Football clubs “Krasnodar” and “Sochi” played friendly matches; “bulls” are trying to motivate fans to issue a Fan ID

Only two got to Karpin

The championship of Russia went to the spring break associated with the games of the national teams. Five players were called up from Krasnodar to the national teams. Goalkeeper Matvey Safonov and midfielder Ilzat Akhmetov went to the Russian national team. At first, the national team trained in Novogorsk, and on March 23 they played a friendly match in Tehran against the Iranian team (1: 1). Then a duel against Iraq took place in St. Petersburg (2: 0). Safonov played in the match against Iran, conceding one goal from the penalty spot. Akhmetov came out in the 87th minute in that match and did not score. In the game with Iraq, both Krasnodar players were sitting on the bench. Valery Karpin’s team also included graduates of the Krasnodar Academy, who no longer play for the Bulls. They are Dynamo Moscow midfielder Daniil Fomin and Rostov striker Nikolai Komlichenko.

Krasnodar midfielder Eduard Spertsyan went to the Armenian national team. His national team played on March 25 in Yerevan as part of the qualification for Euro 2024 against Turkey (1: 2), and on March 28 they hosted Cyprus in a friendly match (at the time of writing, the meeting had not yet been held). Spertsyan acted against the Turks throughout the match, but did not score with effective actions. Bulls defender Junior Alonso traveled to the Paraguayan national team, where on March 28 his team met Chile in a friendly away match (at the time of writing, the game had not been played). Citizens defender Kevin Lenini went to the Cape Verde national team. As part of the qualification for the African Cup of Nations, this team played on March 24 against Eswatini at home, and on March 28 they fought against the same team, but on the road.

Initially, Sochi delegated one player to the Russian national team. Defender Artem Makarchuk was called. But at the beginning of the training camp, it became clear that the player had caught the virus (which one is not reported). Therefore, the senior doctor of the national team, Vladimir Khaitin, let the player go back to the club. In Sochi, Makarchuk recovered and, as reported by the club, is already training in the general group. Vanya Drkusic, the defender of the resorts, went to his national team. For the first time, the football player received a call to the Slovenian national team. In the second round match of the 2024 European Championship qualification against San Marino, Drkusic entered the game in the 36th minute, replacing Jaka Biyola. By that time, no goals had been recorded in this meeting. As a result, the Slovenes won with a score of 2: 0. Drkusic did not score with effective actions.

The match between the Russian national team and Iraq was planned to be held in Sochi, at the Fisht stadium. But then the game was moved to St. Petersburg, to the Gazprom Arena. Nevertheless, Middle Eastern football players trained in the southern resort. As the press secretary of the Iraqi national team, Mohammed Imad, explained, they initially wanted to play at Fisht. But they were told that the stadium would not be ready by the date of the meeting. The main reason was the lawn. Earlier, the Russian Football Union (RFU) received an offer from the Iraqi Football Federation to play a friendly match. A response letter was sent from the RFU, in which they proposed to hold the game in Sochi.

Confidently won

During the period of national team games, Kuban clubs continued training. The Bulls trained at their Chetuk base in Adygea, and on March 26 at the Small Arena of the FC Krasnodar Academy they played a control match with Dynamo Barnaul. The game was held behind closed doors and ended with a score of 3:0 in favor of the “citizens”. All goals were scored in the first half. Nikita Krivtsov, John Cordoba and Olakunle Olusegun recorded them at their own expense.

“Kurortniks” during a break in the championship of Russia trained at their base in Adler. Also on March 26, they played a friendly match. The rival was the Gelendzhik “Vista”, playing in the championship of the Krasnodar Territory.

From the first minutes Sochi owned the initiative, completely controlled the course of the game. Already in the sixth minute they scored a goal. Christian Noboa received a penetrating pass into the penalty area from the right flank, crossed. The goalkeeper of “Vista” seemed to hit the ball, but he flew off in the direction of Nikita Burmistrov – the midfielder did not lose his head and opened the scoring. In the tenth minute, Sochi doubled the difference. Artur Yusupov gave an accurate pass to Timofey Margasov – the midfielder shot on goal. The goalkeeper again hesitantly reflected the ball, which again bounced off Burmistrov’s feet. The midfielder passed to Vladislav Sarveli – the striker had only to complete the attack. Guests tried to recoup, but were powerless. In addition, Soslan Dzhanaev was reliable. In the 56th minute, Georgy Melkadze opened up for a pass, broke into the opponent’s penalty area, made a pass with a partner, and then set the final score in the match – 3: 0.

“Vista” tried to recoup. In the second half, the Gelendzhik team managed to create a couple of dangerous chances at the gates of Denis Adamov, who replaced Dzhanaev, but the Krasnodar graduate was at his best. Joaozinho could score at the end of the game. The naturalized Brazilian ran on the right flank of the attack, deftly got rid of the defenders and struck into the upper left corner. Goalkeeper of the guests coped with this blow.

The departure of the fans went unnoticed

The country’s authorities will continue to encourage football fans to apply for a Fan ID. In mid-March, more than 61 thousand people made it in the Krasnodar Territory. In general, it is noted that the Russians are in no hurry to issue a Fan ID, matches are played in empty stands. Now the RFU, the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Digital Development are developing measures to motivate football fans in order to increase the attendance of matches of the Russian Premier League (only for this tournament a Fan ID is required so far).

— These are all kinds of gifts and loyalty programs. In the near future, the ministries will come up with an initiative, and together with the RFU and the clubs, a measure will be presented that will help return fans to the stadiums, as we think. I don’t think you can blame Fan ID for everything. Here is a set of events that we have in our lives: not the best weather, not the best mood of people, not the best economic situation in the world. Events in Ukraine – I think people are not up to football. Well, someone doesn’t like Fan ID,” said Dmitry Svishchev, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.

Krasnodar, in principle, does not suffer much from the introduction of new requirements for passage to the stadium. The first match with Torpedo, where Fan ID was needed, was attended by a little less than eight thousand spectators. The club even broke the tradition at the end of the second half to announce and write on the scoreboard the number of people who came. Already at the next home match with Dynamo, the stadium was visited by a little more than fourteen thousand spectators. It should be taken into account here that the “citizens” are now showing a frankly weak game, they are in the middle of the standings. And the rivals were not the top ones. Fans of clubs are ardent opponents of Fan ID. It is they who announce a boycott of matches where only one ticket is not enough. Krasnodar has practically no such fans, at least their departure from the stands went unnoticed.

Nevertheless, the club launched the “Get a Fan ID and win one of fifty prizes every week” promotion. The winners receive a T-shirt signed by the players, the opportunity to put any name on the T-shirt, a ball with the signatures of the players, a book “History of the club”, a photo album of the “bulls”, certificates, etc. All prize winners are randomly selected once a week. At the time of this writing, the action is taking place for the sixth time. It will last until the twenty-sixth of May.