FC Krasnodar and PFC Sochi continue to prepare for the 2023/24 season; the team of Vladimir Ivic played a draw in the first friendly match; Khokhlov’s team defeats all rivals at the training camp

The fate of Spertsyan is not decided

Last Saturday, the Bulls played the first friendly match of the off-season. At the stadium of their academy, the “townspeople” received the newcomer of the first league – Novorossiysk “Chernomorets”. Already in the twelfth minute of the match, John Cordoba received a pass in the center of the penalty area from Sergei Volkov and hammered the ball into the opponent’s goal. Krasnodar actively attacked throughout the first half and could score more than one goal. But they managed to make a double only at the fortieth minute. Goal took place in the same way. Cordoba walked along the left flank, shot into the center of the penalty area, from where Nikita Krivtsov hit the goal. The score is 2 : 0.

In the second half, Ivic completely changed the composition. Despite the fact that Sergei Petrov, Kaio and Eduard Spertsyan appeared on the field, a decent number of players were young people. After the break, the teams switched roles. Already in the fiftieth minute of the meeting, Vladislav Adaev scored against Stanislav Agkatsev. The midfielder struck a free kick from a decent distance, the ball flew over the wall and hit the crossbar. Chornomorets continued to attack and equalized in the 53rd minute. Adaev shot outside the penalty area into the far corner, Agkatsev ran far ahead and could no longer reach the ball.

“Citizens” tried to recoup. They managed to carry out several good attacks on the opponent’s goal, but they were all unsuccessful. At the end of the match “Chernomorets” made a bulk. Agkatsev even had to foul on a Chornomorets player who went one on one to the goal. The referee showed the goalkeeper a yellow card, the goalkeeper saved the free kick. The match ended with the score 2 : 2.

Ivic’s team played the next friendly game on July 11 (at the time of writing the article, the match had not yet taken place) against another representative of the first league – Krasnodar “Kuban”.

Rumors continue to circulate in the media around the transfers of Krasnodar. The main intrigue is Spertsyan’s transfer to the European club. It is reported that Ajax Amsterdam does not leave hope to acquire the midfielder of the Armenian national team. But this year the Dutch team will not play in the Champions League, which means they will lose a significant amount of earnings. Therefore, as the media write, Ajax will try to save up money for Spertsyan by selling several of their players. Earlier it was reported that “Krasnodar” requires about eighteen million euros for the transfer of his pupil. Ajax made an official offer to Krasnodar. The Dutch are ready to pay nine million euros for Spertsyan. Portal Transfermarkt.com evaluates the player at twelve million euros.

Other media reports that the Hungarian Ferencváros have already agreed on the transfer of the Ecuadorian defender of Krasnodar Cristian Ramirez. The deal will amount to two million euros. Previously, Ramirez played for this team and would like to return to the Hungarian championship. In the last season of the championship of Russia, the 28-year-old Ecuadorian played twenty-five fights, in which he scored two goals and made three assists. The defender has been playing for Krasnodar since 2017. He received Russian citizenship and is not a legionnaire. Ramirez’s contract with the Bulls runs until June 30, 2025. According to Transfermarkt, the player is worth five million euros.

“Citizens”, according to the media, are showing interest in the defender of “Crvena Zvezda” – Strahina Erakovich. The desire to work with the 22-year-old Serb allegedly comes from Ivic. However, Crvena Zvezda’s new coach, Barak Bahar, is counting on the player. Erakovic is a graduate of the Red Star Academy. In the 2022/23 season, he provided two assists in 47 appearances for the team in all competitions. Portal Transfermarkt.com values ​​the defender at nine million euros.

The dates and times of the matches of the first seven rounds of the championship of the Russian Premier League-2023/24 have become known. The new season “Krasnodar” will start on July 21 (Friday) at 19:00. The Bulls will play away against Dynamo.

So far exclusively win

Actively preparing for the Sochi season. Barsy played three friendly matches in July. Last week they played against Leningradets representing the second league.

In this meeting, Sochi immediately took the initiative into their own hands and opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the first half. An excellent cross from Artem Makarchuk was completed by Ivan Ignatiev. Further, the game also took place under the dictation of the “leopards”. Christian Noboa, Artur Yusupov and Kirill Kravtsov stood out in particular. This trio confidently controlled the ball.

In the middle of the first half, the “leopards” could have scored another goal, but Kirill Zaika made an inaccurate pass. In the second half of the first half, the game calmed down. In one of the counterattacks, “Leningradets” equalized the score. No more goals were scored before the break.

The second half “resort” began, as they say, without buildup. After Noboa’s hit on the crossbar, Timofey Margasov was the first on the rebound – 2: 1. In the 63rd minute, Miguel Selveira “sightedly” shot into the far-field, but the opponent’s goalkeeper rescued. Ten minutes later, the Brazilian still managed to print the gate. He was the first to finish after hitting Martin Kramaric. At the end of the match, Margasov scored a double. Sochi won with a score of 4: 1.

Four days after this fight, Dmitry Khokhlov’s team played two friendly matches in one day. First, the “leopards” tested their strength against the Gelendzhik “Vista”. The meeting with the amateur team took place under drizzling rain. In the first half, the opponent resisted well, sometimes creating dangerous chances at the Sochi goal.

Already by the middle of the half, the “resorts” seized the advantage and managed to score a goal. Sochi-M player Alexander Deryugin turned out to be the most efficient in the opponent’s penalty area. Before the break, the “leopards” retained a minimal advantage.

In the second half, on a wet field, the hosts managed to quickly work with the ball and organize several promising attacks. Kramaric doubled the advantage after a successful cross from Nikita Burmistrov. Already in the next attack, the Slovenian could make a double, but the ball after his hit flew above the gate. And immediately after this episode, Selveira missed the target from a few meters. At the end of the match, Vista managed to close the gap by scoring with a direct free kick – 2: 1.

The second friendly match on the same day was against the Krasnoyarsk “Yenisei”, representing the first league. This game started without a swing, in the very first attack Sochi opened the scoring. Timofey Shipunov with a sighted pass passed the ball to Kravtsov’s penalty line, the midfielder scored a goal into the far corner with a touch.

Further Sochi continued to control the course of the game. In the afternoon, the weather was perfect for football: the lawn was wet, but there was no precipitation. In the middle of the half, Enisey had a good chance to level the score, but at the last moment Ivan Miladinovich played reliably. The Serb “covered” the attacking opponent.

At the end of the first half, after the interception, the “resorts” organized almost the same goal that was scored at the beginning of the meeting. This time, Yusupov passed to Shipunov, and he bitingly shot the goalkeeper in the opposite direction – 2: 0.

After the break, Enisey tried to win back. Guests began to attack more. The blow of the Krasnoyarsk attacker went near the post. But for most of the second half, the meeting took place in midfield without dangerous moments. Both teams were successful on defense. A couple of times, “holidays” created dangerous moments. Ignatiev especially wanted to distinguish himself, the attacker opened well behind the line of defenders. However, the Yenisei goalkeeper managed to secure the defense. The second segment ended without goals scored.

By prior agreement, the teams decided to play the third half. The Sochi-M team came out against the Yenisei, as well as Georgy Melkadze at the forefront of the attack. During the first seven minutes of the half, the striker scored a brace. The entire period of time the game took place on a collision course. The teams played, as they say, without the middle of the field. As a result, the Sochi residents managed to score one more goal, and the Krasnoyarsk team played back two goals – 5: 2. Barca still only wins in friendly matches. Their next control game will take place on the fifteenth of July in Krasnodar against the team of the same name.

Sochi will play the first match of the 2023/24 season in the Premier League. The Khokhlov team will host the debutant of the elite division – the Kaliningrad Baltika. The meeting will take place on July 23 (Sunday) at 20:00.