| The clubs went on vacation, and the national team will travel to Sweden The winter holidays have begun for Super League clubs, the last of this season. The teams were given two weeks to rest before the final push towards the finish line of the regular season. There are 11 rounds left before the end of the six-month marathon, and the tension in the hottest spots of the tournament table has approached its climax. The maximum intrigue lies in the actions of a group of fighters for survival and contenders for the eighth spot in the playoffs. The fights of the last game day before the break noticeably changed the balance of power in these areas.
Two meetings of direct competitors took place in the “relegation zone,” which may have become “fateful” for the losers. Spartak broke the resistance of Mechel (4:1), achieving a second victory in a row over an opponent in its weight category: in the previous round, the red-whites defeated Krylya Sovetov. The Setun team lost to SKA (1:3) in St. Petersburg, extending their winless streak to ten matches. Now the circle of contenders for the saving 14th place, which guarantees registration in the Super League next season, has been divided into two mini-groups. Spartak and SKA are six points clear of their closest pursuers. Of course, it’s too early to write off the trio of outsiders, but for them the situation is increasingly becoming like a miner walking through a minefield. A couple more defeats, and welcome to the big leagues!
We must pay tribute to the regular last place “Hammer-Prikamye”, which continues to cling to straws, despite the almost hopeless situation. In the last round, the Urals were close to victory in Ufa, winning eight minutes before the siren with a two-goal lead. The hosts managed to avoid shame by reducing the match to a draw, but the loss of two points completely confused the situation in the dispute for eighth place. The Ufa residents have retained it for the time being, but the three pursuers are located in close proximity, and there is still a long way to go before the end is reached.
The main sensation of the tour was created by the capital's army team, who interrupted Severstal's winning streak of seven matches. The Red-Blues' unique ability to torment favorites continued. In five meetings with the leaders of the championship - Lokomotiv and Severstal - the Muscovites allowed the main contenders for the Russian throne to score only one point! Viktor Tikhonov’s players themselves contributed more than a quarter of the points they scored in these matches. In Soviet times, there was a “Thunderstorm of Authorities” prize for the team that showed the best results in meetings with the top three. In order to become the owner of an honorary trophy, it was necessary to take points from the permanent champion - CSKA. Now the army men themselves find themselves in the role of hunters for the scalps of the favorites and perform it with inspiration.
The Super League clubs have had time to work on their mistakes, while the Russian national team will have its last rehearsal before the World Cup in Finland. Today in Odintsovo, near Moscow, the gathering of candidates for the national team began before the final stage of the Eurotour - the Swedish Games, which start on February 4. The head coach of our squad, Vladimir Plyushchev, remained true to his policy of “rejuvenating” the squad, inviting eight winners of the recent youth championship in Canada to the training camp. Of the new names on Plyushchev’s list, the most interesting was the appearance of the most experienced leader of the Amur attacks, Sergei Krivokrasov, who last defended the colors of the Russian flag at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano. While the usual leaders of the national team - Maxim Sushinsky, Andrei Razin, Valery Karpov - were again not among the candidates. Although the same Sushinsky got into optimal shape in January and set a record for the Russian championships, scoring two goals in four matches in a row.
“Each coach selects players to suit his own concept. He takes those who are suitable for their game and performance. The preliminary list of candidates for the national team was compiled back in mid-January, and it is quite natural that Sushinsky, who had not been on the ice for a long time due to injuries, was not on it. And in general, how much can you ask me about Sushinsky, Razin and other national team veterans? I don’t see them on the team,” Vladimir Plyushchev spoke about the priorities of his personnel policy. It is he who is responsible for the final result, and after the “silver” at last year’s world championship in Sweden, at the main start of the season they expect at least medals of any value from our team.
Super League I V V N PO P S H O | 1. "Lokomotiv" | 40 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 133--68 | 89 | | 2. Severstal | 40 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 118--75 | 85 | | 3. "Vanguard" | 40 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 133--88 | 81 | | 4. Ak Bars | 40 | 23 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 131--82 | 80 | | 5. Lada | 40 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 81--58 | 70 | | 6. Dynamo | 40 | 17 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 104--84 | 67 | | 7. “Metallurg” Mg | 40 | 17 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 92--83 | 63 | | 8. “Salavat Yulaev” | 40 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 82--68 | 58 | | 9. "Neftekhimik" | 40 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 88--102 | 56 | | 10. "Cupid" | 40 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 84--94 | 54 | | 11. “Metallurg” Nk | 40 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 101--97 | 53 | | 12. CSKA | 40 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 89--100 | 47 | | 13. "Siberia" | 40 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 80--104 | 45 | | 14. SKA | 40 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 73--96 | 42 | | 15. "Spartak" | 40 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 90--123 | 42 | | 16. Mechel | 40 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 75--120 | 36 | | 17. “Wings of the Soviets” | 40 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 63--111 | 35 | | 18. “Hammer-Prikamye” | 40 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 25 | 58--122 | 31 |
Victor SHUMOV
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