Lokomotiv participates in the Champions League. Evgeny Lovchev: I hope the Champions League will revive Lokomotiv. Spartak are unseeded in the Champions League

The European club season in football is almost over. Only a few countries will still host cup finals, the last rounds of national championships and repechage tournaments in which tickets to European competitions are played. Almost all participants in the Champions League and Europa League have already been determined, as well as their club coefficients, which will be taken into account in the draw for the qualifying and main rounds.

Therefore, one can already imagine what awaits six Russian clubs in the upcoming European Cup season and which opponents they will definitely avoid in various stages of tournaments, and with whom there will be a theoretical opportunity to measure their strength.

Lokomotiv is among the best in the Champions League

Moscow "Lokomotiv" was honored to get into the first pot during the draw for the group stage of the Champions League. The Russian champions should thank for this the recently adopted rule, according to which the current winners of both European cups, as well as the strongest teams in the first six leagues in the UEFA coefficients table, receive the best seeding. Russia is just in sixth place, slightly ahead of Portugal.

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Lokomotiv will definitely not play in the group stage with Atletico, Bayern, Barcelona, ​​Juventus, PSG and Manchester City. The eighth team of the first pot will be known on May 26 - it will be either Real Madrid or Liverpool. The one who loses in the Champions League final can become a rival for Yuri Semin's wards.

If there were no armor for the champions of Russia, then Lokomotiv would have ended up only in the fourth pot - the small and unsuccessful experience of playing in European competitions in recent years, from which a rather low coefficient (22,500) has developed, has an effect. The champions of Russia could then be sure that they would not play with Inter and Hoffenheim.

It is worth noting that if UEFA continues to breed Russian and Ukrainian clubs, then Lokomotiv will not play with Shakhtar Donetsk, which received a ticket to the second pot.

CSKA - the third pot of the Champions League

CSKA improved its performance compared to last season - if a year ago the army team got into the fourth pot during the Champions League draw, now they still deserve a more prestigious third thanks to the odds (45,000). However, two years ago, Muscovites were in the first, when they became the champion of Russia.

The army team will definitely not play with Schalke, Lyon, Monaco and, probably, Shakhtar. Liverpool can also get into the third pot if they lose in the Champions League final to Real Madrid, and Benfica or Basel get to the group stage.

If Liverpool win and get into the first pot, then Roma and Tottenham can drop into the third (depending on whether one of the Benfica-Basel pair or both teams will overcome the qualification). In certain scenarios, Brugge and Galatasaray, who already have tickets to the group stage, can still get into the third basket.

Spartak are unseeded in the Champions League

Moscow "Spartak" will start playing in European competition with the Champions League and will follow the path of the representatives of the leagues. Together with the wards of Massimo Carrera, seven more teams will play here, that is, there will be four pairs of rivals in total.

Although among those teams that have already reached this stage, Spartak ranks fourth in personal odds (13,500), the Russian club will not be able to become a seeded team. He is behind Benfica, Dynamo Kiev and Fenerbahce, and he will definitely lose to Basel, Ajax and PAOK - one or two of these clubs will get into the third qualifying round of the second. "Spartak" will be able to get around the draw only "Standard", the vice-champion of the Czech Republic, which has not yet been determined, and "Sturm", if it reaches this round.

Given that Russian clubs are unlikely to be able to play with Ukrainian ones, Spartak's potential rivals will be Benfica or Fenerbahce, as well as either Basel, or Ajax, or PAOK.

In the playoff round, Spartak has a chance to earn a seed and get an easier opponent. But then all the favorites, who bypassed the Muscovites at an earlier stage, should complete the performance and fly out to the Europa League. Hoping for it would be inappropriate. Most likely, Spartak will also have to compete with a nominally stronger team there.

If Spartak makes it to the group stage of the Champions League, then due to its extremely low odds, it will only get into the fourth pot. It will be possible to avoid meetings with Inter, Hoffenheim and Shakhtar, and the rest of the teams may well fall into the group of 10-time champions of Russia.

If the red-whites are defeated in the Champions League qualification, they will be destined for a place in the group stage of the Europa League. It is too early to talk about what basket awaits Muscovites there - only 15 participants out of 48 have been identified. Theoretically, Spartak may even be in the first basket, which will avoid meetings with Chelsea, Arsenal and other top clubs in Europe . But this probability is extremely small. Judging by how the list of participants was formed in past years, Spartak will be either in the third basket or in the fourth.

Krasnodar - unknown basket of the Europa League

Krasnodar has already entered the group stage of the Europa League. The southern club has a certain experience of playing in European competitions, so its odds are not the smallest (23,500). It is not yet possible to say exactly with whom Krasnodar will definitely play and with whom not: as mentioned earlier, there are too many unplayed tickets.

Nevertheless, Sergei Galitsky's club has a real chance of getting into the second or third basket. You will have to fall into the fourth only with great bad luck, if clubs worthy of the Champions League suddenly begin to suffer massive defeats in the selection. At the same time, it will be possible to get into the first pot with incredible luck - if the group stage is flooded with teams with tiny odds.

Zenit is the favorite for the Europa League qualifying

Zenit will start the European Cup season from the third qualifying round of the Europa League and will follow the main, non-championship path. St. Petersburg have the highest odds among Russian clubs (78,000), which is quite impressive even by the standards of the Champions League. So there should be no problems with the draw for Zenit.

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The club from St. Petersburg will definitely be seeded both in the third qualifying round and in the playoffs. He won't have to face such famous teams as Sevilla, Basel, Besiktas, Ajax, Olympiacos, Sporting, Braga, if they are in the same stage as Zenit ".

At the same time, the Russian club will secure a place in the first basket of the group stage, if this stage can be reached. This means that meetings with Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayer will be avoided. If we assume that Benfica, Sevilla, Basel, Dynamo Kiev, Ajax, Red Bull Salzburg, Olympiacos or Besiktas are in the group stage of the Europa League, then they will not come either to St. Petersburg at least until the playoffs.

Ufa is a modest newcomer to European competitions

So her coefficient will be quite low (10.676). However, for the second qualifying round of the Europa League, from which the club from Bashkortostan starts, this is quite a normal result.

The Ufimians will definitely be a seeded team at the first stage for themselves, which will allow them to avoid meeting with Sevilla, Besiktas, Braga, Steaua (if the Romanians do not immediately get into the third qualifying round), AZ Alkmaar, Leipzig ”, “Burnley”, “Rijeka” (if it also does not immediately jump to the next round), “Atalanta”, “Bordeaux” and a strong representative of Belgium, where the last ticket to the Europa League has not yet been played.

But then "Ufa" will face serious tests. In the third qualifying round, already higher odds will be needed in order to have priority in the draw. There is a high probability that only more titled and strong on paper rivals will wait for the Bashkir team.

Loko returns to the group stage.

By the European season of 2003, Lokomotiv approached in the status of the champion of Russia. That's just to keep the title of the club did not work. CSKA stubbornly held first place all season, and then the Champions League began. In the UEFA rankings, we were only tenth, so no first pot and group stage for you. The lot brought the Muscovites to Shakhtar Donetsk, and that was just a qualification. Like the one that Spartak had with PAOK.

The first game was held in Donetsk. In it, Loko performed poorly, losing with a minimum score (0:1). But in the return, already by the break, Ashvetia made a double. Shakhtar closed the gap, but towards the end Dmitry Khokhlov fell into someone else's penalty area. Ref put a penalty. Ignashevich approached the point and drove the ball into the goal of Pletikosa. In a few years, all three will be in different Moscow clubs. Lokomotiv, meanwhile, entered the main draw of the tournament.

In the group, the red-green with lots were not lucky at all. First, there was Arsenal, who spent Wenger's historic season in which he did not suffer a single defeat in the Premier League. Then - Inter, at that time last year's Champions League semi-finalist, with Cannavaro and Materazzi in the squad. Plus Dynamo Kiev, which in those days became the champion almost every year.

In the very first game, Lokomotiv discouraged its fans and lost on the road to the least famous club in the group (from Kyiv). But the next two made the whole of Russia talk about the Semin team. We started small (or not quite) - rolled up a goalless draw with the very formidable Arsenal. Closest to the goal was Robert Pires, who ran out on a date with Ovchinnikov. Boss saved.

But in the third round there was Inter Milan, which arrived in Cherkizovo with the main team. Loko scored only one point at that time. Yuri Palych took a chance, and for the first time in that Champions League, two forwards came out at the base. Muscovites flew forward, and Loskov scored an early goal. The outcome of the game was decided by the first minutes of the second half. First, Ashvetia closed the chamber from the flank, doubling the score. And then Dmitry Khokhlov scored with an unimaginable header from almost 20 meters. The crowded stadium (as it was in every Champions League match) was in ecstasy. The sound of pipes would easily cover the most annoying fans from South Africa. Those who complained about vuvuzellas simply did not visit Russia in the 2000s.

Immediately after that game, a new coach came to Inter - Alberto Zaccheroni. But even with him, the Milanese could not beat Lokomotiv even at home. Rekoba's quick goal was later followed by Loskov's effective response, and the game ended in a draw. Dynamo Kiev became the next rival again. As usual, it should have been hot: look at how the trip to Ukraine ended in the first game.

We don’t know how it was in fights, but in the Loko table, the Kiev team outperformed. Largely due to the victory in a face-to-face meeting in Moscow. By the last minutes of the game, two deuces were burning on the scoreboard, but Winston Parks, who came on as a substitute, scored the winning goal, which decided so much. "Locomotives" scored eight points: now, in some scenarios, the last game in London could have been lost. And so it happened - Lokomotiv finished second after Arsenal. Inter remained third in terms of head-to-head meetings, and Kyiv completed its performances in Europe.

The fairy tale was supposed to end in the first playoff matches. Our club got Didier Deschamps Monaco. That team included Patrice Evra, Emmanuel Adebayor and Fernando Morrientes. Muscovites extended moments of happiness for one more game, beating the future finalist of the Champions League in Moscow.

In response, a miracle did not work, and Dado Prsho, who did not score a penalty, decided the outcome of the game on the second attempt. In a match with many controversial decisions of the referee and the removal of Loskov, Monaco won and went to 1/4 - due to an away goal. Then he will beat Real and Chelsea, and will stumble only in the final, losing to Porto Mourinho (with Alenichev in the squad). Loko will return to the Champions League after 14 years.

After 14 years, Lokomotiv returns to the Champions League! We decided to remember how the railway workers played in this tournament before. In the group stage of the most prestigious club tournament in Mother Europe, Lokomotiv managed to break through on the second attempt, beating the Austrian Tyrol in the famous and scandalous replay. For me personally, that match became a landmark, it was after it that I started rooting for Loko.

2001/2002

The railway workers were in Group A with the future tournament triumphant Real Madrid, Roma and Anderlecht. The quartet is very similar to the one where CSKA will play in the current draw. Unfortunately, the debut of the red-greens fell on the infamous September 11th. Then I was still at school and did not understand why I was not shown the game of my favorite club. The match with Anderlecht was still held, it ended in a draw 1-1. The first goal of Lokomotiv in the Champions League was scored by Vladimir Maminov.

Then there was a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to Real Madrid, where the era of the Galacticos had already begun. Loko kept up with dignity, Nigmatullin pulled as best he could, but in the end the Madrid players brought the score to a devastating 4-0. The 90s and the beginning of the 2000s are considered the heyday of Italian club football with fabulous money and a scattering of world number one game stars. At that time, Totti, Cafu, Batistuta, Montella, Lima (who later moved to Loko), Delvecchio, Walter Samuel, Vincent Candela played in the Romans, and don Fabio Capello trained all these tough guys. The red-greens were able to lead in score on the road by the efforts of Milan Obradovic (interesting interview with a Serb), but Chugainov’s own goal was to keep the victory or at least draw, and the second from the “Emperor of Rome” Totti. At home, the railway workers lost 0-1, Cafu scored. Brussels to Anderlecht and Loko's biggest victory in the Champions League. Already in the debut of the meeting, the Belgians led, but even before the break, Semin's wards took the lead thanks to the goals of Izmailov and Sennikov. In the second half, they scored three more times (twice Buznikin and Pimenov), having issued a rout.

In the final round, they played at home with Real Madrid, which by that time had solved the problem of leaving the group and arrived in Moscow with the second squad. Buznikin and Cherevchenko scored once in each of the halves. Two victories in this draw later formed the basis of the famous chant "UPVE - Inter, Anderlecht, Real". The debut in the Champions League can be considered successful - third place in the group with two strong opponents, one of whom then took the trophy. Lokomotiv got into the UEFA Cup, where they lost to the Israeli Maccabi from Tel Aviv with the evil genius of Russian football of that time, Slovenian Milan Osterets, who scored 2 goals out of 3.

2002/2003

Lokomotiv started that European trip again with the selection, where they played with the Austrian GAK. Those were the times when Russia was very low in the UEFA coefficients table and only dreamed of having two teams in the group at once. Lucky railway workers on the Austrian clubs in the selection for the Champions League. There were three of them in total - Rapid, Tyrol, GAK. They also played with Sturm in the LE in the 2011/2012 group. Group H: Barcelona, ​​Galatasaray, Brugge. This time the lot was more favorable, only one grand and again the Belgian team.

In the first round we played with the Turks, as in this season, we only started at home, not away. Galatasaray confidently won 2-0. An interesting fact: just like 16 years ago, now Lokomotiv and Galatasaray are coached by Yuri Semin and Fatih Terim. The second was a trip to Belgium. It did not turn out to be as successful as the year before - they drew 0-0. Dmitry Loskov earned the removal. The coupled rounds fell to play with Barcelona. It didn’t turn out as well as with another Spanish superclub a season earlier, two defeats - 1-3 at home with a goal from Obiora and 0-1 away. By the fifth round, Semin’s wards came up with only one point in the piggy bank, ghostly chances of leaving the group, especially in the light of a trip to Istanbul hell, where no one is easy. But Lokomotiv was able to win in the boiling pot of Ali Sami Yen, thanks to the goals of Loskov and Evseev. Vadim very emotionally celebrated the goal of the Colombian goalkeeper Mondragón, who before the 2018 World Cup was the oldest player in the World Cup, jumping onto the protective net.

In the sixth round, the task of the red-greens was extremely simple: they had to defeat Brugge at home and hope that the Turks could not win on the road against Barcelona. Everything came together: Loko won 2-0 with goals from Julio Cesar and Dmitry Loskov at the end of each half and for the first time in history left the group in the Champions League! Loskov celebrated his goal by rolling on his stomach across the snowy field of the brand new stadium. Just like a year ago, Lokomotiv scored 7 points in the group, only now it was enough for second place in the group. In the Champions League draws from 1999/2000 to 2002/2003 there was a second group stage. The initiative was so-so, knockout matches are still more interesting.

Only 2 clubs from Russia played in this round - Lokomotiv and Spartak. Loko got into Group K with Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Milan. There were also 6 matches here. One at home, one away with each team. The level of rivals strove for space, as Leonid Slutsky once said. Wards Semin were able to score only one point, but what! The match with Real Madrid can rightfully be considered the golden fund of Russian football and Lokomotiv. Loko almost created a sensation at the Santiago Bernabeu. When Raul scored in the middle of the first half, it seemed that Real would have no problems. But at the beginning of the second half, Obiora, who had just come on as a substitute, equalized the score. And in the 74th minute, the red-greens brought forward Bennett Mguni. To be honest, this player is not remembered for anything else. The joy did not last long - after 2 minutes Raul scored a double. Already in injury time, Obiora ran away to a rendezvous with Casillas, but the British referee Graham Barber blew the whistle to end the meeting. What caused a storm of indignation among the bench and Loko fans.

Performance in the second group stage "Loko" failed - 1 draw and 5 defeats, the difference is 3-10. Only Bayer performed worse, losing all 6 games. An interesting fact: in two draws in a row, Loko met with the future winners of the tournament - in 2001/2002 it was Real Madrid, in 2002/2003 Milan. 2003/2004 The last time Lokomotiv participated in the group stage of the Champions League. That European campaign turned out to be the most successful in the main club tournament. In the qualifying round, we met not with the Austrians (it happens!), but with Shakhtar Donetsk. Then Russian and Ukrainian clubs were not yet bred. We lost 0-1 on the road, won 3-1 at home with a valid ending and a goal by Ignashevich (yes, he used to play and score for Lokomotiv) from the penalty spot in the 86th minute.

Lokomotiv got into group B with London's Arsenal, Milan's Inter and another Ukrainian team Dynamo Kyiv. In the first round there was a departure to Kyiv. The red-greens kept parity almost until the very end, but on the 83rd and 90th minutes they received a “deuce” from Rincon and left with nothing. "led by Thierry Henry and other stars.

The paired meetings played with Inter, where there seemed to be little chance. But Semin's wards put the skeptics to shame by scoring 4 points in two games. The home victory over Inter was also included in the gold fund of matches, and Khokhlov's goal from the penalty line to the hero of Euro 2000 Toldo took pride of place in many charts. I'll just list the names if you suddenly thought that Inter were the whipping boys then: Toldo, Cordoba, Recoba, Zanetti, Vieri, Materrazzi, Fabio Cannavaro, Emre.

In the fifth round we played at home with Dynamo Kyiv. At the end of the first half, the railroad workers led 2-1, thanks to goals from Buznikin and Ignashevich from the penalty spot. In the second, the people of Kiev were able to level the score, Shatskikh scored. Loko still managed to pull out the victory thanks to the efforts of Costa Rican Winston Parks in the 89th minute. He himself later admitted in an interview that that goal was one of the most memorable in his career.

The final round was to leave for London. Lokomotiv came to the sixth game day as the leader of the group with 8 points. The situation in the quartet was very confusing - all teams had a chance to reach the 1/8 finals. The railway workers had to not lose or hope that there would be a draw in the parallel meeting.

Semin's wards could not fulfill their task - they lost 0-2, but Inter played 1-1 with Dynamo, which allowed Lokomotiv to reach the 1/8 finals from second place. play Monaco. Didier Deschamps then coached the club of the principality, who this year in Russia led the French to the title of world champions already as a coach. Contrary to the opinion that it is difficult for our clubs to play after the winter, Lokomotiv played a very powerful first leg. Possessed an advantage, with enviable regularity created chances. It's a pity they missed out on Morientes, making life easier for the Monegasques in the second leg. In the end, Obiora and Parks did not realize the killer moment, going out together on the goalkeeper. How could this goal then not be enough ... The return match was a "benefit performance" of the man in black from Portugal, Lusiliou "Baptist" Batishta. First, he appointed a very controversial penalty, which was dragged by Sergei "Boss" Ovchinnikov, along the way warning Dmitry Loskov for disputes. And after 3 minutes he wrote out the second yellow card to the 10th number of Lokomotiv. The goal scored also raised questions, the Monaco player closed the view to our goalkeeper. That evening, a lot was against the red-greens. Four guests received yellow, Loskov red. You can blame the referee for everything, but Lokomotiv missed its chances in the first meeting. At that time, Russian clubs were not particularly respected in Europe. What is the replay with Tyrol worth.

ISTANBUL /Türkiye/, 19 September. /TASS/. Lokomotiv Moscow lost to Turkish Galatasaray with a score of 0:3 in the match of the first round of the Champions League group stage. The meeting, which became the first for the Russian club in the tournament over the past 14 years, took place at the stadium "Turk Telecom Arena".

5305 days - that's how much has passed since Lokomotiv's previous performance in the main round of the Champions League. The last time the railway workers played in the main European club tournament was in the 2003/04 season. Then the wards of Yuri Semin reached the playoffs from the group with the London "Arsenal", Milan "Inter" and Kyiv "Dynamo". In the 1/8 finals, Lokomotiv lost on aggregate to Monaco (2:1, 0:1).

The players of "Galatasaray" immediately began to actively attack the gates of Muscovites, and already in the ninth minute of the meeting, Vladislav Ignatiev's mistake was taken advantage of by the striker of the Turkish team Harry Rodriguez, who scored the first goal with a long-range shot into the near corner of Guilherme's goal. By the middle of the first half, the initiative passed to the visiting team. First midfielder “Locomotive” Grzegorz Krychowiak failed to hit the almost empty net, and then punched forward Jefferson Farfan inaccurately.

In the second half, the teams continued to play on a collision course, but the next goal was scored only in the 67th minute. Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok doubled Galatasaray's advantage with a direct free-kick. In the 87th minute, the hosts were left with ten men after the removal of midfielder Badu Ndiaye, who received a second yellow card for a foul on Lokomotiv player Anton Miranchuk. In the 94th minute, the veteran of the Istanbul club Selçuk Inan set the final result of the match by converting a penalty.

Chess game for "Galatasaray"

At the post-match press conference, the head coach of Galatasaray compared football with chess, noting that this game remained with his team. "Football should be regarded as chess, and today we won the game. We have not played in the Champions League for a long time, and this European Cup campaign, as I said, is a campaign for a dream for us. Today, the first step towards its fulfillment was taken," he said. Terim.

Lokomotiv head coach Yuri Semin at a press conference expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of scoring chances in the performance of the players of the Moscow club. "Speaking by the result, it can be called a tough defeat. In terms of the game, we lost the first ten minutes, when the Turkish team was very active. Then we had a good advantage, we had a chance to bounce back, but it did not work out due to the poor implementation of scoring chances," Semin said.

Lokomotiv midfielder Manuel Fernandes after a doping test in an interview with reporters said that the team did not deserve such a final result. "It was a very difficult game in which we started the first half badly. Then we started to play better, but a goal in the second half confused us. Despite the score, I can say that we did not deserve a devastating defeat in the game we showed " said Fernandes.

welcome to Hell

Fans of Galatasaray began to gather five and a half hours before the starting whistle. The main point of deployment of the red and yellow fans is Nevizade Lane, where there are a number of bars and the main restaurant of the same name. Fans of the Turkish team literally blocked pedestrian traffic and sang songs in support of their favorite team, accompanied by drinking alcohol.

In a conversation with a TASS correspondent, Galatasaray's fan Ferkit Inan said that Lokomotiv were waiting for an extremely difficult match. “We respect your team, but I would like to warn you that real hell awaits you. Many clubs that came to the old Ali Sami Yen (the former name of the stadium - TASS note) simply could not withstand the pressure of the stands. I bet on an unconditional victory my favorite team - 5:0," said Ferkit.

Between the upper and lower tiers of the stadium, two banners featured the inscriptions - Welcome to Ali Sami Yen Hell and Your Nightmare is back again. If translated from English, they mean "Welcome to the hell of Ali Sami Yen" and "Your nightmare is back again." These signs fully justified themselves in the last match, because even before the start of the meeting, when Semin's wards went to the warm-up, a whistle was heard inside the stadium bowl, which can be compared with the sound of an airplane taking off nearby. During the match, every time the football players of the Moscow club touched the ball, the whistle was so strong that it periodically blocked their ears.

With a victory over Lokomotiv, Galatasaray bounced back for a home defeat in the 2002/03 Champions League season. During the second group round, the Turks lost 1:2, but won away (2:0).

After the first round, Lokomotiv occupies the last place in quartet D without scoring a single point. On the first line is Galatasaray, which now has three points in its asset, followed by Porto and Schalke - one point each.

In the next match, which will take place on October 3, the railway workers will play at home with the German Schalke, and the Turkish club will play a guest meeting with Porto.