They certainly won’t be the favorites.
Spartak has more arguments for the championship than Krasnodar Musaev and Lokomotiv Semin had. But both clubs won the Champions Cup after Carrera’s victory. CSKA on the segment between Spartak’s last title in the RPL And today wasn’t the first, meaning that even in collecting grateful trophies, Zenit is hard to relinquish the throne. Galitsky Club succeeded, but Krasnodar is unlikely to defend the title. No underestimation, just “Zenith” got angry. Former football player Mu Andrei Kanchelskis believes Spartak needs a miracle to become the first RPL In the spring of 2026. We agree with the expert, the “red and whites” strive for champions every year, and then rarely fight for the title. But what components are needed to change their reputation and play more consistently? Another drop of “Zenit”
Other clubs
Russian Premier League Don’t lie to yourself. If Semaku plays Wesley on the right flank of defense, and Gereson shines in the center of the field instead of Wendel, even after the coaching errors, Zenit will be the favorite. Especially if the top-four striker is interested in Rubin’s Daku, he will play better than Cascierara and Sobolev, complementing the efforts of Honda of Argentina, who will now become a competitor for Glushsenkov. Without a drop in Zenit, you can jump out of the skin and the Championship Cup will return to St. Petersburg. The component of the same “miracle” is the upcoming conflicts within the favorite’s final box, as well as a systematic reduction in the motivation of key legionnaires without a Champions League. Zenit was more fun when the best players performed at a high level. Spartak needs the leadership of a key opponent to repeat as many mistakes as they have over the past year and a half. Stankkovych’s composure
The coach became Spartak’s problem in the second half of the season, when their energy reserves dried up after the winning streak. Krasnodar’s three-point streak lasted longer, and it was she who protected Musaev from the consequences of draws against the middle peasants. Stankovich repeated Romantsev’s result, but Spartak lost his glasses again. We made a mistake against Rubin in Kazan; it was a significant and stupid defeat for the middle peasant. The opponent’s striker, DAC, first scored a double, then received a red card. Spartak didn’t recover, Stankovich found himself and didn’t calm down until the end of the season. If the referees and magnetic storms are blamed for their actions and they don’t adjust to the game, then his team will no longer be in the top three. The Serbian coach was disappointed at the end of the season, and his inability to prepare the team for the opening stages of matches was a gift to many rivals. Spartak lost not only to the central sports club of Armenia, CSKA, and Dynamo. Strengthening weak positions
This is a standard task, but in Spartak’s case, context is important. Although a new sporting director has joined the club and the management has allocated funds to bolster demand, the budget may be more modest in the new season. Kahigao and Stankovich must then quickly say goodbye to their players and strengthen their financial base, which includes parting ways with Ugalde’s main striker and reserve players. Spartak needs a right-back, a partner for Babich in the center of defense, and ideally, Opornik, who plays cleaner than Umyarov. Nail had a good season for himself, but it’s like Zhikia’s good seasons. Does anyone feel like a decent player is playing well if, ultimately, Spartak is fourth in the standings? Moreover, after Ugalde’s departure, they need to sign a sensible reserve striker. Jokes make champions, but Spartak didn’t have a player who always succeeded. Comrade Stankkovych was criticized for the incident, but who missed? Markinos, although fans called the Brazilian the best player of the season, didn’t score a single goal in Russian Premier League
RPL
How can you become the national champion if the main left winger is without goals? Don’t forget about the assistants, but the attacking group hasn’t worked, which is clearly evident from Ugald’s decline in the spring. Solari, Bongonda, and Garcia could also play fresher. The demand is always at the coach’s end, but football players are not babies, but grown men. Everyone must analyze mistakes, but Barko is better off not being friends with reflection. After all, if the Spartak boss assesses last season as a success for himself but bad for the team, he will ask for a transfer. It’s difficult to replace the Argentine, Esecel has approached the team. But if many Spartak players distribute segments such as midfielder Martins, then even after alternative breakdowns, this team will be in the leadership group by May 2026. Then the miracle will come closer, as in the case of the Krasnodar championship. It’s not a matter of faith—of course, they didn’t take it seriously a year ago, and the question of football work wasn’t raised.
Respect for rivals
Stankovich played as if Spartak were “the star of Crovena” or “Ferencvarosh.” The Belgrade club, which invented the acts, became the Serbian champion nine times in a row. The Budapest club, where the Serb also played, won the national championship seven times in a row. And Spartak isn’t the Russian champion for eight seasons in a row; you can’t use the approach of the sole and main favorite, developing the Moscow team. Spartak beat Zenit RPLPsychologically, it’s an important result, but the same players underestimated Rostov at a crucial moment in the Russian Cup and once again lost in this tournament to a team assembled by Karpin. Valery Georgievich led Dynamo, where he also has to fight for the championship, but the neighbors aren’t so arrogant in their approach. Spartak believes too much in its uniqueness, but that’s not the case. It’s pretty much an obscenely rich club without trophies. And even without a full arena, because it’s necessary to state a historical fact. When you lead clubs
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