The sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA completely isolated our football clubs and national teams from international matches. For several months now, no foreign team has taken part in the games at Russian stadiums.

But that uncomfortable pause was finally broken. St. Petersburg “Zenith” took part in the international tournament “Battle of Champions”. The result of the best club in Russia certainly greatly pleased the St. Petersburg fans. The match itself gave our football fans hope for a brighter future.

Dear foreign clubs, who is next to visit?

“Russians and Serbs are brothers forever”

Russian football meets the new season is not in the best mood. The infringement of our clubs by international organizations led to the fact that many quality players preferred to move to other championships in the summer. Our teams have not had international matches for a long time.

Fortunately, Zenit decided to interrupt this unpleasant trend by meeting with the best club in Serbia, Red Star. The match at the Fisht stadium was marked by the “Battle of Champions” sign and timed to coincide with the conclusion of a partnership agreement between the teams:

– Red Star and Zenit have signed a two-year cooperation agreement. Thus, the clubs, bound by many years of friendship, have significantly deepened their relationship. The contract implies coordination in the sports part, primarily the cooperation of the main teams, as well as the football academies of the two teams, according to the social networks of the Serbian club.

The first international match in a long time aroused serious interest among the fans. More than 20 thousand spectators gathered in the stands. Fans of the St. Petersburg team even prepared a special banner for this important event, which they unfurled before the game.

“Russians and Serbs are brothers forever,” Zenit fans wrote.

Photo: © Alexey Kovalev / Match TV

Came out and immediately brought victory

“Zenith” in this meeting released a very combat squad. Any of the released players can safely count on starting at the start during official matches. Crvena Zvezda decided to keep some of the first team players.

Despite the obvious superiority of the Russian team in the class of football players, the Serbian guests looked better in the first half. Zenit regularly cut off near their own gates, giving inaccurate transmission. Several times the forwards of the “red-whites” could bring their team forward. Ibrahim Mustafa missed the most real chance shortly before the break.

Before the second half, Sergei Semak made the necessary adjustments. Kuzyaev and Wendel, who appeared on the field, added activity to the game of the “blue-white-blue”. Soon this led to the first goal scored. At the 53rd minute, Andrey Mostovoy powerfully hit the bar from a lethal distance. Goalkeeper guests could not help his team in this episode.

The second ball flew into the Serbian gates in the 74th minute. St. Petersburg’s newcomer Mateo Cassierra, who came on as a substitute shortly before, excelled after a brilliant multi-way combination. The Colombian striker scored in the first game for the new club.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Artur Lebedev

Zenit players slowed down a bit after the second goal, which Red Star players did not fail to take advantage of. In the 80th minute Aleksandar Katai reduced the gap to a minimum by making a cutting pass. But the Serbs failed to develop success. As a result, the meeting ended with the victory of “Zenith”.

Will international tournaments be put on stream in Russia?

The participation of Crvena Zvezda in the match with our club on the territory of Russia can become a good precedent for other foreign teams. Nothing terrible happened to the players of the Serbian football team. All arrived players and coaches found themselves in luxurious conditions and will return home safe and sound.

In this light, other foreign clubs and organizations should consider whether the ban on Russian football was really justified. Satisfied Serbs, together with the Zenit leadership, for example, are already expressing ideas for the next tournament:

I hope there will be more such matches in the future. The night before, at an official dinner, I suggested to Mr. Medvedev that we hold a tournament at the end of the first part of this season, because our championships will be shorter than usual. It’s about our clubs jointly organizing a tournament somewhere in the last days of November and inviting other rivals there, ”Zvezdan Terzic, the general director of Red Star Zvezda, quotes the official website of Zenit.

After the end of such a brilliant event, I would like to believe that in the November tournament, if it takes place, the geography of participants will significantly expand with clubs from other countries.

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