Fuente: © F1 Gran Prix of Istanbul
http://www.formula1-istanbul.com/

FIFA: CSKA maintain Moscow stranglehold

/noticias.info/ Since its formation in 1992 following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Russian national championship has been dominated by a Moscow triumvirate.

This season, after another three-way title battle which Zenit St. Petersburg briefly threatened to gatecrash, there were once again celebrations in the capital, with the arms of CSKA Moscow raised in triumph. Valeri Gazzaev's side's 4-0 victory away to Luch-Energia clinched the club its third Premier League crown in four years with a game to spare, and ensures that CSKA now outrank city rivals Spartak and Lokomotiv as the competition's most successful side since the turn of the millennium.

Their success this season can be attributed to proficiency at both ends of the field. Offensively, with their exciting Brazilian quartet at the forefront, CSKA delighted crowds and tormented opponents in equal measure. The year was successful, too, on a personal level for Dudu, Daniel Carvalho and Vagner Love, all of whom established themselves in the Brazil squad, but it was the club's latest samba recruit that led their title charge during the first half of the campaign.

Jo, 19, began the season in irrepressible fashion, with 13 strikes in 10 outings firing CSKA to the summit of the table before injuries cruelly put paid to the teenager's golden boot chances. Thereafter, Dudu's guile, Vagner Love's unpredictable flair and finishing instincts, and Daniel Carvalho's pristine passing were relied upon more heavily to deliver the points.

Just as crucial to CSKA's success, nonetheless, was their impressive defensive record. In 30 games, they leaked just 28 goals - and it was no coincidence that the imposing Igor Akinfeev remained an immovable figure between the sticks. Still only 20 but with a wealth of experience under his belt, it is no wonder that Akinfeev is already considered one of the finest goalkeepers in Europe.

Lokomotiv lament UEFA Cup exit
With the combined attacking talents of Marat Izmailov, Dmitri Sychev and Dmitri Loskov, Lokomotiv Moscow were leading the Russian Premier League in late September and high on confidence following an morale-boosting away win over CSKA Moscow.

However, a humiliating UEFA Cup exit at the hands of Belgian minnows Zulte-Waregem sent their season into decline, and ultimately led to the club's power brokers to hand coach Slavoljub Muslin his marching orders just weeks later.

By then, Lokomotiv were in the midst of a four-game winless streak, one which effectively ruled them out of the battle for gold. 'The Railwaymen' did at least manage to salvage something from the season, though, by taking six points from their closing two contests to secure third place and a UEFA Cup berth.

Slow start costs Spartak
Free-scoring Spartak Moscow ran their rivals close in the title race, finishing level on points with the champions, but it could have been a different story had they not stumbled out of the blocks. In a disastrous start to the campaign, Spartak took just one victory from their opening six games, a sequence they were later left to rue.

Nevertheless, inspired by the form of combative midfielder Mozart, promising teenager Roman Shishkin and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, who eventually pocketed the top goalscorer award, 'the Meat' registered only one loss in their remaining 24 fixtures to haul themselves into contention. Ultimately, however, Spartak drew too many matches and their seeming inability to hold on to the lead often proved costly. Within seven days during the title run-in, they conceded injury-time goals to strugglers Torpedo Moscow and Shinnik, and paid the price with their title ambitions.

Advocaat inspires Zenit revival
After Korea Republic's early exit from the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™, Dick Advocaat took the reins at underperforming Zenit St. Petersburg and duly masterminded a heartening revival.

Propelled by the playmaking excellence of Andrey Arshavin, Zenit went thirteen games unbeaten in the Russian Premier League to surface among the division's pacesetters. In the end, it was only due to the lack of a prolific striker that their challenge faltered.

In fact, Arshavin - Zenit's chief creator - was also their leading marksman. Regardless, Advocaat will have taken several positives from a season that ended with Zenit finishing fourth, including the impressive performances of Korean import Lee Ho, and also the fact that Arshavin extended his deal at the Petrovsky Stadium.

There were tears as well as cheers in the capital, meanwhile, as Torpedo Moscow bade a sad farewell to the Russian Premier League after 68 years of top flight football. The capital club will be joined in the second tier by Shinnik, who managed just one league win all season.

The demoted pair will be replaced by First Division champions Khimki, led by Russia's 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cup forward Vladimir Beschastnykh, and runners-up Kuban. notas_de_prensa_archivo