Football Season Guide

CSKA Moscow saw their campaign last year end on something of a downer as they eventually missed out on a Champions League spot in the threeway fight with Krasnodar and Lokomotiv Moscow. Yet the team overall developed well with a new-look squad and laid the foundations for a successful few seasons ahead. Viktor Goncharenko will be happy that his squad is very much the same at the start of this season compared to the last, with only Rodrigo Becao a notable and important departure. On the other hand, CSKA pulled off a superb transfer deal in turning Nikola Vlasic's loan move into a permanent one and he has the makings of being a cornerstone for this team for years ahead. Another bonus is the fact that league's top scorer Fedor Chalov is staying put and there are no indications that he will be priced away. On the other end of the age spctrum, Alan Dzagoev renewed his contract and the club talisman will hope to have more of an impact this season after an injury-pleagued last nine months. Main weakness remains the lack of experience in the squad and the fact that a few kew players are simply irreplaceable if they are injured, mostly Igor Akinfeev and Mario Fernandes.