2010 Russian Premier League
Introduction The '''2010 Russian Premier League''' was the 19th season of the Russian football championship since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and ninth under the current Russian Premier League name. The season started on 12 March 2010 and the last matches were played on 29 November 2010.On 14 November 2010, Zenit Saint Petersburg clinched the title after a 5–0 win against Rostov. This season was the last one played during an entire year (March–November), as the Russian Football Union decided to schedule the following seasons in sync with the biggest European football leagues (August–May).
Teams Kuban Krasnodar and Khimki were relegated at the end of the 2009 season after finishing in the bottom two places. Kuban make their immediate return to the First Division, while Khimki were relegated after a three-year tenure in the highest Russian football league.The relegated teams were replaced by 2009 First Division champions Anzhi Makhachkala and runners-up Sibir Novosibirsk. Anzhi return after an eight-year hiatus from the Premier League, and Sibir will make their debut in the highest level of the Russian football pyramid.On 5 February 2010, FC Moscow owner and main sponsor, MMC Norilsk Nickel, announced that the club will not play in the Premier League in 2010, possibly playing on a lower level instead. The club sent the official fax to the league refusing to participate in the 2010 competition on February 11, 2010.On 17 February, FC Moscow were officially excluded from the league and replaced by Alania Vladikavkaz, the third-placed team from the 2009 First Division. Alania thus make their return to the Premier League after a four-year absence.=== Venues === Alania Amkar Anzhi CSKA Republican Spartak Stadium Zvezda Stadium Dynamo Stadium Arena Khimki Capacity: '''32,464''' Capacity: '''19,500''' Capacity: '''16,863''' Capacity: '''20,000''' 250px 250px 250px 250px Dynamo Krylia Arena Khimki Metallurg Stadium Capacity: '''20,000''' Capacity: '''33,001''' 250px 250px Lokomotiv Rostov RZD Arena Olimp-2 Capacity: '''28,810''' Capacity: '''15,842''' 250px 250px Rubin Saturn Central Stadium Saturn Stadium Capacity: '''27,434''' Capacity: '''16,726''' 250px 250px Sibir Spartak Moscow Spartak Stadium Luzhniki Stadium Capacity: '''12,567''' Capacity: '''78,360''' 250px 250px Spartak Nalchik Terek Tom Zenit Saint Petersburg Spartak Stadium Sultan Bilimkhanov Stadium Trud Stadium Petrovsky Stadium Capacity: '''14,194''' Capacity: '''10,400''' Capacity: '''14,950''' Capacity: '''21,570'''    250px=== Personnel and kits ===TeamLocationHead CoachTeam CaptainVenueCapacity2009Kit MakerShirt Sponsor''''''Vladikavkaz Vladimir Shevchuk Georgy GabulovSpartak32,464Umbro''''''Perm Rashid Rakhimov Martin KushevZvezda19,500Puma''''''Makhachkala Gadzhi Gadzhiyev Rasim TagirbekovDynamo16,863Adidas''''''Moscow Leonid Slutsky Igor AkinfeevArena Khimki20,000ReebokBashneft''''''Moscow Miodrag Božović Dmitri KhokhlovArena Khimki20,000UmbroVTB''''''Samara Aleksandr Tarkhanov Ivan TaranovMetallurg33,001NikeRostekhnologii''''''Moscow Yuri Semin Dmitri LoskovLokomotiv28,810AdidasRZD''''''Rostov-on-Don Oleh Protasov Aleksandr CherkesOlimp-215,842Patrick''''''Kazan  Berdyev SharonovCentral Stadium27,434UmbroTAIF''''''Ramenskoye Andrei Gordeyev Aleksei IgoninSaturn16,726AdidasPromsvyazbank''''''Novosibirsk Igor Kriushenko Tomáš VychodilSpartak12,567ErreaSibmost''''''Moscow Valeri Karpin Alex Raphael MeschiniLuzhniki78,360NikeLukoil''''''Nalchik Yuri Krasnozhan Miodrag DžudovićSpartak14,194UmbroSindika''''''Grozny Anatoli Baidachny Shamil LakhiyalovSultan Bilimkhanov10,400AdidasZato-Bank''''''Tomsk Valeri Nepomniachi Sergei PareikoTrud14,950Adidas''''''St. Petersburg Luciano Spalletti Aleksandr AnyukovPetrovsky21,570NikeGazprom=== Managerial changes ===TeamOutgoingMannerDateTableIncomingDateTableAnzhi Makhachkala Omari TetradzeResigned18 March 201010th Arsen Akayev (caretaker)18 April 201011thAnzhi Makhachkala Arsen Akayev (caretaker)Finished18 April 201011th Gadzhi GadzhiyevDynamo Moscow Andrei KobelevSacked27 April 201010th Miodrag BožovićKrylia Sovetov Yuri GazzaevResigned25 July 201016th Aleksandr Tarkhanov
League table === Positions by round ===
Results
Statistics === Top goalscorers === Rank Player Club Goal1  Welliton Spartak 192  Oleksandr Aliyev Lokomotiv 14  Sergei Kornilenko Tom / Rubin 4  Aleksandr Kerzhakov Zenit 135  Vladimir Dyadyun Spartak Nalchik 10  Danny Zenit   Artem Dzyuba Tom 8  Shamil Asildarov Terek 9  Kevin Kurányi Dynamo   Vágner Love CSKA === Top assistants === Rank Player Club Goal1  Vladimir Bystrov Zenit 16  Alex Spartak 3  Danko Lazović Zenit 7  Georgi Peev Amkar 5  Oleksandr Aliyev Lokomotiv 6  Danny Zenit   Vágner Love CSKA   Igor Semshov Dynamo   Tomáš Čížek Sibir   Aleksandr Marenich Alania   Roman Kontsedalov Spartak Nalchik   Andriy Voronin Dynamo   Aleksei Ivanov Saturn
Season events === Krylia Sovetov controversy ===Krylia Sovetov Samara, who were scheduled to pass licensing on February 4, asked Russian Football Union to postpone their licensing until February 15 due to financial problems and debts to players. The club was reported to be close to liquidation due to shortage of financing. It later asked to postpone the licensing again to February 19, but the RFU only postponed it until February 17.On February 17 it was decided to postpone the licensing until February 19 after all. Krylia Sovetov finally received their license on February 19 after agreeing on new contracts with several companies to sponsor them, some of which might become partial owners of the club.As the first matchday arrived, Krylia Sovetov were still banned from registering new players because of debts outstanding on old contracts. They could only register 11 players over 21 years old and several more players from the youth team that were registered for them in 2009.The transfer deadline had to be extended from March 11 to April 8 to accommodate Krylia Sovetov in hope they will pay their outstanding debts shortly. With injuries on top of that and only 16 players available for both their main squad and the reserve team, their reserve team had to finish their first game with 9 players on the field as they only had a goalkeeper on the bench after two players were injured, and the main squad had to play against FC Zenit St. Petersburg with a heavily diluted roster, so even the loss with the score 0–1 was saluted by the Krylia's fans. The transfer ban was confirmed again on March 16, and was to remain in place until Krylia paid back their debts to their former players Jan Koller and Jiří Jarošík. Krylia lost the second game with the diluted roster 0–3 to FC Lokomotiv Moscow. The ban was finally lifted on March 26.
Awards On 9 December 2010 Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:;Goalkeepers#  Igor Akinfeev (CSKA)#  Sergei Ryzhikov (Rubin)#  Andriy Dykan (Terek / Spartak M.);Right backs#  Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit)#  Sergei Parshivlyuk (Spartak M.)#  Aleksei Berezutski (CSKA);Right-centre backs#  Vasili Berezutski (CSKA)#  Bruno Alves (Zenit)#  César Navas (Rubin);Left-centre backs#  Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA)#  Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit)#  Leandro Fernández (Dynamo);Left backs#  Tomáš Hubočan (Zenit)#  Georgi Schennikov (CSKA)#  Yevgeni Makeyev (Spartak M.);Defensive midfielders#  Igor Denisov (Zenit)#  Roman Shirokov (Zenit)#  Pavel Mamayev (CSKA);Right wingers#  Vladimir Bystrov (Zenit)#  Aiden McGeady (Spartak M.)#  David Tsorayev (Anzhi);Central midfielders#  Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit)#  Alex (Spartak M.)#  Keisuke Honda (CSKA);Left wingers#  Danny (Zenit)#  Alan Kasaev (Rubin)#  Mark González (CSKA);Right forwards#  Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit)#  Kevin Kurányi (Dynamo)#  Seydou Doumbia (CSKA);Left forwards#  Vágner Love (CSKA)#  Welliton (Spartak M.)#  Artem Dzyuba (Spartak M. / Tom)
Medal squads  '''1.FC Zenit St. Petersburg''' '''Goalkeepers:''' Vyacheslav Malafeev (21),  Yuri Zhevnov (8), Dmitri Borodin (1). '''Defenders:''' Aleksandr Anyukov (27 / 1),  Nicolas Lombaerts (26 / 3),  Tomáš Hubočan (23),  Bruno Alves (14),  Ivica Križanac (14 / 1),  Aleksandar Luković (11),  Fernando Meira (11),  Michael Lumb (2). '''Midfielders:''' Konstantin Zyryanov (28 / 2),  Danny (27 / 10), Vladimir Bystrov (25 / 6), Igor Denisov (24), Roman Shirokov (21 / 6),  Danko Lazović (20 / 5),  Alessandro Rosina (15 / 2), Viktor Fayzulin (14 / 2),  Szabolcs Huszti (13 / 1), Sergei Semak (12 / 2), Aleksei Ionov (11). '''Forwards:''' Aleksandr Kerzhakov (28 / 13), Maksim Kanunnikov (12 / 1), Aleksandr Bukharov (10 / 4). '''Manager:'''  Luciano Spalletti. '''Transferred out during the season:'''  Michael Lumb (on loan to  Feyenoord). '''2.PFC CSKA Moscow''' '''Goalkeepers:''' Igor Akinfeev (28), Sergei Chepchugov (2). '''Defenders:''' Sergei Ignashevich (28 / 2),  Deividas Šemberas (26), Georgi Schennikov (25), Aleksei Berezutski (23 / 1), Vasili Berezutski (22), Kirill Nababkin (13),  Chidi Odiah (11 / 1). '''Midfielders:'''  Keisuke Honda (28 / 4), Pavel Mamayev (27), Alan Dzagoev (24 / 6),  Mark González (21 / 3),  Sekou Oliseh (16 / 3),  Zoran Tošić (15 / 3), Yevgeni Aldonin (14),  Miloš Krasić (14 / 2),  Elvir Rahimić (11). '''Forwards:'''  Tomáš Necid (24 / 7),  Vágner Love (15 / 9),  Guilherme (12 / 5),  Seydou Doumbia (11 / 5). '''Manager:''' Leonid Slutskiy. '''Transferred out during the season:'''  Miloš Krasić (to  Juventus),  Guilherme (end of loan at  Dynamo Kyiv). '''3.FC Rubin Kazan''' '''Goalkeepers:''' Sergei Ryzhikov (28),  Giedrius Arlauskis (2). '''Defenders:'''  César Navas (29 / 1),  Cristian Ansaldi (20), Aleksandr Orekhov (19 / 1), Vitali Kaleshin (15), Oleg Kuzmin (13),  Lasha Salukvadze (10),  Jordi Figueras (8),  Salvatore Bocchetti (7 / 2), Roman Sharonov (2). '''Midfielders:''' Alan Kasaev (28 / 5),  Christian Noboa (27 / 8),  Rafał Murawski (23), Pyotr Bystrov (18), Andrei Gorbanets (17 / 1),  Gökdeniz Karadeniz (17 / 1),  Bibras Natcho (14 / 2), Aleksandr Ryazantsev (13 / 2), Yevgeni Balyaikin (13), Sergei Semak (8 / 1),  Vagiz Galiullin (7),  MacBeth Sibaya (7),  Carlos Eduardo (6 / 2). '''Forwards:''' Aleksei Medvedev (13 / 2), Aleksandr Bukharov (12 / 4),  Obafemi Martins (12 / 2),  Sergei Kornilenko (8 / 3),  Fatih Tekke (5),  Hasan Kabze (5), Igor Portnyagin (4),  Bahodir Nasimov (2),  Alexandru Antoniuc (1). '''Manager:'''   Kurban Berdyev. '''Transferred out during the season:''' Sergei Semak (to Zenit),  Fatih Tekke (to  Beşiktaş), Aleksandr Bukharov (to Zenit),  Bahodir Nasimov (on loan to  Neftchi Baku),  Jordi Figueras (on loan to  Real Valladolid),  Vagiz Galiullin (on loan to Sibir Novosibirsk),  Hasan Kabze (to  Montpellier).
See also * 2010 Russian First Division* 2009–10 Russian Cup
References
External links *  2010 Russian Premier League at Soccerway.com