Spartak is the winner of the Legends match

Match of Legends. Tushino. Spartak 2:1 Zenit. Goals: Pavlyuchenko, 27, Shirko, 63 – Denisov, 5.

The return match between the legends of Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg is dedicated to the memory of Georgy Yartsev. Before the start of the game, to the song “The Last Poem”, a group of fans in the attributes of “Spartak” and “Zenith” carried canvases with photographs of Yartsev, the player and coach, onto the field. Footage of the football chronicle was shown on the scoreboard of the stadium. The teams entered the field accompanied by children – all in T-shirts with a portrait of Georgy Yartsev. The stadium performed the song “Did the Wind Dispel the Old Name” in his honor.

Two hours before the starting whistle of the referee Alexei Nikolaev, a press conference was held in the press center of the Spartak stadium for coaches and team players. The journalists’ questions were answered by: Oleg Romantsev and Anatoly Davydov, Andrey Tikhonov and Miguel Danni and OLIMPBET Development Director Konstantin Gusev. The press conference was hosted by the legendary and inimitable Viktor Gusev.

The correspondent of our publication asked each speaker a question.

“Of course, I was not offered to lead Khimki. I’m not going to return to coaching, ”such was Oleg Romantsev’s answer to the question about resuming his coaching career, for example, in Khimki.

“Who helped you put together a team?” – My question is to the Zenit coach Anatoly Davydov. “Our leaders consulted with the players. In general, we collected collectively, and I think that we made the right choice,” the St. Petersburg guest was confident in his work.

“This is not a rematch, just another match for the fans. An opportunity to plunge into the past, to see your favorite football players. Yes, we lost the first game by two goals, but there is no revanchist sentiment. The goal is to play good football for the fans to enjoy. Well, try to win, ”Andrei Tikhonov answered my question about the legendary Spartak-Zenith confrontation in detail.

“Football is in my life now. I have children, they play football, but now I spend a lot of time with my family and I really like it, ”Miguel Danny responded to a question about his current life.

My last question was to Konstantin Gusev (who replied that this was not his “diocese”) and concerned the number of fans in the stands. And here the former captain of the red-and-whites intervened in the “case”, who was rightly indignant: “I don’t understand why a limited number of spectators are allowed to play football. Today there can be no more than 15 thousand spectators. There was a full house at the concert just now at the stadium, and why then the most popular sport in the country cannot gather a full arena?” Andrey Tikhonov was magnificent in anger.

Fans were treated to performances by the Adventures of Electronics (before the match) and Bely Orel, who sang their hit “How delightful evenings in Russia” after the match.

“In a cramped apartment on the grandfather’s TV – you taught us to red and white victories” – a banner with such an inscription of the fans of the capital club met the players before the starting whistle. The first blow to the ball was made by the son of Spartak’s favorite Ilya Tsymbalar – Oleg, who entered the center of the field already with his two-year-old son, the grandson of the legendary football player of the national team.

In July, before the game between Zenit and Spartak for the Russian Super Cup, the legends of blue-white-blue and red-white held their retro match at Petrovsky. The victory was for St. Petersburg: 2:0 thanks to the goals of Roman Shirokov and Alexander Kerzhakov. And now, almost two months later, before the meeting between Spartak and Zenit in the 8th round of the RPL, a rematch of the Legends of the two clubs took place in Moscow.

Alexander Filimonov, Andrey Yeshchenko, Konstantin Golovskoy, Viktor Onopko, Dmitry Khlestov, Alexander Samedov, Alexander Pavlenko, Andrey Konovalov, Yegor Titov, Andrey Tikhonov and Roman Pavlyuchenko played for Spartak. For Zenit – Yuri Okroshidze, Alexander Anyukov, Anatoly Timoshchuk, Alexei Igonin, Valery Tsvetkov, Igor Denisov, Konstantin Zyryanov, Andrey Arshavin, Alexander Kerzhakov, Danny and Dominguez. Oleg Romantsev and Anatoly Davydov were on the coaching benches.

“Zenith” started right off the bat. The ball was sent into the Spartak gate already at 5 minutes (after rebounding on a corner) by Igor Denisov, who put on a blue-white-and-blue T-shirt nine years later.

The hosts, driven by the stands, had more possession of the ball and territory. In the 27th minute, Spartak bounced back thanks to the efforts of Roman Pavlyuchenko, who sent the ball into the net of the St. Petersburg gate. And he assisted the “sleeping giant” (as Pavlyuchenko was called by the ex-coach of the national team Guus Hiddink), who replaced Denis Boyarintsev.

In the second half, Spartak did what the fans expected of him. The ball ended up in the goal of Vyacheslav Malafeev with the assistance of Alexei Meleshin and Alexander Shirko. The first one made a good pass to the second one – and now he has a winning score on the scoreboard of the Tushino stadium, built by Leonid Fedun, who recently left Spartak.

The last football action in the retro match was marked by the goalkeeper of the people’s team Artem Rebrov, who literally saved Spartak by playing cool at the exit.

Already after the final whistle (at the awards ceremony), the same Rebrov and Andrey Yeshchenko, who completed their performances for Spartak last year, said goodbye to the fans and received their well-deserved personalized T-shirt frames.

The best players of the meeting according to OLIMPBET are Viktor Onopko and Anatoly Tymoshchuk, who were awarded with special statuettes. Well, the whole Spartak team received the Legends Match Cup.

We are waiting for the meeting between Spartak and Zenit already in the RPL this Sunday, also in Tushino.

Vladimir Sabadash.

Photo – the author.