Football Season Guide

Nizhny Novgorod somehow got another lease of life and will spend the upcoming season in the Russian Premier League despite being defeated by Sochi in the relegation play-off at the end of last season. They deserved to go down, having been so woeful and devoid of quality and inspiration over the year, but the demise of Khimki, who did not get a licence for the upcoming season, handed them a reprieve. They still parted ways with coach Viktor Goncharenko, who failed to get the team firing after taking over in October. They instead opted for another Belarusian but one with noticeably less experience in Aleksey Shipilevsky. He made his name in the past couple of seasons in Cyprus, where he won the title with an unfenced Aris Limassol in 2024. At 37, he is easily the youngest coach in the league and will be fired up to show some of the top clubs in the division that he will can become a household name and is indeed a coaching prodigy. He has a tough gig with this Nizhny Novgorod side as they are lacking in depth, quality and variety in so many areas of the squad. The Sky Blues have bid goodbye to several squad members already and in return have made just one signing, and that is very much with an eye for the future, in Andrey Ivlev. Juan Boselli, Aleksandr Troshechkin and Nikita Kakkoev are some of the better and more established players in the squad but there certainly need to be more additions for a coach who like to play aggressive football and is set to move away from the reactive, 3-5-2 that has been a constant presence at the club for the past three years or so. As of now, they look set for another relegation struggle as it is hard to see where the goals will come from and the defence is not up to the standard either.