FCLMmagazine by Stefano Conforti

CONTENTS 3

From the Editor

Report: Lokomotiv v Kuban'

Who is Igor Cherevchenko?

The Great Matches: Lokomotiv v Terek, 2005

In Pictures: the Best Photos From the 2014/15 season

Face to Face: Umed, a Lokomotiv Fan Based in Tajikistan

Three Positive Changes in the Club's Marketing

From the editor ________________________

Dear readers, I'm proud to announce the creation of “FCLM Magazine”, the first yearly English magazine about an East European football club. I got the idea for the magazine a long time ago, and now it is finally ready to be published. First of all, I'd like to thank everybody who contributed to this ambitious project. I would in particular like to thank Dmitrij, Ilya and the collegues of Russian Football News. “FCLM Magazine” is the first magazine of its kind and I'm sure it'll inspire other people. We have tried our best to cover interesting topics such as the amazing victory in Russian Cup against Kuban as well as the anniversary of the 2005 Super Cup victory against Terek Grozny. We faced, and overcame, many problems during the development of this project, and the target of the “FCLM magazine” is to become the new datum point for all Lokomotiv fans around the world. We want to keep on developing and improving the magazine, so if you have any comments or advice we'll be very happy to hear from you. You can contact me at stefano_com@hotmail.it or comment on lokomotivmosca.blogspot.com, the only blog for Lokomotiv's English speaking fans. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this magazin. Thanks again.

Editor-in-Chief Stefano Conforti (@confortistefano)

THE CUP IS OURS! Shortly after the equalizer, Lokomotiv could have scored again, but Samedov and other players all missed the target. Therefore the game headed into extra time. During the extra time the match turned into a real battle, with Kuban that trying to take It's unnecessary to say that the game was crucial for advantage of quick counter-attacks. both sides. Kuban is yet to win a title since it was founded in 1928, while Lokomotiv has not won the Lokomotiv was, however, able to score in the first half of the extra time, when Kasaev made a cross to Kubok since 2007. Boussoufa who beat Belenov with a header – 2:1! On the day of the final Astrakhan turned into the capital of football. Just like the Central Stadium’s The ‘Railroaders’ controlled the last minutes of the pitch, the weather was perfect. Loko’s fans arrived game, and they even closed the match with an in green shirts, and they waved their flags and amazing goal by Miranchuk – 3:1. scarves in the sky. The first goal of the match was scored by the underdogs from Kuban: Denisov We are the champions! This was been our final! This missed a stop and Ignatjev beat Guilherme – 0:1. is our Cup.

Stefano Conforti (@confortistefano) Lokomotiv defeated Kuban in Russian Cup final, and secured the sixth cup trophy in the history of the club.

Lokomotiv reacted immediately, and they pursued the equalizer. Kuban's defenders did however contain attacks from Kasaev, Denisov and Fernandes well. In the second half, Pavlyuchenko was replaced by Niasse, who scored just a few minutes later. 1:1!

Russian Cup. Final "Lokomotiv" - "Kuban" – 3:1 (0:1, 1:0, 1:0, 1:0) Goals: Ignatjev, 28 (1:0). Niasse, 72 (1:1). Boussoufa, 104 (2:1), Miranchuk, 110 (3:1). "Lokomotiv": Guilherme, Denisov, Pejčinović, Corluka, Logashov, Shishkin, Fernandes (Miranchuk 71), Kasaev (Maicon, 106), Samedov, Boussoufa, Pavlyuchenko (Niasse, 64) "Kuban": Belenov, Armas, Rabiu, Kaborè, Sunjic, Almeida (Baldè, 69), Sosnin, Ignatjev (Kulik, 105), Bugaev, Popov, Tkachyov (Bucur, 78) Yellow cards: Rabiu, 33. Pejcinovic, 45. Samedov, 83. Boussoufa, 87. Corluka, 89. Ignatjev, 103 Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (Saint Petersburg) 21 May. Astrakhan. Central Stadium.

Igor Cherevchenko: "Thanks guys - this was their merit" At the post-match pressconference Igor Cherevchenko spoke about the game against Kuban (3:1), and he expressed his feelings as victor. - The preparation for the final of Russian Cup was tough.

After the first time, the team gathered itself and was able to get a victory. Thanks guys - this was their merit. We have played in extra time in each game of Cup since the quarterfinal against Ufa. What did I say during the

break? It's a secret. If I tell it, everyone starts winning. I dedicate the victory to my father, who passed away this year. He made me both as man and player," said Cherevchenko to TV canal Russia2.

WHO IS IGOR CHEREVCHENKO?

Most fans remember Igor' Cherevchenko as the mighty defender who played for Lokomotiv under the legendary Yurij Syomin. Igor is nowadays Lokomotiv's head coach, and he is preaching exactly the same mentality as Syomin instilled to him and his former teammates when he was a player.

Tajik Premier League for around 17 years. Cherevchenko joined the 'Railroaders' together with three countrymen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Hakim Fuzaylov, Muhsin Mukhamadiev and Yurij Baturenko.

Despite being shy at the first time, Cherevchenko soon evolved into a universal player. He could play both as central defender and on the right or left After failures under three foreign coaches in a row, back. He was furthermore able to score goals in the Lokomotiv wanted to change its policy. European competitions. His most famous goal was Cherevchenko passed players such as Ovchinnikov, the tap-in against Real Madrid in the group stage of Maminov, Chugaynov and Pashinin in the hierarchy. the 2001/2002 Champions League. As soon as Cherevchenko arrived at Lokomotiv, he absorbed every of Syomin's instruction. Coming He was a warrior without a fear or shame. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire prematurely from Tajik side CSKA Pamir, his father was the famous Gennadij Cherevchenko, who played in due to injuries. He was only 28 years old, when he 6

left Lokomotiv to play only a few months for Torpedo and Alaniya before hanging up the boots. His current appointment shouldn't surprise redgreen fans. Despite having many advantages, Cherevchenko is less famous than many of his former teammates. He never won the Russian Premier League and he can’t rely on a famous reputation. We neither have many photos of him nor interviews given to the journals. He's calm and he simply does his job. As said by Syomin, Cherevchenko has a “technical flexibility”, which allowed him to rebuild the team and to evolve into a successful coach. He was compared to some characters in Turgenev's novels for his positive character, his lack of

emotions and his quiet nature. He has worked as assistant for many of Lokomotiv's coaches like Rashid Rakhimov, Yurij Syomin, Yurij Krasnozhan, Josè Couceiro, Slaven Bilic, Leonid Kuchuk and Miodrag Bozovic. He has therefore gained a lot of important experience thanks to the various ways of work by his bosses. He has been caretaker twice, but now he is finally the permanent solution together with his assistants – Oleg Pashinin and Sarkis Oganesyan. From Astrakhan to Bakovka, he was able to bring the trophy back to Cherkizovo. Smorodskaya trusted in him, now he must prove his value. Udachi Igor.

Stefano Conforti (@confortistefano)

The Great Matches: Lokomotiv 1 Terek 0 Exactly 10 years ago Lokomotiv won the Russian cleared the ball after a Loskov’s dangerous free Super Cup. Let's relive the unforgettable kick, and later he saved a shot just before halftime. moments of the match. In the second half Ruslan made three saves, and the one time he wasn’t able to save the ball Terek’s Terek surprised everyone when they won the defenders cleared the ball on the goal line. Russian Cup as the first non-Premier League club in the history of Russian football. This achievement is Luckily Nizhegorodov decided to help his former yet to be copied. club, and he committed a foul inside the penalty box. Nigmatullin was close to saving Terek again, Terek’s squad had many familiar faces for but the shot of our captain was too powerful. Lokomotiv fans. Gennadiy Nizhegorodov was an important part of our brilliant defensive line at the In a desperate attempt to equalize Ruslan joined his teammates at a corner kick, and he even had the last beginning of the century, while Narvik Sirkhaev was trying to regain the star status he lost during his shot of the game. It was close to a goal, but it didn’t help Terek to draw. Lokomotiv won the game 1-0 Lokomotiv stint. Ruslan Nigmatullin was just the legend who pulled through to our first Champions and therefore its second Super Cup. League with his magic hands. Ilya Sokolov (@lokosokol) Nigmatullin saved Terek twice in the first half. He

IN PICTURES: the Best Photos From the Season! Dmitrij Burdonov (@BurdonovD)

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Umed: “Support the team in spite of everything” Igor' Cherevchenko is very famous in Tajikistan, isn't he? - Igor' Cherevchenko is the son of Gennadij Cherevchenko (picture beside), who played for the Tajik club CSKA Pamir for around 17 years. Unfortunately, Igor didn’t play for Pamir for very long. After the crash of Soviet Union, he and his family flew to Russia. Nowadays, many people remember him. - How did you watch the final of Russian Cup against - Hi, Umed. Tell us how you Kuban'? became a Lokomotiv fan. - I watched the match at home. It - I've been supporting Lokomotiv was our last chance to qualify for since I was 12. I casually European football next season. switched on the television and I I'm therefore satisfied because saw the beginning of the match the players weren't influenced by between Loko and CSKA. As a the change of the coach and won consequence I started watching the match convincingly. I think it the games of the top teams. I was difficult for them to play know a lot of football fans among against Kuchuk, who was their my friends. Most of them support former coach. clubs such as Real Madrid or players like Cristiano Ronaldo. - What do you think about However, I saw the match Loko- Kuchuk? Has he been our best CSKA and Loskov’s goal. Thanks head coach after Yurij Syomin to those emotions, I started being or not? a Lokomotiv fan. - I only have good feelings - Well, do you know other Lokomotiv fans based in Tajikistan? - Yes, I know a lot of people that support Loko. Lokomotiv reserves came to Tajikistan about seven years ago. They brought along the Italian goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli. Thanks to that, many people started supporting the 'Railroaders'. - Very interesting. Therefore,

defence. We have only conceded 25 goals this season. This is the second best in the RPL. Guilherme deserves nothing but respect. Lokomotiv with and without him are two different teams. Pavlyuchenko is a top player. Unfortunately, he hasn’t played on his old level since his departure from Tottenham. I think however everything will be good with him.

- Tell us your top XI of Lokomotiv of the 2014/15 season. - I can't tell you my top XI of the season, because I don’t think there are any players who deserve to be included in it.

- How would you sum up the 2014/15 season of Lokomotiv? Your ups and downs. - I think the season was disappointing. Yes, we won the Russian Cup and next year we'll play in European competitions, however we were eliminated by Apollon in the preliminary round related with Kuchuk. Under him, of Europa League. Both there we fought for the title until end, and in the RPL, the team played and we played good football. His very badly. I hope Loko will be sacking was sad. In my opinion, coached by a good manager next Kuchuk could have been our year. coach for a long time. - A lot of fans agree with you. Who are your three favourite players in the current Lokomotiv squad, and why? - Corluka, Guilherme and Pavlyuchenko. Corluka since he is a sort of bastion in our 14

- The majority of Tajik people are not interested in watching Russian football. Regarding Lokomotiv, everyone knows and talks about the situation with the president of the club.

- What kind of coach would you like to see in Lokomotiv? Have you got some dreams? - We need a strong coach. Personally speaking, I like Felix Magath (laughs)! - Have you ever been to Lokomotiv Stadium? - No, I haven't. Unfortunately, I haven't been to our stadium.

- Yurij Syomin (picture below) coached CSKA Pamir (19831985), while Igor Cherevchenko was a player (1992-1994). Are there any players from the Tajik Premier League you would like to see at Lokomotiv? - Unfortunately, the Tajik League is not as good as in the past. Of course, I'd like to see a player who is playing in Tajikistan to for Loko. The probability is, however, not very high.

- If you have the opportunity to leave a message for all the Lokomotiv fans around the world who read this interview, what would you like to say? - Support the team in spite of everything. One day, we'll succeed in copying the glory days of the past. - In your opinion, who are the best players in the history of Lokomotiv? Explain your choices. - I started supporting the club in 2001, so I can't tell you the best players in the whole history of Lokomotiv. I can only say the best player I've ever seen is Loskov: our real captain.

- Thanks a lot for this interview. We are very happy that you answered our questions. Bye for now and... vperyod Loko! - Thank you! I hope we did a good job!

- Generally speaking, what do Tajik people think about Lokomotiv? What is their consideration for one of the top Russian clubs?

Stefano Conforti (@confortistefano)

3 positive changes in club's marketing New mascot

Work of the press service

E-tickets

Many people have already mentioned the positive changes in our press office. This year they have accustomed us to frequent video interviews with the players, which mean I now know everything about Denisov’s sense of humor and Guilherme’s Russian skills.

Buying tickets has always been an adventure. You had to order them on the official website, and buy them at the stadium within 5 days (excluding the matchday). Since the stadium is not located in the center of the city, I always had to spend an extra two hours of my life to get my tickets. There were electronic tickets, which could be bought at the affiliate website, but you were still forced to get them at the stadium (is this really the way e-tickets should work?). Another more actively with kids in an effort way to get the tickets was to pay Unfortunately, it turned out even to grow our future fan base. If I $10 for a courier delivery. worse than it sounded: I could see was an average schoolboy from this guy represent a 2nd League Moscow today, I wouldn’t choose This year Lokomotiv finally Russian Baseball team more or Lokomotiv as my favorite team. introduced e-tickets, which I can less ok, but for a club who aims to Spartak is far more popular, CSKA just print at home. It is, however, plain European competitions every is far more successful and still possible to buy tickets at the season it was horrible. Dynamo… well, I wouldn’t choose ticket office if you prefer to get them in physical form. Dynamo either. Anyway, I can This tiger is one of the reasons only welcome the involvement of why I am satisfied with our new players like Abaev in their visits to Ilya Sokolov (@lokosokol) mascot. He looks like ginger Moscow’s schools. And I’m glad Robin, but at least his red-green they are joined by Rail, and not the colors and his name Rail has Tiger. something to do with Lokomotiv. While eulogizing current heroes (the victory in the Russian Cup was presented as a win in the Champions Cup), Lokomotiv doesn’t forget about its past. The ‘congratulation’ for Yuri Syomin, When I saw our first mascot, the best coach in the history of the created a couple of years ago, I club, sounds like a natural thing, was more than surprised. A tiger? but it happened for the first time What? Yeah, I know it is difficult since the conflict between to connect Lokomotiv with any Smorodskaya and Syomin broke animal, but a tiger is just as stupid out. as the snow leopard that was used for the Russian Olympics in Sochi. The club has also started to work