Should we expect miracles from Krasnodar volleyball players and how popular are our “bulls” now?

VC “Dynamo” suffers a series of failures, FC “Krasnodar” is looking for a new mentor – “MK in the Kuban” about the main sporting events in the Krasnodar Territory.

Bet on pupils did not work

In Russian volleyball, the peak of the season. Krasnodar Dynamo also actively participates in the Women’s Super League.

In the summer, the team of Pavel Zabuslaev parted ways with the most experienced central blocker Maria Perepelkina and setter Marina Babeshina. The former played 149 official matches as part of the club and won more than a thousand goals for the team in these matches. Polina Bogacheva, Anastasia Ogolikhina, Yesenia Mishagina moved to other teams.

They were replaced by setters Ekaterina Sinitsyna and Alina Podskalnaya, blocker Olga Solovieva, winger Anastasia Zhukova, libero Varvara Shepeleva. Two of them are pupils of the Krasnodar club. Solovieva (before her marriage she had the surname Zubareva) spent six seasons at Dynamo. Sinitsyna, a student of Krasnodar volleyball, played for the Blue and White in 2011-2017. Alina Podskalnaya is the sister of team captain Yulia. Shepeleva played for Severyanka, Zhukova had previously played for Sparta Nizhny Novgorod. Also, the pupil of “Dynamo” forward Maria Bogovskaya returned to the club. Before returning, she played for Super League clubs from Lipetsk and Chelyabinsk.

Dynamo started the season in Tula, where they played five matches in the preliminary round of the Russian Cup. Krasnodar beat YuzGU-Atom (Kursk region) – 3: 2 (21: 25, 25: 22, 23: 25, 25: 12, 15: 11), lost to Minsker – 0: 3 (18: 25, 17:25, 26:28); defeated teammates from Anapa – 3 : 1 (25 : 18, 24 : 26, 25 : 13, 26 : 24) and Lipetsk – 3 : 0 (25 : 18, 25 : 15, 25 : 21), and in the end lost to Tulitsa – 3:0 (25:21, 25:15, 25:23). Three victories and two defeats allowed Zabuslaev’s team to advance to the semi-finals. In it, Dynamo lost in Kaliningrad to the local Lokomotiv with a score of 3: 0 (25: 18, 25: 16, 25: 14) and flew out of the cup.

The start of the Russian Championship at Dynamo did not work out. In the first round, Zabuslaev’s team lost away to Leningradka with a score of 3: 1 (25: 15, 21: 25, 25: 11, 25: 23). In the second round, we managed to win away from the Zarechye-Odintsovo club – 0: 3 (15: 25, 26: 28, 25: 11, 30: 32). In the first home match of the season, Krasnodar were defeated by Dynamo-Metar Chelyabinsk – 0:3 (19:25, 19:25, 23:25). And then they easily defeated the Krasnodar “Yenisei” on the road – 0: 3 (17: 25, 18: 25, 17: 25). Then there was a difficult and first-of-a-season home victory over Lipetsk — 3:2 (15:25, 25:21, 22:25, 25:18, 15:13). And then a series of failures followed. First, the defeat in the capital of Belarus from “Minchanka” – 3: 0 (25: 21, 25: 16, 25: 17). Then a difficult game, but in the end, a loss in Nizhny Novgorod – 2: 3 (21: 25, 23: 25, 25: 23, 25: 23, 14: 16) – from the local Sparta. Then the defeat away from the current champion of Russia – the Kaliningrad Lokomotiv – 3: 1 (23: 25, 25: 20, 25: 20, 25: 21). And then a home fiasco from the silver medalist of last year – Uralochka – 0: 3 (24: 26, 24: 26, 23: 25). In the last round at the moment, Krasnodar hosted Dynamo-Ak Bars. The meeting with the guests from Kazan was tense. Both teams used every chance to win, but Dynamo-Ak Bars still won – 2:3 (25:19, 24:26, 14:25, 25:18, 8:15).

As a result, Dynamo has three wins and eight losses after eleven rounds. In the standings of the preliminary stage, Zabuslaev’s team is in tenth place. And while there are no reasons for the situation to change during the season. The bet on the return of their pupils did not work, although the players alone cannot be blamed here. Dynamo has been going through difficult times for a long time. Since the 2016/17 season, when the club had large debts, the main volleyball team of the Krasnodar Territory began to fade. In the 2017/18 season, having taken tenth place in the Super League, he could have left the elite of domestic volleyball altogether, but remained among the best only because none of the lower leagues wanted to take his place. In recent seasons, Dynamo has consistently ranked seventh or eighth in the championship, often losing not only to the leaders, but also to average teams. Of course, this also affected the support of the fans. Dynamo matches are held on a daily basis, they are attended only by the most devoted fans. It is obvious that this season you should not expect any miracles from the “white-and-blue” either. As the Russian folk proverb says in such cases, it’s not up to fat – I would be alive.

Looking for a replacement?

But another club in the regional center of the Kuban has become one of the most visited in the country. Recently, the Russian Premier League announced the attendance rating for matches in the first part of the 2022/23 season of the Russian Football Championship. In second place was Krasnodar. Over 24,000 fans supported the Citizens at each match. The most visited football team in the first part of the season was Zenit. On average, more than 34,000 fans attended home matches of the Blue-White-Blues. Third on the list was the capital’s Dynamo. His figure is seventeen thousand people.

Meanwhile, the Krasnodar main team is on vacation. It will last until the ninth of January. On this day, the team of Alexander Storozhuk will gather in Krasnodar, where they will undergo a medical examination. And on the twelfth of January, the “bulls” will go to the United Arab Emirates, where they will hold two preparatory camps. The first will be held in Dubai from January 12 to 24, and the second in Abu Dhabi from January 28 to February 14. From the first to the eleventh of February in Abu Dhabi, Krasnodar will play in the first friendly tournament before the resumption of the season. As part of the Winter Cup of the Russian Premier League, the Bulls will play against Spartak Moscow, Rostov and Sochi. The tournament will take place during the second winter training camp of Krasnodar. The Winter Cup of the Russian Premier League will be held in a round-robin format, where each opponent will play one match with each.

Rumors about a change in Krasnodar coach Alexander Storozhuk do not subside. According to a number of media reports, club president Sergei Galitsky has not decided on the candidacy of a new team coach. The “Bulls” are looking for a suitable candidate, negotiations are underway with some of them. Storozhuk is more likely to remain in the structure of the club and lead the second team of the “citizens”. The coach himself said that he did not know if he would continue to work with the team.

– Not a question for me. You can read, write anything there, but I think that soon, probably, everyone will know everything. In any case, there is already a work plan, and it will be as it will be,” said Alexander Storozhuk.

The other day, the agent of the Krasnodar football player Cayo Pantaleao Neto Genoves announced that he would return to the start of the team’s training camp. A spokesman for the player said there was no cause for concern. Now Cayo spends his holidays in his homeland in Brazil. This season, the defender has played thirteen matches for Krasnodar.

News comes from Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov. The football club “Hapoel” (Beer Sheva) is going to buy the rights to the striker from Krasnodar, but is waiting for the cost of the transfer of the player to decrease. This was stated by Israeli journalist Roy Yankelowitz, who works at the World Cup in Qatar.

– Suleymanov is one of the best players in Hapoel, everyone is very pleased with him. The club is going to buy out his contract, he’s just waiting because the transfer fee is high,” Yankelowitz said.

Earlier it was reported that the leadership of Hapoel is satisfied with the game of the pupil of the “townspeople” and is already ready to buy out the player’s contract, the compensation amount of which is 1.3 million euros. Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov’s lease expires in June 2023.

The Krasnodar club announced the loan of his pupil to Hapoel on August 17 this year, the 22-year-old footballer will spend the rest of the season at the club from Beer Sheva.

– For Suleimanov, Krasnodar is a native club, his friends stayed there, he maintains good relations with someone. Krasnodar gave him the opportunity to take his first steps in football. I think that Suleymanov will always have warm feelings towards Krasnodar,” said the football player’s agent Alan Aguzarov.