Stanislav Ivanov moves to Samara

Lokomotiv and Krylya Sovetov Samara reached an agreement which will see 28 year old Moldovan international Stanislav Ivanov move to Samara for the rest of the season. The former FC Moscow midfielder will join Krylya Sovetov on loan. Recall that Ivanov, who started 7 matches for Loko following his transfer last January will rejoin his former mentor Leonid Slutskiy, the man who launched him in the Russian Premier League.

Transfer Rumours

Jan Durica staying with Lokomotiv

In wake of several reports published last week about the possible departure of Jan Durica, today the player himself rebuffed such reports and showed his desire to stay with Loko. Thus contrary to such reports, Durica is expected to remain at Lokomotiv, at least in the time being.

Lokomotiv leading the race

According to ItaSportPress.it, Lokomotiv are leading the race for the signature of Brazilian striker Ciro who currently plays for Sport Clube de Recife. According to the website, Fiorentina and Lisbon duo Benfica and Sporting are the other clubs alleged to be interested in the signing of the youngster.

Torbinsky will return by August

During a press conference, Lokomotiv head coach Yury Semin conceded that Torbinsky will be able to wear the red-green shirt again by August. Recall that Torbinsky was injured during the match against FC Moscow back in April. From this blog I wish Torbinsky a speedy recovery!

Lokomotiv win in a friendly match

Today, as part of the training camp in Austria, Lokomotiv played a friendly match against Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg. A goal in either half paved the way for a two-nil victory for Lokomotiv. The goals were scored by Dmitry Sychev (44 min) and Alan Gatagov (67 min).

Lokomotiv will face either Chita or SKA-Energiya

Lokomotiv will face either FC Chita or SKA-Energiya Khabarovsk in the 1/16 finals of the Russian Cup. Recall that both clubs ply their trade in the Russian First Division. I just hope that Lokomotiv avoid the prospect of having to travel to the other side of Russia to play against SKA-Energiya in the eventuality that SKA-Energiya eliminate Chita. However playing Chita doesn't mean playing close to Moscow. Still Lokomtiv will have to travel to eastern Siberia, precisely to Zabaykalsky Krai. The match is scheduled for July 15, 2009. Meanwhile Lokomotiv will learn their opponent by July 1.

Bilyaletdinov up and running again

Lokomotiv Moscow captain Diniyar Bilyaletdinov has finally recovered from his injury and thus he should be able to take part with the rest of the team in the second part of the training camp in Austria. In an interview with a Sport Express correspondent, Bilyaletdinov shared his disappointment with Lokomotiv's performance.

"I am not satisfied with Lokomotiv’s performance and our position in the standings before the summer break. But we are to play 18 matches and we have an opportunity to improve something".

He added that even though Lokomotiv boast one of the strongest compositions in Russia, the team keeps constantly faltering because the squad is far from unite. This because unlike other teams, Lokomotiv's squad has been changing considerably throughout the last 5 years and thus players weren't given the chance to gel together. He accurately asserted that positive results may help to unite players. Finally, he claimed that however this can't be done if the players doesn't play for the good of the club. I couldn't agree more with him!! Personally I believe that Loko will be better off without those players who play for the contract rather than the club.

Transfer Rumours

Currently, a lot of transfer rumours are circulating around Lokomotiv. Many are talking about a potential exodus while on the other hand every Loko fan is calling for the signing of a Loskov-like playmaker.

Departures

The imminent departure is that of Slovakian defender Jan Durica, who was signed by Rakhimov only six months ago. It's clear that his departure is triggered by the return of Rakhimov's forgotten man Malkhaz Asatiani from his loan at Dynamo Kiev. An additional imminent departure is that of goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli with Torino being the front runners to sign the former Italian international.

Another possible departure is that of Stanislav Ivanov, who as Durica was signed only six months ago from current Premier leaders FC Moscow. His possible destination is Krylya Sovetov Samara. Two other player who attracted other clubs are Peter Odemwingie and Nika Piliyev. The latter is being tracked by CSKA while the former is being tracked by Rennes and Fulham.

Arrivals

As I already deduced, the arrival of a playmaker is almost indubitable. The most likeliest one to wear the Red-Green shirt is Oleg Ivanov (a former team mate of Yanbaev when both of them were still at Kuban), a 22 year old midfielder who currently plays for Krylya.

Another name circulating around is that of Ciro, a Brazilian striker who currently plays for Sport Club de Recife. In brief, Ciro is a 20 year old agile striker, who is very cool in front of goal, something rare for strikers of his age. Personally I'm against of this possible transfer. I prefer someone Russian rather than a money grabber. My dream is to see Kerzhakov partner his good friend Sychev. Well you may laugh at me, but. . .i mean a BIG BUT, no one would have ever imagined that coming June Lokomotiv will be lead by the great Yury Semin. Furthermore no one ever dreamt that Spartak would sell their talismanic captain Titov. Dreaming is no sin anywyas. Finally, to keep it short, another possible arrival is that of a 19 year old Nigerian Sekou Oliseh who currently ply his trade at Danish club FC Midtjylland.

Welcome to my Blog!!

First of all, hey, I am Silvio from Gozo, Malta and I welcome you to my blog about Lokomotiv Moscow. In brief, this blog will treat all the news concerning Lokomotiv Moscow, from their performance in the Russian Premier Liga and cups to off-field news such as transfer rumours and others. One can find a brief introduction of the club on the right hand side of the blog.

Currently Lokomotiv, who recently appointed fan-favourite Yury Semin as Head Coach is in a training camp in Austria. This is due to the fact of the current break of the Russian Premier Liga. Many news are circulating around the possible departures and arrivals from and to Lokomotiv respectively. An imminent arrival is that of a playmaker which Lokomotiv failed to bring after the departure of our hero Dmitry Loskov. However the question is. . . Who will be the one who will join Lokomotiv?

Stay tuned to the blog to learn all the news regarding Lokomotiv!

Thanks for your attention!

Silvio