad and eventually sought pastures elsewhere. Actually, although Gatagov is not that bad, I am of the belief that Lokomotiv haven't produced a talented player since Diniyar Bilyaletdinov took the Russian Premier Liga by storm, that is 7 whole years. So, although the new Olga Smorodskaya regime had more lows than highs in the past months, I must applaud their decision to sign the youngster, because apart of the fact that the transfer will give Sarkisov a deserving chance, such move may eventually spur our youngsters to do their best and give them the needed believe thay they can make it to the main squad. Well Done!!

ALL THE BEST ARTUR!!

Guilherme voted as Loko's best

2010-12-09T11:33:00.007+01:00

Alvim Marinato Guilherme or simply Guilherme has won the Lokomotiv Moscow Player of the Season 2008 award, as voted for by the red-green fans on the forum. Guilherme, who was the only player who appeared in all the 30 matches of the Russian Premier Liga, won an amazing 59% of the votes casted by the Loko faithful. Olexandr Aliev, who scored a great tally of 14 goals throughout the whole season could only come second with just 18%. On the other hand, Dmitry Sychev and Dmitry Loskov shared the last place of the podium with 10% each.

To say the truth I am quite surprised with the outcome of the result. Don't get me wrong, Guilherme for sure deserved such award as he was the most consistent of all, but if you asked me on whom I would have put the money, without any hesitance I would have picked Aliev. The reason is simple. Aliev scored 14 goals this season and for much of the time he was our star performer. Nevertheless, I think that it is imperative to say that although Aliev had a great first round, his performances in the second suffered and thus at the end the former CA Paranaense keeper fully deserved such award. Actually, if at one end there was Aliev scoring goals for fun (in the first period), at the other we had a keeper who in certain occasion single handedly kept Lokomotiv in game, and that was Guilherme. In his 30 appearances, the Brazilian keeper let only 29 goals and recorded an impressive tally of 11 clean sheets - something which hadn't happened since Ovchinnikov left for Dynamo Moscow.

Upon being nominated as Loko's best player, Guilherme showed his surprise to the result, especially with regards to the margin obtained. Guilherme added that this sensation is not new to him as last year, despite playing just half of the matches, the keeper managed to come 3rd in last year's poll. Finally, Guilherme thanked the fans, who for the whole season, despite various setbacks never stopped to support the team - and that's the reason why in his opinion, the fans were Loko's best player of the season.

Glad to say that it's pleasant to witness such bond between a player and the fans. Just brilliant!

Anyways, well done Guilherme and keep it up!! I am of the utter belief that should Guilherme mantain the progress he had shown in recent months, he can go far and maybe even reach the level of Igor Akinfeev - and I'm not joking! All the best Alvim!!

Semin 's contract mutually terminated, Krasnozhan expected to be sworn in

2010-12-04T11:36:00.004+01:00

What we've feared had happened. On Tuesday night, Lokomotiv Moscow, via their website, communicated that they have partied ways with Yury Semin. Although obviously the news came of now surprise, the fans were still hoping that their recent protests and plights would have changed the mind of the Board of Directors. Unfortunately, all the contestations fell on deaf ears as those in charge stood firm to their decision and thus opted to terminate their relationship with Yury Semin. This means that as from 01 December 2010 the People's coach will no longer "drive the train which he successfully drove for 18 years." A pity.

Although Loko communicated that Semin's contract was terminated early due to poor performance in the Russian Premier Liga, it is believed that the main reason for his dismissal was the frosty relationship between him and Olga Smorodskaya. All this emanated from the difference between the President's vision and that of our coach. While our father wants the team to improve by signing top notch players, on the other hand, the President, pressured by those at the top, is looking to reduce costs, meaning that Lokomotiv won't sign top notch players which Semin and Naumov tried to lure to the red-green part of Moscow.

Unfortunately now Semin is history and Lokomotiv have to move on. Although it's not official yet it is expected that Yury Krasnozhan, the mentor behind Spartak Nalchik's amazing campaign, will be the one to replace Semin at the helm. On the other hand, Yury Semin will be joining Dinamo Kiev and it is almost certain that Aleksandr Aliev will follow him to the Ukranian capital. Thanks Semin & Aliev and Good Luck at your second adventure at Dynamo Kiev. Meanwhile and even Bigger luck goes to our new coach Yury Krasnozhan!!!

Stalemate as season draws to close

2010-11-30T15:09:00.006+01:00

The Russian Premier Liga 2010 is over. Zenit St. Petersburg convincently won the championship while Alania Vladikavkaz will be the unlucky one of joining Sibir Novosibirsk in the Russian First Division next season. Lokomotiv, who had a season full of swings had to content with a creditable fifth place at the end as Loko's draw with Rubin and Spartak's heated derby draw against Dynamo Moscow meant that everything stayed as it was before the match. Although the red-green fans may have amibitioned for a place higher than the one attained, I personally believe that taking everything into account Lokomotiv overall did well and the 5th place was exactly the place which Lokomotiv deserved. Yesterday, with the 4th place still up for the grabs, Lokomotiv tried to snatch a win over outgoing champions Rubin Kazan but at the end had to content for a draw. Although Lokomotiv were better in the second period, the draw was the best result for a match between two teams who failed to hit top gear. Nevertheless, although Lokomotiv failed to find the net, they did well and their good performance was unfortunately marred by a moment of madness from Dmitry Tarasov who was given his marching orders for elbowing an opponent. Unfortunately this ensured that Lokomotiv surpasses the record they set this year of having 10 players sent off in 30 matches. The main contributor to this negative record was the same Dmitry Tarasov, whose last Sunday red card was his third of the season.

For the match against Rubin, Yury Semin fielded the practically the same 11 who took the pitch against Rostov. The only change was Wagner, who came on for the crocked Igor Smolnikov. Moreover for the second time in sucession Rodolfo started in attack while main star Aleksandr Aliev didn't even made it to the bench. Although no questions arosed, this fuelled rumours that Aleksandr Aliev's stay in Moscow was just for a single year. With Yury Semin close to return to Dynamo Kiev, it is probable that the Ukranian ace will follow his mentor and return to the Ukranian capital.

As aforementioned clear-cut chances were hard to come by and actually few were the chances worth of mentioning. Actually, the sizeable cword at the stadium had to wait 25 minutes before witnessing a shot at goal as Sychev's drive was well held by Lithuanian keeper Arlauskis. The next one to threaten was Glushakov whose long range drive was tipped over by the former Unirea Urziceni keeper. From the resultant corner, Basha maybe could have put the hosts ahead but he failed to take advantage from Arlauskis poor judgement and could only head wide. That was all for the first half and with the coaches somewhat pleased with what they were seeing no changes were made the break. If the first half was quite boring the second was even worse as although Lokomotiv enjoyed a better share of possession they find it difficult to find a way past a sturdy Rubin defence. The only chance for Loko fell onto the feet of Glushakov who for once again threatened from this distance. This time round however the ball rattled the crossbar and bounced out. At the other end Martins had the only visitors' chance of goal as after running one-on-one towards Guilherme he failed to get past the brilliant Guilherme, who was on his toes to dive to the ground and snap the ball from the Nigerian's striker feet. Although both Rubin and Loko were resigned for a draw, there was still time for Tarasov to get his marching orders for a inexpicable elbow offence on Sibaya. At the end of the match, the Loko faithful engaged in furious chants against Olga Smorodskaya and as the match ended, Yury Semin made a lap of honour which maybe signalled the end of his tenure at Lokomotiv.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme: 7

Steady as ever. Would not be surprised if Chelsea are truly interested in the Brazilian keeper.

Shishkin: 6.5

I just hope that next year he will be wearing red-green colours

Basha: 6

Steady. Could have scored too.

Durica: 6.5

It's amazing how from practically an outcast he developed into a key defender

Yanbaev: 6

Quite quiet.

Glushakov: 7

Hit the crossbar and was Loko's major threat.

Tarasov: 4.5

Was having a good match but inexplicably and stupidly got himself sent-off.

Loskov: 6

Did well.

Wagner: 5.5

Quite inexistent

Sychev: 6

Not really much he could do.

Tomorrow's match can be Semin's last....

2010-11-27T20:17:00.003+01:00

Tomorrow the curtain will fall down on the 2010 season and thus Lokomotiv will play the last match of the season. The encounter, which will be against outgoing champions Rubin Kazan, will be played at Lokomotiv. Although Lokomotiv potentially didn't did well as many may have expected, in a way and another Lokomotiv managed to find its way and clinch an Europa League spot. Comparing what the other four above us spent with our expenditure, I must say that the 5th place or an even better potential 4 place will be a good one in the end.

Given that Lokomotiv to a certain extent have nothing much to play for, the fans were more focused in making their voices heard rather then the match itself. Don't get me wrong, we fans want a win and possibly the 4th place, but we really want is that next year Yury Semin will still be at the helm. Unfortunately, consistent reports that Semin will leave Lokomotiv at the end of the season had been emerging recently and thus the red-green fans prepared so that tomorrow they will make their feeling known that they don't want no else their father, Semin.

Many talked about chants against the president, banners or even t-shirts, and even calls to Yakunin to sack the same Smorodskaya. Sadly and regretfully, it is believed these actions will be useless as it was reported that Semin's fate was already decided....and yeah it's away from Moscow. The media also reported that Krasnozhan was approached by Lokomotiv and the move is all but official. Although we Lokomotiv fans are still abstaining from believing such "rumours", I think that tomorrow will be Semin's last. This is because Oleg Luzhny, current Dynamo Kiev manager stated that today's match versus Sevastopol was his last as manager and eventually this fueled reports that the next Dynamo Kiev manager is going to be no one else Semin. To make matters worse for us fans, it is understood that Aliev won't even play tomorrow because should Semin leave, Aliev would be in Kiev before our Yury even lands in the Ukranian capital.

Tomorrow will our's last match of the season...and maybe even Yury Semin's last. To say the truth I am resigned to such departure and so I just hope that our bloody and damn management release the news to our fans. The reason is that we fans who REALLY LOVE OUR CLUB will have the opportunity to give a deserved farewell to the man WHO BUILT LOKOMOTIV. Thanks Yury. Hope that someday we welcome you back!!

PALYCH, WE'RE ALWAYS WITH YOU!!

PS Fuck you Olga!! Just leave, please!

Lokomotiv looking to Florescu and Šćepović

2010-11-23T11:40:00.005+01:00

According to various reports emanating from Romania, Lokomotiv Moscow are closing on the signature of Gheorghe Florescu. The media reported that the talks with the midfielder are at an advanced stage and it is likely that in 2011, the diminutive Romanian international could be wearing the red-green Puma shirt of Lokomotiv. Although this rumour was confirmed by the former Torpedo Moscow man himself, he stated that the deal is far from done and actually Lokomotiv Moscow aren't the only "big club" that are following his signature. He made use of such term because currently he plies his trade for Alania Vladikavkaz and he already made it known that he is eager to move on to a bigger club.

Throughout his career, the 26-year old Cluj-Napoca born turned out for Universitatea Cluj, Sheriff Tiraspol, Torpedo Moscow, Midtjylland and finally Alania Vladikazkaz. He made his debut for Romania last March and to date he made 7 appearances and scored a goal.

~~~~ Šćepović moving to Moscow? ~~~~

In addition to the Romanian, Lokomotiv Moscow are also looking to Marko Šćepović, a 19 year old striker who currently plays for Partizan Belgrade. The striker, who made waves in the Serbian football community with his fantastic start this season is interesting Lokomotiv because his attributes match those required by Lokomotiv. This is because the striker, with his 1.89m enjoys impressive aerial ability and often drops deeper to start an attack. Moreover the Belgrade born youngster also possesses a keen positional sense and an extremly powerful shot. It is believed that the striker will command a fee of around 600k euros.

Moreover, apart of his impressive performances for the men in black, the striker managed to find the net 5 times in 6 outings for the Serbian U-19 national team. Certainly a one for the future!

Lokomotiv win and book their place in the Europa League

2010-11-21T11:43:00.005+01:00

Following Lokomotiv's last week slow down against Sibir Novosibirsk, yesterday a win was imperative in order to continue to challenge for an Europa League slot. Thankfully, Lokomotiv delivered and with Spartak Nalchik's result against Amkar going into our way, it meant that Nalchik's loss was Loko's gain as it guaranteed Thursday European football next season. Moreover, while the fifth place is guaranteed, Lokomotiv may even surpass Spartak Moscow to the fourth place if Spartak fail to win and Lokomotiv manage to win at home versus Rubin Kazan. Apart of the fact that it would be pleasant to overcome our rivals and finish the season in the same position we finished last year, such 4th place would mean that Lokomotiv will skip the 2011-2012 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round and goes directly into the Play-off round! Nevertheless, should Lokomotiv fail to surpass Spartak, for sure the guys should be proud of what they have done in the last 2 months. This because of the disastrous August few were betting on Lokomotiv that coming the end of the season they will be in an Europe qualifying position. Lokomotiv, by showing tremendous character replied to the critics and by making a considerable improvement in their performances, they managed to move up the ladder and give their fans European football nights. Recall that last August Lokomotiv were languishing in the 9th place.

For the match in Rostov-na-donu, Yury Semin welcomed Jan Durica back from suspension and together with Marko Basha, the two were re-installed at the back. This meant that while Asatiani was relegated to the bench, Rodolfo retained his place in the initial line-up and as happened in the second period of the match versus Sibir, the big Brazilian defender played as a striker. Dmitry Sychev assisted him while Igor Smolnikov kept his place on the right. Loskov captained the side while Denis Glushakov and Dmitry Tarasov ran the midfield for Lokomotiv. Obviously, Guilherme started in goal and such appearance ensured him that next week he can make the 50th league appearance for Lokomotiv Moscow.

Although Rostov had nothing to play for, they came out looking to impress and give their fans something to cheer about in the last home match of the season. Eventually Semin saw this and in the opening minutes Lokomotiv were happy to let Rostov take the iniative and try to hit them on the counter. Eventually the hosts were the first to threaten as Dragan's Blatnyak long range freekick bounced onto the crossbar. Thankfully Roman Shishkin was agile enough to clear into a corner as two Rostov's strikers were ready to pounce onto the lose ball. Rostov threatened once again with a close header and moments later on-loan midfielder Aleksandr Pavlenko went for the spectalur with a personal initiative. However Guilherme was on his toes to dive to his left and gather the ball. On the half-hour mark, finally Lokomotiv registered a shot at goal as Yanbaev tried to surprise Radic from distance. Moments later Rodolfo was the next one to threaten as his curling goal-bound shot brought out a finger-tip save from Radic. From the resultant corner and subsequent action, Lokomotiv were awarded a penalty for an adjudged hands from Zivanovic. Rostov players protested furiously but replays showed that the ref was quite right to whistle for a penalty as the hands was more intentional than not. In the absence of Aliev, Loskov stepped up for the penalty, but incredibly Loskov's effort was brilliantly saved from Radic, albeit with the help of the crossbar. The ball fell onto the path of Loskov again who tried to redeem himself with a diving header but amazingly the keeper was already on his feet to tip the ball away. Incredible double save from Loskov! That was all in the first half as Lokomotiv had the endure tough luck for the second week in the running. Nevertheless prior to the break Yury Semin was forced to make the first substitution as Smolnikov had to go off due to an injury. Gatagov came on for the injured right-winger, who according to recent reports won't be available for the next match. Get well soon Igor!

Despite the penalty setback, Lokomotiv came out for the second full of iniative and within 7 minutes they went broke the deadlock with the once famous Loskov-Sychev combination. Loskov picked the ball at the middle of the park and with Sychev on the verge of the offside line, Loskov hit Rostov on the counter by playing a pinpoint ball to Sychev, who after running a bit to centre shot through the legs of Radic and onto the net. Sychev was ecstatic. Unfortunately, within five minutes Rostov were level as the hosts gave the visitors a doze of their own medicine. Former red-green Lebedenko was fouled by Shishkin and up stepped Blatnajk, who following his near miss in the opening 10 minutes , this time went closer and pulled off an Aliev. 1-1 and game on. However, barely 2 minutes passed and Lokomotiv were ahead once again. Denis Glushakov passed a perfect ball to Rodolfo, who after turning around the box, striked a pin point shot which gave Radic no chance. Perfect finish! Lokomotiv could have closed the match minutes later but after running one-on-one towards Radic, his effort went well wide. Fortunately this time round Lokomotiv weren't castigated for this miss as Lokomotiv saw out the remaining minutes and managed to hold on for an important victory which guaranteed Lokomotiv European football next season. Obviously Lokomotiv risked something during the last minutes but Guilherme stood on two particular occasions and was equal to the task. Well done Lokomotiv!! But also thanks must to to Amkar Perm because their win ensured that Lokomotiv will be playing European football next season.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 7

Did extremly well. Need to improve his goalkicks though

Shishkin - 6.5

Did well. Defensively sound and strong going forward

Basha - 6.5

Good match from the Montenegrin defender

Durica - 6.5

Much like his college

Yanbaev - 5.5

We Loko fans are accustomed to better. Did nothing wrong thou.

Tarasov - 8

A giant at the middle of the park. Personally the man of the match. Won countless balls and ran the midfield for Lokomotiv.
Glushakov - 7

Strong showing from the no. 8. Assisted Rodolfo for the winner.

Loskov - 6.5

Missed a penalty but redeemed himself by assisting Sychev for the opener.

Smolnikov - N/A

Went-off early due to injury.

Sychev - 7

Scored the opener. Backtracked well to help his colleges

Rodolfo - 7.5

When a defender plays as a striker and scores a goal, well, he did more than well. Brought the ball down well for his teammates very well too.

Substitutes

Gatagov - 5.5

Missed a chance. Never got going.

Wagner - N/A

Should have scored with a close ranged header.

Asatiani - N/A
Introduced to waste time and to assist in defence.

Asatiani and Shishkin could leave, Rodolfo may follow

2010-11-16T17:11:00.005+01:00

According to sovsport.ru, three players, all defenders, could leave the club at the end of the season. The three in question are long serving Malkhaz Asatiani, recently arrived Roman Shishkin and vice-captain Rodolfo.

The leading Russian sporting website reported that Lokomotiv intends to put Rodolfo Dantas Bispo on the transfer list as it is believed that the red-green are not counting on the former Dynamo Kiev man for the upcoming season. Although there was no transfer fee mentioned nor any potential suitors, it is believed that Lokomotiv may look out for good a fee as apart of his undisputed talent, the Brazilian centre back has still 3 years left on his contract. This season Rodolfo made just 14 appearances and scored 1 goal in the process.

On the other hand, Asatiani and Shishkin could leave the club because their contract expires at the end of the season and the people at the top are reluctant to offer the duo a contract. While to a certain extent I understand Loko's reluctancy to offer the ageing Asatiani an extention, I find it literally absurd that Lokomotiv may let Shishkin leave. This is because Shishkin, who joined Lokomotiv just 3 months ago, made the right back position his own and developed into a first team player. Moreover, I believe that in recent months he was one of the best performers and one of the few who mantained a level of consistenty. Actually, in light of all this I am amazed how our hierarchy failed to notice this as personally, in the last 3 months and so he was one of the best rightbacks of the Russian Premier League. However, this doesn't mean that his performances didn't went unnoticed as Dick Advocaat, the Russian National Manager, rewarded his recent exploits by calling him up for the encounter against Belgium...if only our mad women/men at the top follow his example and reward him a deserving contract!! I just hope so as I believe that apart of the fact it's difficult to find a right back of Shishkin's level, any player won't come cheap and that could be a potential stumbling block as recently our spending power has unfortunately shrinked by lot.

I just hope that coming next year the number 4 and 49 will be worn by Rodolfo and Shishkin respectively! I really hope so!! We want the club to move forward and not backwards!! Please wake up before it will be all too late!!

Lokomotiv Moscow held at bay

2010-11-14T20:18:00.009+01:00

Today, with just 2 rounds remaining the stage was set for an epic encounter between two teams who are in dire need of points as while the hosts are pushing for an Europa League place, the visitors knew that only a victory would have kept their chances of saving themselves from the agony of relegation open. Unfortunately neither team was able to win and both had to content with a draw which pleased no one. This is because while Lokomotiv lost the chance to leapfrog Spartak Nalchik by two points, Sibir Novosibirsk's failure to win the game meant that next season they will be playing First Division football. A pity. This is because despite all their limitations, Sibir played one of the most exciting football in the Premier League and for sure deserved anything better than relegation. Anyways that's football and while for sure Sibir fans are very disappointed, our set of supporters aren't for sure better. This is because although Lokomotiv dominated from start to finish and created a clear cut chance after another, they couldn't turn such dominance into goals. Obviously Sibir had their share of luck but for sure blame should also be put onto our forwards who in certain circumstances should have done better. At first view this phrase may refer to Gatagov who done the impossible and missed an opel goal from 2 metres but in truth it isn't. This is because although it's obvious that Gatagov should have done a lot better, there were other player or two who failed to perform and were visibly complacent. Unfortunately, Lokomotiv were made to pay a high price for such complacency as with minutes remaining and against the run of play, Sibir scored a goal in almost an identical manner of the one Sibir scored last August against us.

Inexplicably, Yury Semin opted to give Malkhaz Asatiani a rare start while Rodolfo replaced the suspended Jan Durica as left centreback. Guilherme started in goal while Shishkin and Yanbaev started on the flanks. Denis Glushakov, who recently cemented his place in the starting eleven mantained his place while Dmitry Tarasov was dropped in favour of Igor Smolnikov, who started on the right. Loskov and Aliev supported Sychev while Torbinsky started on the left.

Lokomotiv, with the intent of opening the score and ease some pressure came out aggresively and within 3 minutes Glushakov severily troubled Solosin with a long range drive. Minutes later Torbinsky provided an inviting cross to Smolnikov who from a good position could only hit poorly. Despite the high intensity start, the hosts couldn't keep up with the momentum and although they enjoyed the lion share of possesion, the low tempo meant that Solosin rarely called was onto action. By then the match became quite boring and the fact that up to the 35th minute the referee just whistled 6 fouls in all signified this. And eventually, apart of a half-a-chance apiece there was no final drama as the referee, who was the only enjoying the game (due to the low work involved) whistled for the break.

Yury Semin, knowing that something has to change but having no striker at his disposal opted for a decision which mystified not one but many. Tarasov came in for Torbinsky but instead of positioning himself at the middle of the park, he slotted in at the back to partner Asatiani. Those present at the stadium or watching the match were left bewildered by such decision and for some moments were left wondering what Semin had in mind. Nevertheless as both sides settled down and the formation started to take shape, everything became clear. What happened was that given that Semin had no strikers, he moved Rodolfo into attack together with Sychev and put Tarasov at the back. What's even more surprising was the fact that on the bench there were two centrebacks in the form of Burlak and Marko Basa. Anyways, although such change raised an eyebrow or two, Semin proved the doubters wrong as from the initial minute Lokomotiv were visibly a much better and organized unit. Nevertheless, despite such improvement Lokomotiv still failed to test Solosin and actually had to wait till the hour stroke in order to create something of note and heep some pressure on the visitors. The first one to try his luck was Dmtriy Loskov, who from a decent position could only send the ball into the orbit. Seconds later, in a subsequent fashion, both Aliev and Rodolfo tried to surprise Solosin from distance, but as all their predecessors they couldn't break the dreadlock. Nevertheless Lokomotiv, pushed by the home crowd continued to pressure the relegation battlers and finally they managed to open the score. Dmitry Sychev who after battling well between three opponents for the ball managed to break free and after dumming Vychodil, he powerfully struck onto the right bottom corner thus giving the keeper no chance at all. Lokomotiv Stadium erupted. Lokomotiv immediately gained confidence and actually within 3 minutes they could have put the match to bet. This however wasn't to be as Gatagov unbelievally spurned a chance that for sure he will remember for ever. What happened was that after Solosin failed to handle Aliev long range freekick and subsequently Sychev's and Loskov's effort, the ball stopped some metre and a half away from the goaline and with practically an open goal and few pressure, the prospective left winger instead of crushing the ball towards the goal went for the spectacular and tried to angle his effort. Unfortunately and to the amazement of the hosts, Gatagov miserably failed his effort and Sibir players together with those in red couldn't believe just what happened. The whole stadium felt cold while Gatagov was close to burst into tears!! Poor guy!! Nevertheless, this only showed things to come! Seconds later the bar came to the rescue for Sibir from a pinpoint Rodolfo header and just seconds later Rodolfo brought out the very best from Solosin with another immaculative header. Sibir tried to reply and in a rare attack they nearly shocked the home crowd but thankfully Guilherme was alert to parry the ball away. With ten minutes to go the crossbar once again came rescued Sibir as Sychev was denied a deserved beauty. Semin, keeping in mind that Sibir are the kings of very late late goals withdrew Aliev for the youngster Burlak. Although I was still weary that we could drop points at the death end, for a reason or another I felt more comfortable and confident when I saw a defender coming on...but hell, I was wrong. Sibir were awarded a freekick and with the home players concentrated on heading out any potential cross, they literally forgot Molosh unmarked at the middle of the park. In poor words they allowed him to do what he is best at, that is hammering goals from impossible ranges. The Belarussian left-back took advantage and to the disbelief of the crowd, Sibir drew the match. Loko players were left shell shocked while Sibir were visibly motivated and had the believe that they could snatch a memorable winner. However with the time running out, Sibir couldn't ride their luck and eventually had to settle for a draw which condemned them to relegation. On the other hand Lokomotiv were left rueing two dropped points which coming the end of the season may prove costly. Anyways while I wish the best of luck to our players for the remaining two matches, I wish Sibir a speedy return back to the Premier League. On the other I would like to congratulate Zenit St. Petersburg who yesterday were crowned post-Soviet Russian Champions for the second time in their history. Congratulations!

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 6.5
Did one great stop on Grzelak. Nothing much to do with Molosh thunderbolt.

Shishkin - 8

I just hope that the Loko hierarchy were watching the match. This is because I just can't understand how they are mulling over offering him a contract extension or not. Unbelievable!! Please wake up before we lose a player which may not even decently replace!

Asatiani - 6

Steady but unspectacular

Rodolfo - 8

Strong at the back, irresistable in attack. If only he had 1% luck of Inzaghi's...

Yanbaev - 6

His final ball was often lacking

Glushakov - 7.5

Another great showing from the Lokomotiv midfielder. Never stopped running and troubled Solosin on several times too.
Smolnikov - 5.5

Tried to take the initiative but the lack of match practice was evident. Moreover often let down by the final ball

Loskov - 6

Tried to inspire. Could have done better with that chance.

Aliev - 6

His corners were great but his freekicks left much to be desired.

Torbinsky - 5

Poor. Replaced at half time.

Sychev - 8

Scored a great goal and denied an even greater one.

Substitutes:
Tarasov - 6

Played out of position. Cannot be blamed

Gatagov - N/A

Better not to award a rating. I just hope that he is mentally strong enough to overcome such disappointment. Looking back won't help. Pluck up some courage man!

Burlak - N/A
Came on to shore the defence but failed. Not to blame thou

Lokomotiv squashes Milanovic reports

2010-11-13T09:51:00.007+01:00

Yesterday, the Italian media (in particular spotmediaset.it and skysports 24) reported that Juventus pulled off a coup by signing Lokomotiv's prospective defender Milan Milanovic for a paltry sum of 400k euros. The website portal even stated that the reason for such a small fee is due to the fact that Milan Milanovic's contract expires next March.

However hours later Lokomotiv Moscow correspondent Andrey Bubnov squashed such rumours and stated that there was no formal contact between Juventus and Lokomotiv. He continued by outlining the fact that to date, the only formal approach was made by AC Milan. Moreover, unlike what appeared in the Italian media, Milan Milanovic's contract expires in 2013 and not next year. And unlike what appeared on the Italian media, this is a fact. If you log on onto Lokomotiv's website and view Milanovic's profile, you can read the following sentence "Milan Milanovic joined Lokomotiv in March 2008 and signed a five year contract". This means that the contract will expire in 2013.

Although for long time Milan Milanovic have been deemed as one of the best defenders at his age, Milan has yet to make his debut for Lokomotiv. Obviously it's a pity to have a reputed defender who fail to make it to the first eleven but I never saw him play and I can't say what he's capable of. All what I can say is that even his reputation is worth more than 400k, let alone his believed talent.

Finally, an advise to Milos Krasic...please stop pretending to be a scout and recommend players from CSKA's Moscow rivals. If there is a player whose good as, or even better than Milanovic, that is Uros Cosic and currently he plays for his former side CSKA Moscow. Moreover like Milan, he is Serbian too. Milos Krasic should concentrate on playing fairly rather than diving and scouting and try to lure a good player away from us for a pittance. As vice-president Yury Belous said later, Lokomotiv may let the player leave if we receive a good offer. So dear Juve if you want the man, show us the money.

Fall tops Tippeligaen scoring charts

2010-11-10T11:41:00.003+01:00

Do you remember Baye Djiby Fall? The striker who joined Lokomotiv in January 2009 and went on to make 11 appearances without scoring a single goal? Well that striker, who after failing to adapt to the Russian game was loaned to Molde FK, showed everyone what he is capable of and justified that maybe he has a future at a higher level. This because although he turned out for a side who could only only finish in the bottom half of the Tippeligaen (Norway's top division), the Senegalese striker managed to top the scoring charts by hitting in 16 goals from 28 appearances. Moreover he managed to score 2 goals in 4 Europa League ties and a goal in 2 Norwegian Cup encounters.

Although based on such form the player can surely have a future at Lokomotiv, Norwegian portals are reporting that the player is still unaware where his future lies. They stated that the reason behind all this is all because recently there were some changes in the leadership and tge new hierarchy still haven't figured out the future of the Senegalese striker. The same Norwegian portal continuted by reporting that the striker, whose contract expire at the end of next yearm could yet move on again as Loko may be looking either to cash in or loan him out again. Obviously those rumours have been only emanating from Norway as to date in Russia nothing had appeared in the media.

Although I admit that last year he disappointed, I believe that the striker should be given another chance as although the Norwegian division is no English Premier or Italian Serie A, it's still requires some talent to top the scoring charts and thus this shows that Fall has enough talent to make it at Lokomotiv. However given all the uncertainty surrounding the club, all we can do is wait for developments and wish him loads of luck in the case he stays for us!

Lokomotiv Semin-less?

2010-11-09T13:09:00.006+01:00

According to Lokomotiv club President Olga Smorodskaya and sport director Yury Belous, Lokomotiv Moscow are already planning for the next season. Sadly for us Loko fans, there is a huge possibility that our beloved Yury Semin won't be part of such plans. Actually in recent days rumours have intensified and as many names have been linked with the Lokomotiv post, many have been stating that the future of Yury Semin is already sealed. Unfortunately such future lies away from Moscow. Circumstances haven't helped either as the recent sack of Valery Gazzev from Dynamo Kiev fueled rumours that Semin will be leaving Moscow for Kiev rather sooner than later. Many believe that the person behind Semin's departure is Olga Smorodskaya. Actually from what we've seen and had been said, it's easy to conclude that the two never enjoyed a good relationship. Although Lokomotiv were aiming higher than the fifth place they are currently at, it must be said that Semin is the least one to blame and so no one can declare that Semin will be sacked due to poor performance. Signing a striker and a winger in the form of Pavlyuchenko or Milevskiy and Izmailov respectively were his priority but for a reason and another the Lokomotiv hierarchy failed to satisfy his demands and thus Semin had to work with a sub-standard Dramane Traore and an unmotivated Peter Odemwingie. A pity. For sure you can't compare the squads of Zenit, CSKA, Spartak, Rubin Kazan and even Dynamo Moscow with that of us. While the 5 aforementiond spent heavily in the summer, in particular Zenit, Spartak and Rubin, we only brought in Shishkin for 0.5mln euros and Loskov. Don't get me wrong, they were both good buys but what Lokomotiv really needed was a striker and unfortunately no one came.

Anyways, although everyone in the circus is rebuffing all rumours, it is no surprise that the Dynamo Kiev president Ihor Surkis would welcome back Semin with open arms and with all the names circulating around, I believe that for sure there's is something going on. Sadly I believe that next year our beloved Yury Semin won't be there. Anyways, as everything in life, should the rumours come to fruition, Lokomotiv will have to move on and make sure to bring in a manager who is competent for a post of a big club like ours. As aforementioned many names have been circulating around and thus in the next paragraphs I will be listing some potential names who could take over Lokomotiv if Semin does leave.

1. The most favourite by the media to replace Yury Semin is Spartak Nalchik's Yury Krasnozhan. Yury, whose playing career includes spells at the same Nalchik and Avtozapchast Baksan was installed as Spartak Nalchik's manager back in 2004. Despite lack of finanacial backing and far from a decent infrastructure, he managed to lead Spartak first to the Premier Division and then subsequently helping them to beat drops in succession. Nowadays, 6 years on, his club challenging our team for a place in the Europa League. Although the squad at his disposal (with all due respect to Nalchik) isn't half good as Loko's on paper, he managed to create a strong unit enough to lead the Russian Premier League for six weeks in succession. Not bad at all!! However, although what he did at Nalchik is truly admiring, I truly fear that Krasnozhan could be another Rashid Rakhimov - that is someone who do well with an average side but fail to get going with a big side like ours.

2. Should Semin leave, Lokomotiv fans believe that the vacant post should be given to Vladimir Maminov, Semin's current assistant manager. Apart from the fact that Maminov have been around like no one else, 18 years to be exact, he learned his trade from Yury Semin and thus the Loko fans will be happy to see a bit of "Semin's" in Maminov's approach. Another point which back Maminov is that in the short period he managed Lokomotiv, the red-green did pretty well and this signifies that although he is just 36 years old, the coach will be respected by the players. Moreover during that short stint he showed that he can handle pressure as his 2-1 victory versus arch-rivals Spartak was the highest point of his short tenure which included 3 wins and a draw from 5 matches.

3. Viktor Goncharenko, famous for being the youngest ever manager (31 years) to lead a team in the final group stage of the UEFA Champions League, is another manager being linked with the Lokomotiv post. Viktor Goncharenko, who manages Belarussian powerhouse BATE Borisov is already a proven winner as at just 33 years of age he already achieved a thing or two. The Khoiniki-born manager, whose playing career was cut short due to a horrific injury he suffered when he was just 25 years, took the reigns of BATE Borisov in 2007. During those years, Viktor Goncharenko, who learned his trade from Belarussian specialists Yuri Puntus and Igor Kriushenko, lead the outfit from Borisov to two Belarussian Leagues and one super cup. Morevoer another one is practically on the way as they currently enjoy 6 points gap over 2nd place Shakhtyor Soligorsk with 2 matches to go. In addition, BATE Borisov are doing particulary well in the Europa League as they are topping a group which includes Dynamo Kiev and AZ Alkmaar. Could result to be quite a good coach for Lokomotiv.

4. Another one mentioned was Valery Gazzaev. The former CSKA Moscow tactician, who won 4 Russian Championships, 4 Russian Cups and a UEFA Cup isn't liked by the Lokomotiv fans and thus I believe that it will be a huge foul if Olga Smorodskaya chooses to install Valery as the one to replace Semin.

5. Slavoljub Muslin was an another manager which was put into the mix. The Serbian manager, who managed Lokomotiv back in 2006 is currently without a club and he stated that he will be eager to return to Lokomotiv in order to finish the business. This because in that single year Muslin failed to bring any silverware to Lokomotiv, even if at one point in time he lead Lokomotiv to an 18-match unbeaten streak. Recall that Muslin was sacked because after leading Lokomotiv to the summit of the Russian Premier League for much of 2006, in October Loko's form suffered and recorded some indifferent results which culminated in the elimination in UEFA Cup's first round to Belgian side S.V. Zulte Waregem and the surrender of the league position to CSKA Moscow. Although he is a fan favourite after Semin, I don't think that Muslin will be a good choice due to recent poor peformances with various clubs.

What are your preferences?

Speaking for myself, obviously I would prefer if Yury Semin remains here but should he leave, my first preference is Vladimir Maminov. Otherwise I believe that the job should be given to Viktor Goncharenko.

Stalemate in Vladikavkaz

2010-11-09T11:34:00.006+01:00

Playing 3 times away from Moscow in succession was never going to be an easy task and thus 3 wins out of 3 were deemed quite impossible. Unfortunately the task was made even harder because in the last two matches, Lokomotiv were left to play a man down for much of the time. On Sunday, Durica, who was never shown a straight red card throughout his career, was the one to be shown his marching orders for comitting a "last man" offence. Unlike last week, this time round the referee was shown to sent-off our defender as a last man offence is always a penalty or freekick and a red card. To make it worse for us, the offence took place in our box and as a result Alania were awarded a penalty. Fortunately for us, the Caucasians failed to capitalise and thus at the end, I might say that even if he left his teammates in a precarious position, Durica may have did the right thing as surely the onrushing Alania striker would have buried home.

Alas, due to internet problems which have been tormenting me during the last few days, I wasn't able to watch the match and thus truly apart from a small summary, I can't really say anything. From a match footage I've viewed (click here), I deem that even when Lokomotiv went down to 10 men, Alania Vladikavkaz failed to threatened and actually it was only on one occasion which Alania could have broken the deadlock as Arsen Khubulov's long range shot rattled the crossbar. At the other end of the pitch, Lokomotiv had one particular chance which should they have worked it better, Loko could have came out with the whole 3 points from Republican stadium Spartak. Pity, but well at least we managed to hang on for a goalless draw.

With regards to the players, from what I've saw on several Lokomotiv blogs I must say that the two who impressed the most were Guilherme and Glushakov. On the other hand, more was exptected from Aliev and Wagner and some also blamed Durica as they've believed that eleven against eleven Lokomotiv would have fared better. Fair point. Another player who let down the fans was Tarasov because it was his missed header which forced Durica to commit the offence which eventually turned the match in favour of Alania.

Anyways, although we failed to win, we're still occupying the fifth place due to a better head-to-head record but with a match versus Rubin Kazan still looming and Spartak Nalchik down the neck, we should make sure to do our best and win the remaining matches in order to spare unpleasant surprises at the conclusion of the championship. Let's hope for the best!!

10-men Lokomotiv snatch late winner

2010-11-01T16:36:00.010+01:00

In a weekend where our main rivals for the last European slot, that is Spartak Nalchik dropped precious points it was imperative for Lokomotiv to win their encounter against Anzhi. Unfortunately playing at Anzhi is never an easy ride and eventually Lokomotiv were made to sweat to bring home the three points. The mission was made even difficult by the referee's blatant decision to send-off Basha for a non-existent second offence at the death of the first half. The match, which was determined by Dmitry Sychev's powerful shot at the 89th minutes, was a match of two tales. In the first half Lokomotiv Moscow were practically dominant while in the second period Anzhi had more of the play and had several occasions where they may had put Lokomotiv to the sword. Fortunately for us, Anzhi weren't composed enough and thus Lokomotiv rode their luck and eventually snatched the unlikely late winner. Apart of Sychev, who throughout all match was inspiring, Guilherme continued to instill confidence in the Loko backline by producing a reassured performance. Durica was another one who performed while Yanbaev made a huge improvement. Aliev & Loskov exchanged their roles very well whil Torbinsky, who started well on the left faded soon as he was switched on the right flank. A pity. Moreover, the red-card earned by Marko Basha ensured that Lokomotiv reach the negative record achieved by Shinnik Yaroslavl in 2008 of having 8 players sent-off in a single season. Sadly, with four matches remaining, there is every possibility that Lokomotiv break Shinnik's record coming the end of the season.

Lokomotiv, whose initial line-up was the same of last weekend, started brightly and within just two minutes the red-green could have been already one-nil up. Shishkin cross from the right found the Sychev who on the run headed to the bottom corner of the net. The ball looked destined for the net but Ilja Abaev had other plans as he dived well to his right and managed to reach the ball. Anzhi replied moments later through Tsoraev and within 15 minutes it was clear that the match was going to be an entertaining one as it was clear that both teams went out looking for the goal. Guilherme was called onto action with 15 minutes on the clock while moments later Aliev exhanged the favour twice. Both counterparts failed to slow down the tempo and although composure and accuracy were clearly lacking, for sure it was a great match for the much-maligned Anzhi supporters. On the half-on-hour mark Abaev was called onto action once again to pick up the ball from the onrushing Sychev. Tarasov and Aliev were the next to two to try their luck from range, but had no success. With 5 minutes remaining, it was all Lokomotiv and the hosts had to withstand a lot of pressure from the visitors. Nontheless Lokomotiv had no luck and things went from bad to worse as in a counter attack, Basha was adjudged to had illegally stopped the Anzhi striker and the referee was not only wrong to award the fall for the hosts but even made the mistake to show Marko the second yellow card followed by the red one. Basha couldn't believe what he was witnessing. His teammates were furious as it was clear that Basha first touch was that of the ball. There was no final drama in the first period as amidst protests the ref sent both set of players to the dressing rooms.

With a man missing at the back, Semin was forced to change something and thus withdrew Torbinsky in order to make way to Malkhaz Asatiani. Despite being in a numerical disadvantage Lokomotiv started very well and twice threatened Abaev. Nevertheless, with every minute passing by, the Loko players began to tire out and Anzhi started to play the ball in a more confident manner, thus winning metres in the process. On the 55th minute Jan Holenda was presented a golden opportunity to open the score but from just 7 metres he failed to trouble Guilherme. Minutes later Ivanov was the next to threaten while on the 65th minute Josan's shot brought out the best from Guilherme. On the 72th minute, Tsoraev should have hit the back of the net as after whizzing past Tarasov, from 3 metres out and with only the keeper to beat he could only hit the crossbar. At the other end, luck spared Abaev a blunder as he failed to connect with a back pass but fortunately for him the ball rolled out just inches away from the left post. The home crowd breath a sigh of relief. With no further action for the next 10 minutes, both were resigned for a draw. However the hosts had other plans on mind as in a last gasp effort the red-green managed to break the dreadlock. Aliev did well down the right and after driving down very well on the right his heavy touch of the ball allowed it to fell onto the path of Sychev who without thinking twice smashed the ball towards the roof of the net. The players and the management looked ecstatic while the crowd, disgusted towards the proceedings started to leave the stadium early. Nevertheless, once again and with the aid of the referee who failed to punish the Anzhi strikers for a clear foul, were presented a clear chance but from 10 metres out the man in white blasted over and high. The hosts were clearly disgusted by the ref and soon rushed towards the man in black to give a him a piece of their mind - and righlty so! The red card to Basha was harsh but this one was even worse! Nevertheless there was no final drama and Lokomotiv were left to celebrate another important step towards an Europa League slot. On the other hand the situation looks to be doom and gloom for Anzhi as should they fail to start winning soon they can start waving goodbye to the Premier League after just one season. Highlights of the match can be viewed by clicking here.

Player Ratings:
Guilherme - 7.5
Solid and confident. King in the air.

Shishkin - 7

Defended very well and was a nuisance for Anzhi whenver Lokomotiv attacked.

Basha - 5
First yellow card was quite dubious but the second one was a complete rip-off. Unlucky.

Durica - 6.5
Did well but visibly missed his Montenegrin partner

Yanbaev - 6.5

Started very well and held on his own on the night.

Tarasov - 6

Won some balls but his passing was quite poor on the day

Glushakov - 6

Did well to close down the opponents in the first but was quite inexistent in the second as he was employed on the left flank.

Aliev - 6.5

Threatened several times and provided the assist too.

Loskov - 6.5

It's unthinkable that this lad is 36 years old. Ran and ran and at times his passing was eyecatching.

Sychev - 8

Man of the match. Stole the show with a last minute winner, a goal which for sure was a beautiful reward for his effort tonight and his birthday he celebrated at the middle of last week.

Substitutes
Asatiani - 5.5

Quite shaky but overall did well.

Wagner - 5.5

Failed to do anything better than the man he replaced, that is Glushakov

Gatagov - N/A
Introduced to waste time.

Late goal just enough for Loko to see off Amkar

2010-10-24T14:29:00.007+02:00

Without playing impressing football, Lokomotiv managed to do the enough and scrape with a 2-1 victory over relegation-battlers Amkar Perm. Amkar, which following today's loss have an uphill battle in order to preserve their status in the Russian Premier, went ahead with a well worked goal and after defending resolutely for much of the match, everyone thought that Lokomotiv's recent run was coming to an abrupt end. Nevertheless, one player, ironically wearing the red-black of Amkar had other plans as first he gave away a penalty and then 10 minutes later gave away a freekick and got himself sent-off with an awful challenge on Rodolfo. Although I conceede that the defender may feel a little bit harsh done by the ref's decision to penalize him and award the penalty to the visitors, his challenge from behind on Rodolfo was crime against football and potentially could had left Rodolfo crocked. Eventually, Lokomotiv capitalised on the numerical advantage as from the same freekick, the same Rodolfo acrobatically gave the lead to Lokomotiv - which ultimately resulted to be the decisive one. The win ensured Lokomotiv to regain their fifth place from Spartak Nalchik and close the gap with Spartak Moscow (which could only draw against Sibir) down to 1 point.

For the match against the Urals, Semin opted for a single change from last encounter. Wagner, who last week had a very bad match, was benched and Tarasov was called on to make his 17th start of the season. The other 10 kept their places. The single personnel change also meant that Torbinsky was shifted to the left while Aliev started on the right.

Buoyed by the home crowd present at the Zvezda Stadium, the hosts started brightly and within 7 minutes Amkar were already 1-0 upNevertheless the goal was rightly called off as replays have shown that goal scorer Ristic was in an offside position before he headed home. This visibly instilled confidence in the red-black players and on the quarter-of-an-hour mark Guilherme was called onto action to make a double stop on the Amkar strikers. 7 minutes later, Amkar stormed ahead with an masterfully worked action. Volkov picked the ball at the middle of the park and as Ristic managed to draw both Basha and Durica towards him, the former Saturn midfielder perfectly played the onrushing Topchu through, and with only the goalie the beat, the former Kuban winger lifted the ball over Guilherme and onto the net. The stadium erupted. Knowing that Lokomotiv isn't an expert at breaking down defences, the hosts changed the tactics and focused more on defence. Actually this locked Lokomotiv down and with Loskov looking uninspiring it was no surprise that Amker headed to the break one-nil up.

With no changes made at the break, nothing much changed and soon Semin shaked up things by withdrawing Tarasov and Torbinsky for Gatagov and Wagner respectively. Although Lokomotiv managed to score the drawing goal through Gatagov, the linesman made the second right call of the night and rightly ruled it out for a centimetral offside. With Lokomotiv failing to step up a gear and no strikers at the disposal of our coach, Semin decided to play the last card, that is Rodolfo in attack. The move seemed to had paid dividends immediately as two minutes later Lokomotiv were awarded a soft penalty. Amkar felt they were harshly done by but Lokomotiv didn't mind and Aliev dispatched the penalty at the bottom right corner. 1-1 and game on. With the clock ticking and Lokomotiv desperate for the winning goal, the visitors put men forward and with 2 minutes remaining, they managed to bag the reward. Cherechnikov launched onto Rodolfo and Lokomotiv were rewarded a freekick while the Permian central defender was shown his marching order for a second booking. Aliev played a short freekick towards Sychev who without thinking twice crossed the ball to the centre. Unfortunately the ball was too long and looked destined to be heading for a goalkick. However, out from nowhere popped up Wagner, who played the ball back in the small box and with Rodolfo just metres away from the goal, acrobatically and with his outer of the foot managed to drive home and put Lokomotiv ahead. Rodolfo was ecstatic, and for sure it was the best possible present for his 28th birthday which he celebrated yesterday. Apart of the same Rodolfo picking up a yellow card which ruled him out of the next match due to suspension, there was no final drama and Lokomotiv were left to celebrate a fortuitous victory.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 7.5
No chance with goal and made several good stops. Reliable as ever

Shishkin - 6
Wasn't given much room to go forward but was defensively sound.
Basha - 6.5
Made one good tackle and closed down quite well.
Durica - 6.5
Developing a good understanding with his Montenegrin college.
Yanbaev - 5
Poor, offensively and defensively. Badly need to up his game.
Aliev - 6.5
Dispatched the penalty very well but that was all from the midfielder on the day.

Glushakov - 6
Quiet afternoon for the central midfielder.
Tarasov - 5.5
Couldn't get going. Hooked early in the second half.
Loskov - 6
Misplaced some passes. Couldn't inspire.
Torbinsky - 5.5
Quite poor, but hey, at least he didn't picked up a yellow card.

Sychev - 6
Expect better, but won the much important penalty for Lokomotiv.

Substitutes
Gatagov - 6.5
Did quite well.
Wagner - 6.5
Quite inexistent but assisted Rodolfo for the decisive goal.
Rodolfo - 7.5

Literally changed game. Won the important freekick, got Cherechnikov sent-off and popped up for the winner. Best player for the visitors - and all this in 15 minutes.

Lokomotiv overcome Spartak Nalchik

2010-10-18T17:49:00.004+02:00

In the last match of the 24th round of the Russian Championship 2010, Lokomotiv Moscow welcomed Spartak Nalchik at the freezing Lokomotiv Stadium. With Lokomotiv just behind Spartak Nalchik in the standings and both vying for the last Europa League slot, the stage was set for an even encounter. Actually the match was closely fought and it was no surprise that the match was determined by a single goal. Fortunately it was Lokomotiv who came out on top from this tight affair. The star of the show was undoubtedly the goalscorer, Dmitry Sychev. The Russian international, who wasn't called up by Dick Advocaat for the double Russian encounter versus Ireland and Macedonia, made up for his earlier error and blasted the ball home from close, albeit angled position. Another good performers were Marko Basha and Jan Durica who mantained their fine form and kept Spartak Nalchik at bay. Lokomotiv also welcome back talisman Aliev from suspension and although he failed to further his personal tally, he troubled the opposition on a couple of times. On the other hand, although Lokomotiv managed to importantly take home the whole 3 points, I must point out that 1 or two players failed to perform. Unfortunataly Wagner was the main culprit as for the majority of the 45 minutes he stayed on pitch he was practically inexistent. Another major disappointment was Renat Yanbaev, who possibly could have been influenced by the rumoured interest from Zenit St. Petersburg. Anyways this isn't the first time that such thing happened as when Arsenal were following Yanbaev, the left-back's form sufferred.

As aforementiond Semin welcome back Aliev from suspension and for the first time this season, the people's coach decided to start both Aliev and Wagner from the first minute. In addition to these two, another one who was reintstalled to the starting line-up was Dmitry Torbinsky, who was given another chance to stake his claim for a regular place. Glushakov and captain Loskov completed the 5-men midfield while Dmitry Sychev returned from injury to replace the injured Maicon in attack. At the other end, the four at the back and Guilherme, who won a late fitness test mantained their place in the initial line-up.

With both mentors lining up a 4-5-1 formation, unsurprisingly the match started in composed manner. Clearly the counterparts were vreluctant to attack and risk the counter attack and thus much of the play in the opening minutes took place at the middle of the park. Eventually the spectators at the freezing stands had to wait the best 35 minutes to finally see a shot on goal. The first one to threaten was Torbinsky who from 35 yards out severily troubled Kolinko. Moments later Renat Yanbaev burst down from the left and after finding himself in acres of space in the oppositions box, the diminutive left-back tried his luck with a right foot effort to which Kolinko was equal to. That was all in the first half as the supporters could only for a better second half.

In order to spark some life into the team, Semin decided to withdraw the inexistent Wagner for the energetic Gatagov. The substitution seemed to have paid dividends almost immediataly as from the first moments Lokomotiv were clearly more lively than they were in the first half. Nevertheless still nothing materialised and just after the hour mark Semin played the Dramane Traore card. Immediately the match took a new dimension and within seconds Traore won the ball at the middle of the park and after advancing he played through Sychev, who one-on-one with the keeper he shot wide. Minutes later Aliev had a penalty call turned down and soon afterwards Traore tried his luck from an angled position with a left-footed daisycutter. When the home team were losing hope and Spartak looking more confident at the back, Sychev won the ball on the right flank and after turning well in the box he tried his luck from an angled position. His shot was charged down by an opponent but the ball fell once again into the path of Sychev who without thinking twice blasted home. Sychev was understandably ecstatic and more importantly Lokomotiv were leading in an encounter which could determine the whole season. This goal now allowed Loko to close down the opponents and hang out for the result. This opened up Nalchik and made them vulnerable for a possible counter-attack but Lokomotiv, although they had a chance or two, failed to put the match to bed. Actually it was Spartak Nalchik who nearly shocked the home crowd as in one of their last ditch efforts they managed to bundle the ball home only to be rightly ruled out for an offside. Lokomotiv took a sigh of relieve and with Semin introducing Rodolfo in order to help out in defence, the hosts did well to close down their opponents and record an important victory which allowed them to surpass the same Nalchik for the 5th place of the standings.

Player Ratings:
Guilherme - 7
Made two good saves. Reliable and king in the air. Inspired confidence.
Shishkin - 6.5
Not too adventorous but held his own very well.
Basha - 7
Another good performance from the Montenegrin. In one particular occasion he was perfect to read the game and break up a possible threatening counter.
Durica - 7
Strong in the air and confident in possesion.

Yanbaev - 5
Misplaced some passes and never got going.
Glushakov - 6.5
His style resembles very much the one of Maminov. Improving match by match

Loskov - 7

Rallied the troops.

Aliev - 6.5

Troubled Kolinko on a couple of times. Sprayed the ball around very well.
Wagner - 5
Inexistent
Torbinsky - 6
Threatened Kolinko with a long-range blow but clearly his place is not on the right flank.
Sychev - 7.5
Scored the all important goal.

Substitutes
Gatagov - 7
Fulfilled his task very well. Sparked the left flank.
Traore - 7
In my opinion, Lokomotiv would had never scored if Traore wasn't introduced. Gave Lokomotiv a new dimension.
Rodolfo - 6.5
Not much time on field but still influenced proceedings as he won invaluable seconds.

Lokomotiv keeping tabs on Japanese striker

2010-10-12T13:56:00.004+02:00

With Lokomotiv eager to strengthen the attacking department, we must expect that a host of strikers will be linked with Lokomotiv over the upcoming months; and actually following Dzyuba, the next striker to be linked with a move to Moscow is Shinji Okazaki, a Japanese international striker.

Shinji Okazaki, who is able to play as a central forward or second striker, currently plays Shimizu S-Pulse of Japan. The striker, who participated in the last World Cup, is just 24 years old and despite such age he already racked up 34 appearances and scored 18 times for Japan. The Takarazuka born-striker has been improving considerably in recent months and it is thought that Lokomotiv may expect a stern challenge from various European clubs for the signature of the 1.74m striker.

Shinji, who had a good World Cup already declared that he is ready to move to Europe. He conceeded that although his preferred destiations are Italy and Germany, he would jump on the chance to gain some European experience by turning out for Lokomotiv.

Given that the Japanese league is not one which I follow, I can't judge the player, however I must conceede that his goal/appearance ratio is not bad at all. Actually some of goals can be viewed by clicking HERE. Moreover an interesting fact about the player is that the 15 goals he scored in 2009 enabled him to be named by IFFHS as The World Top Goal Scorer 2009.

Sounds a good player to me! Moreover, following the exploits of Shinji Kagawa, Makoto Hasebe and Keisuke Honda for Borussia Dortmund, Worlfsburg and CSKA Moscow respectively, I must say that the prospect of having a Japanese in our ranks sounds nothing but interesting!

Lokomotiv interested in Spartak-duo

2010-10-07T16:16:00.004+02:00

According to Russian portal sport-express.ru, Lokomotiv Moscow are evaluating the option of making a formal enquiry to the availability of Aleksandr Pavlenko and Artem Dzyuba, whose rights are owned by arch-rival Spartak Moscow. Currently, the duo are away from Spartak as they were leased for a year to Rostov and Tom Tomsk respectively.

With regards to the latter, this is not the first time that the player was linked with a transfer to the red-green part of Moscow. Actually it is believed that Lokomotiv already tried to strike out a deal for the large forward in the last off-season (in which they failed) and thus now they intend to resume negotiations in order to acquire the former U-21 Russian international. Although it's true that he is a Spartak man, I believe that the player could do very well at Lokomotiv. He's agile, strong in the air, has the ability to hold up the ball, fairly technichal and at an age of just 22 years he already boosts European experience. Moreover this year he done pretty well with an average Tom Tomsk side as he scored 7 goals in 18 apperances.

As much like as Dzyuba, Aleksandr Pavlenko is also having a strong season as actually he can be considered as one of the mastermind behind Rostov's very respectable position. Pavlenko, who contributed 4 goals in 21 appearances (both league and cup), is 25 years old and has already made 100 appearances for the meat. In my opinion the Ukranian born attacking midfielder style's resembles very much the one of Loskov as he is very creative, possess a good shot and good freekick and is also able to dictate the tempo of the match. Should the move materialise the player would be a fairly good addition to a squad which is limited in creativity.

Lokomotiv Moscow, the Champions of....

2010-10-04T21:54:00.006+02:00

Yesterday, Lokomotiv Moscow were declared the champions of the Russian Beach Soccer National Tournament. They won the highest local beach soccer honour after they managed to beat former champions Strogino with the score of 3-2. Lokomotiv Moscow, which had much of players which represented Russia in this summer's beach soccer tournament such as Yeremeev, Shkarin and Makarov and a former Russian international in the form of Alexey Smertin were hotly tipped to win the tournament from the beginning, and eventually succesfully delivered. Nevertheless credit must also go to Strogino who although lost some key players at the middle of the season they still managed to provide a stern challenge for the top honour. Shkarin and a double from Swiss beach soccer international Dejan Stankovic paved the way for the win. Meanwhile Lokomotiv Moscow's Yegor Shaikov finished the season as top scorer with a beautiful number of 12 goals.

VERY WELL DONE AND ALL THE BEST FOR THE FUTURE!!

Lokomotiv record first away victory

2010-10-03T23:00:00.006+02:00

At loooong last!! Finally, Lokomotiv managed to record a victory away from Lokomotiv Stadium!! While it's always better late then never we must say that no one would have expected that it will take 10 long matches before Lokomotiv won the whole 3 points away from Lokomtiv stadium. Lokomotiv, who practically dominated from start to finish have Loskov to thank for the three points as after wasting a chance after an another it waas evident that for once again the Lokomotiv Moscow strikers forgot their shooting boots at home. Lokomotiv, who were without underfire Dmitry Sychev, throughouly deserved such success as for much of the match they dictated the play and forced Saturn to find refuge in the hopeful-long passing game. Although in recent weeks the Lokomotiv rearguard have been harshly criticised for lacking concentration for the whole match, the four at the back in particular Marko Basha improved considerably and for the last 4 matches they have been particulary impressive. Credit must also go to Jan Durica, whose return have evidently improved considerably the red-green's backline. Nevertheless for sure the man of the moment is no one else the 36 year old Loskov, who for once again turned back the years and produced a man-of-the-match performance. Although it's true that he missed a glorious chance at the begining, Loskov was the one pulling the strings in the midfield and connecting midfield with attack. In my opinion, although Lokomotiv played particulary well, I'm of the belief that with Aliev in our midfield, Lokomotiv would have been able to record a more comfortable victory as for much of the match the Saturn's Ramenskoye defensive midfielders failed to close down Loko's midfield and thus Glushakov & co were able to try their luck from long range out - something which undoubtedly Aliev would have capitalised on.

As aforementioned both Sychev and Aliev were out from the encounter. While the latter was unavailable due to suspension, the former failed a fitness test and thus had to sit out completly the cruncher at Saturn Stadium. In addition, Yury Semin had to make without the services of Malkhaz Asatiani, who is still serving the suspension for his unsportmanship conduct against CSKA. Semin, who toyed with the idea of playing Marko Basha upfront in the absence of Sychev fielded a 4-2-3-1 formation. Guilherme started in goal while Shishkin, Bahsa, Durica and Yanbaev completed the backline. Tarasov and Glushakov protected the back four while Gatagov, Loskov and Wagner were instructed to assist the lonely Maicon in attack.

With Saturn looking to bounce back from the 6-1 reverse to Zenit and Lokomotiv looking to push for a place in the Europa League, both teams came out aggresively and looking to win the midfield battle. Lokomotiv started strongly and Maicon perhaps should have opened the score for the visitors but his attempt to lob over Kinsky went inches wide. Saturn nearly hit Lokomotiv as a cross from the right evaded everyone and the ball fell to Kirichenko, who practically in a penalty position failed to deliver home. The loss of concentration from the defenders in red & green in such moment of madness was particularly remarkable. Nevertheless this was the first and eventually the only moment which Saturn severally threatened Guilherme as from then on it was all Lokomotiv. 2 minutes after the quarter mark Denis Glushakov trimmed the upleft as his long range effort went just centimetres wide. Minutes later Gatagov was presented a wonderful opportunity to break the deadlock but despite being in a good position he shot straight onto the keeper. Lokomotiv, who evidently by now were taking the game to Saturn threatened again through a Dmitry Loskov's freekick which Kinsky, albeit with a difficulty, parried to a corner. Wagner was the next one to threaten but as the others had no luck, and thus wasteful Lokomotiv headed to the break with the score still goalless.

The second half started the way the first ended. Saturn boss Gordeev failed to arrange his team and thus Lokomotiv continued where they left in the first one. Nevertheless although Lokomotiv had a better share of possesion than in the first half, they couldn't get past a sturdy Saturn defence and thus had to settle to long range shot, in particular Glushakov who for the second time in the night gave the illusion of the goal. Gatagov, who was having a bad match spilled yet another perfect opportunity as his attempt to shot goalwards ended up in a farce as seconds before he striked he mistakenly his the ball with his other foot and thus another chance went begging. Semin immediately noted that Gatagov's confidence fell to the ground and thus replaced the youngster with the aggresive Torbinsky. Wagner and Glushakov tried their luck yet again from long range but still couldn't find a way past Kinsky. Nevertheless, with 5 minutes to go finally Lokomotiv broke the dreadlock. Basha, who have been playing in attack for a while by now controlled the ball on the left and after skimming through a Saturn defender played a pinpoint ball to Loskov, who in turn passed the ball to Maicon. With his back to the goal, Maicon played back the ball to Loskov who without thinking twice shot to the bottom left corner of the net. The red-green, in particular the fans were ecstatic. Loskov's dream return to Lokomotiv was now complete as it was only the goal that he was missing. With 5 minutes left, I was wary that the match was far from over. Nevertheless, the Lokomotiv rearguard held on well and thus Lokomotiv managed to record the first away victory of the season.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 6.5

Quiet evening for the big Brazilian

Shishkin - 6.5
Rarely troubled but his poor marking at the beginning of the match could have well costed his side.

Basha - 7.5

Yet another strong showing from the Montenegrin

Durica - 7

Same as his college
Yanbaev - 6
Tried to attack but wasn't effective as we are accustomed to.

Glushakov - 6.5

Tried several long range shots but was luckless in all of them.

Tarasov - 7

Together with Glushakov won the midfield battle and that won the match for Lokomotiv.

Wagner - 6

Several touches delighted the crowd but undoubtedly can do a lot better.

Loskov - 8

A man-of-the-match display. Rolled back the years and pulled the strings for the visitors.

Gatagov - 5

A match to forget for the youngster

Maicon - 6.5

Played out of position and perhaps should have scored early in the match.

Substitutes:
Torbinsky - 6

Tried to put his dissapointing form behind him. Unsurprisingly yellow carded too. Need to learn some discipline.

Rodolfo - N/A

No time to influence the match but made what required
Traore - N/A
Introduced to waste some time.

Lokomotiv improve to beat Terek Grozny

2010-09-27T09:44:00.009+02:00

Yesterday Lokomotiv Stadium was the stage for the encounter between Lokomotiv Moscow and Terek Grozny. Although like Lokomotiv Terek Grozny often struggle when playing away from home, the fact that only one point separated the two prior to the match meant that the match was never going to be an easy ride for the red-green - and atually so it was. Although Lokomotiv started brightly and opened the score within the first two minutes through a penalty, the first period was merely a poor one for the Railwaymen as for much of the first period were second best to Terek. Credit to Terek who although it's a must to say that they scored the leveller in an illegal manner, they plucked up courage and locked down the hosts in their own half; Glushakov was visibly helpless against the fury of the 5 Terek midfielders, who literally swept aside Loko's midfield. Although Lokomotiv did managed to go ahead once again through Maicon and defend such slim lead till the half time it was clear that something had to change as Denis Glushakov couldn't cope on his own. Thus Semin introduced Dmitry Tarasov and the move paid dividends immediately as Tarasov bossed the midfield and helped Lokomotiv to improve and hold on for the eighth win of the season.

Despite welcoming back Wagner and Rodolfo from injuries both of them failed to make it to the initial line-up as the only change made from last week was the reinstatement of Maicon at the expense of Tarasov. Guilherme started in goal while all the back four kept their respective place and positions. Glushakov protected the back four while the Loskov and Aliev roamed around at the middle of the park. Gatagov and Maicon hugged the flanks while Sychev lead the front line.

As already said, Lokomotiv came out aggresively and within 180 seconds they were one-nil up as Lokomotiv were awarded a penalty for a penalty. Terek protested furiously but the decision rightly stood and up stepped Aliev who confidentially converted to set up Lokomotiv for a much needed victory. Minutes later Aliev threated again but as soon as Lokomotiv were looking to have settled down Terek drew the match. Shamil Asildarov lifted the ball over Loko's defence and onto the path of Mauricio, whose attempt to lob over Guilherme miserably failed as the Brazilian keeper did very well to stay on his feet and smother the ball - however, as Guilherme was falling to the ground with the ball grabbed in his hands, Mauricio bumped into Guilherme and managed to steal the ball from Guilherme's hand and shoot home. Lokomotiv protested furiously and although replays showed that Guilherme was right to protest the goal still stood. Buoyed by the goal, Terek poured forward in numbers and managed to lock down Lokomotiv in their own half. Nevertheless although Terek had the majority of possesion still they couldn't find a way past Guilherme and eventually against the run of play Lokomotiv regained the lead. Aliev inswinging corner found Maicon who without even jumping headed to the bottom right corner to score his third goal of the season. That was all in the first half as Terek went for the break ahead in ball possesion but trailing in score.

Semin tried to correct the hole at the middle of the park and introduced Dmitry Tarasov to partner Denis Glushakov at the expense of Alan Gatagov. On the other hand, Terek tried to increase some firepower upfront by putting on Hector Bracamonte in place of their goalscorer Mauricio. However such move hardly paid any dividends as Loko's defence dealt very well with any move that Terek tried and actually Guilherme was called only to make routine saves such as claiming balls in the air. Credit must go to Loko's midfield which unlike in the first half they closed down the opponents as soon as the opponents had the ball at their feet. Play became boring and apart of some pressure applied on our defence in the dying minutes Terek were hardly dangerous. On the other hand, with Lokomotiv looking to hold on their advantage rather than extending it limited themselves to put men into attack and threathened severily only once as Sychev's header brought out the best from Hazyur. That was all and although Lokomotiv maybe haven't recorded the win they were aiming for, considering the circumstances I believe that in the end it's the result that matter and Loko should be pleased with that as it enabled them to surpass the same Terek in the standings and still challenge for an Europa League slot.

Player Ratings:
Guilherme - 7

Illegally challenged for the goal. Inspired confidence

Shishkin - 6.5

Closed down his flank very well.
Basha - 7
Continued with his fine form. Composed and strong in air.
Durica - 6.5
Looked rusty in the opening minutes but improved as minutes went by.
Yanbaev - 7
Exchanged his attacking and defensive roles exceptionally.
Glushakov - 6.5
Was overrun in the first half but improved greatly in the second period.
Aliev - 7.5
Scored a penalty and assisted Maicon for the second.
Maicon - 7

Scored a header and troubled Terek's rearguard
Gatagov - 5.5
Started brightly but faded. Replaced at half-time.
Sychev - 6
Frustating night for the Russian International.

Substitutes
Tarasov - 7.5
Brought some much needed steel to Loko's midfield.
Wagner - N/A

No time to impress

Rodolfo - N/A
Introduced to waste time.

Yanbaev own goal undoes Lokomotiv

2010-09-20T00:53:00.009+02:00

Following last week's morale boosting win over CSKA, Lokomotiv flew to Tomsk in a confident mood of picking where they left last Sunday. Obviously last week's performance instilled some belief in the majority of Lokomotiv players and although trips to Siberia are anything but easy some, including me, were confident that in a way or another Lokomotiv will manage to return back to Moscow with full points. Unfortunately however this wasn't to be as Tom Tomsk made their home tag reputation no damage and proved to be more than a worthy opponent to Lokomotiv. Although Lokomotiv managed to go ahead through hot prospect Alan Gatagov, the Siberian outfit pegged us almost immediately as form insistence of once Loko-wanted Artem Dzyuba forced Guilherme to a difficult save, which however wasn't enough to deviate the trajectory of the ball out of the goal. Yanbaev, ran to the ball in an attempt to clear the ball but however miserably failed as his clearance bounced onto the upright and onto the net. Maybe Shiskin, who was close to the action could have done better. But anyways what's done is done and cannot be reversed. Although Lokomotiv went for a win, the draw against Tom shouldn't be considered as a negative result. Truly that Lokomotiv still failed to win one single away match but the league is not over and should the guys give their best I am pretty sure that we won't finish the season without a single away win. Anyways let's hope so because it would be disastrous for a club of our stature.

Having to make without derby hero Maicon and Malkhaz Asatiani due to suspension, Semin made some slight changes in the initial line-up. Actually Semin made no changes as the only two changes were those forced one due to the aforementioned suspension. Durica made his first start for Lokomotiv this season and given that he is left footed Marko Basha had to move to the right of the heart of the defence in order to accomadate the Slovakian. At the other end Gatagov replaced Maicon and started on the left flank. On the other hand the other 9 kept their respective place and position.

Following a dull opening 20 minutes, in which most of the play took place in the middle of the park, the match finally came into life. First Aliev threatened severely Pareiko with a 45-metre freekick and then Loskov failed to volley home with a close range effort as his shot was dealt without any problems by the Tom Tomsk captain. By now Lokomotiv had the most of the play and were the most likely to open to score. And actually, with 5 minutes to go, Lokomotiv raced ahead. Gatagov was played through majestically by Sychev and after bringing down the ball beautifully he showed a composure of a 30 year old by slidding the ball between the legs of the opposition. One up for Lokomotiv, a lead which however was short-lived as Tom Tomsk pegged Lokomotiv back immediately as described above. Guilherme was furious as obviously such effort could have been dealt a lot better.

After playing second fiddle for much of the first peiord, Tom Tomsk came out for the second in a more aggressive manner. Actually the hosts started to close down the opponents at the middle of the park and thus Lokomotiv were limited into their own half and started to operate on counter attacks. In a game of two faces, now it was Tom Tomsk who were doing the game, even when Tom Tomsk ended up with ten due to a hiliarious sending off of Kim Nam-Il, who was given his second yellow card for telling the ref to book a Lokomotiv player. Rules are rules but certainly that was a funny way to send off a player. Nevertheless despite playing the final 20 minutes with one-man up, Lokomotiv failed to trouble Pareiko and thus had to settle for a one-all draw.

Player Ratings
Guilherme - 7
No chance on goal. Otherwise did nothing wrong
Shishkin - 6
Misplaced some passes, which some of them were rather simple
Basha - 6.5
Allowed Dzyuba to turn around him for the goal but otherwise was strong.
Durica - 6.5
Started in a clumsy manner but improved considerably as minutes went by
Yanbaev - 5
Scored an own goal which probably could have been avoided.
Glushakov - 6
As Shishkin misplaced some passes but grew as the match went on.
Tarasov - 6.5
An all around performance from the tall midfielder.
Aliev - 6
Threatened with a 45-metre freekick but that was all from the Ukranian.
Loskov - 6.5
Tried his best but that wasn't enough. Still Lokomotiv look better with him on pitch.
Gatagov - 7
Scored his second league goal of his career and caused several problems on the right for Tom.
Sychev - 6.5
Assisted Gatagov for the goal and tried to lead the line as he did last week.

Substitutes
Dramani - 6
Started brightly but faded.
Torbinsky - 4.5
When you are substituted after entering the pitch just 10 minutes before it is clear that he did nothing worthy. Very passive as outlined by Semin.
Traore - N/A
On pitch just because Semin have no other suitable options.

Welcome back Captain

2010-09-18T16:11:00.004+02:00

At 36 years of age and 3 years after he left the armband to Bilyaletdinov following his transfer from Lokomotiv to Saturn, Dmitry Loskov was once again installed as captain by Yury Semin. Although Loskov captained the troops against CSKA many thought that Dmitry Loskov will only captain the railwaymen for the derby against the horses.

However, in an interview with Yury Semin, our father stated that he took matters into his own hands and decided to appoint Dmitry Loskov as captain for the rest of the season. Semin added that this club madly needed a leader and he believes that the experienced midfielder is the perfect one for the job. Thus for the remaining 10 matches of the season our captain will be Dmitry Loskov. On the other hand Dmitry Sychev will be our vice-captain.

With regards to the matter, the now-former captain Dmitry Sychev stated that he is happy to give the armband to Dmitry Loskov because as Semin he believes that he is the perfect one for the job.

Good move and WELCOME BACK CAPTAIN LOSKOV!

Lokomotiv back on track!

2010-09-12T15:24:00.008+02:00

As a wounded animal looking to hit back with violence, this afternoon Lokomotiv rose up to the occasion and looking to put black August behind them, the lads produced a resolute performance and eventually ran out 1-0 winners against 'now-all-over-title-challengers' CSKA Moscow. Amazing match!! Lokomotiv scored early in the match and thus many expected that Loko will eventually loose ground and let CSKA back in the game. However today this wasn't the case as rallied by captain-again Dmitry Loskov, Lokomotiv managed to hold on to a much needed result. The Loko backline, which was the target for much criticism in recent weeks produced a superb display, especially Marko Basha who literally nullified Vagner Love. Actually in a whole match Vagner Love didn't managed to shot a single shot at goal! Huge game by the Montenegrin & co! Praise should also go to Glushakov and Tarasov who hassled the CSKA engine room and close down every inch of their midfield. Credit should go also to Sychev who although lost his captainy he seemed little effected as he was in quite an inspiring form. Ultimately while credit should go the whole squad who admirably functioned as a true squad, it's a must that Yury Semin should be singled out. The way he mastered the match from start to finish showed that Semin was and is the best man for the job!! Credit should also go the home crowd who made this day even special with their non-stop support towards the hosts!! Beautiful day for Loko - now let's hope that the team build on this performance and challenge for at least an Europa League place!!

Looking to bounce back from heavy back-to-back defeats Semin shuffled his men and fielded a fluid 4-2-2-2 formation. Guilherme obvisouly started in goal while Basha teamed up with Malhaz Asatiani at the middle. On the other hand Yanbaev and Shishkin lined up on the flanks. Denis Glushakov and Dmitry Tarasov supported the backline while Loskov & Aliev were given the licence to connect the midfield with attack. Moreover Semin also moved Aliev even deeper and thus Loskov was more near to Sychev. Personally this was a good move as Aliev found more space to operate. In attack Maicon, in quite a far right position was suppose to assist Sychev in attack.

Looking for a boost, Lokomotiv came out looking for an early goal as soon as from the first kick of the game. Actually 2 minutes barely passed and Aliev troubled Akinfeev with a rocket from the middle of CSKA half. This looked to have encouraged Lokomotiv as everyone present at the stadium noticed that in the opening 10 minutes Lokomotiv functioned far better than they did in all August. One the quarter mark Lokomotiv had a goal righlty ruled out. Maicon picked up the boal on the right and from quite an acute angle he let off a sniper which was well neutralised by Akinfeev - however the ball fell to Sychev who in open net delivered home. Unfortunately for Lokomotiv at the moment Maicon shot Sychev was centimetres offside and thus the linesman made the right call. Moments later Loskov troubled Akinfeev as his long range effort whispered just over the crossbar. This teritorial advantage seemed to had galvanized Loko as although they were always alert for any CSKA counter-attack Loko managed to heap on some pressure on the vulnerable CSKA defenders. On 25 minutes Loko deservedly went ahead. Sychev insistence's earned Loko a corner which Aliev perfectly delivered towards Maicon who without even jumping bundled home. Lokomotiv stadium erupted while Guilherme was visibly ecstatic. Managing to go ahead Lokomotiv relented a bit and replaced their attacking intent with a more cautious approach. Eventually this lead to CSKA winning some territorial advantage - but that was all as the Loko backline, in particular Basha who alone literally wiped out the CSKA front men. One-nil was the score at the break.

The play restarted with CSKA visibly eager to create more than their counterparts. With regards to substitutions no managers made any. The fact that Semin haven't made a substitution at the break shows how Lokomotiv did well in the first 45 minutes. As aforementioned CSKA came out more adventorous and actually within 5 minutes Guilherme had to be on his toes to parry onto corner Tosic driving shot. Lokomotiv went even deeper and this let CSKA to win even more territory. Nevertheless this failed to yield any results as Glushakov and Tarasov anchored the midfield admirably. On the 69-th minute both the arch-nemesis had a one player sent off as following a high-foot tackle from Mark Gonzalez on Asatiani, the latter retalitated by throwing the ball towards the Chilean face. The diminutive winger replied by grabbing the Georgian from the throat. Obvisouly the ref was let with no other option than sending off both of them. To be sincere while obviously I didn't enjoyed Asatiani's moment of madness I must say that the sending off of Asatiani was a blessing in disguise. The reason was that as soon as Mark Gonzalez went on field just minutes earlier CSKA started to look more incisive in attack. So in poor words I was satisfied to see Asatiani off, as long as he went off with the Chilean as it eventually happened. True that Loko remained with 10 but so did CSKA and personally the threat was much lower with CSKA minus Gonzalez. With Loko then playing with just 3 defenders Semin wasted to time to introduce Durica in place of Aliev - quite surprising to say the least! But after thinking about it I thought that Semin did well. With Loko playing with ten men and CSKA in attack there was huge risk that Aliev will earn his fourth yellow card of the season which would mean a suspension. Good move. Although CSKA huffed and puffed at the end there was no way through the Loko defence and thus had to gave away a match which potentially crushed any title dreams. On the other hand, the question if this victory will recharge Loko is on. Let's hope so anyways!

Player Ratings:
Guilherme - 7
Spilled a ball or two but was monstrous in the air when CSKA started to pressurize the backline
Shishkin - 7
Solid in defence, cautious in attack.
Asatiani - 4
Without hesitation I would give him a higher rating for the reason aformentioned but a red card for unsportmanship conduct should never be awarded.
Basha - 8.5
Immense. Dealt with everything threw at him.
Yanbaev - 7
Nullified Sekou Oliseh and then Zoran Tosic quite well.
Tarasov - 8
Huge game from the former FC Moscow. Apart of one ball didn't put a wrong foot once!
Glushakov - 8
Full of energy. Looked confident and the crowd was absolutely delighted with one particular back-heeled-through-the-legs pass.
Aliev - 8
Full of running and Loko's engine. Troubled Akinfeev through several long range efforts and claimed an assist too.
Loskov - 8
It's amazing that he has 36 years. Captained the side on the day and showed his real leadership skills. Steadied the ship.
Sychev - 7.5
Gave his all. Lead the front line very well on the day.

Substitutes
Durica - 7
Ensured that Lokomotiv hold on to an important victory. A Basha- Durica could be interesting.
Gatagov - N/A
No time to impress but held the ball exceptionally
Ozdoev - N/A
Introduced to consume some seconds.

Remembering Jacob Lekgetho....

2010-09-09T18:11:00.005+02:00

Today, the 9th of September 2010, is the 2nd anniversary of the death of one of the best players ever to grace the Lokomotiv Moscow shirt. Apart of his enormous talent and love for the shirt he wore, Jacob was a great and respected guy and he was highly respected by the red-green faithful who forsure will never forget such great man which today it's very difficult to find alike.

I just hope that all the Loko and also those neutral one take some time out of their busy schedule and join me and offer a prayer for the soul of our sorely missed friend.

Rest in peace Jacob. You will remain in our hearts forever!!

Lokomotiv and Uzbekistan play out an entertaining match

2010-09-04T17:40:00.006+02:00

Today in a friendly match Lokomotiv took the field against the national team of former Soviet Union country Uzbekistan. Although currently the railwaymen are doing bad in the championship, the players managed to put disappointment and pressure aside and eventually emerge 2-1 victors. With the managers fielding their best players on pitch, the match resulted to be an entertaining one. Although Uzbekistan opened quite well, the hosts managed to build up a double advantage and bit by bit control the match. Uzbekistan managed to claw one back with 8 minutes remaining but the red-green held on to record a morale-boosting victory and bring some smiles to a good number of supporters present at the training stadium.

Dmitry Loskov and youngster Georgi Nurov scored for Lokomotiv while former CSKA man Alexander Geinreich found the net for Uzbekistan. Loskov's and the Uzbek's goal were both from penalties.

**I would like to excuse myself for the recent photo-less posts. The problem is that Photo Uploader is functioning well and thus at the moment I am unable to upload any photos. Once the situation which I have no control over will be corrected, I will start to upload photos once again :). Thanks for your attention and my apologies**

Board of Directors give Semin a vote of confidence

2010-08-31T20:27:00.006+02:00

In a board meeting later this evening, Loko's Board of Directors discussed several issues such as the recent dismal results, selection issues and plans for the future, including the future of head coach Yury Semin. Ultimately, the directors decided against considering the question of sacking Semin and thus decided that he will stay at the helm. Hooray!! What a good news for us fans!! After the several rumours that emerged last weekend I was resigned that Semin will no longer manage Lokomotiv - Good job directors!!

Moreover, the Board of Directors moved on to discuss the potential transfer of Marko Basha to Paris Saint Germain. However, fortunately for us the board decided against and thus for the time being the Montenegrin defender will stay with Lokomotiv.

In addition it is thought that the directors also the disussed the potential appointment of Yury Belous as Sporting Director, who was proposed by no one else Olga Smorodskaya. However following some discussions decided against such appointment and thus the former FC Moscow Sporting Director won't be joining Lokomotiv.

Well done Board!! Brilliant decisions!!

Consequently Yury Semin moved on to publically thank the Board of Directors and the fans for the amout of support they gave him in the last days.

Vladislav Ignatiev leaves for Kuban

2010-08-31T16:48:00.005+02:00

Following some negotiations between Lokomotiv and Kuban, the two parties agreed for the transfer of Lokomotiv outcast Vladislav Ignatyev. Thus the youngster, who didn't made a single appearance for Lokomotiv will spend the rest of the season on loan. Moreover the first division outfit will have the option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the loan deal.

Recall that Vladislav Ignatyev joined Lokomotiv only 6 months ago. As aforementioned he failed to make his debut for the main squad and for most of the time he turned out in the youngsters championship where he managed to score two goals in 8 appearances.

Good luck Ignatiev!! Nevertheless I just hope that he doesn't come back to haunt us next season given that Kuban are leading the first division! I've saw too much of such thing!

3 and easy for Zenit

2010-08-30T11:06:00.007+02:00

Lokomotiv 0 Zenit 3. Not much to say about the match. Lokomotiv started well, Zenit scored a debatable goal, Torbinsky got himself sent off and then Zenit cruised to a comfortable win, which actually could have been by an even bigger margin. What's happening to Lokomotiv, a club which not only did wonders in Russia but made a name for Russia in European competitions by being more than a worthy opponents for the likes of Real Madrid, Inter, Milan and Barcelona amongst others? While it's clear that the players are unmotivated and Semin look resigned, personally the blame is solely of those in the boardroom. While Rubin, Zenit, Spartak and CSKA strenghten the squad with expensive players, Lokomotiv have only been busy to sell a player or two. Apparently, this have infuriated Semin who for the first time, yesterday he publically criticized Olga Smorodskaya way of doing. This is because according to the legendary manager, both Odemwingie and Ignatiev were sold without his knowledge. So Mrs/Ms (truly I don't care), is this your way of managing? Is this your way of treating someone who knows the club more than anyone else? Is this the manner of treating someone who actually it is thanks to him that you have your position? Do you know that if it wasn't for Semin the club WOULD HAVE NEVER reached these heights? Anyways, do you know that the football is round in the first place? I have my doubts.

The icing on the cake of all this circus was that that according to the old lady the reason why Lokomotiv haven't signed anyone is because in winter 11 players joined the club. While it's true that 11 players joind the club, this figure includes young players such as Mirzaev and Ozdoev, who although they are undoubted talents it is obvious that they still have much to learn before playing for the main team. This is absurd. In poor words according to her, Semin must make use of those inexperienced duo against the like of starstudded Zenit, Rubin and CSKA. Outrageuos! In addition, her handling of the media, the club matters and everything else are appaling to say the least. Saying that Semin has health problems is something that can only come out from cowards. What's she's trying to do? To picture herself as caring for our trainer's health? Oh give me a break. It's utterly depressing to see such a disgraceful and shameless figure at the helm of our beloved club. What's her real mission? Few have suggested that her goal is to find some investors who are willing to invest in the club as the Russian Railways are looking to reduce funds as early as from next season. What does this may mean? Another FC Moscow? God forbid. Moreover, should our beloved club change owners, may does this mean that the name of the club will be changed? I mean such as when SV Austria Salzburg was bought by Red Bull? We can only hope otherwise.

Although for sure off-field concerns should concern us as they are negatively effecting Lokomotiv, I believe that the main current concern should be to steady a sinking ship. Given that now the registration period of the Russian Premier League is closed, I believe that it's useless to sack Semin and appoint a new coach. Anyone who watched the match yesterday would agree with me that virtually Lokomotiv played with no strikers as for the most of the time both Sychev and Maicon were on the flanks (and Semin played a 4-4-2 formation!). So what Semin can do if that cunt did her best to do anything but satisfy Semin? Can Semin bring Aleksandr Minchenkov back? Can be a good option. Although he is no Milevskiy I am adamant that he can't do worse than Traore. Moreover the youngster is a striker and not an out-and-out forward such as Sychev. What about Poloz? To say the truth, as Semin himself conceeded I will be expecting that a youngster or two make it to the initial line-up, and rightly so.

With regards to yesterday's match, as already said Lokomotiv started brightly - but unfortunately soon as Zenit opened the score Lokomotiv somewhat faded. Although the result won't change it's a must to that Zenit's goal came from a debatable circumstance, with the referee being the main culprit. Basha fouled Bukharov just outside of the box and as the referee went on to explain to the Loko defenders, Zenit took the freekick quickly and Danny delivered home. While Zenit did well to exploit Loko's lack of concentration, the blame was all on the referee as he should have pointed to his whistle, that is that Zenit can't take the freekick before the same judge whistles. Luck has truly deserted us! Lokomotiv tried to respond but couldn't manage to severily trouble Malafeev and co and thus the half-time score was 1-0 for the visitors. For the second half, Semin tried to inject some creativity and thus sent Wagner on pitch. The move seemed to have paid dividents immediately as Loko started to link up a little better than before. Nevertheless, in yet another strike of misfortune, when Loko seemed to have found some rythym Torbinsky foolishly lunged onto a Zenit player and rightly was given his marching orders. From then on it was all Zenit and eventually the St. Peterburgers cruised to a three-nil victory.

Something mandatory to report is the support Yury Semin received from the home supporters throughout the whole match. The support reached it's high point when Zenit scored the third goal as the fans started to chant against Olga Smorodskaya and in favour of the legendary coach. Don't know how come the Board of Directors are going to let such detail escape. Do they know that if they sack Semin the crowds will fall more than they have fell? Pathetic.

Player Ratings:

Whole Team - 5

It's useless to rate the players as practically they all failed to perform yesterday. While Torbinsky was the worse as he directly conditioned the match, I believe that the best performer yesterday was Basha. It's true that Loko shipped in 3 goals but in my opinion yesterday the big Montenegrin had the best performance of the season as on various occations his timing and tackling were near perfection. On the other hand, apart of Torbinsky the other disastrous performers were Yanbaev and Sychev.

....because football isn't just a game and Lokomotiv isn't just a club....

2010-08-28T10:33:00.013+02:00

....because football isn't just a game and Lokomotiv isn't just a club....

No words can describe my sadness right now. What is happening to our club? Have not won from mid-July and to make matters worse we are out from the Europa League, a competition which we have been craving for from the day we made it to it. It's obvious that the magical Champions League nights are all but a distant memory by now, but how the hell we can't make it past a Swiss second division club? Some blame Semin, others the players while there are other who suggest that the roots of this crisis is new president Olga Smorodskya -my opinion, blame our new president. While the fans feel lost and the players and coaches wondering what's happening, the old lady is busy striking out deals with Puma so as from next season we will be wearing Puma shirts instead of the adidas one. The only good news from this is that at least Lokomotiv will be there next season. This is because with such dismal peformances I'am starting to fearing that in a couple of years we may end like FC Moscow. Solely the thought bring shivers down my spine. Well, to say the truth the fans already started to decrease from the stands and coupled with the president's insistence that no new acquisitions will be made, I will be expecting Lokomotiv to make even worse and as a result more empty seats at the stadium. I read that she have a degree in economics but in no means this is a wise economic move. It's true that by abstaining from signing a player from the funds made available by the sale of two players may improve Loko's economic situation, but did the old lady took into the account the money that will be lost from gate revenue, merchandising, etc etc? Yeah, a degree in economics - give me a break.

Moreover I believe that it would be somewhat a crime to blame all the players for bowing out from the Europa League. This is because last Thursday apart of a player or two, the guys did their best and the improvement in their performance was more than evident. Apart of the fact that up front they were linking up quite well, at the back following the withdrawal of Asatiani, Lausanne rarely threatened. Credit must be given to Tarasov who after some dismal performances today he gave a huge performance as he won several balls, some of them difficult ones. Credit must also go to Torbinsky who in his familiar position on the left linked up well with Yanbaev to severely trouble the Swiss outfit right flank. Aliev was his usual self while Gatagov gave Lokomotiv the drive which they were sorely missing for the past weeks. Shishkin exchanged his defensive and attacking duties very well while Guilherme for sure cannot be blamed for the Swiss' goal. Traore and Sychev also moved particularly well but it's evident that they cannot finish anymore, especially the Malian striker who lost 2 clear chances. Moreover after Aliev drew the match for Lokomotiv, the Malian's first touch was often horrible as he started to give away the ball continuosly. So the question is, if Lokomotiv have signed a decent striker, would we have made it past Lausanne? Definatively yes. So in poor words, this is the reason why Olga is the one to blame. Personally she did all the calculations wrong. By not powering a move for a striker, Lokomotiv may have lost a fortune of 5 million euros between gate receipts, prize money, television revenue and others. Well done, very well done Olga. In addition Lokomotiv will continue to do badly for the rest of the season and should the situation doesn't improve, I am fearing that Semin may end up to loose his position. That would be catasthropic as everyone know that 50% of Loko's fans wouldn't come to the stadium if the "people's coach" will be sacked. Well, i'm starting to believe that this Olga doesn't know nothing about football. Shame on the board of directors who replaced the terrific Naumov with this joke.

With regards to the match, well there's not alot to be said. Practically Lokomotiv dominated from start to finish. Their goal came from Asatiani's lack of concentration as he let Silvio to power home with the minimum of efforts. From then on, taking into account Loko's difficult moment the match was always going to be an uphill. Although they managed to launch in an attack after another Loko's cutting edge was evident missing for once again. Eventually it took 85 mins for Loko to score - and well who else if not Aliev. Alhtough this encouraged a bit Lokomotiv, they failed to score in the next 35 minutes and thus the match proceeded to the lottery of penalties, which Lokomotiv unfortunately lost. Aliev, Sychev and Loskov all scored for Lokomotiv while Shishkin and Maicon missed for the home side. Lausanne managed to score 4 out of and thus the final P.K. result was 4-3. Congratulations to Lausanne and good luck. An even bigger good luck goes to our players who tomorrow will face Zenit. Good luck - you need it.

(I don't take penalties into account as they are just a lottery)

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 6

A spectator all match. Nothing to do with the goal.

Shishkin - 7

Exchanged his attaking and defensive duties very well.

Basha - 6

Secure at the back

Rodolfo - 6

More or like as his college

Yanbaev - 7

Gave Lausanne's right back a torrid time today

Asatiani - 4

The main culprit - enough said.

Gatagov - 7.5

Drove Lokomotiv as a captain. Pity that his performance was marred by some poor decisions.

Torbinsky - 8
Showed some touches which delighted the crowd. I just hope that Semin take note and make sure to employ him on the left for the foreseeable future.

Aliev - 8.5

Scored the freekick and looked to inspire. Failed to but credit must go to a player who love his new club and fans more than half of the players which have been around for much lot than him.

Sychev - 6.5

Tried hard but all was in vain

Traore - 6

Did his best but clearly at this level his best iss not enough. Should have scored a goal or two.

Substitutes

Tarasov - 7.5

If only he started the match.....

Loskov - 7

Linked up well with Aliev. Sprayed the ball around very well

Maicon - 5.5

Tried but didn't managed anything notable. Headed over when he should have left the ball to Tarasov who was ready to poke home.

Lokomotiv register Jan Durica

2010-08-26T16:54:00.003+02:00

Today, Lokomotiv Moscow officially confirmed that the club have registered Jan Durica for the remainder of the season. Jan Durica, who passed the last six months at Hannover 96 chose the number 28 as his previous number, the 20 is currently assigned to Slovenian defender Branko Ilic.

Jan Durica affirmed that although he hoped to move permanently to Hannover 96, the player is raring to go and stated that he will be looking to use the experience he gained by playing in the World Cup in order to win a place in the red-green line-up. Jan Durica played 9 matches for the German-based team.

Well, to say the truth I am quite please with the registration of Jan. Apart of the fact that he will give us much more options at the back I believe that the former Saturn Ramenskoye defender have enough skill to power himself straightaway into the starting line-up, especially with the recent disastrous performances shown by the Lokomotiv defence.

Milevskiy dream is over

2010-08-25T18:54:00.005+02:00

A pity. While the fans are in despair and rightly calling for the new management to sign a new player or two, the same management is busy finalising contract with Puma, which as of next season will be our shirt providers. Although I must say that I'm glad with such change as Puma's shirts are second to none, I believe that there are more serious matters than shirts that the management have to address.

The first one is obviously to sign a striker. As Milevskiy was dropped from Dynamo's encounter, the media were rife to declare that Milevskiy is almost a Lokomotiv player. Rumours reached high peak point when yesterday a particular website portal declared that Milevskiy signed a 2.5mln a year contract with the red-green. Suddenly only one thing was left - the official announcement. Spare your breath mate! This because according to emerging reports Milevskiy did signed a contract but with Dynamo Kiev and not Lokomotiv!! In poor words the Ukrainian ace renewed his expiring contract with Dynamo Kiev and haven't and will not sign for Lokomotiv!

Thus the million question mark is, who, if any will Lokomotiv sign? I don't know. The only think I know is that with Lokomotiv focusing solely Milevskiy and with the transfer window closing in few days, the situation looks rather bleak for Lokomotiv. Pavlyuchenko? Impossible.

Lokomotiv trashed by the Police

2010-08-22T20:00:00.006+02:00

I never saw this coming. All the high expectations prior to the start of the season are all in vain. By luring players of calibre such as Aliev, Tarasov and Maicon amongst others I was adamant that his year could have been our year. I was wrong, literally. We're barely in the second part of the season and the season is all but over for us. Not only we weren't capable to compete for a Champions League, let alone for the league but now we are risking that next season European football will be missing once again from Lokomotiv Stadium. Outrageous.

While it's obvious that we are struggling because we don't have a recognised striker, this cannot excuse such sub-par performances such as the one today against today Dynamo. How on earth can one striker in the form of Kuranyi get the best of all our three defenders? How on earth the man who banged in a goal after goal in the pre-season isn't no longer to control a ball let alone score a goal? How on earth Tarasov is doing so badly after his fantastic start? These are some of the questions which I believe that this squad have to answer. Apart of Aliev, Guilherme, Yanbaev and the recently arrived Shishkin, all the other have been too way inconsistent. This may mean that there can be other players like Odemwinky; that is they are happy to receive the paycheck and give no effort at all on pitch - and this hurts me lot.

Nevertheless, it hurts me even more when following what Semin have done for us, some of the fans publically call for him to resign. For me, Semin is faultless. Although it's true that he has to take up some responsibiliy, I don't believe that it is his fault that the players aren't following him. First, for example, following the disastrous performances by the two centrebacks in recent weeks, Semin tried to address the system by playing with three central defenders. Nevertheless this failed to yield any dividends as twice Dynamo capitalised on errors from defenders. Can Semin be blamed for this? No! Second, Haminu Dramani was given his first ever start and to tell the truth he did particularly well in the first period. His link up play with the rest of the midfield was what Lokomotiv have been missing for the recent weeks. However, with little luck Lokomotiv lost possibly their best player of the first 45 minutes due to injury which according to emergng results will leave him out for the best of 30 days. While I agure the best for the Ghanian international I ask again the question - is Semin to blame for the impotency in attack in the second period? No! It's not his fault that the attacking options at his disposal includes only the clumsy Draman Traore! How about the fact that Lokomotiv haven't signed a recognized striker yet? Well if I want I can outline another few reasons why I don't find Semin culpable, but truly there's no need to. Moreover if there is someone who can help us out from this situation, it is Semin.

With regards to today's match there is not a lot to write about. Lokomotiv threatened only twice through some Aliev-Dramani link-up play, while practically eveything else was all Dynamo Moscow. Although the three at the back managed to defend well, it was evident that they were a tragedy looking to happen and eventually on 40 minutes Kuranyi pounced on Basha's error to break the deadlock. Semshov played a beautiful ball to Kuranyi, who being left onside by Basha ran to Guilherme and clipped the ball over Guilherme and home. Lokomotiv failed to respond, even in the second half when Semin introduced Tarasov, Traore and Loskov for Kambolov, Haminu Dramani and Torbinsky respectively. As soon as Loskov was on pitch Lokomotiv seemed of having found the courage to try to snatch a draw but unfortunately, Basha assisted Kuranyi for his second as his short back pass to Guilherme was anticipated by the German, who then done the rest of the job. To add salt to injury Tarasov was shown his marching orders for a high boot on Semshov - however this wasn't the last kick in the teeth for Lokomotiv as in a perfect counter ttack Cesnauskis made them three. Dynamo 3, Lokomotiv 0.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 6

Did nothing wrong but partly culpable for the third. Nevertheless the match was won and lost by then.

Shishkin - 6

Did well but misplaced some passes

Basha - 3

Horror show. Undid Lokomotiv

Asatiani - 5

Defensively suscepible

Rodolfo - 5.5

Slight improvement from last week

Yanbaev - 5.5

Has yet to hit top form following the World Cup break

Kambolov - 5

Anonymous in the first half

Aliev - 7

The only positive one. Was comprehensively frustated as his teammates started to spill simple passes.
Torbinsky - 6

Slight improvement. Linked pretty well with Haminu and Aliev in attack.

Dramani - 6.5

Bright performance from the Ghanian international. Should have scored thou.

Sychev - 5

Missed a glorious chance and largely disappointing. Scored but was rightly ruled offside.

Substitutes

Tarasov - 4

Did nothing but getting himself off and putting his teammates in an impossible situation

Traore - 5

Clumsy, enough said.

Loskov - 6

Failed to steady an already sinking ship, but at least tried.

Hands off Semin

2010-08-22T10:17:00.004+02:00

It's outrageous! The man who couldn't score a single goal in don't know how many appearances in the Russian Premier League, managed to score on his debut in the English Premier League. Obvisouly I was left perplexed and less than glad but was really left me disgusted was the reaction of the some suppose Lokomotiv fans. It's true that Lokomotiv have been playing poorly lately but how can you blame Yury Semin for Odemwingie's poor performances? That's utterly disgraceful!!

Have you watched West Brom's yesterday's encounter versus Sunderland? Odemwingie was practically all over the pitch! His work rate was amazing while the way he was moving and linking up with his teammates were a far cry from what we have seen of the last months! Moreover his finishing for the goal was branded "magnificent finishing" by the commentator. Can now someone tell if Peter scored any such goal in the recent year and a half? The answer is a big fat no! His work rate have been inexistent for much of the period while his finishing touch was clearly all but vanished as on every occasion whenever he played as a striker the player has largely disappointed. So how can you blame Semin? It is known to everyone that Semin is a master when he comes to motivate players and bring the best of them.

So if Semin failed with his approach with Odemwingie, the problem was Odemwingie and not Semin. Thus although I respect your opinions please refrain from blaming Semin. In the last year and a half Peter did nothing but lacing respect towards you fans while on the other hand Yury Semin left a comfortable position within Dynamo Kiev to turn to his and our beloved Lokomotiv and do his best to bring some smiles on our faces as he has done some years ago!! Being a true fan the idea to blame Semin would never ever cross my mind. The problem was Odemwingie's attitude. In the last year and a half he never really wanted to play for Lokomotiv. He was happy to receive the paycheck and walk on the pitch. Hope you understood my point - Blame Odemwingie and not Semin!

Odemwingie move made official

2010-08-20T17:30:00.004+02:00

Finally, Odemwingie is an official West Bromwich Albion. After five days of rumours, the English club finally communicated the move through their official website. The article, which includes a photo of Odemwingie holding WBA's shirt, says that Odemwingie signed a contract of 2 years with an option of another and that subject to international clearance, the Nigerian ace can make his debut as soon as tomorrow. The transfer fee involved was left undisclosed.

Peter Odemwingie was given the number 24. All the best Peter!!

Loskov inspires Lokomotiv revival

2010-08-20T15:56:00.009+02:00

I felt it coming and I was right. As from the first minute to the minute Loskov was introduced, Lokomotiv was second to Lausanne-Sports in all departments. Although player-to-player Lokomotiv are much better, Lokomotiv for once again failed to play as a team and actually could or even should consider themselves lucky that they managed to return to Russia on the upper hand. Although Lokomotiv are still in pole position to qualify, with this current form and morale I believe that the tie is far from won for Lokomotiv.

Should they play the way they did in the first period, Lokomotiv would never score. Loko's midfield was utterly disastrous as before Loskov entrance Lokomotiv were totally incapable of constructing a notable attack and even to defend against a side who are technically limited. The worse of them all were Maicon, Glushakov and on top of them Tarasov, who was literally poor. Clumsy in possesion and nearly gave away a ball for every one he won. Nevertheless, although they were really poor, I think that now it's time for Semin to scrap his 4-5-1 system. Sad to say but it's true. Loko's players doesn't suit the system. If you watched closely the match yesterday, the squad was divided into two parts, the attacking department and the defending department. The midfield department was inexistent. The huge gap in between was absurd. When Lokomotiv were in attack, the defence often stayed too back while practically all the midfielders apart Tarasov were too close to our opponents gate while when Lokomotiv were recalled back to defend, the most of the times Lokomotiv were on the wrong foot.

Moreover Burlak and Rodolfo were all but secure - they must be thankful to Guilherme as on several times singlehandedly saved Lokomotiv. Actually all the team must thank the Brazilian keeper as without his help Lokomotiv would have surely lost. Moreover, I believe that this tactic doesn't take out the best from Aliev, who personally is more suited in a central position were he could spray around balls and possibly pounce on lost balls. By playing on the wings or rooming around Sychev, yesterday Aliev was largely anonymous. Torbinsky tried to do a trick or two, but as the whole team failed. As soon as Loskov went onfield, Loko's problem was immediately exposed. With a formation where Aliev was too far up and Tarasov too far down, Lokomotiv were lacking a player who pull the strings in the midfield. Thus it wasn't a surprise that when Loskov was introduced right at the middle of the park, Lokomotiv started to function. The way he sprayed the ball around was breathtaking and eventually instilled confidence in the team. A true leader.

Back to the chronicle, the match started a lot of play at the middle of park as both parts failed to construct anything notable. Lokomotiv went close from long range through Aliev. Lausanne tried to respond and they nearly did with high colours as Ridge Munsy nearly opened the score for homeside, but Guilherme replied well. Guilherme was once again on his toes as some minutes later Lausanne-Sport threatened again. Nevertheless, soon after Lausanne went deservedly ahead. An inswinging corner was dealt poorly by Lokomotiv and the ball felt to Traore who without thinking twice let off a screamer which not even 4 goalkeepers would have saved it. Beautiful goal and the home fans erupted. On the other hand Lokomotiv were shell-shocked while other players shocked their heads in disbelief. Aliev and Sychev tried to take the iniative themselves and the former went as close as hitting the upright from a practically zero angle. Unlucky. That was all for the first period and Loko went to the break one-nil down.

Semin tried to inject some much need firepower and introduced much-maligned Traore in the place of the very poor Maicon. Although clumsy as much as you want, the Malian striker gave Lokomotiv a new dimension as at least Lokomotiv started to construct some credit worthy moves. Actually it was the Malian who went close as at full stretch he failed to connect with Aliev's powerful cross shot. Soon afterwards Glushakov managed to make the impossible and shot out from an ideal position. That was his last contribution as Loskov replaced Glushakov and finally Lokomotiv started to function. Nevertheless, it was the Swiss outfit who threatened as Ridge Munsy header bounced onto both the crossbar and the upleft before bouncing out. Guilherme breath a sigh of relief. Seconds later Guilherme ran out and saved Lokomotiv once again. This was Lausanne's last attack as from then on it was all Lokomotiv and eventually managed to draw the match. Loskov played a perfect ball to Traore, who in turn headed down to Sychev who volleyed home through the keepers legs. Buoyed by the goal, Lokomotiv picked up themselves and minutes later Loskov rattled the crossbar from a long range out. Lokomotiv continued to construct some good moves but unfortunately time ran out for Lokomotiv and had to content with a one-one draw.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 8.5

Saved Lokomotiv on several times by producing two world class saves in the process. No chance with the goal.

Shishkin - 7

Held his own. The best of the bunch at the back.

Burlak - 5

His lack of experience was exposed time and time again.

Rodolfo - 5

Should have helped his younger college but not only failed to do so but also let Lausanne's strikers to get the best of him

Yanbaev - 5.5

Left his trademark runs in Moscow

Tarasov - 4

Poor. Lost a ball for every one he won. Clumsy in possesion too.

Maicon - 4.5

Didn't managed to get past one defender let alone threaten

Glushakov - 5

Ran like a headless chicken.

Aliev - 6

Tried his best but failed to rally his troops

Torbinsky - 5.5

Failed to impress

Sychev - 7

Screwed a header but took his goal very well.

Substitutes:

Traore - 7

Failed to score but gave Lokomotiv a new dimension. Assisted Sychev for the goal.

Loskov - 8.5

A heroic cameo. Showed his teammates how the ball should be passed around. Amazing vision. Creative and inspiring.
Gatagov - 5

Faded out after 5 minutes.

Lokomotiv back into European action

2010-08-19T15:46:00.006+02:00

After missing European football for two years, finally, Lokomotiv is back on European stage. Tonight, Lokomotiv will take on Swiss second tier outfit Lausanne-Sport and although they are huge favourites to win comfortably, European matches are never ever easy. For example, no one on earth would have bet that Sibir would manage to hold PSV Eindhoven to a draw, let alone came out as winners. Eventually, with the match finishing just minutes ago, Sibir managed to defie the odds and record a historic one-nil victory over their much more illustrious opponents. Although the tie is far from over as Sibir still have to travel to Holland, this result should serve as a caution to Lokomotiv. Although on paper it's an easy match, matches aren't won on paper. As Semin outlined, Lausanne have nothing to loose and thus they could be a real difficult opponent should Lokomotiv fail to respect their opponents and think that the match is over before it even started.

According to http://www.fclokomotiv.com/ and other reports, Semin is expected ring some changes from last Sunday. While Guilherme is an undisputed starter, one from Asatiani and Rodolfo can be droppoed to make place for young prospect Taras Burlak. Yanbaev should start on the left while one from either Shishkin or Smolnikov should get the nod for the right back slot. Tarasov should anchor the midfield, while Torbinsky is expected to be recalled back to the initial line-up following that he had to sit out last encounter due to suspension. Gatagov will be expected to make a rare start while Ignatiev could be in place to make his debut for Lokomotiv as according to emerging reports Wagner is out from the encounter due to injury. Ultimately Aliev will assist Sychev in attack.

Let's just hope that Lokomotiv come back home with a comfortable victory!!

The match will start at 20.30 and the referee will be Mr. Gediminas, from Lithuania.

Dujmovic officially swaps Lokomotiv for Dynamo

2010-08-17T22:22:00.004+02:00

Following that last week several reports emerged about Dujmovic's switch from Lokomotiv to Dynamo, today the move was finally made official. Although no fee wasn't mentioned it is believed that Dynamo will pay 3million euros for the 29 year old Croatian international midfielder. The former Amkar anchorman will be presented to the media tomorrow.

Although lately Dujmovic was below par, I must concede that we lost a great gentleman in Tomislav Dujmovic. Actually, differently to others, Tomislav Dujmovic thanked the fans for their constant support and went even as far as excusing himself for not reaching the fans expectations. Great words from a great man!! As a Loko fan who appreciate players alike you, I wholeheartedly wish you all the best in the blue-white colours of Dynamo - except when Dynamo play us!!

Tomislav Dujmovic joined Lokomotiv on a free transfer from Amkar Perm at the beginning of 2009. During his one and a half year stint with Lokomotiv, Dujmovic made 41 league appearances and scored a total of 5 goals.

Bye Bye Peter Osaze Odemwingie

2010-08-16T16:10:00.004+02:00

The moment most of Lokomotiv fans have been waiting for has finally arrived!! It's all but official. Odemwingie is no longer a Lokomotiv player. According to the latest and reliable sources, Peter Osaze Odemwingie, 29, signed a three year contract with Premier League "powerhouse" West Bromwich Albion. According to the same sources, the paperwork between the two clubs and the issue of the work permit are holding out the move from being made official. The transfer fee involved is thought to be 2.5million sterlings, that is somewhere near 3 million euros.

Although as already said the move is yet to be official, in an interview published on http://www.lokomotiv.info/, Peter Odemwingie confirmed that he was in England to sign a contract with West Brom and undergo a medical test. The report continues by stating that the "Super Eagle" signed a three year deal and will be unveiled by The Hawthorns later this week. By joining West Brom, Peter Odemwingie will be realising his and our dream -as anyone know his dream has been always to play in the English Premiership while on the other hand in the last year or so ours has been always to see him out of Lokomotiv.

Peter Osaze Odemwingie joined Lokomotiv exactly 3 years ago and went up to make 75 league appearances with a return of 21 goals. Although his year and a half at Lokomotiv were a success, his last year and a half were a constant disappointment and eventually ended by being hated by much of the home crowd. The worst point of his red-greenish career was for sure some 2 months ago when he was put on sale by his own fans.

Prior to joining Lokomotiv, Peter Odemwingie played for KAMAZ, Bendel Insurance, Pandurii Târgu Jiu, La Louvière and Lille. He debuted for the Super Eagles back in 2004 and to date is three matches short from the 50-cap milestone.

Although for my reasons I ended up lacking respect towards Peter, still I would like to thank him for his service he gave to Lokomotiv. Although we fans started to dislike him when he declared that he derserves better than turning out for Lokomotiv, no one can deny that Peter Odemwingie was outstanding in his first year and a half or so at the club. Pity that it couldn't last longer than that. Anyways, all the best in your new adventure at West Brom!!

Lokomotiv succumb in derby

2010-08-16T10:50:00.006+02:00

Today, the Lokomotiv Stadium was the stage for the much anticipated encounter between Lokomotiv and Spartak. Although the match was scheduled to take place at 16.00 Moscow time, the authorities decided to move the match to 21.20 Moscow time in order to safeguard players and spectators alike from the recent heatwave which hit the Russian capital. However if the heat badly hit Moscow, certainly it didn't had any effect on Spartak as the visitors produced a resolute display and took home an invaluable three points. Welliton, who as you may remember was signed by Spartak because they failed to sign our Odemwingie, together with captain Alex proved to be the big difference between the two rivals as their link up play was unstoppable at most times. Although Lokomotiv never gave up, and clawed one back with 5 minutes to go, the end was already written on the wall when Spartak scored the third goal. This is because Lokomotiv needed something special to recover from such setback and let's set the record straight, Lokomotiv apart of Aliev are unable to provide something special. By now it's needless to say that we need a striker. Moreover I believe that the time is rife for Semin to scrap the 4-2-3-1 formation as the players we have at out disposal doesn't suit such formation.

Sadly to say, Lokomotiv's weakest link today was the hole at the back. Although Asatiani wasn't that bad, Rodolfo was quite shocking as twice he lost Welliton for goal. Talking about the backline, Lokomotiv stroke a good deal when we've signed Shishkin as yesterday he was the best of the back four. Another bright point was Aliev, who although wasn't at his total best was and is obviously Lokomotiv's best player. While his freekick was breathtaking, his assist for Sychev was Loskov-like. Actually, for the book records Sychev's goal was his 105th, that is the same number of goals scored by former Zenit hero Andrey Arshavin. Another one for the records was Loskov's return to Lokomotiv, which was amazingly cheered by Loko's faithful - and rightly so anyways, he's the man who holds the record appearances and goals for Lokomotiv. Moreover, something important to higlight was Dujmovic and Odemwingie's omissions from the squad which surely mark the end of their adventure in the red-green part of Moscow.

The derby started in a frantic manner, with both clubs showing some decisive and aggressive play. Wagner and Aliev took the initiative for Lokomotiv but eventually it was the visitors who drew first blood as Alex drove well down the left and crossed the ball pinpointly to Welliton, who with his studs bundled home. Spartak fans erupted in joy, joy which eventually lasted just 2 minutes as Aliev let off yet another freekick which gave Pesyakov absolutely few chance. 1 all and game on! The goal seemed to have encouraged Lokomotiv as they started to play some good football and threaten Pesyakov on several times. Nevertheless it was Spartak again who took the lead again. Some good link up play put Welliton through on goal and finding himself one on one with Guilherme Welliton did what he's best at, scoring! Guilherme was furious with Rodolfo as for sure the former captain must have to take some responsibility for letting Welliton escape. With Lokomotiv looking vulnerable in defence, Yury Semin ordered his troops to lock down themselves and limit any potential further damage till the break. Lokomotiv managed to close down well and went to the break trailing by 1 to 2.

For once again, Semin made a substitution at half time as he replaced the tiring Wagner with the energetic Gatagov. The move seemed to pay dividends immediately as Gatagov looked eager to impress. Nevertheless, all was in vain as Lokomotiv massively failed to produce anything of note. Soon afterwards, the Lokomotiv faithful witnessed the moment they were expecting for months - the return of Loskov. Nonetheless, unfortunately this couldn't stop rampant Spartak from making them three and put the match to bed. Once again the main culprit for Loko were the centre halves as they've allowed too much space to Welliton to deliver home for the third time. The whole Loko players looked devastated while Semin looked resigned. With relatively no futher reliable options on the bench the match was all but over. Semin tried to inject something by introducing unpopular Traore but unsurprisingly this failed to yield any results. Although Lokomotiv did managed to claw one back through Sychev it was all to late and Spartak were left to celebrate an important and deserving victory. The goals can be viewed here.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 5

3 shots 3 goals. No chance with anyone of them.
Shishkin - 6

The best of the 4 at the back.

Asatiani - 5

Allowed Welliton to slip in and seal the derby

Rodolfo - 4

Horror show. Twice lost Welliton and twice Welliton bundled home.

Yanbaev - 5.5

Few good runs. Partly culpable for the preceedings of the third goal.

Tarasov - 5

Misplaced some passes but couldn't really do nothing against a rampant Spartak side.

Glushakov - 5.5

Tried to inject some aggressiveness Lokomotiv have been sorely missing lately.

Aliev - 7.5

Lokomotiv's key player. Scored a freekick and assisted Sychev for the second. The only one who never wanted to give up.

Maicon - 5.5

Largely anonymous for the second consecutive time

Wagner - 5.5

Need to up his game

Sychev - 6.5

Took his chance very well, but anyone will tell you that he is no longer a striker.

Substitutes
Gatagov - 6

Injected some energy

Loskov - 6

Tried his best to steady what was a sinking ship.

Traore - N/A

No time to impress for the clumsy striker.

Branko Ilic courted by Blackpool

2010-08-14T10:34:00.004+02:00

According to various reports, Premier League newcomers Blackpool have handed a trial to Lokomotiv's Slovenian defender Branko Ilic. Sky Sports claim that Blackpool are keen on the versatile defender and actually is currently on a trial at the English outfit. The decision about his future is expected to be made within few days

It is believed that Ilic, 27 yrs, is very eager to leave Russia for England.

Recall that Ilic joined Lokomotiv just some 4 months ago. With Kuzmin ahead in the pecking order, the Slovenian found it difficult to force his way into the first team and in the end made only a single appearance. Moreover, recently Branko was left out from Lokomotiv's squad list submitted for the Europa League.

With Ilic joining at a zero cost, any transfer fee more than 1 million euro will be more than welcomed. So given that we are in a dire need of money, I believe that should Blackpool table a reasonable offer Lokomotiv should accept it right away. Recall that moreover Lokomotiv recently signed Roman Shishkin and thus we aren't certainly lacking right full back.

Lokomotiv renew their interest in Milevskiy

2010-08-12T20:25:00.006+02:00

Following the departure of Naumov and the appointment of Olga Smorodsky, many including myself thought that the list of possible recruitments will depart with Nikolay Naumov. However, apparently this wasn't the case as according to various sources Semin have managed to convince Smorodsky that signing Artem Milevskiy is a must and thus it is believed that Lokomotiv have entered into negotiations with Dynamo Kiev over the signature of Artem Milevskiy.

Lokomotiv Moscow are expected to offer a sum of 9million euros for the former Dynamo captain. The sum will be funded by the sale of Kuzmin to Rubin for 3 million euros and the imminent departure of Dujmovic to Dynamo Moscow for 6 million euros.

Although Semin made it crystal clear that Milevskiy is badly needed in order to strengthen the squad, it is believed that the board of directors are still have to discuss the issue. On the other hand Igor Surkis, president of Dynamo Kiev, and Artem Milevskiy rebuffed some claims and claimed that there was no contact from any Lokomotiv official.

Will this saga ever end? We can only hope that it positively does!

Dujmovic on the move

2010-08-12T14:59:00.007+02:00

According to various reports emanating from Russia, Lokomotiv Moscow's Croatian defensive midfielder Tomislav Dujmovic is very close towards a move to Dynamo Moscow. The transfer fee involved is toughted to be between 3million euros. It is anticipated that Dynamo Moscow will make use of the funds generated from the sale of the twins Kombarov to Spartak in order to lure Tomislav Dujmovic to the blue-white side of Moscow.

Although last year Tomislav Dujmovic developed into a key player for Lokomotiv, this term the Croation largely failed to impress and actually, lately, the Croatian midfielder ended up dividing playing time with Dmitry Tarasov. So, with Tarasov, Glushakov and the recovering Charles together with some promosing youth such as Kambolov coupled with Lokomotiv's need to raise some funds to bring in a striker, I believe that the new management should really consider selling the big defensive midfielder. Nevertheless, with the current market circumstances, I deem the 3million quite a poor offer. Actually, I believe that Lokomotiv should hold for a fee between 5-6 million.

Tomislav, 29, joined Lokomotiv in March 2009 and to date racked up 39 league appearances and scored 5 goals in the process.

Lokomotiv submit their Europa League application

2010-08-09T15:52:00.004+02:00

Today, Lokomotiv Moscow submitted their application for the participation at the Europa League. The 29 players chosen by Semin were the following:

Goalkeepers: Guilherme, Marek Cech, Aleksandr Krivoruchko

Defenders: Roman Shishkin, Rodolfo, Marko Basha, Renat Yanbaev, Malkhaz Asatiani, Igor Smolnikov, Maxim Belyaev, Taras Burlak, Ruslan Kambolov, Milan Milanovic

Midfielders: Aleksandr Aliev, Tomislav Dujmovic, Dmitry Torbinsky, Roman Tarasov, Denis Glushakov, Dmitry Loskov, Charles, Wagner, Vladislav Ignatiev, Alan Gatagov

Strikers: Peter Odemwingie, Dmitry Poloz, Dmitry Sychev, Maicon, Georgi Nurov, Dramane Traore

Recall that Lokomotiv will play against Lausanne-Sport on the 19th August. The first leg will be held in Switzerland.

9 men Lokomotiv escape with a draw

2010-08-07T21:38:00.007+02:00

What a frustating night!! Missing a penalty, getting 2 players sent-off, missing two glorious chances at the end, could have been worser? Perhaps. This is because at least Lokomotiv were lucky enough to hold Krylya Sovetov at bay and record a blank draw. Although Lokomotiv came with the intent to take home the whole three points, given the circumstances I think that the draw should be considered a positive result. Although Lokomotiv looked toothless even when being 11 against 11, at least, Lokomotiv were capable of showing some resolute defending and protect Guilherme from any genuine chances. Actually, throughtout the whole 90 minutes Guilherme made only one genuine chance. Credit to the whole defence, including the debutant Roman Shishkin who had quite an impressing debut. As the attack, today Loko's midfield was really poor. Tomislav Dujmovic was all over the park and put his teammates in a precarious position, Torbinsky made his confidence no favours by missing a penalty and subsequently getting himself off, while Dmitry Tarasov seemed to be a shadow of the Tarasov of the first part of the season. With regards to Odemwingie, I just hope that today's match was his final one. Although he did won the penalty for us, he literally contributed nothing to the visitors and helped little at the back, even when Lokomotiv ended one man down. Disappointing to say the least.

As from the first minute, both clubs came out aggressively looking for a fast opening goal in order to settle the nerves. While Lokomotiv need such goal in order to raise some much needed confidence, the home side, bouyed by their home support were looking to raise their spirits and possibly out of the relegation zone for the first this season. Eventually this led to a lot of midfield play and particularly few shots at goal. Actually it took a while before a side managed to threat the opposing keeper - this after Budylin's shot hit Shishkin and took a very unpredictable trajectory. Fortunately the ball went out for a corner. Minutes passed by, and as Lokomotiv were looking to taking the upperhand, Lokomotiv were rightly awarded a penalty for an irregular blockage on Odemwingie. Upstepped Torbinsky, who looking bereft on confidence shot poorly and softly towards Lobos. This penalty miss looked to have shot Loko's confidence in the head as instantely Lokomotiv started to loose ground. Minutes later, matters went from bad to worse as Dujmovic was rightly given his second car for bruishing an opponent in the head with his elbow.

With Torbinsky playing literally with zero confidence I was expecting that it would be prudent to replace him. Nonetheless he came on for the second half and it was the Poor Odemwingie and the crocked Basha who were eventually replaced by Denis Glushakov and slightly injured Rodolfo respectively. Things didn't improved as within just 10 minutes of play Lokomotiv were left with 9 men on field as the frustated Torbinsky was like Dujmovic showed his second yellow card for what it seemed a normal tackle on the ball. Torbinsky went berserk. Enjoying a two-men advantage Krylya threw everything in attack, but fortunately to us at no avail as Loko's backline produced potentially their best defensive performance of the season. Particular credit goes to Rodolfo who did eveything in his power to preserve an important draw. At death, Lokomotiv could have scored a sensational winner through either Asatiani or a counter attack which failed to materialise. Ultimately, Lokomotiv were left with mixed emotions with a nil-nil draw, while Krylya will be hoping that they wouldn't regret their failure to turn their numerical advantage onto goals coming the end of November.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 7

Started in a shaky way as twice gifted the ball to the opponents. Grew in stature as minutes went by.

Sishkin - 7.5

Looked the only of having some sort of confidence as he closed down very well and provided a more than reasonable attacking option. Great first touch too. Encouraging debut.

Asatiani - 7

Led the line very well - could have scored the winner

Basha - 5.5

Replaced in the second half

Yanbaev - 7.5

Put behind the bad match last week and his ommision from the national squad by producing an energetic display. Never stopped running.

Dujmovic - 4

Put his teammates in a very difficult position. Expect better from a man with such experience.

Tarasov - 5.5

All over the park in the first period - Strong in the second.
Torbinsky - 4

Missed a penalty and was shown his marching orders. A very bad day for the former Spartak man.

Maicon - 6

Anonymous, especially when Loko ended with 9 players. No one can blame him thou as at least he tracked back a lot.

Odemwingie - 5.5

And I was generous.

Sychev - 6

Troubled Krylya's left back on a couple of occasions. Looked unusually exhausted and was eventually replaced.

Substitutes

Glushakov - 6.5

Protected the back four very well

Rodolfo - 7

Gave his all in the 45 minutes he played.

Smolnikov - N/A

No time to impress

Artem Milevskiy close to Lokomotiv?

2010-08-07T17:42:00.002+02:00

According to Ukranian portal URA Inform and apparently other reliable sources Dynamo Kiev president Igor Surkis have agreed to sell their star player Artem Milevskiy to Lokomotiv Moscow. Although nothing was made official by other part, the report continues by stating that the transfer fee involved in the deal is that of 10 million euros and that the Dynamo no. 10 should sign with Lokomotiv within this weekened. According to the same report, the reason behind this transfer is Dynamo's failure to agree with CSKA for the transfer of Guilherme. Recall that Igor Surkis have always stated that their talisman striker won't move if the asking price of 20million euro wasn't met.

As either part failed to confirm or reject the rumour, one can conclude nothing at this time. Although Lokomotiv have long been courting the Ukranian ace, it is unknown whether or not Dynamo want to sell, especially with the Champions League play-off looming.

It's important to point out that should Milevskiy join Lokomotiv, he would be unable to take part in the Europa League due his appearances at the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Although this is a con, I believe that there are too much pro to scrap any potential for such detail, so let's just hope that the transfer go finally through. We have been craving for a decent striker for far too long!! Moreover, it is important to move quickly as there are some crunching matches coming up - matches which would eventually determine our league and potentially also the Champions League spot. Fingers crossed and let's hope that Lokomotiv win tonight against Krylya Sovetov, but top of all finally bring a decent striker!!

Athens calling for Odemwingie

2010-08-06T16:44:00.007+02:00

According to Sport Express, Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos are interested in signing Peter Osaze Odemwingie. The rumour reports that the Greek capital club are ready to table an offer of 5 million, that is 3 million short of the fee Lokomotiv are holding out to. The report ends by outlining the fact that to date there was nothing formal but just initial contacts through agents. Keeping in mind Odemwingie's past and his present form, and given all the circumstances, I deem the 5 million fee more than reasonable.

I just hope that the move materialise as soon as possible - as long as Odemwingie doesn't change his attitude and finally start to give his 100% for the red-green shirt. I am adamant that if he wants to he can be one of the best strikers in Russia. Recall that now that the World Cup is over, Odemwingie will not or will not be expected to do what he did in the first part of the season, that is holding himself back in order to safeguard himself from any injury which would have put his participation at the World Cup into jeopardy. So, wake up and give your all mate - if not, pack up and just leave!!

Lokomotiv Moscow pitted against Lausanne

2010-08-06T15:36:00.006+02:00

Today, the UEFA Headquarters at Nyon were the stage for both the Champions League and Europa League draw. Being drew in group 7, Lokomotiv had to face one of Timisoara (Romania), PAOK (Greece), Motherwell (Scotland), Gyor (Hungary), Dnepr Mogilev (Belarus) and Lausanne-Sports (Swizterland). Eventually, Lokomotiv were drawn against Lausanne-Sports.

The first leg will be played in Switzerland, at their 16-000 all seater Stade Olympique de la Pontaise on the 19th of August while the return will take place in Moscow on the 26th of August.

Something about Lausanne-Sports....

Lausenne-Sports were established in 1896 and they are based based at Lausanne, Switzerland. To date, Lausanne-Sports has won the Swiss Super League and Swiss Cup on seven and nine times respectively. Despite this rich history, Lausanne-Sports currently plies it's trade in the Swiss Challenge League, that is the second tier of the Swiss League system. Actually, they only qualified to the Europa League only through their appearance in the Swiss Cup Final, which they lost 6-0 to Basel FC. Their star players are Silvio, who scored 3 goals in 4 appearances in the Europa League and their captain Fabio Celestini, who made 35 appearances for the Swiss National Team.

In order to make it to here, Lausanne-Sports eliminated Bosnian Borac Banja Luka and Danish Randers FC with an aggregate of 2-1 and 4-3 respectively.

Although on paper it seems an easy tie, there are no easy games at such stage of such competition. Although we should be optimistic, it is important that Lokomotiv be cautious in their approach. Recall that Lausanne-Sports are on the same level of Zulte Waregem, the club which eliminated us in our last European appearance. Let's hope for the best anyways and let's hope that by then we would have added a decent striker in our ranks!!

Goodluck Lokomotiv!!

*For the record, Sibir Novosibirsk and CSKA Moscow will face PSV Eindhoven and Anorthisis Famagusta respectively*

Oleg Kuzmin joins Rubin Kazan

2010-08-03T17:38:00.011+02:00

Today Lokomotiv came into agreement with Rubin Kazan for the transfer of right back Oleg Kuzmin. According to http://www.fclm.ru/ the former FC Moscow 29 year old defender signed a 3 year contract with the Russian champions. On the other hand the transfer fee involved is believed to be that of 3 million euro. It is believed that the main reason behind this transfer is the prospect of playing in the Champions League.

During his year and a half stint at Lokomotiv, Oleg Kuzmin racked up 36 appearances and scored 2 goals in the process. Prior to joining Lokomotiv, Oleg played for Spartak Moscow, Uralan Elista and Chornomorets and as aforementiond FC Moscow. He has yet to make his first appearance for the Russian National Team.

On behalf of the readers of the blog I would like to thank Oleg for his contribution to Lokomotiv and wish him all the best for his new experience at the Tatar capital. Good luck mate.

Rostov conquer Lokomotiv

2010-08-03T15:35:00.006+02:00

Last Sunday, Lokomotiv Stadium was the stage for the showpiece between two teams who are vying for an Europa League place, that is Lokomotiv and Rostov. Although only three points seperated the two sides before the encounter, everyone was betting on the homeside to record a victory - actually Lokomotiv never lost against Rostov since the inception of the Russian Premier League. Although Lokomotiv were the better side, especially in the second period, Lokomotiv lacked the cutting edge for once again and were unable to severely trouble Rostov's Belarussian keeper. To make matters worse Lokomotiv lost their talisman Aliev midway in the second half as the Ukranian ace was shown his second yellow card for diving. Thus, Aliev will be suspended for the upcoming match against Krylya Sovetov Samara. While Sychev did his best and went close with a chipped shot from outside, the only real positive of the match was Maicon, who never gave up and showed his affection towards the club by hurrying Rostov's player out of the field when the latter was substituted. The home fans seemed to appreciate the gesture as they cheered the Brazilian instantly. On the other hand, sadly, Renat Yanbaev was the worst player on pitch as undoubtedly he produced the worst performance ever in the red-green shirt - but anyways, every player will have a bad day someday, and today it was Renat's turn. Moreover, in a surprising move Semin relegated Asatiani to the bench for the first time in this season - his place was taken by Montenegrin Marko Basha.

The first half practically produced nothing. Rostov's keeper Amelchenko was never severily troubled as Lokomotiv could only come close through long range shots from Glushakov and Maicon. Eventually Lokomotiv paid the price as Rostov went ahead through Valikaev's header. Lokomotiv seemed to be hit cold by the goal as they couldn't produce something of note for the remaining ten minutes of the first half. 1-0 was the score at half-time.

With Lokomotiv looking uninspiring in the first half, Semin tried to inject some life in the second period by withdrawing Tarasov and Glushakov for Wagner and Traore respectively. Although Lokomotiv were looked better than they were in the first half time, they couldn't trouble Rostov's backline as Rostov dealt with Lokomotiv's attacking moves very comfortably. The only time Lokomotiv troubled Rostov in the opening minutes was when Sychev went close by lobbing the ball over the onrushing Amelchenko from long range out. Minutes later Adamov was booked for diving and soon later Aliev was booked for the same offence. Unlike Adamov however, Aliev was already booked and thus was given his marching orders. Semin refused to gave and thus tried to induce some power by introducing in place of the tired Torbinsky - unfortunately the move failed to yield any dividends as Lokomotiv were unable to claw one back. Thus at the end of the day, it was Rostov who celebrated a famous victory. The highlights can be viewed by clicking here.

Player Ratings

Guilherme - 5.5

Rarely troubled. His only contribution was to pick the ball out of the net.

Smolnikov - 6

Was Loko's most consistent attaking threat throughout the whole match. Growing match by match.

Basha - 5

Never truly tested

Rodolfo - 5

Mixed performance from the Brazilian defender. Did some important interceptions but spilled some balls too.

Yanbaev - 3.5

Everything went bad for him today. A pity - let's hope that he has the mental strength to put his performance behind as arguably he was on the best players this season - personally only second to Aliev.

Tarasov - 5

Too much passive. Tried his luck too on several times but had no luck at all.

Torbinsky - 6

Provided some much needed aggressiveness in Loko's midfield.

Maicon - 6.5

Never gave up - even when things went from bad to worse.

Aliev - 5

Left his teammates in an awkward position. Given that Aliev was Loko's best attacking outlet, everything was over for Lokomotiv when he let frustration take over and get himself sent off.

Glushakov - 5

Replaced in the half time as practically he produced nothing in the first period.

Sychev - 6.5

Huffed and puffed but couldn't break his duck.

Substitutions

Traore - 5.5

Lokomotiv were a little bit better in attack once he was sent on field.

Wagner - 5

Apart one solo run, the Brazilian was anonymous.

Gatagov - N/A

No time to impress

My Apologies

2010-08-02T18:31:00.002+02:00

I am writing this post in order to notify you readers that due to unforeseen circumstances I wont be able to write the match report of Lokomotiv versus Rostov until tomorrow evening.

By the way, Lokomotiv lost the match with the score of 1-0 and Aliev was shown his marching orders midway in the second half.

My apologies
Silvio

Duo leave Lokomotiv on loan

2010-07-27T16:53:00.008+02:00

Dynamo Bryansk came into an agreement with Lokomotiv for the 6-month loan transfer of Aleksandr Minchenkov and Sergey Efimov. Thus in poor words, the two Lokomotiv graduates will spend the next 6 months under the guidance of The Boss, Sergey Ovchinnikov - Lokomotiv's former goalkeeper. Both players are looking to use the transfer for different reasons.

Sergey Efimov, 22, is eager to put the injuries past him and gain some match fitness. He conceeded that he doesn't want to play for the junior and thus jumped for the chance to play for Bryansk in the second division. He made his intent to help his new club and eventually gain some much needed playing time.

On the other hand, Aleksandr Minchenkov, 21, is looking to gain invaluable first team experience from the 6th month stint at Dynamo. Minchenkov made it clear that his intention is to gain some experience and playing time so next year he return back to Lokomotiv and try to force his way onto the first team. Minchenkov made it clear that he was always favourable towards a short-term move as he doesn't want to leave Lokomotiv.

Best of luck to both of you!!

Loskov is officially back

2010-07-27T15:39:00.008+02:00

Dmitry Loskov is back. Loskov is back. The talismanic captain is back. The legendary midfielder is back. The number 10 is back. Potentially the best Lokomotiv player of all time is back. In poor words, it is official, after three years away from home, Dmitry Loskov came back and signed for Lokomotiv. FINALLY!! I never believed that I would be writing this post anytime as I believed that with his age at the wrong side of the 30s, Loskov would have never came back to Lokomotiv. But as Yury Semin did, Loskov came back to his stadium, his club, his fans!!

Despite being 36 years old and most of football critics may argue that his days are well over, I believe that Loskov may prove to be an amazing capture. Apart of his undisputed talent, Dmitry Loskov commands a lot of respect from the red-green people and undoubtedly they are in the seventh heaven for having their cult hero back!! Recall that this is the man who holds the record of both appearances and goals for Lokomotiv in the Russian Premier Liga. The former Saturn midfielder signed a till the end of the year. Thereafter, each party will have the option to discuss the possibility of extending their agreement. Loskov will wear the number 10 - the number he wore during his previous stint.

When interviewed by http://www.fclm.ru/, it was evident that Loskov was ecstatic for returning back to Lokomotiv, a club where he lived the most glittering moments of his career. He continued by saying that he is relishing the prospect to play under the man which helped him a lot throughout his career, that is Semin. He conceeded that when he phoned the club and Naumov proposed him a possible return to Lokomotiv, Dmitry didn't thought twice and accepted the proposal. Ultimately Loskov conceeded that he was very surprised to find out that his number 10 was free and thus was pleasantly able to take it. Loskov also wanted to thank those Loko fans who greeted him whenever he returned to Lokomotiv stadium or either played against Lokomotiv. He also showed gratitude towards those fans who disclosed a banner saying "Bring back Loskov to Loko" last Sunday.

The presentation of Loskov to the media and fans will take place tomorrow at noon, at Bakovka.

ALL THE BEST LOSKOV!!

You were, are and will remain the best forever!!

Give him the armband back - he is our captain!!!!

Lokomotiv fortunate to escape with a draw.

2010-07-26T11:18:00.006+02:00

An epic match for a neutral match. A wonderful comeback for any Sibir fan and a disapointing result for a red-green fan like me. It's true that it's not something easy to win at Siberia but going two-nil up and letting their lead slip away and even going close to lose the match was unacceptable for us. Actually the match was a story of two tales. In the first half Lokomotiv well controlled the opponent and scored two goals in the process while in the second Sibir completly outplayed their more illustrious opponents. Actually Loko should be thankful to Guilherme as if it wasn't for him, Lokomotiv would have surely lost the match - by quite a large margin. Single-handedly he saved us on numerous times. Another bright point was Aliev's freekick brace. The first one was an amazing, breathtaking 40metre freekick. The swerve was simply beautiful. With regards to the second, Aliev was a bit lucky but nevertheless the goal stood. At the other end, Aliev's goal beauty was potentially cancelled out by yet another beauty. Molosh, a left back by trade picked up the ball and from 40 metre hammered the ball onto the net for the potential goal of the season. Amazing stuff in an amazing match. Pity that we weren't able to win the match. Still I cannot figure out how we drew this one. I mean, in the first half we were in total control and with two nil up Semin did the logic and replaced an attaking midfielder with a defensive midfielder to shore up the midfield. In his 45 minutes on pitch Dujmovic did anything else shoring up the midfield. A horror show!

Moreover, once again Lokomotiv were impotent in attack and actually after Sibir drew the match, Lokomotiv were unable to switch up a gear and threaten Kowalewski. I'm fearing that should we fail to sign a capable striker we would be an embarassment in the Europa League. Please wake up board!!

As from the initial minutes, both teams came out looking to pressurize their opponent -the middle of the park seemed inexistent. On the 12 minute mark, Loko came close to open the score through Smolnikov. Three minutes later Lokomotiv were awarded a freekick 40 metres out for a foul on Maicon. Obviously the usual Aliev stepped up and despite the huge distance, Aliev let off a perfect freekick which gave experienced Kowalewski no chance at all. The goal seemed to hit Sibir cold as they were unable to respond and Lokomotiv were by commanding the match. Sibir were locked down into their own half and Guilherme was never threatened. On the half hour mark, Lokomotiv or better Aliev, made them two. Another freekick - same position - same taker. The difference this time was Kowalewski as at first sight Aliev's freekick was going to be a routine save. Nevertheless Kowalewski made a mess of it and eventually let the ball jump infront of him and onto the net. Sibir were shocked while Lokomotiv thought that the match was all but over - and they were heavily wrong!

Looking to add more steel at the middle of the park, Semin replaced Torbinsky with Dujmovic. Unfortunately, Dujmovic added anything but steel. From the first seconds, it wasn't clear that this wasn't the Sibir of the first half. It was simply clear but inexplicably the red-green players didn't noticed such change in their opponents and they remained passive, even when Sibir clawed one back just minutes in the second half through their talismanic striker Medvedev. From then on, apart of Wagner's shot which hit the upright it was all Sibir. The hole at the middle of Lokomotiv's midfield and defence was absurd. With all respect to Sibir but come on, with the superiority that Lokomotiv enjoy in their squad, Lokomotiv should have been able either to close down match or to at least respond. With 20 minutes to go, unsurprisingly Sibir tied the match - and what a goal! Molosh picked up a ball some 40 metres from goal and unleased a left footed shot which gave Guilherme absolutely no chance. Sibir took courage and launched an attack after an attack - only to find a remarkable Guilherme in their way, who for sure together with Aliev should be the only two to be credited with the 2-2 draw. Credit must go to Sibir who for sure deserve a better position that they are currently at. All the best for the Europa League!

Player Ratings
Guilherme - 9
Single-handedly saved a point for Lokomotiv. Was let down by his defenders.
Smolnikov - 5.5
Strong going forward but suspicious when coming to defend.
Asatiani - 5.5
Played his side out of trouble on various times. Nevertheless should have won the header which eventually led to Sibir's goal
Rodolfo - 5.5
Couldn't deal with the second half Sibir's fury.
Yanbaev - 5.5
Not concise as usual.
Tarasov - 5
Strong in the first, very poor in the second.
Torbisnky - 6.5
Was a useful outlet in the first half. Replaced at half time due to injury.
Wagner -5.5
Quite anonymous. Should have scored
Aliev - 8.5
His first freekick was an absolute class - Pity that his teammates ruined his match with the abmyssal performance.
Maicon - 6
The only one who was able to pick himself and try to invent something when Loko starting to chase the game.
Sychev - 5.5
Same as Wagner.

Substitutions
Dujmovic - 4
Failed miserably in his mission.
Glushakov - N/A
No time to impress
Traore - N/A
No time to impress

"I want to go home"

2010-07-22T15:32:00.004+02:00

As you may have read in the previous post, former Lokomotiv captain & legend Dmitry Loskov was released from Saturn, thus meaning that the current holder of the most appearances in the Premier League is currently without a club. Being one of the best playmakers in Russia for the recent 10 years, it's obvious that the number of suitors aint lacking. A host of clubs, in particular Sergey Ovchinnikov's Dynamo Bryansk are toughted that are or were leading the race for the signature of Dmitry. Another rumour was that Loskov may join Lokomotiv-2 Moscow as a player-coach in order to attain the necessary qualifications and experience to join the management of the main squad. To date nothing materialised.

However, despite the whole circus surrounding Loskov, apparently the former number 10 has only one thing, one desire on his mind - that is to go back home. Actually this was his reply when Dmitry was asked about his future. In poor words Loskov wants to go back to Lokomotiv that is his home. Although he is 36 years old, Loskov believes that he has the strength and will to play at the highest level and gives a much needed helping hand to Lokomotiv in the second half of the season. Moreover, the Semin factor is for sure another factor which incline Loskov towards the red-green part of Moscow. But, on top of all, the real factor behind Loskov's wish to return to Lokomotiv is obviously Lokomotiv, its fans and everything which surround the club, that is his home. Actually his desire is so huge that he doesn't care about the financial issues, which is something abnormal given that the majority of players who turn into their 30s start to look at the financial aspects (a fat paycheck) before signing any contract.

Obviously, this shows his love for Lokomotiv, a love which never passed away, even when he wore the blue-white-black colours of Saturn Ramenskoye. Actually, Dmitry conceeded that even thou he was professional in his approach at Saturn, he still rooted for Lokomotiv. Anyways, I dont want to bore you by writing word to word all what Loskov said, but I believe that at least its a must that in addition to the above I disclose the following words, words which he used to end the interview. These were -"The letter 'L' (Lokomotiv) on my chest means a lot for me." You're the best ever man. If only all the players who wear the red-green shirt give their all as you have always did!

Dmitry, your dream is to return to Lokomotiv and our's, or at least mine is that you realise your dream - the number 10 is vacant! Bring him back!!

Month Overview

2010-07-19T19:02:00.009+02:00

First of all, I would like to excuse myself for lagging behind and failing to post any posts at all in recent days/weeks. The reasons are that first I had to sit for the exams, then there was the World Cup and ultimately started to work. Nevertheless, I should be able to move back to normal ways and post anything which I deem significant. My apologies once again.

In order to make up for it, I would like to dedicate the following paragraphs to summarize everything that happened in the last couple of days...

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....back to Premier League action....

On Saturday 10 July 2010 Lokomotiv were called back to action following a 5 week World Cup break. Lokomotiv, who played at home, faced promoted Anzhi Makhackala. Surviving a scare at the death end, Lokomotiv managed to hold on and record a 2-1 victory over last year Division 1 champions. Tomislav Dujmovic & Aleksandr Aliev scored for the home side while Rasim Tagirbekov put Anzhi momentarily back onto the match. A milestone to point out was Magomed Ozdoev's entrance as a substitute which actually was his first ever appearance for the Railwaymen.

According to the fan poll produced by lokomotiv.info, the best players on pitch were Aleksandr Aliev, Renat Yanbaev and Dmitry Torbinsky. The goals of the match can be viewed by clicking here.

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....dumped out by Gornyak Uchaly....

No man in the world would have put the money on the third division club to dump out Lokomotiv Moscow out of the Russian Cup. Nevertheless, by showing producing a sound display they did the impossible and won the tie with the score of 1-0. The all important goal was scored by midfielder Maksim Tokarev, following a classical counter attack. For sure, Gornyak's win was the highest point in their three year history - without any doubt not the same can be said for a Lokomotiv side which practically included most of the first team players. Sadly enough, I feel that it's a necessary to point out Dramane Traore's horror show. This because I won't be exagerating if he missed two-three clear chances - with all respect to Gornyak, but if you can't score against a team of such level, I doubt it if he can score against a top-level club. The match highlights can be viewed by clicking here.

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....where are you going Renat?

According to various reports, Arsene Wenger was looking at Renat Yanbaev as a potential replacement for Spain bounded Gael Clichy. Actually the reports say that Yanbaev was recommended to Wenger by his scouts, who allegedly were totally impressed by Yanbaev's speed down the left. A potential stumbling block for the move is that Renat fails to meet the criteria to obtain the working permit due to the fact that he is behind Yury Zhirkov in the pecking order for the Russian left back spot.

Nevertheless the transfer rumour have recently cooled down. This is because the two who were leading to sign Clichy, that is Barca & Real, have reportedly shifted their interest towards other players than Clichy. Actually Barca official signature of Adriano means that Clichy's move to Barca is all but over. On the other hand Real Madrid, Clichy's other contender, have reportedly shifted their interest towards Ashley Cole thus meaning that potentially Clichy will stay in London. This will mean that Renat Yanbaev will stay in Moscow.

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....Lokomotiv officially sign Roman Shishkin....

Following days and days of rumours, Lokomotiv finally officially announced the signature of Roman Shishkin from Spartak Moscow. The transfer fee involved is believed to be around 500 million euros. The contract is designed for 3.5 years. Nevertheless should Roman Shishkin fail to prove himself in the first 6 months, Lokomotiv hold the option to terminate at zero cost Shishkin contract's. This also means that Roman have to option to leave the club after these 6 months and join any other club without any transfer fee. Should Shishkin impress and show his interest to stay at Lokomotiv, the 3 years extension will enter into play. Roman Shishkin chose the number he wore at Spartak, that is the 49. The right back will join his new team mates on August 1.

Unfortunately, the transfer didn't went down well with the majority of Loko fans. To me this is quite perplexing. It's true that Shiskin played for the Meat, but so did Loko legend Vadim Yevseev! Ironically Vadim was pratically as old as Roman when he decided to cross the city from Spartak to Lokomotiv. My point is that the transfer of Roman Shishkin would result to be a very big deal. Here, we are not talking about an ordinary player. Here we are talking about a player who played for Russia, have European experience and even being named amongst Europe's eight most prospective footballers back in 2006. Although he failed to live up the promise, I believe that with the right guidance, Shishkin can regain his confidence and finally fulfill his potential. And let's set the record straight, there is no one better than Semin to inspire any player.

Roman Shishkin, 23, is able to play both at right back and defensive midfielder and started his career with FC Fakel Voronezh. After some time, Roman moved to Moscow and signed for Spartak. In 2009, Shishkin fell out of favour at Spartak and was shipped to Krylya Sovetov Samara on loan and making 25 appearances in the process. On the other hand, Roman racked up 54 appearances for Spartak and scored a solitary goal. Shishkin's first and eventually only appearance for Russia came in March 2007, when he played the whole match against Estonia. Leaving his Spartak past aside, I really wish all the best to Roman and wholeheartedly hope that he prove himself to the extent that the number 49 will stay at Loko for years to come. Good luck Roman!!!

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....and Loskov released.

The title speaks for itself. Loskov was officially released by Saturn Ramenskoye. This means that currently our Legend is a free agent....SO WHAT IF....?

What do you think? Do you want to see Loskov back at Lokomotiv?

Odem 4 Milev? ANYTIME!

2010-07-19T18:18:00.014+02:00

According to several reports emanating from Russia, Lokomotiv are considering the option of offering Nigerian international Peter Odemwingie and 5 million euros for Dynamo Kiev forward Artem Milevskiy. Given that Dynamo Kiev are holding out for a fee of 20 million euros and Lokomotiv value Odemwingie 15 million, the board is adamant that they can lure King Milev to Moscow by offering Odemwingie plus the 5 million difference between the valuations of the respective players.

An important factor to point out is that it is believed that Zenit are no longer interested to sign Artem Milevskiy giventhat they got their new man - that is Aleksandr Bukharov of Rubin. This means that Dynamo and Lokomotiv were left alone to bid for the services of the Dynamo Kiev captain.

Interestingly enough, according the same report the agent of Milevsky, Denis Lachter, is spending a lot of time in Moscow in order to fork out a transfer for his client. Recall that Lachter was the man behind Andrey Arshavin's move from Zenit to Arsenal.

Fingers crossed and let's hope that Milevskiy comes to Moscow and Odemwingie moves to any other direction. To say the truth I don't care how as long as the two transfers take place. The fact that Loko badly needs a striker and there is no place of Odemwingie is something definite by now.

Loko record a steaming win

2010-07-19T15:30:00.008+02:00

Following the midweek shock, Lokomotiv did very well to bounce back and eventually record a rare convincing win. Playing in quite harsh conditions, with the temperature reaching 35'C in Moscow (that is + 5/10 in the stadium), Lokomotiv brought some joy to the home attendance by producing a solid performance, and eventually attaining some high points in the process - such as the clean sheet, continously overlapping fullbacks and a Wagner/Aliev impressive showing. Nevertheless, the icing on the cake was Sychev's two goals - which actually were his first goals in 12 matches!! Finally!! Nonetheless Sychev's return shall not mean that Lokomotiv abandon their search for a top-class striker - a striker whose different to Sychev, Odemwingie and Maicon, who surprisingly developed into a key player for Lokomotiv in just 3 months.

As from the first minute of the match, Lokomotiv came out searching for an important goal, a goal which will give them some much needed breath. 15 minutes in and Lokomotiv went ahead through...Aliev - anyways who else if not him. Lokomotiv were awarded a freekick some 25 yards out and as we became accustomed to, upstepped Aliev, who despite all the way out smashed the ball onto the bottom right corner - giving young keeper Mikhail Kerzhakov no chance at all. Alania were shocked and couldn't find a way out of defence and actually it took them 15 minutes to threaten Guilherme. Soon afterwards, at the other end Maicon gave the illusion of the goal as his crashing shot went just centimetres away of the upleft. Sychev was the next one to threaten but again was luckless. Finally, lady luck smiled on Sychev's face as with only seconds remaning to the half time, Sychev headed Aliev's corner home without even jumping. Sychev was ecstatic - who can blame him anyways. That was all as for the first period.

The second one continued the same way the first ended as Lokomotiv found the net yet again and made them 3. Again, Aliev delivered a low corner towards Tarasov, who shot straight onto Kerzhakov. Nevertheless the keeper wasn't able to handle the ball and the ball fell into the path of Sychev, who from quite an acute angle bundled home. Match over - nevertheless this was what Loko players thought as the level of concentration fell down significantly. First Tarasov nearly gave away a goal with a short pass and subsequently, on the hour mark, Smolnikov hacked down Chochiyev in the penalty area and gave Alania the opportunity to claw one back. Fortunately for Loko, Guilherme was equal to former Loko player Georgi Gabulov penalty. This was an alarming bell for Loko, as even thou with 3 up, Lokomotiv didnt stayed back and see out the last minutes but twice went close to make them 4 through Sychev and Maicon. The latter was the most ill-fated of the two as his effort from just 3 yards out smashed onto the crossbar. There was no room for more action and eventually the 3-0 was the final score - a score which enabled the railwaymen to climb to the 5th place.

The match highlights can be viewed by clicking here.

Player Ratings
Guilherme - 7.5
A one-on-one and a penalty save. What more could you ask for?
Smolnikov - 6
Hacked Chochiyev down and gave Alania a potential way back to the match. Otherwise he was strong and was a good outlet in attack.
Asatiani - 6.5
Strong as usual
Rodolfo - 6.5
Same as his defensive partner
Yanbaev - 7
Terrorised Alania's right back whenever went forward. Defensively strong too.
Tarasov - 6.5
Marshalled the back four really well. Nevertheless his mishit pass could had worse consequences.
Torbinsky - 6.5
An all around performance from the aggresive midfielder
Aliev - 8
A goal and and an assist. Our new leader.
Wagner - 7
Partnered Aliev very well. In some moments his passing was eye catching.
Maicon - 7
His running was a constant menace for Alania's backfour.
Sychev - 8.5
Took his two goals very well. An amazing reply from a player who was constantly criticized in recent days.

Substitutions
Glushakov - N/A
Ozdoev - N/A
Burlak - N/A

Lokomotiv pitted against Gornyak Uchaly

2010-07-01T21:20:00.003+02:00

Today Lokomotiv learned the opposition which they have to face in the 6th round of the Rambler Russian Cup. This was decided after today 32 teams confronted each other in a bid for the next round. Actually the one-legged knock-out determined the 16 teams which will be added to the 16 Premier League clubs which will make up the 6th round in a bid for a place in the 7th round, the round preceeding the quarter-finals of the Russian Cup.

Actually, Lokomotiv will face second-division club (third tier of the Russian football system), FC Gornyak Uchaly, who amazingly today eliminated first division outfit Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast with the score of 3-2. It's important to recall that Ural were the club which Lokomotiv succumbed to in the last edition of the national cup.

The encounter will be held in Uchaly on the 14 of July.

Lokomotiv back on track

2010-05-15T17:20:00.006+02:00

At long last! 3 points and a convincing win!! For the first time this season, Lokomotiv forwards managed to link up with each other throughout all the match! Aliev was brilliant as ever, Gatagov brought into the side some trickery which we lately lacked, Sychev had a pretty good match and gave his all while Traore did some good work as he battled well in the air. Nevertheless the highlight of the match was the goal scored by Maicon - which apart of being Maicon first ever goal for us, was the first goal scored by a striker in open play this season!! Couldn't have gone to the holidays better - holidays which couldn't come at better times. Undoubtedly our paternal figure will use those days to look at his squad, what we lacked, where we can/should improve and of course any potential needed striker. Actually, today the talk about Pavlyuchenko's transfer to Lokomotiv was reopened as the media cited that Lokomotiv have lodged another bid for the Russian international. While it's pleasant to hear so, it is even more pleasant to watch the player himself, Roman Pavlyuchenko at the stands of our stadium. The question is ... could it be the sign that he is near to Lokomotiv? Hope so!! For sure the striker would bring something which the squad obviously lack - firepower upfront! Moreover, from what we've saw today, I believe that a Pavlyuchenko would be the perfect match for Sychev. Although our captain was recently heavy criticised, I believe that, although it's true that he wasn't at his best, the formation and his position didn't helped his situation. Sychev is more of a second striker rather than a striker - and today it was clearly shown. Although he failed to get onto the scoresheet, the central forward linked up well with the rest of the squad, particularly Gatagov & Yanbaev, and unsurprisingly he was on of the best on pitch. Another player to praise is Branko Ilic. The Slovenian, who replaced Oleg Kuzmin was making his first ever appearance for Lokomotiv and let no one down with his good match. Keep it up mate and all the best for the World Cup!

Today, eager to end this first part of the season with a win, Semin decided to ring the changes against Amkar. As aforementioned, Oleg Kuzmin made way for Branko Ilic while there was still no place for Rodolfo in the starting line-up and thus Marko Basha mantained his place. Asatiani and Yanbaev together with the ever-present Guilherme completed the defensive department. Tarasov partnered the Croatian Dujmovic in the midfield while Aliev and Gatagov, who took the place of Glushakov completed the midfield. Recall that the latter was making his first start of the season. In attack, Sychev partnered the Malian Traore, who replaced Maicon.

As expected, with both clubs looking to turn around their recent abmysal form, the match started in a frantic manner. Within minutes, Amkar, through their best player on the day, Grishin, nearly forced the home keeper into a mistake, as the left-winger stinging cross-shot created a lot of problems for the Brazilian stopper - nevertheless, the no.1 managed to parry the ball to a car, albeit with a little bit of difficulty and luck. Lokomotiv soon replied, as through one good move, Sychev found Gatagov, who after rushing onto goal could only shot directly to Narubin - Loko fans sounded their appreciation for the build-up. On the quarter mark, Lokomotiv went ahead. Lokomotiv were awarded a freekick long way outside and up stepped the usual Aliev who hit the freekick with real venom, to the extent that Narubin could only parry onto the net. Lokomotiv stadium erupted! As soon as Loko went ahead, the home side were happy to let the visitors take the iniative and try to hit onto the counter. In a rare Amkar attack, Peev looked to copy Aliev with a freekick of his own, but unfortunately for him and fortunately for us, Guilherme, unlike Narubin was equal to it. On the other hand, Sychev rushed onto the keeper and his effort form a quite tight angle was greatly blocked by the sliding Kalashnikov, who replaced their icon Alexey Popov who is believed of injuring badly his hand - possibly even breaking his hand. Anyways, get well soon Alexey.

Making no changes in the break, Lokomotiv came out looking to put the match to bed. Aliev was the man to threaten again as his freekick troubled again the visiting keeper - however, this time round the keeper managed to repel the ball outwards. Sychev tried his luck too on several occasions but no matter how hard he tried, he was luckless. As minutes started to pass by, Lokomotiv started to retreat backwards and operate on the counter, as at the end of the first period. Eventually, with 10 mins to spare, Lokomotiv found the winning goal. Yanbaev played a majestic one-two with Sychev, rushed onto the small box and his cross shot found Maicon, who from inches out bundled home - much to the delight of himself, the Loko squad, Semin and obviously the Lokomotiv stadium. Apart of a similar chance apiece for Kolomeitsev and Glushakov, there was no final drama and thus Lokomotiv could celebrate a win which hopefully will boost our confidence. Happy holidays and good luck to those who are going to the World Cup, including you Peter, so maybe hopefully you leave once and for all!! The goals can be seen by clicking here

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 7

Recovered well form his early scare and did well at the back. His distribution was class today - on several occasion even iniaiting the counter himself.

Ilic - 7

A sound debut from the Slovenian. Was visibly excited, but nevertheless grew in stature as the match went on.

Asatiani - 7

Was eager to show Rakhimov that he deserved better form him. Had Burmistrov in his pockets for most of the match

Basha - 7

Replied to his critics quite well as he produced, arguably, his best performance of the season.

Yanbaev - 7.5

Linked up very well with Sychev and other attackers. One of Lokomotiv's main threats. Strong and disciplined in defence too.

Dujmovic - 7.5

Imperious performance from the Croatian. Never stopped running

Tarasov - 6.5

Good match from the former under-21 Russian international. Substituted in second half.

Aliev - 8

Produced the moment of magic which broke the deadlock. Literally stunning. An all-around performance from the Ukranian.

Gatagov - 8

Watch and learn Peter Odemwingie. Arguably man of the match. His trickery and eagerness to impress created a lot of problems for the Amkar backline

Sychev - 8

His best performance of the season. Linked up well for the build-up of the second goal and gave his 150% throughout all the match. Got pass several players too.

Traore - 6.5

Didn't scored again, but at least won some balls in air.

Substitutes

Glushakov - 6.5

Did the job of the man he replaced. Could have bagged a goal.

Maicon - 7

His high rating is attributed to the fact that he scored the all important goal

Smolnikov - N/A

No time to impress.

No presents for Semin as Lokomotiv held by Nalchik

2010-05-12T22:37:00.005+02:00

A pity, truly. Apparently, fom the various blogs posts I read, the red-green players promised their manager, Yury Semin, who was celebrating his 63rd birthday on the day, that they will reward him with a victory. Unfortunately and shamefully, Lokomotiv did not only failed to win but ensured that Semin wouldn't have the best of birthday by putting another abmyssal performance. Poor, very poor. I know that Nalchik are currently doing wonders, but come on, with the huge difference between the two line-ups Lokomotiv should have at least won the match. With all respect to the Nalchik sides, but on paper Lokomotiv are much stronger. But, as anyone know, match aren't won or lost on paper. Spartak gave their best, Lokomotiv hardly gave their 50%. Disappoiting. Actually, from what I read, our father was in no festive mood after the match and showed the squad what does he really thought of the match!!! I didn't managed to watch all the match as I had a lecture which I couldn't miss, but from the majority of the second half that I managed to watch, Lokomotiv were really really reall poor. Commitment, apart from three or four players looked largely inexistent.

As usual, Lokomotiv were hugely disappoiting in attack. Signing a striker, a complete striker in the form of Roman Pavlyuchenko is now a must for Lokomotiv. Sychev is not suitable for such formation, same applies for Maicon, and as for Traore, he was given his chance, twice, and thus we can deem him that he is not up to our level. With regards to Odemwingie, no comment. He should never be let wear our sacred colours again. He doesn't give a damn about us. Currently, all about he is thinking is the World Cup with Nigeria. You can't blame him but man, it's total a disrespect to the coach, your teammates and top of all to the fans. I read that today he was suspended from training as he showed his desire to train with the Nigerians counterpart rather than with us. I just hope that the match with Saturn was his last with us. I also hope that he will have one heck of a World Cup with a result that half-Europe will be interested to sign him. This will ensure that Odemwingie will never put a foot on pitch with out shirt again. Moreover his value will increase which means more money to us - money which we can use to bring a decent striker - unlike him!! Nevertheless such claims were rebuffed today through Lokomotiv's official website. Still, I believe that his place is not in Moscow, at least with us - unless he changes his attitude and start to give his 100% best - something which he doesn't make for 2 years. Pity - this because I am adamant that if he gives his 100%, simply he could be one of the Premier's best...if not the best. A PITY!

With regards to yesterdays match, as I already aforementioned, I didn't managed to watch the match and thus I can't write any reports - nor give any ratings. The home goal was scored by the Brazilian Leandro, who should thank no one else Kuzmin for giving him acres of space to cooly deliver home. On the other hand, our goal was scored by .... a midfielder - that is Dujmovic, who from some 13 metres out crashed the ball onto the net. Otto Fredrikson had no chance. 1-1 was the score - which eventually was the final score.

Something important to mention is the return of icon Rodolfo, who made his first appearance of the season. Rodolfo, who came for the final minutes of the match, will be expected to stabilize a much distabilized Lokomotiv defence, a defence which let in a remarkable 11 goals in 10 match - Yeah we want to win the league!!

The initial line-up was:

Guilherme, Yanbaev, Kuzmin, Asatiani, Basha, Glushakov, Aliev, Tarasov, Dujmovic, Maicon & Sychev. Gatagov, Traore and Rodolfo were introduced in the place of Maicon, Sychev and Tarasov respectively.

Happy Birthday Yury Semin

2010-05-11T11:06:00.005+02:00

Today, our mentor and club symbol Yury Semin turns 63 years. Over the last years, Yury Semin contributed a lot to the progression of our club, and for sure without him we would have never reached such heights. From this blog I would like to wish our father figure Yury Happy Birthday, good health and all the best for the future!! Happy Birthday Semin!! Hope that the Loko players give you the present you deserve - that is a win!!

PS. Recall that tonight (18.15 Moscow time, 16.15 C.E.T.) Lokomotiv will cross swords with Spartak Nalchik! Fingers crossed!!

Saturn breaks Lokomotiv home record

2010-05-06T00:00:00.004+02:00

19 is the number of matches which Lokomotiv played at home without ending on the losing side. This remarkable record, which iniated long way back in 2008, was brought to an abrupt end with an unexpected defeat to the hands of a very organized Saturn Moscow region side. Nevertheless I believe that it was Lokomotiv's lack of cohesiveness in attack which made an ordinary defence look inpenetrable. Sychev lacked service, Odemwingie after a good start faded, Torbinsky looked out of his sorts, Maicon was substituted early on and Smolnikov, well he is quite young to drive a whole team on his own. In poor words, the team was poor. It was poor to the extent that tonight I am in no mood to write a report on the match as Lokomotiv, in 90 minutes, at home, against a side which apart of languishing at the foot of the table played against Zenit with a one-man down for 75 minutes on Sunday (that is Lokomotiv were suppose to be fresher), Lokomotiv created relatively nothing. Aliev tried, so did Glushakov, while Sychev put a little effort, but clearly this Lokomotiv cannot go on this way. I believe that time is rife for Semin to scrap his 4-2-3-1 to a formation which suits better Loko players. Such example is the 4-3-1-2. Moreover our father should relegate to the bench those who are fully commited to our sacred shirt!! Better an unexperienced young player who gives his all rather than a bunch of wage-seeker!!

The first man which I will surely drop is Odemwingie. In his first minutes, the Nigerian showed some glimpses of quality, glimpses which eventually he shown just in the opening minutes. This means that the Nigerian is capable - but CLEARLY he does not want to!! Really tragic. Truly this was too much. We fans love Lokomotiv - if you dont want to play for us just LEAVE or hand in a transfer request. I assure you that with such abmysal performances no club in the world would be ready to sign you!! But, well everybody know that you aren't that type of player. As I already said, you are capable, but you do not want to! Remaining on the attacking department, I must point out that Lokomotiv lacks that player which gives Lokomotiv some much needed height in attack. Another important fact to underline is that from all the 3 so-called strikers, it's only Sychev that found the net...from a penalty, too. This sums up Lokomotiv's attack.

Traore was given his chance, twice, so I agree with Semin with his decision to drop him. Sychev, it's true that he spills some chances, but today he got the ball only ONCE, and from a difficult angle he couldn't do wonders. Unfortunately true that however, he isn't agile as he was... Another option is Minchenkov - last season he did quite well when given the chance. Moreover his centimetres would make wonders for Loko's cause. Finally with regards to Maicon, I believe that he is the best striker or forward we have.

Bizarrely, another, and eventually the ultimate option is, Marko Basha, yeah the central defender. With Rodolfo nearly back to the first squad, the big Montenegrin will probably be relegated to the bench. So I ask, why not taking the risk and playing him in attack? Today, although he did the mistake which lead to Saturn's goal he was one of the best on pitch in all respects. Actually I believe that with his composure, decent technique, and his length, the Montenegrin can give Lokomotiv's attack a new dimension. Apart of the chance of playing as a target man and lay ball to the others, I am adamant that the big defender is more than capable to finish off some actions, as truly, from the way he plays the ball out of the defence and his movements, the defender has the composure which our attackers currently lack. PS, against Saturn the centre defender was the man which troubled the most the young Saturn keeper...Same against Terek.

Currently we can do nothing. All we Lokomotiv fans can do is just hope that the current players rediscover their form and for the speedy return of Wagner - or other lay our hopes on Aliev, Glushakov and Maicon.

Best Regards

a hurt die-hard Lokomotiv Fan

Stalemate at Sultan Bilimkhanov Stadium

2010-05-01T22:18:00.006+02:00

Generally snatching a draw at Terek is a pretty good result - winning is a bonus. Unfortunately today there was no bonus as Lokomotiv weren't able to get past a strong Terek side. Although Lokomotiv failed to bring home the three points, no one can say that the 0-0 draw is a bad result. Actually it is more the other way round. Playing at the Chechens is no easy task. Apart of having a good balanced squad, Terek boast of one of the most hostile stadiums around in Russia. Actually few are those teams that manage to win at Terek. Actually in the last two visits, Lokomotiv failed to record any point as they succumbed 2-1 on both occasions. Today, although Terek hit the post twice and had a goal rightly ruled off, Lokomotiv had their chances too. On some occasions actually it was the home keeper who saved the men in Green. As Lokomotiv are yet to start to be cohesive in attack, most chances came through shots from outside the box, particularly from Tarasov and Aliev. An important point to mention is Shamil Asildarov's lack of fair play. As his name starts, the guy must be aSHAMed of himself. The reason is because before the tall striker deposited the ball into open net from a rebound, the former Lokomotiv striker tried to score with his hand which eventually lead to the rebound. The striker SHOULD HAVE the decency not the celebrate!! Truly disgraceful act from Shamil!! Although at first the goal was validated by the referee, in a twist of events the referee then decided to rule out the goal. This all after huge protests from the Lokomotiv players - and rightly so!! Recall that if the goal had stood, it eventually would have decided the match.

With regards to tactics and formation, Semin, who returned back to match follwing his one-match suspension ringed the changes as Sychev was relegated to the bench in favour of defensive midfielder Dmitry Tarasov. Odemwingie was switched to the centre while Denis Glushakov filled the position on the right flank. Aliev played behind Odemwingie whil Dujmovic protected the backfour with Tarsov. Brazilian Maicon started on the left. At the back, Yanbaev and Kuzmin switched their positions, that is Yanbaev started on the right, while Kuzmin started on the left. Marko Basha and captain of the day Malkhaz Asatiani protected Guilherme at the centre.

The first minutes of the game were steady ones as both teams failed to built some attacks and much of the play was focused in the middile of the park. Eventually it took the best of 16 minutes to record the first shot on goal. Actually it was Aliev, who with his usual freekick troubled the home keeper Dikan. As minutes went by, Terek started to grow and actually started to share possesion, which in the opening periods was largely dominated by the visitors. Nevertheless, still it was Lokomotiv who were looking a little bit more adventorous in attack as for the first 30 minutes Guilhereme was a spectator. After that Tarasov brought out the best of Dikan with a long range drive, it was Terek that were unlucky to not go ahead. Georgiev broke down on the left and after he stormed into Loko's box, the Bulgarian midfielder crossed the ball to the centre. The cross was badly dealth by Lokomotiv rearguard and eventually the ball fell to Asildarov, who from just inches out could only find the post. Terek took courage and actually on the 34th minute Terek broke the deadlock through Asildarov. The home stadium bursted into celebrations - which eventually lasted only some seconds as the referee rightly reversed his first decision and disallowed the goal for a handball. This because, before depositing the ball into open net, the same striker diverted the ball intenionally towards Guilherme with his hand. Shameful act of play to say the least!! Remarkably the forward wasn't cautioned. Anyways, the were nothing more of note as the ref sent both teams to the dressing rooms with the score being 0-0.

The second half started as the first ended - that is with Terek having yet another goal rightly ruled out. A long drive was badly dealt by Guilherme, who by thus provided Asildarov with the rebound. Guilherme denied the tall striker yet again, but however the ball to Bracamonte who from close distance put the ball into open net - nonetheless the goal didn't stood as the referee whistled for an offside of Asildarov. As minutes went by, both sets of players looked very tired and actually a lot of mistakes started to be committed. Nothing of note apart of a good Dujmovic run and a Basha header happened as the ref whistled the final whistle. 0-0 the final score and the first clean sheet in 6 matches.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 7

Will be happy with his clean sheet. Great distribution.

Kuzmin - 6.5

Most of Terek's attacks came from his side.

Asatiani - 7

Strong as ever

Basha - 7

Was very composed on the day. Could have scored.

Yanbaev - 7

Dealt with Lakhiyalov's treat quite well.

Dujmovic - 7

Provided a strong presence in Loko's midfield

Tarasov- 6.5

All around performance from the Russian midfielder

Glushakov - 6.5

Played on the right and was little bit less influential than last match.

Aliev - 7

Initiated all Loko's attacks. Troubled Dikan on some occasions

Maicon - 7.5

Yet another good match from the Brazilian wizard. Strong on 1-1 and with bags of stamina. Was maybe little victimised by the referee.

Odemwingie - 6

Quite anonymous. Started well but faded as the game went on. Have to do better to impress any visiting Olympique Lyonnais scouts.

Substitutions

Smolnikov - N/A

Introduced late, very late.

Lokomotiv back to winning ways

2010-04-25T10:29:00.008+02:00

After collecting just one point in the last two outings against Zenit and CSKA, yesterday Lokomotiv returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Tom Tomsk. Alhtough the score may suggest that it have been quite a closed match, this isn't true as Lokomotiv dominated much of the play and surely the margin should have been larger. Nevertheless a win is a win and credit much be given to the Lokomotiv attacking department as yesterday it functioned very well - actually, personally it was their best performance ever. For me, Aliev and Glushakov were the two who ran the show for Lokomotiv. While Aliev was at his usual best, with his pin-point passing and playmaking, Glushakov was industrious in the middle of the park. Apart of linking up well the defence with the attack, the Russian midfielder scored a real beauty - a reminiscence of his another beautiful goal against FC Moscow back when he still wore the number 58. Another outstanding performer was Maicon who tore Tom Tomsk defence apart with his agility and technique. One should also mention the improvement made by Sychev and Odemwingie, who actually produced their best performance of this season. Credit also to the defensive partnership who closed down the threat of Kornilenko very well.

As published in last post, Semin was unavailable to this match due to his one match-ban and thus his place was taken by his assistant Vladimir Maminov, who did a good job. For the first time this season, Lokomotiv's initial formation was left unchanged from last encounter, as the eleven who started last match, started against Tom Tomsk. This meant that there was no place for Dmitry Tarasov who was on the bench. Moreover Dmitry Torbinsky returned to the main squad and was also amongst the substitutes.

Back to the match chronicle - it was clear from way long before the match that the encounter against Tom Tomsk was never going to be an easy ride. Holding at bay teams such as Dynamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow and Zenit is no easy feat - nevertheless the Siberians done it. Actually Tom stood up to their reputation and within seconds Tom could have broke the deadlock. Poor decision making from Kornilenko saved the day for the Railwaymen. This was a sort of an alarming bell that we had to wake-up - to which Lokomotiv responded very well. As minutes passed by, Lokomotiv started to close up the whole Tom in their own half. Nevertheless the home team couldn't make the visiting keeper work as like previous matches, their final pass was lacking. Thus, Glushakov took the matters into his own hands and after picking the ball from the flank drove past three players and let an angled shot from the D which gave Pareiko absolutely no chance to arrive to it. Excellent finishing from the midfielder and what a goal!! Lokomotiv stadium erupted! Kharitonov, Tom's by far best player on pitch tried his luck to reply for the visitors but nevertheless it was the hosts that drew blood yet again. Sychev won the ball on the right flank and picked the incoming Aliev who after dribbling past a Tom defender drove the ball home to score his sixth goal of the campaign!! 2-0 was the score at half-time.

With both head coaches keeping faith in their respective eleven, Lokomotiv came out in the second half to put the match to bed. Actually within 2 minutes Sychev should have made them three as after some nice footwork from Maicon, the Russian forward found himself one-on-one with Pareiko and let a good shot to which the Estonian keeper was equal to. Minutes after Pareiko again denied Sychev with yet another good save. As minutes started to past by, the tempo of the game began to slow down, and actually Lokomotiv looked to sit at the back and operate on the counters. Actually soon the tiring Sychev was replaced by Dmitry Tarasov who in his few minutes on pitch shored Lokomotiv's midfield well. With the end approaching Tom looked out of ideas and still it was Lokomotiv that threatened - most notably Glushakov angled shot which the excellent Pareiko blocked down well. Nevertheless, an ingenuity from Guilherme gifted the Siberians a goal and a way back to the match. Fortunately there was no final drama as Lokomotiv held for an important victory which for sure ensure that the red-green will be going to Grozny on high morale. Video review of the match can be watched by clicking here.

Player Ratings

Guilherme - 5.5
Sometimes too much eager to rush out. Could have dealt Tom Tomsk's goal better

Kuzmin - 6

Good match from the fullback. Little culpable for the lack of communication with Guilherme

Asatiani - 7

Perfect match from the Georgian

Basha - 7

Classy performance from the Montenegrin. Sometimes came out with the ball very well.

Yanbaev - 6.5

Quiet evening for the Russian international.

Dujmovic - 6.5

Anchored the midfield very well.

Glushakov - 8.5

Ran relentlesly for the 90 minutes. His super goal was the icing on the cake of an excellent all around performance

Aliev - 8

Another inspiring performance from the Ukrainian. Scored what resulted to be an important goal.

Maicon - 8.5

A player likely to become a key player. Difficult to separate from Glushakov for the man of the match. Skillfull, with bags of energey, pacey, great work rate, good passing - what can you ask more from the lad?
Sychev - 7
True that failed at least one clear opportunity - but assisted Aliev for the second goal and gave the backline four no rest. It's only sharpness he's lacking as Pareiko should receive some credit as well for his block on Sychev. Other's drive similar chances to row Z.

Odemwingie - 6

Truly a mystery. Lacked the final pass but undoubtedly the player has the potential - truly don't know what's keeping him back....

Substitutes

Tarasov - 6.5

Was introduced to shore up the midfield and that's what he did

Torbinsky - N/A

Introduced very late in the game

Traore - N/A

Same as above.

Semin to skip next match

2010-04-22T23:16:00.004+02:00

Following Loko's Yury Semin dismissal at the death of Lokomotiv's last encounter against CSKA, the 62 year-old coach will have to skip Lokomotiv's match upcoming match at home against Tom Tomsk. This because the rules stipulate that in the case a headcoach is dismissed, a one-match ban will automatically apply. In addition, the Russian Football Union also fined Yury Semin 60,000 rubles (equivalent to 1544 euros), 30,000 for the his dismissal and the other 30,000 for the fact that he left his techincal area. Just disappointing... I just hope that Lokomotiv doesn't suffer in his absence.

All the best Vladimir Maminov, the man expected to take over Semin for the match against Tom Tomsk. Recall that the match will take place next Saturday, 18.30 Moscow time, 16.30 Central European Time.

Wagner follows Rodolfo back in Moscow

2010-04-18T16:13:00.007+02:00

Finally, the Brazilian duo are back in Moscow. Finally because it is evident that Lokomotiv are missing both the influential figure of Rodolfo and the creativity of Wagner. I'm of the opinion that the return of Wagner may also unleash Sychev again - who actually done very well in the last part of last season with Wagner assisting him. Moreover, the return of Wagner may finally relegate the uncomitted and often horrendous Odemwingie. Today I was reading some posts in http://www.lokomotiv.info/ and I read a comment which said that Odemwingie should be demoted to Lokomotiv-2 ... to say the truth it isn't a bad idea at all. Although Sychev is playing bad at least he tries, the Nigerian pitifully doesn't. Actually yesterday Sychev at the time he was replaced was the player which ran the most. It's true that I'm maybe being too harsh but truly enough is enough. Such players often disrupt the harmony in the dressing rooms and rarely produces something good.

Wagner, who unlike Rodolfo (who spent his time in Brazil) spent much of his time in Italy is expected to start training again in the gym before start training again with the main squad. Let's hope they come back as soon as possible!! Lokomotiv needs YOU!!

Lokomotiv score at death to hold rivals CSKA

2010-04-17T20:34:00.006+02:00

Finally!! A first away point!! With 2 minutes to spare, Lokomotiv were looking of heading to a fourth successive away defeat, but, apparently Kuzmin had other plans. Out of nowhere the fullback popped up in the 88th minute and let a shot which gave Akinfeev no chance. CSKA players looked at disbelieve, Lokomotiv players were ecstatic - as their fans, who for much of the match outnumbered their counterparts in their support for the red-green. Credit to them!! Anyways with regards to the match, it was one of those derbies which failed to reach it's expectations. Most of the play was stationed at the middle of the park, and actually there were very few chances for both parts. Neverthless, CSKA looked a slighlty little more creative in attack as for another time Lokomotiv's attack failed miserably to function. Sychev is still far from his best while Odemwingie was once again really poor - his first half was disastrous as he almost gave every ball to his opposition. On the other hand, Maicon showed some glimpses of quality as he seemed to be the only Lokomotiv player to get past an opposite player.

For the match against CSKA, Semin welcomed back Aleksandr Aliev who skipped last match due to injury. Tarasov was suspended and thus Denis Glushakov started in his place. Tomislav Dujmovic completed the midfield. Following his poor performance against Zenit, Traore was relegated to the bench in favour of Maicon. Odemwingie started on the right while Sychev moved up forward as a lone striker. The backline was identical of last match - Guilherme started in goal.

The match started in a rapid way as both teams came out looking for an early goal to settle down the nerves. Unfortunately it was CSKA who broke the deadlock within just 7 minutes. Ignashevich played a long ball to Guilherme, whose literally forgotten by Basha let a shot which which came off the same player, took a strange trajectory and eventually ended up in the net. Guilherme had no chance. 1 - 0 for CSKA. Lokomotiv's response took as long as ten minutes as Aliev from an ideal position crashed his freekick onto the crossbar. Soon after CSKA made it 2 - 0 but the goal was rightly ruled out as Guilherme seemed to be centremetres offside. Lokomotiv tried to reply, but although they had a good share of the possesion, Lokomotiv were unable to reach Akinfeev's goal. And eventually it was CSKA who threatened again as Chidi Odiah's was well parried away by the diving Guilherme. 1 - 0 was the score at the half-time.

The second half started the way the first ended. CSKA were happy to let Lokomotiv take the iniative and operate on the counter. Nevertheless Lokomotiv were literally toothless in attack- and actually although enjoying the much of possesion Lokomotiv failed miserably to threathen Akinfeev. Lokomotiv looked resigned and CSKA looked confident of heading home with the three points. However Oleg Kuzmin had other plans. Traore shielded the ball to Kuzmin, who after finding himself in the opposition's area, stormed into CSKA area's and let an angled shot onto the net, with the ball hitting the post on its way in. Simply a finish which the bunch in attack would dream of! Good goal from a player who probably had the best match of the season. There was no other final drama apart from the sending off of Yury Semin who was infuriated for the fact that the referee took no action for an elbow in the direction of Aliev. 1-1 was the final score - much to delight of the visiting crowd.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 6

No chance with the goal. Made nothing wrong.

Kuzmin - 7.5
Lokomotiv's best player on pitch. Kept Mark Gonzalez very quiet and then popped up to score a valuable equaliser.

Asatiani - 6.5

Composed as ever

Basha - 6

A pity, truly. The big defender rarely put a wrong foot in a whole match but unfortunately he seems that at times he suffer from a lapse of concentration - as the one it lead to the goal. Unlucky.

Yanbaev - 6.5

Neutralised Krasic threat very well.

Dujmovic - 6.5

Won some balls in the middle

Aliev - 7

Hit the post with a freekick. An influential figure for Lokomotiv.

Glushakov - 6

Ran relentlesly over the park

Odemwingie - 4.5

Was he wearing an invisible CSKA kit in the first half? Slighlty better in the second but nowhere to level to a player who is believed of being paid 3.5 million a year. The earlier he leaves the better - no longer comitted

Sychev - 5.5

Lacking fitness and yesterday service as well.

Maicon - 7

Good with the ball at his feet and forced the CSKA defenders to foul him. Sometimes tracked back to give a hand to the defensive department.

Substitutes

Traore - 6

His contribution was shielding the ball to provide the opportunity to Kuzmin to score.