Football Season Guide

Krylya Sovetov wiped away the competition last season in the second division and easily finished as champions, completing a swift return to the top-flight after that painful last-day relegation suffered last summer. Hiring Ivan Osinkin and bringing in a bunch of talented players from his former side, Chertanovo, brought a very shrewd move by the board and they will be motivated to establish the Samara side as a presence in mid-table this season and not just be a yo-yo club at the bottom. The ingredients for that happening are there as players like Anton Zinkovskyi, Aleksandr Soldatenkov and Vladislav Sarveli have room to grow and can become good players at this level. Yet, the big name in the squad is striker Ivan Sergeev, who had an unbelievable 40-goal campaign last year, punishing opposition defences on consistent basis. Sergeev is naturally a target for bigger clubs this summer but Krylya are confident of keeping him at the moment. The big signing of the summer so far is Dmytro Ivanisenya, who has been a regular for Ukraine's third best club, Zorya, and can bring real quality in midfield. A few more additions could come in handy but the squad already looks pretty adept at this level and the manger should not be too worried for the season ahead. Yet, a couple more additions can bring more competition for places, with the left-back slot one of a bigger concern.