Translated material
Week calendar
FOOTBALL. January 20-21. Commonwealth Cup. Moscow.
For the first time, a representative from far abroad - the Belgrade club OFK - will perform at a traditional tournament with the participation of teams from the countries of the former USSR. Russian champion CSKA will perform in the tournament as a backup team. At the first stage, 16 teams are divided into four quartets. The top two clubs from each group advance to the playoffs. The Commonwealth Cup will last until January 28.
BASKETBALL. January 15. Russian Championship. Super League. Women. January 16. ULEB Cup (men). Group stage. 10th round. FIBA European Cup. Men. 2nd stage, 2nd round. January 17. FIBA Euroleague (women). 10th round. January 17--18. Euroleague ULEB (men). 12th round. FIBA Challenge Cup (men). 1/4 finals. Return matches. FIBA European Cup. Women. 1/16 finals. Return matches. January 19--21. Russian Championship. Super League. Men.
The central match of the week is Saturday's confrontation between the best club in the country and the continent, CSKA, and UNICS Kazan. In the first round match, the club from the capital of Tatarstan won with an unexpectedly large score - 101:83. The Red-Blues are determined to take revenge and take sole leadership in the regular season. Please note that the two-round tournament of a damn dozen top division participants is like a separate competition. Based on its results, Super League awards have been awarded for several years in a row. The playoffs refer to the Russian Championship. So far, CSKA and UNICS have one defeat each. The only misfire of the Kazan team occurred in a meeting with Dynamo Moscow.
On Tuesday, the ULEB Cup will host matches of the 10th and final round of the group stage. UNICS, hosting the Greek PAOK, received an early ticket to the playoffs; for Khimki, the home game against the Bulgarian Akademik becomes decisive. Only victory guarantees basketball players from the Moscow region will continue to fight for the trophy. Five defeats in previous matches of the tournament plus a relatively unsuccessful performance in the Super League cost Khimki founder Sergei Yelevich his place as the team's head coach. Let us remind you that in the first round, Khimki lost to the modest Akademik on the road with a difference of nine points. Croatian center Mate Skelin plays for the Sofia club, who defended the colors of CSKA in the 1999/2000 season.
In the Euroleague ULEB, the army team will test the Lithuanian Zalgiris on their site on Wednesday, having lost all chances of participating in the next stage of the Top 16. The next day, Dynamo will play away at the French Le Mans.
Schedule of the rest of the European Cup matches of the week with the participation of Russian men's teams. January 16. European Cup. "Azovmash" (Ukraine) - "Dynamo" (Moscow region), "Charleroi" (Belgium) - "Lokomotiv-Rostov". Challenge Cup. "CSK VVS-Samara" - "Mlekarna" (Czech Republic). The first match is 84:64.
VOLLEYBALL. January 16. Champions League. Women . 6th round . January 16--17. Champions League. Men. 8th round. CEV Cup. Men. Women. 1/8 finals. First matches. January 17--18. Top Teams Cup. Men. Women. 1/8 finals. Return matches. January 20. Russian Championship. Super League. Men. 4th round. January 21. Russian Championship. Super League. Women. 6th round .
In the next round of the men's super league, the greatest interest is generated by the matches of the current national champion of the capital Dynamo against the CEV Cup participant Novy Urengoy Fakel and the meeting in Belgorod between the local Lokomotiv-Belogorye and Odintsovo Iskra. These two teams played in the main battle of the 2003/04 Champions League.
And in the middle of the week, five of our teams will have European Cup matches. On Tuesday, the Belgorod team plays in Spain with Portol, the capital's Dynamo will meet at home with the French Paris Volley. The best women's teams of the Old World are completing the group stage of the Champions League. Dynamo Moscow, already the winner of its group and a participant in the playoffs, will meet with Vakifbank in Istanbul. All our representatives in the CEV Cup play on Wednesday. The Ufa “Neftyanik Bashkortostan” goes to the Spanish city of Almeria for a match with “Unicaja”, the girls from the Kaliningrad “Dynamo-Yantar” will arrive in the Slovenian Nova Gorica, “Zarechye-Odintsovo” will compete at home with the Turkish “Gaziantep”. The management of the men's “Fakel” agreed with their colleagues from the Belgian “Menin”, and both matches will be held next week in Russia.
The time has come for the return matches in the second most important Cup of top teams. Here, the European Volleyball Confederation, as an experiment, is trying out a new regulation for determining the winners in two-match confrontations. If each of the opponents succeeds once, the score in the games does not matter - immediately after the end of the return game, an extra set of up to 25 points will be assigned. Iskra won the first match at home against Perungan Poyata with a score of 3:2, the return match will take place in Finland on Wednesday. The CSKA volleyball players achieved success in Poland (3:2) and on Thursday in Moscow they will try to beat the Polish “Aluprof” from Bialsko-Biala without an additional game.
CHESS. January 15--21. International tournament. Wijk aan Zee (Holland).
HANDBALL. January 19--21. World Championship. Men. Germany.
HOCKEY. January 16, 18, 20, 21. Russian Championship. Super League.
On Sunday in Moscow, the gold medal winners of the last two national championships - hockey players "Dynamo" and "Ak Bars" - will take to the ice. True, the “blue and white” have been experiencing a serious crisis for a long time. If the current champion Ak Bars is the leader in the Super League, then the Muscovites are only in 14th place.
BIATHLON. January 17--21. World Cup stage. Pokljujka (Slovenia).
The last stage of the World Cup before the February World Cup in Italy, which has the sixth serial number. Competition program: Wednesday-Thursday - women's and men's sprints, Friday-Saturday - pursuit races, Sunday - mass start races for the top 30 overall participants.
SPRINGBOARD JUMPING. January 20-21. World Cup stage. Zakopane (Poland).
Two sets of awards are being played out on the HS134 springboard, and Saturday's competition will take place after dark - starting at 17.00 local time. On Sunday, flights will begin at noon.
SKIING combined. January 20-21. World Cup stage. Seefeld (Austria).
MOUNTAIN SKIING. January 19--21. World Cup stage. Women. Cortina d'Ampezzo (Italy).
The stage program includes super-G, downhill and giant slalom.
SLED. January 20-21. World Cup stage. Altenberg (Germany).
BOBSLED. January 19--21. World Cup stage. Eagles (Austria).
WORLD WINTER UNIVERSIAD. January 17--21. Turin (Italy).