Unprecedented excitement, "Kolkhoz Punk" and an amazing rescue: how big football returned to Voronezh after 21 years

The hard way to the elite

The return of Fakel to the RPL was a real event for Voronezh.

It's been 21 years since the team last played in the elite division - a generation of local football fans have never seen it at this level.

On the contrary, during this period the fans experienced a lot of unpleasant emotions.

In 2006, the team left the First Division and lost their professional status.

Having revived, he spent several years in the third most powerful league in the country.

Entering the FNL in 2015 also did not bring positive at first, because Fakel was forced to wage an exhausting struggle for survival.

Moreover, in three seasons in a row, he finished in the relegation zone, but remained.

Rivals from FNL-2 refused to raise twice, and in 2020 the draw was completed ahead of schedule, and everyone retained their registration. 

And therefore, the long-awaited appearance in the RPL this year turned out to be largely unexpected.

Wards of Oleg Vasilenko stayed on the third or fourth lines for most of the season, but thanks to the victory in the final round over Baltika, they climbed to second and won a direct ticket.

However, until recently it was not clear whether the blue-whites would be allowed to play in the RPL.

The main problem of the club was the outdated Central Stadium of Trade Unions.

It has not been overhauled since the times of the USSR, and the upper tier has never been opened to spectators at all since the Russian team hosted Belgium here in 2010 as part of a friendly match.

The appearance of the arena, to put it mildly, did not please.

Commentator Roman Naguchev spoke sharply on this topic, who called the stadium a "monster" and expressed the hope that the Premier League teams would not have to play there.

“It is fair if the Torch starts the new season where such an arena is accepted - that is, in The Last of Us (a video game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. -

).

Until July 6, this monster will definitely not turn into a prince.

And for promises ... you can contact Tambov.

Liars worked there for two seasons,” the journalist wrote.

However, the leadership of the region did everything in its power to correct most of the shortcomings.

In particular, the lawn was re-laid, a new media panel was installed, lighting masts were repaired and an automatic irrigation system was installed.

According to media reports, a total of 165 million rubles were spent on reconstruction.

And only at the end of June the league took over the arena.

Modest financial opportunities

But on the purchase of players, "Fakel" saved.

And this is not surprising, given that, according to CEO Roman Askhabadze, the club entered the new season with the lowest budget in the league.

In the summer, the newcomer spent money on only one player.

For €120,000, winger Ilnur Alshin was bought from Baltika.

The rest came either as free agents or on loan.

Moreover, the blue-and-whites turned out to be the only participant in the RPL, in the roster of which there is not a single foreigner.

In general, Voronezh did not radically change the backbone formed by Vasilenko in previous seasons.

“They say you need to go to the RPL and change the team - well, this is an execution right away.

It's wrong, it's not necessary.

No one should be removed, everyone is worthy and deserves a chance to prove themselves at a higher level, ”the coach explained.

He was not embarrassed by the fact that most of the wards had no experience of playing in the elite division.

In the match of the first round with Krasnodar, 16 people appeared on the field as part of the team, and only for four the meeting did not become a debut in the RPL.

Yes, and Khyzyr Appaev, Alikhan Shavaev, Sergey Bozhin and the aforementioned Alshin did not have many games at this level.

The same can be said about the coach: in 2013, Vasilenko did not lead Ural for long, but after leaving Yekaterinburg in Russia, at best, he led teams from the FNL.

Sincere love of the fans

But "Fakel" can boast of the incredible love of the fans.

The return to the RPL has become an important event for the entire region.

The fact that the Central Stadium of Trade Unions would be full at home matches became clear even before the start of the season, when the media began to publish statistics on the number of season tickets purchased.

According to the latest data, the club has completed 11.3 thousand passes and by this indicator it has surpassed Spartak (about 3 thousand), Dynamo (about 3 thousand) and CSKA (2 thousand) at times.

It was possible to get around even the current champion of the country "Zenith" (about 10 thousand).

Such successful sales are also explained by low prices.

The cheapest beginner's subscription costs only 1670 rubles, and the most expensive - 4050. For comparison, the most economical fans of red and white will have to pay 8600.

However, it is impossible to measure the love for Fakel in Voronezh in money.

A few days before the first home match against Dynamo, the city was in a frenzy.

Tickets that went on sale sold out almost instantly, and local football fans had to seriously fork out.

As an alternative, many chose to watch the game from a business center located close to the arena.

Even before the starting whistle, all the places on the balconies were occupied.

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Literally the whole of Voronezh lived by football.

On the day of the matches, a whole crowd of fans came to the arena to see off the team.

By coincidence, Naguchev, whom Match TV sent to comment on the meeting, settled in the same hotel.

Contrary to expectations, the fans greeted the journalist very warmly and began to chant at him "The stadium is our home."

And after that, together with him, they performed the composition of the Gaza Sector group, Collective Farm Punk.

It has long become an anthem and a kind of hallmark of Voronezh fans, which they sing in unison at all matches.

Live it looks amazing.

During the game itself, the fans did not stop talking for a minute.

In total, 19,258 spectators gathered in the stands, with a total capacity of 21,000. Fakel was provided with such powerful support that commentator Alexander Aksyonov expressed fear during the second half that the stadium would collapse.

Moreover, the audience greeted with a loud roar not only every attack of their favorites, but even successful tackles.

Bright premiere duel

The opposition turned out to match the atmosphere.

The opponents gave the audience one of the brightest matches of the season.

Moreover, after the first half, almost no one had any doubts: the Muscovites would take away three points from Voronezh.

The second double in a row in the RPL was designed by Fedor Smolov.

The striker first converted a penalty, and then with a neat blow from outside the penalty area doubled the advantage of the blue and white.

Along the way, he caught up with Eduard Spertsyan, the tournament's top scorer in the race.

However, Fakel had no right to give up at home and immediately after the break made an incredible comeback.

In just 80 seconds, Georgy Gongadze and Roman Akbashev, who came on as a substitute, managed to hit Anton Shunin's goal twice.

But the hosts were so carried away by the attack that they instantly missed a curious goal.

Vasily Cherov cut the ball into his own net after Luka Gagnidze's cross.

So in three minutes the teams scored three times.

But the defeat of Vasilenko's wards would be extremely unfair, because they surpassed the opponent in all key indicators: possession (56%), shots (14 vs. 12), shots on target (5 vs. 3), corners (6 vs. 3).

And so the salvation in the end turned out to be absolutely logical.

Alshin struck an accurate shot from outside the penalty area and drove the arena crazy.

Such a crazy game could not do without removal.

Already in stoppage time, Sergei Ivanov showed a second yellow card to Dynamo midfielder Arsen Zakharyan.

And after the final whistle of the referee, local fans gave their favorites a standing ovation and did not let them leave the stadium for a long time.

Yes, they themselves were in no hurry to the locker room and even performed several songs with the fans.

It is symbolic that defender Ruslan Magal, a native of Voronezh, acted as a “loader”.

It is difficult to guess where the team will finish the season and whether it will be able to maintain a residence permit in the elite division.

However, even now it can be called truly "folk".

It remains only to express the hope that the degree of interest in football in the city will not decline over time, as sometimes happens with RPL newcomers.