The power of Ruby
Kazan can be safely called the main favorites of the new season of the First League.
The total cost of the squad of €32.03 million speaks volumes - according to this indicator, Leonid Slutsky's wards are confidently leading, seriously ahead of their closest pursuers.
So, the players of another team that left the RPL - Arsenal - are estimated at half as much: at € 15.5 million, and Ufa with € 6.85 million - at almost five.
Despite the drop in class, Kazan did not become much weaker.
Anders Dreyer and Philip Uremovich left in the spring.
Montassart Talbi was sold to Lorient for €1.5 million, which in the current conditions should be considered a success.
If we take the Russians, then Ivan Ignatiev, Igor Konovalov and Kirill Klimov did not play a decisive role.
But for the time being, they managed to keep two players who were recently called up to the Russian national team: goalkeeper Yuri Dyupin and defender Ilya Samoshnikov, as well as Belarusian Vitaly Lisakovich.
The main thing is that Leonid Slutsky remained in his post, whose salary, according to media reports, decreased to 1 million rubles a month.
And to replace the departed, a number of performers worthy by the standards of the First League were signed: Alexander Martynovich, Dmitry Kabutov, Valery Chuperka, Alexander Zotov, Joel Fameye.
The latter, following the results of last season, together with Orenburg, won the right to play in the RPL, but agreed to remain in the First League for the sake of a significantly higher salary.
And another striker, Kamil Mullin, managed to be taken away from Akron, although he had already passed a medical examination for an opponent.
In summary, for the first time since the 2016/17 season, the tournament can get a hegemon, which was Dynamo.
Also, Kazan is quite capable of repeating the achievement of Wings of the Soviets a year ago and overcoming the bar of 100 points.
The struggle of Arsenal and Ufa for a return to the elite
Tula with a high degree of probability will also be able to at least compete for getting into the joints.
In the spring, there were rumors about the club's financial problems, but the Gunners' transfer policy suggests otherwise.
Firstly, experienced leaders signed new contracts: Evgeny Lutsenko, Anton Kochenkov and Sergey Tkachev.
Secondly, there was one more key forward - Kirill Panchenko.
But it is much more important that they managed to return Oleg Kononov to the post of mentor, who already led the team in 2018 and worked out the first round of the RPL with it so successfully that he deserved an invitation to Spartak.
Already under him, Arsenal invited several experienced players, in particular, the central defender of Khimki Gia Grigalava.
But "Ufa" to solve serious problems will be more difficult.
After leaving the elite, the club lost its main sponsor - the betting company BetBoom.
There was a possibility that because of this he would go down to FNL-2 or lose his professional status altogether.
However, the worst case scenario was avoided.
Nevertheless, a significantly updated team started in the First League.
Left Bashkortostan head coach Alexei Stukalov, who was replaced by 40-year-old Sergei Tomarov, and almost all the former leaders, including the main goalkeeper Alexander Belenov, captain and central defender Alexei Nikitin and top scorer Hamid Agalarov.
The only plus: for the latter, according to Transfermarkt, they got €3.5 million, which helped Ufa stay afloat.
Also, at a difficult moment, the general director Shamil Gazizov did not turn away from his offspring, predicting in the spring that a demotion in the class could lead to the disappearance of the team.
The fate of "Yenisei" and "Alania" after the departure of Garanin and Gogniev
Alania and Yenisey made a splash last season.
They not only claimed to be promoted to the very end, but also sensationally made it to the semifinals of the Russian Cup.
Surprisingly, after such success, both teams lost their head coaches.
And if Vadim Garanin went to Sochi, then Spartak Gogniev voluntarily left his post.
In the leadership of Vladikavkaz, the mentor's decision was explained by the conditions on his part, which the club could not satisfy.
They were replaced by two young specialists.
Artyom Gorlov did become the youngest mentor of the tournament.
At the same time, by the age of 35, he managed to play 139 matches in FNL-2 together with Domodedov and Znamya Truda, as well as work in the Latvian championship with Noah Jurmala.
However, the debut in the First League should turn out to be difficult for the CSKA graduate, because the team lost several leaders at once: goalkeeper Mikhail Oparin, defenders Mingiyan Beveev and Pavel Shakuro and midfielder Zotov.
Zaur Tedeev received a much more complete squad.
Let Vladimir Khubulov, Batraz Gurtsiev and David Kobesov go to the RPL, they were replaced by several talented young performers at once.
Artur Galoyan from Veles stands out in particular.
In the last season of the tournament, the attacking midfielder scored 13 goals and gave nine assists.
In addition, Alania spoke about negotiations with Alan Dzagoev.
Abundance of young coaches
The start of the First League as a whole turns out to be very interesting precisely from the point of view of the work of coaches.
In recent years, in the sub-elite league, more and more boldly trust not only young players, but also mentors.
In the new season, eight specialists aged 45 and younger work in 18 teams at once.
Over 50 - only five, and the most experienced - Kononov - 56.
It is noteworthy that inexperienced helmsmen are not afraid to trust even in clubs that set themselves serious goals.
For example, SKA-Khabarovsk, which reached the play-offs for the right to play in the RPL, invited Roman Sharonov to replace Alexei Poddubsky.
On the one hand, in September he will turn 46. On the other hand, he has not yet worked as a chief anywhere except for Rubin.
Yes, and in his native team, the two-time champion of the country stayed for only a few months, during which he managed to be remembered for his bright start, motivational speeches in the locker room and subsequent inglorious resignation.
After 2.5 years, Sharonov finally returned, and the voyage to the Far East would be decisive for him.
You can also guarantee that Roman will try to give battle to Kazan.
This season will also be key for another former defender of the Russian national team, Sergei Ignashevich, who four years ago defended the colors of the country at the home world championship.
Since then, the specialist has spent three seasons in the FNL, and each time he was a little lacking for a promotion.
In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic prevented the Torpedo task from being solved.
A year later, the specialist was dismissed.
He left the Muscovites in sixth place, although they were in the lead for a long time.
Finally, in 2022, Baltika claimed to hit the joints, but finished eighth.
Now Kaliningrad has everything to break into the Premier League: a modern stadium, a strong team and a capable coach.
That is why Baltika has excellent chances to at least get into the joints.
Fancy Rookies
At the end of the last season, four teams moved up from FNL-2 to the sub-elite division: Shinnik, Volga, Dynamo Makhachkala and Rodina.
But two of them stand out the most.
Yaroslavl in the second half of the 1990s and early 2000s regularly got into the top 8 of the RPL and even played in European competitions.
However, last year they were relegated to the third strongest league for the first time in Russian history.
Vadim Evseev was called to return them from there, who managed to work successfully in the elite with Amkar, Anji and Ufa.
As a result, the specialist confidently coped with the mission assigned to him - the team took first place and returned.
And the main success for the club in the summer was the extension of contracts with a specialist and his assistants.
Among the players, veteran Eldar Nizamutdinov, who is only five years younger than his coach, attracts attention.
Coming on as a substitute in the first round match against Krasnodar-2, the striker at the age of 41 years, a month and 16 days turned out to be the oldest player in the history of the tournament.
New private clubs appear regularly in the league.
This time, the company "Krasnodar-2", "Veles" and "Akron" was "Rodina", owned by businessman Sergei Lomakin.
The capital team initially relied on the education of young players and their subsequent resale.
But it seems that in the debut season Muscovites are able to pleasantly surprise.
At least they entered it with the third most expensive lineup.
This was facilitated by an active transfer campaign.
For example, contracts were signed with two pupils of Spartak - Dmitry Markitesov and Artyom Voropaev.
The midfield line was strengthened by Astemir Gordyushenko, who played several matches in the Champions League, and the goalkeeper, Dynamo David Sangare.
Finally, both sons of Andrei Tikhonov united in the club - the elder Mikhail joined the younger Denis.
The coaching staff is even more related to the red-and-white Rodina, because in early June, Dmitry Parfenov came to replace Denis Boyarintsev.
He is helped almost entirely by former stars of ten-time champions of Russia: Alexander Pavlenko, Yuri Kovtun and Vladimir Beschastnykh.