The 2007 Russian Premier League was the 16th season of the Russian Football Championship, and the sixth under the current Russian Premier League name. The league was sponsored by insurance company Rosgosstrakh.
The season started on 10 March 2007 with the match between Luch-Energia and FC Moscow in Vladivostok, with the first goal of the season being scored by FC Moscow striker Héctor Bracamonte. It ended on 11 November 2007, when Zenit St. Petersburg claimed their first title with an away win over Saturn. Zenit became the second non-Moscow club to win the league, after Alania Vladikavkaz in 1995.
Spartak Moscow finished runners-up for the third consecutive season, while defending champions CSKA Moscow finished third.
Teams As in the previous season, 16 teams played in the 2007 season. After the 2006 season, Torpedo Moscow and Shinnik Yaroslavl were relegated to the 2007 Russian First Division. They were replaced by Khimki and Kuban Krasnodar, the winners and runners up of the 2006 Russian First Division.
Venues Amkar CSKA Dynamo Khimki Zvezda Stadium Luzhniki Stadium Central Stadium Rodina Stadium Capacity: 17,000 Capacity: 81,000 Capacity: 36,540 Capacity: 3,760 Krylia Kuban Metallurg Stadium Kuban Stadium Capacity: 27,084 Capacity: 28,800 Lokomotiv Luch-Energia RZD Arena Dynamo Stadium Capacity: 33,001 Capacity: 10,200 Moscow Rostov Eduard Streltsov Stadium Olimp-2 Capacity: 13,450 Capacity: 15,840 Rubin Saturn Central Stadium Saturn Stadium Capacity: 22,500 Capacity: 14,685 Spartak Moscow Spartak Nalchik Tom Zenit Saint Petersburg Luzhniki Stadium Spartak Stadium Trud Stadium Petrovsky Stadium Capacity: 81,029 Capacity: 14,149 Capacity: 10,028 Capacity: 21,570
Personnel and kits TeamLocationHead coachCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsorAmkar PermPerm Rashid RakhimovCSKAMoscow Valery GazzaevDynamoMoscow Andrey KobelevKhimkiKhimki Slavoljub MuslinKryliaSamara Aleksandr TarkhanovKubanKrasnodar Leonid Nazarenko LokomotivMoscow Anatoliy ByshovetsLuch-EnergiaVladivostok Sergei PavlovMoscowMoscow Leonid SlutskyRostovRostov-on-Don Oleg DolmatovRubinKazan Kurban BerdyevSaturnRamenskoye Gadzhi GadzhiyevSpartakMoscow Stanislav CherchesovSpartakNalchik Yuri KrasnozhanTomTomsk Valery PetrakovZenitSaint Petersburg Dick Advocaat
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table Lokomotiv Oleg Dolmatov Fired 26 December 2006Preseason Anatoliy Byshovets 26 December 2006Preseason Krylia Gadzhi Gadzhiyev Sergei Oborin Kuban Pavlo Yakovenko April 2007 Leonid Nazarenko April 2007 Saturn Vladimír Weiss May 2007 Gadzhi Gadzhiyev May 2007 Rostov Sergei Balakhnin July 2007 Pavlo Yakovenko July 2007 Rostov Pavlo Yakovenko July 2007 Oleg Dolmatov 23 July 2007 Spartak Vladimir Fedotov June 2007 Stanislav Cherchesov 19 June 2007 Krylia Sergei Oborin August 2007 Aleksandr Tarkhanov August 2007 Kuban Leonid Nazarenko August 2007 Soferbi Yeshugov August 2007 Khimki Vladimir Kazachyonok September 2007 Slavoljub Muslin 7 September 2007 Kuban Soferbi Yeshugov September 2007 Leonid Nazarenko September 2007
Tournament format and regulations Based on paragraph 15.3 of the Russian Premier League regulations for the current season, if two or more teams are equal on points (without having the highest number), the positions of these teams are determined by: higher number of wins in all matches; higher goal difference in all matches; results of matches between the teams in question (1. higher number of points obtained; 2. higher number of wins; 3. higher goal difference; 4. higher number of goals scored; 5. higher number of away goals scored); higher number of goals scored in all matches; higher number of away goals scored in all matches; drawing of lots.
Based on paragraph 15.4 of the regulations, if two teams are equal on the highest number of points, the first position is determined by:
higher number of wins in all matches; results of matches between the two teams (1. higher number of points obtained; 2. higher goal difference; 3. higher number of goals scored; 4. higher number of away goals scored); drawing of lots, or an additional match between the two teams, with extra time and a penalty shoot-out if necessary.
Based on paragraph 15.5 of the regulations, if more than two teams are equal on the highest number of points, the first position and subsequent positions of these teams are determined by:
higher number of wins in all matches; higher goal difference in all matches; results of matches between the teams in question (1. higher number of points obtained; 2. higher goal difference; 3. higher number of goals scored; 4. higher number of away goals scored); drawing of lots, or an additional tournament between the teams in question.1
1The terms of this additional tournament are determined by the Russian Football Union and the governing body of the Russian Premier League based on suggestions from the participating clubs.
League table
Results
Season statistics Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goal1 Roman Pavlyuchenko Spartak 14 Roman Adamov Moscow 3 Jô CSKA 13 Vágner Love CSKA 5 Pavel Pogrebnyak Zenit 11 Dmitri Sychev Lokomotiv 7 Andrey Arshavin Zenit 10 Andrei Karyaka Saturn Martin Kushev Amkar 10 Konstantin Zyryanov Zenit 9 Goran Maznov Tom Dmitri Kirichenko Saturn Davit Mujiri Krylia Denis Kolodin Dynamo
Statistics Goals: 562 (average 2.34 per match) From penalties: 57 (10%) Saved/Missed penalties: 17 (23%) Goals scored home: 348 (62%) Goals scored away: 214 (38%) Yellow cards: 1080 (average 4.50 per match) For violent conduct: 563 (52%) For unsporting behaviour: 425 (39%) For undisciplined behaviour: 8 (1%) Other: 84 (8%) Red cards: 49 (average 0.20 per match) For second yellow card: 27 (55%) For violent conduct: 9 (18%) For unsporting behaviour: 5 (9%) For undisciplined behaviour: 4 (8%) For denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity: 4 (8%) Attendance: 3,147,567 (average 13,114 per match; 104,919 per matchday)
Awards
On 30 November 2007 Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:
Goalkeepers Antonín Kinský (Saturn) Vladimir Gabulov (Kuban) Stipe Pletikosa (Spartak Moscow)
Right backs Branislav Ivanović (Lokomotiv Moscow) Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit) Vasili Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow)
Right-centre backs Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow) Denis Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow) Radoslav Kováč (Spartak Moscow)
Left-centre backs Ján Ďurica (Saturn) Martin Stranzl (Spartak Moscow) Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit)
Left backs Aleksei Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow) Kim Dong-Jin (Zenit) Emir Spahić (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Defensive midfielders Anatoliy Tymoschuk (Zenit) Dmitri Khokhlov (Dynamo Moscow) Aleksei Igonin (Saturn)
Right wingers Miloš Krasić (CSKA Moscow) Vladimir Bystrov (Spartak Moscow) Aleksei Ivanov (Luch-Energia and Saturn)
Central midfielders Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit) Yegor Titov (Spartak Moscow) Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow)
Left wingers Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow) Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow) Dmitri Torbinsky (Spartak Moscow)
Right forwards Vágner Love (CSKA Moscow) Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow) Danny (Dynamo Moscow)
Left forwards Andrei Arshavin (Zenit) Jô (CSKA Moscow) Dmitri Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Medal squads
1. FC Zenit St. Petersburg Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (19), Kamil Čontofalský (13). Defenders: Kim Dong-Jin (24 / 2), Martin Škrtel (23 / 1), Aleksandr Anyukov (22 / 2), Erik Hagen (15), Ivica Križanac (15), Nicolas Lombaerts (13 / 2). Midfielders: Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (29 / 4), Konstantin Zyryanov (27 / 9), Igor Denisov (25 / 3), Alejandro Domínguez (24 / 3), Radek Šírl (22 / 1), Vladislav Radimov (17 / 1), Fernando Ricksen (14), Aleksandr Gorshkov (11), Ilya Maksimov (6), Yuri Lebedev (1). Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (30 / 10), Pavel Pogrebnyak (24 / 11), Fatih Tekke (16 / 4).(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
Manager: Dick Advocaat .
Transferred out during the season: none. 2. FC Spartak Moscow Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (29), Dmitri Khomich (1). Defenders: Roman Shishkin (26), Martin Stranzl (19 / 2), Florin Şoavă (18), Renat Sabitov (15), Géder (14 / 1), Martin Jiránek (11), Andrei Ivanov (7), Fyodor Kudryashov (7), Ignas Dedura (6 / 1). Midfielders: Yegor Titov (27 / 7), Radoslav Kováč (26 / 1), Dmitri Torbinski (24 / 3), Denis Boyarintsev (24 / 3), Maksym Kalynychenko (22 / 3), Vladimir Bystrov (18 / 3), Mozart (18 / 1), Quincy (6), Aleksei Rebko (3), Serghei Covalciuc (2), Sergei Parshivlyuk (2), Oleg Dineyev (1). Forwards: Roman Pavlyuchenko (22 / 14), Nikita Bazhenov (16 / 4), Artyom Dzyuba (16 / 1), Welliton (12 / 4), Aleksandr Prudnikov (12 / 2).
Manager: Vladimir Fedotov (until June), Stanislav Cherchesov (from June).
Transferred out during the season: Oleg Dineyev (on loan to FC Shinnik Yaroslavl), Quincy (on loan to Celta de Vigo). 3. PFC CSKA Moscow Goalkeepers: Veniamin Mandrykin (20), Igor Akinfeev (10), Yevgeny Pomazan (1). Defenders: Sergei Ignashevich (26 / 3), Vasili Berezutski (26 / 1), Aleksei Berezutski (26), Deividas Šemberas (24), Anton Grigoryev (10), Chidi Odiah (4). Midfielders: Yuri Zhirkov (29 / 2), Evgeni Aldonin (27 / 2), Elvir Rahimić (27), Miloš Krasić (22 / 4), Rolan Gusev (16), Dudu (15 / 1), Ivan Taranov (13), Caner Erkin (8), Eduardo Ratinho (6 / 1), Pavel Mamayev (4), Daniel Carvalho (4), Sergei Gorelov (2). Forwards: Jô (27 / 13), Vágner Love (23 / 13), Ramón (18 / 1), Dawid Janczyk (10 / 1), Nikita Burmistrov (6), Dmitry Tikhonov (2).
Manager: Valery Gazzaev.
Transferred out during the season: none.
Attendances Source:
No. Club Average Change Highest 1 Spartak Moscow 24,067 39,8% 68,000 2 Kuban 21,147 82,0% 28,800 3 Zenit 20,604 -6,1% 21,500 4 Krylia Sovetov 18,533 9,1% 26,000 5 Amkar 16,097 19,2% 19,000 6 PFC CSKA 14,547 33,3% 55,000 7 Lokomotiv Moscow 13,332 2,0% 27,503 8 Spartak Nalchik 13,100 -3,3% 14,200 9 FC Tom 13,033 1,8% 15,000 10 Rubin 11,767 -14,3% 20,000 11 Saturn 10,684 1,5% 16,000 12 Luch 9,747 -1,7% 10,200 13 Dynamo Moscow 9,733 20,7% 27,000 14 Rostov 7,500 -16,5% 12,500 15 FC Khimki 7,286 194,9% 10,500 16 FC Moscow 5,513 3,9% 10,000
See also 2007 in Russian football
References