In what has taken half of the NBA season, Carmelo Anthony finally got traded to the New York Knicks. Joining ‘Melo are Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, and Renaldo Balkman in exchange for Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton Wilson Chandler, the Knicks’ 2014 first-round pick, two second-round picks New York acquired from the Golden State Warriors in the David Lee sign-and-trade and $3 million as well as Russian center Timofey Mozgov. Despite only averaging 4.0 points a game with a whopping 3.1 rebounds the 24-year-old St. Petersburg native had a breakout game in later January where he scored a career high 23 points and picked up 14 boards.

Multiple sources reported that Mozgov was the final piece in the trade puzzle with many speculating the rookie might be dealt to New Jersey before all is said and done with the NBA trade deadline looming on Thursday. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov met with Anthony over the weekend despite publicly pulling out of contention last month. Even with the assistance of Jay-Z, the two could not sway the highly coveted soon-to-be free agent to sign an extension with the Nets to be the star of the Brooklyn bound franchise.

Will the Nuggets simply turn around and deal their new prized Russian to the Nets? It could be the first step of Prokhorov’s Russian take-over on the court as the team is expected to pursue Andrei Kirilenko of the Utah Jazz who will become a free agent this summer.

Up until yesterday, i was unaware that the country of Iran ever fielded a soccer team let alone one that was capable of winning. But after yesterday’s shocking late 1-0 victory over Russia it’s clear now that problems for a team that was once in the semi-finals for the Euro’s are more serious than we thought. In front of 2,000 fans in a 49,000 capacity stadium Iran got the lone goal in the dying moments against a lack luster defense much to the dismay of the heavily favored Russians.

Despite being atop their qualifying group for next year’s Euro’s, the team has dropped results to underdogs such as Slovakia, factor in the result to Iran and first year coach Dick Advocaat will feel the scrutiny from his superiors as well as Russian media. In odd occurrence, goal scorer Mohammad Khalatbari received a yellow card (his second of the game) for removing his shirt and would be sent off. Below is the lone goal, watch if you dare.

It has been six day since  the death of Yegor Sviridov after he and a group of others got into a physical confrontation with a man from the North Caucasus region resulting in the death of Sviridov who was only 28. Since then, the renowned clubs Ultra supporters have shown an outcry of support for their fallen brother taking to the streets, the stands, and just about anywhere else.

The suspected man who shot Sviriodv with 4 rubber bullets has been detained and claims he has the paperwork to allow him to carry the gun. It started first on Tuesday when a group of 1,000 fans gathered on a busy street in Moscow blocking traffic en route to a city airport.

Joined by Nationalist supporters (who will jump on any event to get their message heard) the group caused delays that plagued the city’s drivers for up to five hours on their evening commute. Once police arrived no arrests were made despite obvious chants heard in the video below of “Russians all the way” a chant popular among right-wing nationalists.

On Wednesday, Spartak took the field for their last Champions League match in Slovakia against MŠK Žilina where they would win 2-1. The match however was abandoned just minutes in when the traveling fans threw flares and other objects onto the field causing the players to plead with them. A number of fans made their way to the pitch once players were called to their respective locker-rooms. Those videos here:

After 20 minutes the match was restarted and the game would continue without anymore stops despite flares making it nearly impossible to see half the pitch in the waning minutes of the match. Spartak could face penalty for the actions of their fans if UEFA or FIFA opt to get involved.

Rumors of possible disqualification in their upcoming Europa League games are said to be the biggest punishment the team could face. Other options are for the team to play behind closed doors as has been done in the past by UEFA.

Earlier today in Moscow, more fans and nationalists alike gathered at the Manege outside of the Red Square where they clashed with riot police as they continue to call for a thorough investigation. 65 arrests where made and only 3 of the countless people were reported injured. Seen here:

Tensions have also began to rise in the country’s unofficial second capital St.Petersburg where protests and arrested mimic those in Moscow. In what appears to be a case of xenophobic Moscow youth attacking a man based strictly on his ethnicity has exploded to international attention both on the soccer field and headlines across the world.

These acts of violence and hooliganism come only a week after Russia was awarded the 2018 World Cup where critics already have spoken out against the countries violent fans and their intolerance to other races. What will happen if the court rules in favor of the man who was attacked? Only time will tell and hopefully the country’s reputation or soccer does not suffer because of it.

The world’s biggest party and football event is finally coming to the motherland.

Although FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s speech prior to announcing the winners seemingly took even longer, it only took one word from his mouth to electrify a nation quickly entering a deep winter freeze. Russia! Rossiya! As many were coming home from work all around the country, the bear awoke from his hibernation to a chorus of chants and horns with the joyous news.

The news, which was announced a week ago(at this point), can only be good for the future of Russia and it’s brand of football. The Russian league is slowly but surely becoming more recognizable throughout the Europe whether by selling off players to more popular teams or fairing well in European Club competition in 2005 and 2008 clinching the UEFA cup. Now with the right to host soccer’s marquee tournament and quite possibly the world’s biggest sporting event it will help the Russian youth and their future soccer.

Russia has already shown it’s willingness to welcome the world by promising a “no visa” requirement to enter the country which present day requires any non citizen to acquire should they require visiting. This woudnt be the first time such a policy was put into place as back in 2008 President Dmitry Medvedev signed a 72-hour decree allowing traveling fans from outside the country free entry with their Champions League Final ticket. As you recall back then England’s Chelsea lost to Manchester United on penalties at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

UEFA’s five-star stadium will no doubt be the host of the final game and is already going through renovation to add more seating eventually fitting 89,000 people. Currently the stadium houses Spartak Moscow who will be in their own stadium which promises to hold 40,000 fans and will be located in northwest Moscow. The stadium will be funded mostly by their main sponsor Lukoil while other clubs such as Zenit St.Petersburg and CSKA will have their new grounds funded by Gazprom and VTB Bank.

Outside of Moscow and St.Petersburg cities like Kazan and Sochi will also be getting new stadia for when the World Cup finally comes and the government has already promised free ground travel from city-to-city via railroads for ticket holders. All other host cities can be found here.

The videos used from the bid committee can be found below as well as Blatter’s long but eventual announcement. You can bet plenty more will be said about this WC in the months and years to come and we hope to still be relevant here at Nothin But Nyet by the time our old country welcomes you. As the bid commercial says Russia never sleeps!

-Sergei

CSKA’s Alan Dzagoev scores his first international goal (championat.ru)

New manager Dick Advocaat’s run with the Russian team has not exactly gone according to plan so far. An unconvincing 2-0 win over Andorra to begin Euro 12 qualification followed by a horror loss at the Lokomotiv Stadium to Slovakia has given fans and players alike more than enough reason to be concerned. But looking to quickly erase all memories from a month ago, the Sbornaya hit the road for a 1,700 mile journey across the European continent to Dublin.

Facing them would be an Irish squad who had been playing with chips on their shoulders the size of Ireland itself since being denied a handball against France. The Sbornaya would be without star striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, so Aleksandr Kerzhakov would be able to rejoin the national team.

However, the Sbornaya was unfazed by the green-clad Aviva Stadium and repelled an early wave of Irish attack, lead by new Spartak Moscow man Aiden McGeady. However the Sbornaya was having none of it and quickly broke on a counter-attack, earning a free kick in dangerous range. Taken by captain Andrei Arshavin, an initial attempt on goal was foiled but an incredible bicycle kick by center back Sergei Ignashevich set up white-hot Zenit man Aleksandr Kerzhakov for an easy finish.

1-0 to the men in red.

The assault hardly ended there. Urged on through aggressive midfield play by Arshavin, Roman Shirokov and Alan Dzagoev, the Sbornaya continued to find holes in the Irish defense, playing ball after ball out wide only to find acres of green grass awaiting.

Zenit captain Aleksandr Anyukov was one of many players to enjoy the Irish pasture down the right side, conveniently vacated by Sean St. Ledger. Taking a beautiful pass from former teammate Arshavin, Anyukov burst into space and delivered a goal-scorers dream ball into the middle. 20-year-old CSKA midfielder Dzagoev was the beneficiary, and clinically hammered it past Shay Given for his first career international goal.

Pure jubilation for the Sbornaya, 2-0!

A near disaster only minutes later almost wrecked the momentum, as Igor Akinfeev caught the ball seemingly right on the line, but the Dutch referee saw nothing worth his time. Following Akinfeev’s heart-stopping moment, Dick Advocaat’s men had done the damage and seemed content enough to relax until halftime. Russia finished the first half not dominant, but certainly the better side. Igor Denisov of Zenit and St. Ledger of Preston North End received bookings for their troubles.

The Sbornaya began the restart as lively as ever, once again looking to exploit the weak Irish flanks, with both Anyukov and Chelsea left back Yuri Zhirkov making daring runs. It was Anyukov at the center of the offense again however, as he picked teammate Shirokov out for a run on goal. The surprise inclusion fired what seemed like a harmless shot from 20 yards out, but it took a gigantic ricochet off the leg of Richard Dunne, catching Given flat-footed. Goooooal?! As the fans say, Vpered Rossiya!

3-0 to Mother Russia and surely all three points as well.

No manner of luck at all for the Aston Villa defender or Ireland. Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni had seen enough, and tried to breath some form of life into his otherwise sleepwalking squad. Shane Long, Darron Gibson and Keith Fahey all came on within several minutes of each other, while Dick Advocaat decided to give veteran Konstantin Zyryanov a rest in favor of Igor Semshov. But with one fell motion, the Dutch referee managed to revive a match that was dead and buried.

Tottenham striker Robbie Keane charged into the box and in the process of controlling the ball for a shot, stumbled to the ground. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot to the joy of the Irish supporters, with the foul going against Zhirkov. Except there was only one problem with the decision – Zhirkov was several feet away from Keane and made no contact whatsoever on the play.

But the referee heard none of Yuri’s protests and Keane converted the penalty with a clever stutter-step that fooled Akinfeev. Maybe the Irish are lucky indeed. Giovanni Trapattoni was not born on St. Patrick’s Day for nothing.

With the penalty, Ireland jumped back into life along with the crowd of 50,000 strong. Before Advocaat even knew what happened, the Irish had made it a one goal game. Keeper Shay Given had come all the way out to midfield to take a free-kick, fired it in and McGeady forced a great save by Akinfeev. The Sbornaya however could not clear it away from danger as the ball bounced around off several players in the box before substitute Long deposited a shot past #1. As unlikely as it seemed 10 minutes before, through luck or no luck, the Irish comeback was in full force.

Playing with a far higher level of concern, the back line of Ignashevich, Zhirkov and company began clearing every ball on the spot, in an attempt to waste the clock and keep the Irish from finding an equalizing goal. As time disintegrated off the clock, near misses from both sides stole the breath of nearly everyone inside. First by McGeady, who missed by mere centimeters quickly followed by substitute striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, who missed a wide open net from 10 feet away. But with one last free kick by Ireland, the referee finally signaled an end to the madness some five minutes into stoppage time.

Russia was victorious, giving Advocaat something to smile about after all. Tri-dva.

It will be a happy plane ride back to Moscow after all, and now the Sbornaya have four days before facing Goran Pandev and Macedonia in Skopje.

Rubin captain Noboa scores against Barcelona (guardian.uk)

If someone would have told you that Zenit, CSKA, Rubin and Spartak would be the top four teams in Russia back in March, it would have been an easy statement to accept. The only part worth debating, is which order would they finish and who would be the team left out of the Champions League.

After Week 23 of Russian Premier League action, the cream has indeed risen to the top of the league. Each club is not only distancing itself from the rest of the domestic field, but setting itself apart in UEFA competitions as well. No matter how differently each of the four clubs have gone about reaching the top, the European spots from Russia look to be going to the same teams as last year.

In the case of Spartak Moscow, it’s been very much a roller coaster ride. After several months of struggling in the middle of the table, the future of manager Valeri Karpin came into constant question and the team looked to be out of attacking options, relying too heavily on Brazilian duo Welliton and Alex. However, Lukoil billionaire and owner Leonid Fedun wasn’t nearly about to let the club’s European hopes vanish without a fight. He signed reinforcements in the form of Aiden McGeady, Nicolas Pareja and the brothers Kombarov during the summer window, and the results have been nearly instantaneous.

After falling 2-0 to ambitious side Terek Grozny, Spartak has now reeled off six straight unbeaten matches including the shutouts of Champions League foes Olympique Marseille and Zilina. The reformed attack, in addition to the emergence of winter signing Ari, has propelled the Meat back into the European discussion.

Ari celebrates his double against Zilina on September 28 (UEFA.com)

Up to the north in Khimki, another Moscow-based club is also flexing its muscle. CSKA Moscow features a new-look offensive attack and a suddenly impenetrable defense. The Army men have not only been scoring at will, but they haven’t allowed a goal in 515 minutes of play. Perfect in their last five with a 12-0 goal spread, Leonid Slutskiy’s side hasn’t missed a beat since the loss of star midfielder Milos Krasic to Juventus. In fact, the team may even be better now.

Another Serbian has taken Krasic’s place in the form of former Manchester United man Zoran Tosic while the striking pair of Seydou Doumbia and Vagner Love have been utterly unstoppable. Doumbia has found the net 7 times in his first 8 matches in Moscow while Vagner Love sits at a more pedestrian 7 goals in 10 matches since returning from Flamengo. Either way, the duo has formed easily the most intimidating and lethal striking force in Russia.

- Vagner scores a fantastic goal in Week 23 against Rostov.

Since the summer transfer window, Zenit St. Petersburg has marched along like clockwork. Luciano Spalletti’s Northern Army not only remains unbeaten in Russia after 21 matches, but are seemingly getting stronger as the season progresses. This is horrendous news for the rest of the league, as Zenit’s advantage over 2nd place is now 6 points with two matches in hand.

The sine-byelo-goluboy have also had no problems finding the back of the net. In five of their past seven matches, the club has scored 3 or more goals, including 13 in the past 8 days. After eradicating Saturn Moscow to a tune of 6-1, the club proceeded to put four past AEK Athens in the Europa League and three more past 5th-place Spartak Nalchik. Leading the way has been none other than a suddenly possessed Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who can’t stop scoring after a dismal first half to the season.

An already stout unit, Bruno Alves has bolstered Zenit’s central defense immensely and has paid dividends,  helping to shut down the new Didier Drogba, Romelu Lukaku from Anderlecht.

€22m defender Bruno Alves has put Zenit head and shoulders above all competition. (fc-zenit.ru)

Last but certainly not least, two-time defending Russian Premier League champions Rubin Kazan have almost quietly had a very impressive season. Besides the fact that manager Kurban Berdiyev has managed to take points off Barcelona – for the third straight time in Champions League play – the Tatars are on pace for another 60 point season. Along with the more established Russian clubs, Rubin showed they were more than willing to splash the cash to improve their squad.

Following the loss of star striker Aleksandr Bukharov and team captain Sergei Semak, Rubin went out and added three stellar pieces to their Champions League puzzle in Obafemi Martins, Carlos Eduardo and Salvatore Bocchetti. Martins and Eduardo have immediately made Rubin as dangerous of an attacking side as they were with Dominguez and Bukharov, while Bocchetti has brought the new element of a mobile, offensive-minded central defender.

Meanwhile, the impressive maturation of new captain Christian Noboa has continued as he has forced his way into the conversation of finest central midfielders in the league. He scored the goal against Barcelona to give Rubin a 1-0 lead and coincidentally, happens to be the Tatars top scorer. But can he lead Rubin to a third straight championship?

Six Players to Watch

6. Kevin Kuranyi, Dinamo Moscow: Although his new club may be all but out of the picture in 9th place, that doesn’t mean the Policemen can’t spoil someone else’s season. With matches against Rubin, CSKA and Spartak all remaining on the calendar, the German-Brazilian Kuranyi (6 goals in 8 RPL matches) can certainly change the landscape in a hurry.

5. Dmitri Kombarov, Spartak Moscow: A very productive scorer from the left wing with Dinamo, Kombarov has brought a new element to Spartak’s attack. Although he is yet to find the net in red, he has seen quite a few glorious opportunities. With most clubs looking to focus on Welliton, Alex and McGeady, Kombarov might be just the man to step up in the closing weeks of the season.

4. Cesar Navas, Rubin Kazan: While the talk of the town in Kazan is devoted to the new offensive additions, the backbone of Berdiyev’s squad is the defense. The 1.96m (6’5″) Spaniard remains the ring leader on the back line and Rubin’s 10 goals allowed is tied for the lowest in the league. He won’t score many goals, but he’s damn good at preventing them.

3. Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Zenit St. Petersburg: After looking out of place and snakebitten at the beginning of the season, the 27-year-old striker has exploded out of a cannon, jumping his season goal total to 13 in just a few weeks. With two hat tricks in 9 days, “Kerza” and his rediscovered scoring touch has made Zenit all the more lethal.

2. Welliton, Spartak Moscow: He leads the Russian Premier League yet again, with 16 goals from just 17 matches. With the ability to score from anywhere on the field with speed or power, the young Brazilian looks to better his 2009 mark of 21 goals as Spartak continues to push for a European place.

1. Vagner Love, CSKA Moscow: He may not play with the flair of Doumbia, the pace of Mark Gonzalez or the raw skill of Tosic, but there’s just no question that when the blue hair flies, Vagner Love delivers when it matters the most. After just two seasons removed of scoring 20 goals for CSKA, Vagner has roared back from his time in Brazil to reclaim his status as the best clutch striker in Russia. With decisive matches remaining against every team in a UEFA place, the Army men will look to him in their title pursuit.

Current Standings (UEFA places 2011-12)

• Zenit St. Petersburg – 53 points (16-5-0)
• Rubin Kazan – 47 points (13-8-2)
• CSKA Moscow – 45 points (14-3-4)
• Spartak Moscow – 36 points (10-6-6)
• Spartak Nalchik - 36 points (10-6-7)

Important Upcoming Matches

2010-10-16: Spartak Moscow @ Dinamo Moscow

2010-10-23: Rubin Kazan @ CSKA Moscow

2010-10-26: Zenit St. Petersburg @ Spartak Moscow

You would think being a president of a country would be tidious and time consuming, with summits, press conferences, travel and whatever else presidents do. However if you are Russian President Dmitry Medvedev you absolutely must tweet regarding a UEFA Champions League match between Russian side Spartak Moscow and French side Marseille and by tweet we mean laugh at the opponents.

Wednesday’s match in France saw underdogs Spartak avenge their 1991 defeat and sneak out with a win with a own-goal thanks to Cesar Azpilicueta. The St.Petersburg born Medvedev who is known as a supporter of Zenit tweeted on his official account that Azpilicueta played superbly for the Russian side. Oh that Medvedev and his twitter always stirring the pot! I wonder if he and PM Nicolas Sarkozy will have words the next time they are in the same room.