8 things you need to know about Round 38 of the Russian Premier League

Best team in Russia is playing in the bottom half, Zenit miles ahead of the Moscow outfits, Samuel Eto’o hasn’t scored for five games and Fedun’s caviar – Nikita Koroteev brings you the best stories from last weekend in the RPL.

1. Amkar

The sudden rise to prominence began in September for Amkar, when former coach Miodrag Bojovic returned to the club. They won just two of their first seven games last term, but started this year with a bang, getting five wins in six, making them the most successful RPL team of 2012.

Their goal against Rostov this weekend was surrounded in controversy, but in all honesty it could have been a lot worse for the away side, if the goal was disallowed. Rostov defender Alexander Gatskan put the ball in his own net with his hand, so the alternative was a penalty for Amkar and a red card for the centre back. No complaints here then.

Here’s a handy visual aid, explaining Gatskan’s goal:

2. Sergey Chepchugov

The imminent return of CSKA Number 1 Igor Akinfeev prompted their reserve goalkeeper Chepchugov to produce one of his best performances for the Red Army. He kept his first clean sheet this season, having conceded 16 in his previous eight matches (and five goals from Real to boot). His convincing performance, during which he made five saves, including one from Eto’o meant that CSKA managed to earn a draw against, let’s face it, one of the Top 8 underdogs.

3. Fedun’s double at the CSKA arena

The biggest mystery of this week in Russian football has finally been clarified. Conspiracy theorist had a field day after CSKA’s draw with Kuban, gleefully commenting on the apparent visit of Spartak owner Leonid Fedun to the CSKA stadium, sporting a telling “horse” hat (CSKA’s unofficial nickname, in case you dn’t know, is “The Stallions”). As it turns out, the man sitting to the Red Army funny man Vasily Berezutsky is a local government official, and not the Hayagriva. So Fedun is off the hook this time.

4. Saint-Petersburg vs Moscow

This year there is no question, who the winner is in the intercity rivalry. After beating Lokomotiv in their last game against a Moscow team this season, Zenit can proudly brag about four wins, three draws and one defeat to the capital clubs. In other news, Roman Shirokov found the net for the first time since September in the RPl, goalkeeper Malafeev saved a penalty (his first penalty save since July 2007) and the Russian champions extended their lead at the top to 11 points.

5. The Russian pitches

The ever-present Russian problem is still around despite the coming of spring. People have blamed the shift to autumn-spring format, unqualified caretakers in the stadiums etc., but I see the root of the problem in something else: the horrid, miserable weather in central Russia is devastating to the quality of the surface. We are forced to watch the footballers struggle on the surface more appropriate for farming at the Cherkizovo and Khimki arenas, and it’s not a pretty sight.

“Everyone wants the Russian league to grow and improve, but all we see is degradation and decay,” said Dynamo’s Igor Semshov.

Well, if these words are anything to go by, it must be a good sign that Russian players now want more than just a big pay check. They are demanding the appropriate conditions for a professional footballer, and if that reflects a general tendency in Russian society – then this country has a future.

6. Below-par Eto’o

Samuel Eto’o boisterous start for Anzhi (8 goals in 11 games) now seems like a fleeting memory, with the Cameroon star failing to find the net in his team’s last five games this spring. Naturally, the fans and the pundits alike are beginning to ask questions: “Why is he not scoring? What is he getting paid for? Does he even care?” The answer to the latter one was quite obvious from a brief, but revealing scene after Samuel’s substitution: having left the pitch, the former Inter striker nonchalantly sat down… on the CSKA bench and chatted away with the opponents’ coaching staff. Former Anzhi vice-president Zaidin Dzhambulatov gave his own version of the situation: apparently, Eto’o can’t show his best football on the dreadful Russian pitches, so he is not even trying. Yeah, right.

7. Pavel Golyshev

The penalty conceded by Krasnodar in the victory over Tom was the 11th spot kick against them this season. Unlike some team’s, however, they didn’t work up a conspiracy theory and blame the officials, but instead got on with it and responded with three goals of their own. Pavel Golyshev, who scored the equaliser, is fast becoming one of the hottest prospects in the bottom half of the table. And here’s a bit of trivia you probably didn’t know: Golyshev is now the only player from a Bottom 8 club to score against his former team.

8. Caviar

“Where is the caviar, Mr Fedun?” That is the message the Spartak fans directed at the owner Leonid Fedun. What does the exquisite, traditional Russian delicacy have to do with football, you ask? Well, let’s go back to last February, when Fedun dropped a rather odd analogy in one of his interviews. It went something like this: if Spartak signs a couple of big new players, it will turn from a mere buttered toast into a butter and caviar sandwich. Perhaps the classic “Icing on the cake” analogy would have been more apt (but a lot less Russian, mind).

Anyhow, disgruntled fans aside, Spartak have a comprehensive home win over Kuban in the bag and are back in third place, while their striker Emenike once again got a goal and an assist. Spartak have two more home games coming up – against Rubin and Anzhi – so it’s make-or-break time in the fight for second spot and Champions League football next season.