Football clubs “Krasnodar” and “Sochi” are actively preparing for the spring part of the season

Football clubs Krasnodar and Sochi are actively preparing for the spring part of the season: the bulls have already made a couple of acquisitions and loaned out several players, the resorts haven’t signed anyone yet, but rumors say that Kurban Berdyev’s team is in for serious changes — “MK in the Kuban” about the main sporting events of the Krasnodar Territory.

Pupils go to competitors

The “Bulls” came out of vacation on January 10: it took two days for a medical examination – on January 12, Vladimir Ivic’s team flew to the United Arab Emirates. There, the “townspeople” will hold two training camps. The first will be held in Dubai and end on January 24, the second in Abu Dhabi from January 28 to February 14.

Krasnodar planned to play the first friendly game on the seventeenth of January. The rival was supposed to be the Bulgarian “Levski”. But already on the second day of the gathering, the press service of the club announced that the game would not take place. Changes to the schedule of matches were made by the new coaching staff. Further, according to the plan, the “black-greens” have a meeting with the Uzbek “Bunyodkor” (January 23). At the second training camp, the Black Buffaloes will play in the Winter Cup of the Russian Premier League against Sochi (February 3), Spartak Moscow (February 6) and Rostov (February 11).

Krasnodar is actively continuing its transfer campaign. The club recently announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Cady Borges and Nigerian striker Moses Kobnan David. Both agreements are valid until June 30, 2026.

“Citizens” leased two pupils. Central defender Sergei Borodin will spend the rest of the season in Israel playing for Beitar (Jerusalem). On account of the football player sixteen matches for the basis of the “black-green” and one goal scored. Forward “Krasnodar-2” Ruslan Apekov was sent on loan to Togliatti “Akron”. This agreement will also be valid until the end of the season, but provides for the right to buy the player. This season, Apekov has played thirteen matches for Krasnodar-2 and two games for the main team of the Citizens, in which he scored two goals and one assist. It is completely incomprehensible what the club is guided by, which declares that it wants to supply its pupils for the base, but at the same time regularly gives them to competitors, while acquiring unremarkable foreign players, is completely incomprehensible.

The stay at the base of another pupil, defender Vyacheslav Litvinov, remains in question. According to media reports, the decision on whether the player will remain in the team will be made by Ivic at the first training camp in Dubai. Litvinov made his first team debut in 2020. This season, he has played thirteen matches in the Russian Premier League and six in the Russian Cup, in which he scored two goals. Transfermarkt value the player at 1.2 million euros.

The media also reported that the Israeli Hapoel from Beer Sheva plans to buy the transfer of striker Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov from Krasnodar for eight hundred thousand euros. The club intends to do this before the end of the current season. Allegedly, all the details of Suleymanov’s personal contract have already been discussed, the player is ready to sign a long-term agreement with the Israelis. Now the striker has been playing for Hapoel on loan since August 2022. At the same time, according to Transfermarkt, his transfer value is 2.8 million euros.

Journalists also report that the Dutch PSV is showing interest in 22-year-old midfielder Eduard Spertsyan. The Dutch club intends to negotiate with Krasnodar this month regarding the transfer of the player. Spertsyan is recognized as the best player of Krasnodar and Armenia in 2022. The Black-Greens obviously do not want to part with their leader and will only give him away for a very good sum.

According to rumors, Krasnodar, in turn, wanted to buy the defender of Red Star Star Strakhinya Erakovic, but the 21-year-old football player refused to move to Russia. The management of the “bulls” offered about four million euros for the player of the Serbian national team, but the Belgrade team wanted ten million euros.

The former mentor of the main team of the “citizens” Alexander Storozhuk did not work for long at Krasnodar-2. After he was dismissed at the beginning of the year, the coach returned to his former team. The other day it became known that the specialist signed a contract with the Tula Arsenal. The agreement is for a year and a half. Arsenal, after twenty games with 32 points, is in sixth place in the First League standings. It is noteworthy that before Storozhuk, the team was also coached by the former coach of Krasnodar, Oleg Kononov. But the former coach of Sochi, Vadim Garanin, recently said that the president of the Bulls, Sergey Galitsky, called him and offered to head the second team of the club. But the teacher refused this offer.

Recently, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Krasnodar’s appeal against FIFA’s decision to suspend foreign players’ contracts. CAS upheld the decision of the International Football Federation (FIFA) on the possibility of suspending the contracts of foreign players and coaches with Russian clubs in connection with the events in Ukraine. It is reported that in addition to Krasnodar, an appeal against the FIFA decision was filed by Zenit, Dynamo, CSKA, Lokomotiv, Rubin, Sochi and Rostov. In June, FIFA extended permission for legionnaires and foreign coaches to suspend contracts with Russian clubs. If clubs affiliated to the Football Union of Russia have not reached an agreement with their foreign players and coaches by June 30, 2022, and unless otherwise agreed in writing, those players and coaches may suspend their club contracts until June 30, 2023. FIFA’s previous similar permit was valid until the summer of 2022.

Berdyev wants to control everything?

Despite the fact that there is no information about Bars’ transfers, there are a lot of rumors around the club. The main one is that the new coach of Sochi, Kurban Berdyev, wants to make serious personnel changes. A number of media reports that the specialist wants to put his people in various positions in the club. So, the departure of the coaching staff, which was before the arrival of Berdyev, as well as medical personnel and a brigade of masseurs, is very likely to leave. In addition, the departure of CEO Dmitry Rubashko is not ruled out. This development of events is not at all surprising, because in previous teams Berdyev tried to do just that: he invited his people to various positions, tried to control all the processes taking place in the club. But so far, the “leopards” do not announce any personnel changes.

“Resorters” came out of vacation on the seventh of January. First, the team passed a medical examination. Sochi residents spend their first gathering at home, at the base in Adler. On the Black Sea coast, the weather is good, there is no snow, and during the day the temperature is quite acceptable for training. The first friendly match took place on the seventeenth of January. The rival of the Berdyev team was the Taganrog “Forte”, representing group I of the Second League. The game took place without spectators. There was also no broadcast. Berdyev is true to his principles: in the teams he coaches, even ordinary training sessions are hidden.

Barsy will train in Adler until January 22. Then the team will go to Abu Dhabi, where the second training camp will begin on the 25th. There, the Southerners will play in the Winter Cup of the Russian Premier League against Krasnodar, Rostov and Spartak. The third collection will be held in Turkey from the fifteenth to the twenty-fifth of February.

Meanwhile, Christian Noboa began to train with the team. An injury prevented him from preparing for the spring part of the season along with everyone else. But judging by the messages of the club, now everything is fine with the Ecuadorian.

Sochi has not yet acquired a single newcomer. There are few rumors about the transfers of the “southerners”. Recently, information appeared in the media that the club could regain the central defender of Spartak Moscow, Mikha Mevlya. The Slovenian’s contract with the “red-whites” is calculated until the summer, he falls into the base a little. Mevlya is well known to Berdyev. It was when the Turkmen specialist worked at Rostov that the defender moved to his club. Mevlya played in Sochi in 2019-2021. For the “leopards” he played 48 matches and scored four goals. The market price of the 32-year-old Slovene is six hundred thousand euros.

In early January, CAS explained the decision to reject the appeals of the RFU and Sochi to remove the club from European competition. Thus, in the motivational part of each decision, it is emphasized that UEFA and FIFA were forced to suspend Russian teams for the safe conduct of international competitions. At the same time, it is noted that the RFU and Russian teams are victims in these circumstances. Members of the commission expressed the hope that in the future the suspension would be lifted.

Recently, the fate of the former head coach of Sochi, Alexander Tochilin, has become clear. It became known that the specialist will remain working in the structure of the club. Tochilin himself told reporters about this. It is possible that he can again lead the Bars, as it was at the beginning of this season, when Garanin, who did not have a Pro license, was formally Tochilin’s assistant, but in fact led the team.