The defeat of CSKA in a friendly match and an important exam for Musaev
Lokomotiv held its first training under the leadership of the new head coach Marco Nikolic. The Serb arrived in Moscow in late May, but was forced to spend 14 days in quarantine. Less than a week before the resumption of the RPL season, he finally got the opportunity to get acquainted with the wards.
The trainer noted that Lokomotiv will have eight “finals” ahead, and called getting into the Champions League as a task for the remainder of the season.
Other teams of the Premier League continue to actively prepare for the season. Some are already playing friendlies. On June 8, Rubin and Wings of the Soviets met in Kazan. It is not known with what account the match ended, since the clubs did not provide details. However, the “Wings” later confirmed the very fact of the match.
And on June 13 at the VEB Arena, CSKA and Arsenal faced off against each other. CSKA were defeated with a score of 2: 3. As part of the hosts, Ivan Oblyakov and Kristiyan Bistrovich scored goals. The guests distinguished themselves Maxim Volodko, Yuri Kovalev and Vladislav Panteleev.
On Wednesday, the 10th, allegedly, two “secret” friendly matches took place. Media reports that Zenit beat Orenburg at home - 5: 3. Hat-trick managed to draw Malkom. And CSKA defeated the homeland representing PFL, scoring "nine to ten goals."
Finally, on Saturday, “Krasnodar” at home in a control meeting lost significantly to “Sochi” - 1: 4. Anton Zabolotny, Andrei Mostovoy, Alexander Kokorin and Kirill Zaika scored among the Sochi residents. The hosts have the only goal from the penalty spot scored by Wanderson.
Meanwhile, “Krasnodar” is doing everything so that Murad Musaev as soon as possible obtains a PRO license and can officially be listed as the head coach of the team. According to the expert, on June 15 he will have an entrance exam. If he passes it successfully, he will be able to be declared as the head coach. But another young specialist, Dynamo mentor Kirill Novikov, has already received a PRO license. On June 12, he passed the corresponding exam.
Possible increase in attendance and the unclear fate of Khimki
Regarding the situation with coronavirus in RPL, not a single new case of the disease was recorded during the week. Moreover, four Lokomotiv players (Jefferson Farfan, Roman Tugarev, Timur Suleymanov and Anton Kochenkov) defeated COVID-19. But the railroad midfielder Dmitry Barinov, as it turned out, had previously passed a false positive test for coronavirus.
Improving the epidemiological situation may have a positive effect on the attendance of Premier League matches. So, with the audience will be a duel of the 23rd round of the RPL between Sochi and Rostov, which will be held on June 19. The administration of the Krasnodar Territory allowed filling stadiums with no more than 10% of the capacity of arenas.
In the presence of the audience, matches of the Yekaterinburg Urals will also be held. Fans will also be able to fill up to 10% of the capacity of the local stadium - 3,500 seats.
At the same time, according to media reports, the RFU expects to achieve elimination of VIP-boxes from the 10% quota of visitors. Finally, according to the most optimistic forecasts, from July 1, RPL clubs will be able to fill up to 30% of stadiums if an improvement in the epidemiological situation is recorded. Allegedly, this issue was discussed at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the RFU.
However, it is still unknown how many teams will leave the Premier League at the end of the season. Khimki, who did not seem to be able to find funding for speaking with the elite, intends to go through the licensing procedure next week.
Interrupted negotiations with Wagner and rumors about the arrival of David Louis
The less time left before the resumption of the season, the more transfer rumors arise around RPL clubs. In particular, RT reported on the possible return of Wagner Love to CSKA. While the contract is not signed. According to RT, two nuances prevented this: the validity of the agreement and the date the attacker could enter the field in a T-shirt for the army. According to the rules, in the current season Wagner will not be able to play for CSKA.
It is reported that the club will decide on Wagner at the end of the current RPL.
No less excitement was caused by information about the possible transition to the “Zenith” of David Louis. Allegedly, the 33-year-old Brazilian in St. Petersburg will replace Branislav Ivanovich, whose contract with the club expires at the end of July. But the director general of the blue-white-blue Alexander Medvedev said that all negotiations on the extension of agreements with the players will be conducted at the end of the season.
And the information about the arrival of David, Louis Medvedev called "a rumor that is not related to reality." Finally, according to the latest data, Zenit is allegedly interested in the Colombian striker of the Argentinean River Plate, Rafael Borre. In the current season of the championship of Argentina, the striker spent 20 matches in which he scored 12 goals. Transfermarkt estimates its value at € 10 million.
Strengthening in Latin America, allegedly looking for “Spartacus”. It is reported that red and white are watching two Brazilian right-backs, Iago Pikashu (Vasco Da Gama) and Guga (Atlético Mineiro), as well as Fluminense striker Marcos Paulo.
In the meantime, “Spartacus” players just leave. On Tuesday, the club broke up immediately with nine players, including experienced defenders Vitaly Dyakov and Roman Shishkin. Both signed a contract with the red and white in February and managed to hold only a couple of matches for Spartak-2 in the FNL. Moreover, Shishkin went to both meetings with the captain's armband.
And Lokomotiv broke up with 2014 World Champion Benedict Höwedes at the beginning of the week. The German defender moved to Russia in the summer of 2018 and spent 50 matches as a part of the railwaymen in all tournaments in which he scored four goals.
“It was an honor for me to play for Lokomotiv 👏🏻 @BeneHoewedes’
appeal to fans ❤️💚 pic.twitter.com/ZsH6I7BmYM
Also found a new club ex-Ural defender Mikhail Merkulov. In late May, the football player ended the contract with Yekaterinburg, and he became a free agent. And on June 9, Merkulov signed a two-year agreement with Rubin.
Finally, many transfer rumors circulate around the Rostov claiming medals. In particular, the Russian media reported that the club is following the Italian Bologna midfielder Godfred Donsa. This season, on loan, he stands for the Belgian Circle Brugge. The transfer cost of the opornik is € 2.4 million.
It is reported that “Rostov” may acquire Donsa in the event of leaving the team Matthias Norman. As for the Norwegian, then, according to British journalists, he is still interested in Manchester United.
In addition to Norman, Alexander Kokorin may soon go to Europe. The contract of the striker with the “Zenith” expires in late July.
“There are no specifics or papers. But with “Roma”, “Marseille” and others there are dialogues. Priority is Europe. The soul lies very strongly at the moment, ”said Kokorin on Kent Alexander’s live YouTube channel.
The forward also admitted that the prison did not teach him anything. However, he realized that life could change dramatically at any moment.