Russia's Gazovik Orenburg eye Leicester-style success after promotion
ByReuters
Published 03/05/2016 at 16:02 GMT
Gazovik Orenburg, who have won promotion to the Russian Premier League for the first time, may not have any stars in their line-up but they have been inspired by Leicester City's fairytale English Premier League triumph, their manager said on Tuesday.
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The club from the city of Orenburg, around 1,500 kilometres southeast of Moscow near the border with Kazakhstan, sealed a place in the top flight next season by beating Sokol Saratov 2-0 on Monday, leaving them top of the Russian First Division with 78 points from 34 games.
"It would be wonderful to repeat Leicester's fairytale," manager Robert Yevdokimov said in an interview with Reuters.
"We have a long way to go. They have players who play for England, France, Austria and Algeria. We want to give a good account of ourselves in the Premier League and get stronger and stronger."
The main claim to fame of Orenburg, known as the Asian capital of Russia, was that it was once home to Yuri Gagarin, the first man to enter space. The football club has now given the city a new source of pride, Gazovik's general director Igor Degtyarev said.
"This is a historic event for the city and for the whole of our region," Degtyarev told Reuters.
"Three years ago we were playing in the third tier, while this summer we will be making our debut in the Premier League. This is not a coincidence, this is the reward for hard work."
Gazovik's main sponsor is a subsidiary of energy giant Gazprom, which itself sponsors Zenit St. Petersburg.
The Orenburg club's owners said they would have a bigger budget ahead of the new season, although they gave no figures.
"We are increasing the budget, but also the capacity of our stadium, which at the moment can hold 10,500 spectators," said Degtyarev.
Changes are likely to be made to the club's squad as only a few members of the side have experience of playing in the Premier League. The team has no foreign players other than those from republics of the former Soviet Union.
"We do not have the same large financial capabilities like a number of other teams in the league," Dmitri Andreev, the club's captain said.
"We don't have any stars, but we are a team that plays for each other. The owners never try to interfere with the coaching staff and give us free reign to do what we want. It seems as though this has paid off," the 35-year-old defender said.
Yevdokimov, who has been in charge of the side since the end of 2011, played for Spartak Moscow and Krylya Sovetov Samara and other clubs in the 1990s. His focus for now is on finishing the season on a high, even after guaranteeing the club a top-two finish and automatic promotion.
"I am not being euphoric. We have four matches of the season left and we want to finish top of the First Division," he said.
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