18.09.2007, 10:00
Astrakhan: familiarity breeds strength

The Russian CL side have been playing together for years. The team may cause surprise at their CL debut.

Zarja Kaspija Astrakhan: familiarity breeds strength

A sunset by the Caspian Sea – sounds romantic. The only problem: no one can enjoy it in this year’s Champions League. There is no suitable sports hall in Astrakhan. The Spartak Sports Hall - many blackouts happened here during international games - is in a terrible condition. The city of 500,000 inhabitants will get a new arena with the help of foreign investors by 2009.

For this year’s CL it is too late, of course. As a result, the home court of the team will be 1,500 kms away, the Olympic Hall of Chekhov. The Caspian Sea will only be represented in the name of the club, “Zarja Kaspija“. Despite the new name, the powerful oil company, “Lukoil”, remains the main sponsor of the team.

“We want to attract new sponsors with this new branding of the team,” says manager Oleg Maslakow. “Dinamo-Lukoil was often too deterring for other companies.”

Stable team

The squad of Alexei Pchelyakov, coach of the team since 2000, hardly changed. Handball players can earn relatively well in Astrakhan. Only Pavel Bashkin (Gorenje Velenje) and Georgi Zaikin (Benfica Lissabon) left the team at the summer of 2006, but no others left.

With Alexandr Gorbatikov and Valeriy Miagkov (both are Russian national players) and the left-handed Danil Tschernov, Astrakhan can build on a backcourt that is good in combinative play. The Russian international left winger Alexei Kaynarov, goalkeeper Michail Izmailov, right winger Dmitrij Slaschtschjev and pivot Anton Rubizov are also top performers.

Whether after the 2003 EHF Cup Final and various Russian silver medals, a new international success could follow?

“There is always a chance,” says Oleg Maslakow who does not retain impossible to reach the second group phase. “However, this move to Chekhov causes many problems.”

TEXT: Jan Kirschner