Back in the early nineties, soviet football, which had once been brilliant, collapsed with the disintegration of the country, and the Soviet National Football League naturally turned into the dust of history and declared its end.
Shortly thereafter, the Russian Football Federation formed the Russian Football Top League with six former Soviet football league veteran teams (CSKA Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Moscow Torpedo, Dynamo Moscow, Alanya, Lokomotiv Moscow), and then absorbed the original lower classes in Russia, and formed the Russian Football Top League, which was later renamed the Russian Premier League.
For the top teams of the Russian Premier League, there should be no strangers to veteran fans who pay attention to European professional football all year round. Because in the Same Scale or Grade European Football League, the European points of the Russian Super League clubs have actually not been bad, the Russian Super League champions can have a direct quota for the Champions League, and the Russian Premier League stage is also a stage for many foreign football adepts to retire or as a springboard for training.
However, with the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict and the intensification of the boycott of Russia in Western Europe, it is difficult to say whether the Russian Premier League team will boycott the European professional football in the future, and it is likely to return to the closed era of closed doors and brain drain, temporarily disappearing from the vision of mainstream European fans.
When you think of a well-known football club in Russia, which one does you think of? In this article, the author will take stock of the top 5 Russian football clubs based on factors such as achievements, fame, and influence for your reference. Of course, due to space limitations, if there is a choice of discussion or lost pearls, readers are welcome to leave a message in the comment area to share.
5. Kazan rubies
The Kazan Ruby, which is home in Kazan, Tatarstan, can be said to be a team in the Russian Premier League that combines upstart and established attributes. Founded in 1958, Kazan Ruby has been unknown for a long time in the last century and has never played in the top local professional league of the Soviet Union.
It wasn't until 2003 that the Kazan Rubies made it from the second division to the Russian Premier League. In their first Russian Premier League season in 2004, they achieved the top three results and participated in the UEFA Cup that year. After a period of dormancy, the Kazan Rubies celebrated the first glorious period in team history from 2009 to 2010, winning the Russian Premier League title for two consecutive years and appearing in the Champions League, and is one of the five Russian Premier League teams that have won at least twice in their home leagues. Unfortunately, after entering 2010, the Momentum of the Kazan Rubies has slowed down, and the rise of another upstart team, Zenit, is much stronger than the Kazan Rubies.
4. Locomotive Moscow
Just hearing the name of this club, I believe that many fans can feel the historical heritage of this team and their original intention to serve working-class fans.
In addition, in the second half of the 1990s, Lokomotiv Moscow reached the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup for two consecutive years in 98-99, and played from the first stage of the Champions League in the 02-03 season, which can be said to be a good Russian football club in the European arena relatively early in the Russian era.
In the history of the Russian Premier League, Lokomotiv Moscow has won the championship 3 times, the runner-up 6 times, and the third place 5 times, and together with the two teams that appear below, they are collectively known as [Moscow Big Three] Football Club. At the beginning of the new century, Moscow's locomotive was crowned twice, corresponding to the end of the era of Spartak monarchy in Moscow and the first appearance of the era of Russian super-domination.
CSKA Moscow
As a well-known Russian football club with a domineering name, CSKA Moscow's shareholder is the Russian defense department, which has been generously sponsored by a group of Russian billionaires, including Abu, for many years. Needless to say, it is not so much that Abu and his group of rich people are sponsoring the football career of this team, but rather that they are paying for the owners behind them.
From the pre-Soviet era to the current Russian Super League era, this team with stable funds and amazing background has always been one of the giants of Russian football. As of this year, they have won a total of 6 championships in the Russian Premier League, in addition to 6 runners-up and 3 third-place experiences.
In terms of European competitions, CSKA Moscow, which has always been full of spirit and full of fighting passion, is definitely one of the few Russian teams that have left a shining performance. During the 2005 UEFA Cup, CSKA Moscow sang all the way to the final to beat Portugal's Sporting Lisbon in the final, bringing back a valuable European championship trophy for Russian professional football.
2. Spartacus Moscow
During the Soviet league era, Spartak Moscow won the Soviet League 12 times, winning only less than dynamo Kiev, which now belongs to the Ukrainian Premier League, and the results are enough to be called one of the most representative giants of professional football in the Soviet era.
Entering the era of the Russian Super League, the profound Spartak Moscow continued its rather strong performance, especially in the 1990s to the early new century of the Russian Premier League. During the first decade of the Russian Premier League from 1992 to 2001, Spartak Moscow won all the championships in the remaining years, except for the one that fell by the wayside in 1995. Until now, they have won 10 championships in the Russian Premier League in total, 5 times and 3 third places.
However, with the increasingly open Russian football environment, the strong rise of the rest of the Russian Premier League, and the narrowing of the gap in the strength of the head team, Spartak Moscow can no longer be a single one, and the positioning has dropped from super class to long years. Looking back at the history of the team, this Russian Super League team marked by red and white jerseys, after winning the ninth crown in the history of the Russian Premier League in 2001, waited until 16 years later in 2017 to be crowned the tenth crown achievement. As of now, they are still the team with the most russian premier league titles.
One, Zenit
Located in Russia's economically developed metropolis of St. Petersburg, backed by Gazprom, it can be said that Zenit is the most outstanding and richest Russian football club in modern times, which began to rise rapidly after receiving investment from big money in the energy field in 2005, and won the first Russian Super League championship in team history in 2007.
In the local team, Zenit has always had a first-class Russian player team, including Alshavin, Djoba and other top Russian football players, including well-known international football players have played for Zenit club for a long time. In terms of external invocation, Zenit has also been very willing to recruit in recent years, such as Hulk, Witsel, Azmond and other players who are well known to Chinese fans, who have all defected to Zenit with high salaries and left outstanding performances in the Russian Premier League.
In terms of overall results, Zenit has won the Russian Premier League seven times, the veteran Spartak Moscow with fewer than 10 times, the number of runners-up times is 3 times, and the number of third places is 3 times. However, judging from the momentum of the development of the two teams in recent years, it is likely that it is only a matter of time before Zenit surpasses Spartak Moscow in the number of Russian Super League titles.
Although the number of local top leagues is not the first in the Russian Premier League for the time being, because of its excellent European performance and the degree of luxury of the squad compared to other Russian teams, Zenit has long been regarded by many media or critics as the most representative Russian football club.
In 2008, Zenit won the European Union Cup & UEFA Super Cup and delivered a stunning 5-1 elimination of the Bundesliga giants in a two-legged knockout event that year. In the Champions League, Zenit also successfully qualified from the group stage more than once, the most representative is the 15-16 season, in the case of Valencia, Lyon and Ghent in a group, Zenit won 6 wins, 5 wins and 1 draw, extremely strong to qualify as the top of the group.
In the European arena, in the face of the overall strength of the five major league teams stronger than their own, Zenit from time to time to play the role of giant killer, against the same from the second and third-rate European league strong teams, Zenit's performance is rarely crotch; coupled with the blessing of intercontinental event honors, the statement that Zenit is the strongest club in Russia naturally makes sense.