Merciless lot: how Russian clubs got strong rivals in European competitions

Initially, it was believed that the current European Cup season will be very difficult for teams from Russia. The fall in the UEFA coefficient table led to the fact that the RPL lost one of two direct tickets to the Champions League, and its only representative lost a place in the first basket. Meanwhile, the change in the format of the Europa League made the line-up of the tournament extremely strong, complicating the task of leaving the group to the limit. Therefore, the prospects of domestic teams aroused concern even on the eve of the draw for the competition, and after it was over, it was only confirmed.

In recent years, Zenit has been lucky many times with the draw in the Champions League. Of course, in many respects this was facilitated by their presence in the first basket, but even from the second they rarely came across extra-class rivals. It is a stretch to include Borussia Dortmund and Benfica (Lyon was chosen from the third), but only if you forget that in their place could well be the conditional Real, Atlético, Barcelona and Manchester city".

It may seem surprising that since 2014, the Petersburgers have never come across a rival from among the top ten teams according to UEFA. The last time the same “Benfica” became such, but even then its presence in the elite did not seem completely logical. After all, it was not the Champions League successes that led to this, but reaching the Europa League final. Then this was confirmed on the football field. The Portuguese took the last, fourth place in the group.

Now Zenit is in the same quartet with two giants at once - both by place in the table of coefficients and by the level of performers. And if the first happened eight years ago (Atlético and Porto), the last time happened in the 2000s. In the 2008/09 season, the Petersburgers were forced to fight for a ticket to the playoffs with Juventus and Real Madrid and, as expected, did not succeed. Then they became the third, ahead of the Belarusian BATE.

And there is every reason to believe that this time the reigning champions of the RPL will dream of the fight for the third line and the opportunity to play in the playoffs of the Europa League. Chelsea and Juventus have previously seemed impassable opponents for teams from Russia, and given the current crisis in domestic football, it is extremely difficult to dream about it. There would be at least some reason to believe in sudden success if Zenit finished second or third in the group at least once in previous years, but even with objectively weaker opponents, he did not achieve success, as a result of which the team itself and its mentor became the objects of harsh criticism. Sergei Semak was even blamed for his inability to prepare his players for international meetings. And it is unlikely that this time he will have many opportunities to prove otherwise.

In light of this, the key games for Zenit will be games with Malmö, with whom he has never crossed paths before. Matches with an opponent inferior in all respects will have to answer the question whether the problems of Russian football are solely related to the noticeably decreased level of performers in recent years, or there are other problems. In particular, not the highest level of coaching staff and inconsistency with modern trends. On paper, Petersburgers should easily cope with the Scandinavians, but the recent failures of domestic clubs in European competitions force them to prepare for unexpected results. The loss to the 21-time champion of Sweden will be an even more wake-up call than the two fiascoes against Club Brugge last season.

But if Zenit has at least one rival in the quartet, whom it noticeably surpasses both in the level of performers and in the latest results, then Lokomotiv and Spartak were much less fortunate. The decrease in the number of participants in the Europa League to the limit raised the level of competition, as a result of which the number of "death groups" increased dramatically. And the Russian teams were not lucky enough to be in just such.

It would seem that a place in the second basket should have helped Lokomotiv avoid falling into a group with three strong opponents, but in reality it turned out differently.

Lazio, Marseille and Galatasaray are just that.

The first two played in the Champions League last year, and if the Provençals failed miserably, the Romans advanced to the playoffs.

And the Turks should not be written off.

An experienced team is traditionally assembled in Istanbul, and away matches will be a serious test for any opponent.

In addition, in the summer transfer window, "Marseille" has significantly increased, and due to both purchases and leases of star players.

The line-up was joined by Cengiz Under, Pau Lopez, Matteo Gyonduzi and William Saliba - more than a decent selection of performers.

The position of "Spartak" and does seem extremely difficult on the basis of several factors at once. The change of coach had an extremely negative impact on the results of the red and white, which have never been able to adapt to the requirements of Rui Vitoria. The team lost five out of eight matches at the start of the season and may change their mentor in the near future. But even in perfect condition it would be very difficult for Muscovites to compete with such opponents. So, in group C they are waiting for Napoli, Leicester and Legia.

There is practically no need to talk about the difference in class with representatives of Serie A and the Premier League. The wards of Luciano Spalletti and Brendan Rogers fight annually to get into the top four in their national championships and have a powerful selection of performers. As for the Poles, the confrontation with them in many ways resembles the upcoming matches between Zenit and Malmö. In terms of class, "Spartak" seems to be stronger, but in recent years Russian teams have stumbled more than once in games with similar opponents.

Confirmation that the domestic teams will have a very difficult time in their groups are the results of their head-to-head matches with opponents from England, Italy and France in the 21st century. So, the red and white lost in six out of nine meetings with representatives of England, and the teams from the Apennine Peninsula lost three times in a row. The railroad workers' performance is slightly better, but only due to victories over the clubs from Ligue 1. With rivals from Serie A, everything turned out more than unsuccessfully. Only one win in nine games with six defeats.

Thus, according to the initial layouts, the current European Cup season promises to be one of the most difficult in recent years for Russian clubs. True, if in previous years the failures of the conditional Zenit, CSKA and Krasnodar were to some extent unexpected, now it will be easy to explain them. The failures of recent years have led to the fact that domestic teams have become noticeably lower in rankings in Europe and thereby worsened their position, receiving a less favorable lot.

In turn, this can provoke a chain reaction and lead to the fact that next year the Russian championship will drop even lower in the UEFA coefficient table. Taking into account the fact that it will be extremely difficult to bring points to the country's piggy bank, next year the RPL may fall outside the top 15, which will entail the loss of a direct ticket to the Champions League, as well as a reduction in the total number of participants in European competitions.