The coaching staff of Russian national team, headed by Fabio Capello, decided the final squad that will be called up to prepare the friendly match against Belarus (7 June, Khimki, 17:00) and the qualification game for 2016 European championship against Austria (14 June, Moscow, 18:00).
In the list were included two Lokomotiv midfielders - Aleksander Samedov and Aleksey Miranchuk.
The preparation will start under Capello on June 3rd 2015.
In the last match of the season in Russian Premier League, Lokomotiv faced Zenit in Saint Petersburg.
Lokomotiv arrived in Saint Petersburg, where according to the calendar, Zenit had to celebrate the victory of the championship. In fact, they could be given the Cup and could start their celebration.
However, Lokomotiv's players didn't feel themselves as a part of the feast. Zenit congratulated with 'Railroaders' for the win in the Russian Cup, making the match an appointment between two successful teams.
Zenit started controlling the game, letting Lokomotiv to attack only with counterattacks. However, 'Railroaders' didn't succeed in creating dangerous chances to Malafeev. Guilherme, instead, was certainly more engaged.
The quiet of the game was interrupted after 54 mins. Tarasov and Javi Garcia had an argument in the center of the pitch, with Dima that hit the Spanish midfielder with a kick on his ankle. The referee sent away Tarasov and gave a yellow card to Garcia.
As a consequence, 'Bomzhi' scored five minutes later with Rondon after a good combination between Shatov and Danny. During the last mins of the match, coaches made some chances, but the result didn't change.
Lokomotiv was defeated by Zenit and concluded the season at 7th place.
The last match of the season. At Petrovskij Stadium, Zenit and Lokomotiv will take part in a pointless game, which could be a sort of preview of the Super Cup match that will be played in July. Zenit has already won the championship and tomorrow will wear a special gold kit to celebrate its 5th title. There also will be a celebration where Danny will have the opportunity to say goodbye to Saint Petersburg. In fact, his contract expires this summer and it won't be extended. Even Tymoshchuk is in the same situation and could leave soon Zenit. Villas Boas should give some playing time to the players that have been less used. As happened in Perm', Malafeev should be in the starting line-up. Anyukov could take the place of Smolnikov, while Kerzhakov could replace Rondon. Hulk got his 4th yellow card of the season at Zvezda Stadium and so will be absent. By contrast, Lokomotiv could have only one last task: try to beat Zenit and to overcome Spartak. Both 'Railroaders' and 'Myaso' have 43 points, but the latter are ahead thanks to the number of victories. In the last round of RPL, Spartak will play at home against Amkar, who defeated Zenit last week. Niasse and Fernandes are both disqualified, with the former that will miss the next four games after the episode during the game against Kuban'. The latter, instead, also got injured during the last training. Abaev will probably go on holiday and then will return only to prepare the 2015/16 season. Although Boussoufa has trained individually during the last days, he should fly to Saint Petersburg with the team and to be in the starting line-up. Skuletic should have an important chance to demonstrate his value, after the disqualification of Niasse and Pavlyuchenko in doubt. Regarding the new coach, Smorodskaya said: "I've already known the name of new coach." A lot of rumors followed these words. I'm sure everything will be clear after the match against Zenit.
Igor Cherevchenko in the post-game press-conference spoke about the game against Kuban' (1:1). - The game was boring today, without motions. We started creating chances only in the second half. The guys understood it was our last match at home, many fans came. They did a good job, especially because being in minority. The red card to Niasse? It seemed that Sunjic's elbow hit him. However, Baye Oumar had to calm down and not to answer, it was a provocation. Despite missing the game against Zenit, he will fly with us to Saint Petersburg. - Why did Boussoufa and Pavlyuchenko miss the match? - Pavlyuchenko got a small injury during the final minutes in Astrakhan, but he will be ready against Zenit. Boussoufa, instead, has been injured for a long time. He was worried he couldn't help the team today. His presence in Saint Petersburg is in doubt.
In the week 28 of Russian Premier League, Lokomotiv hosted Kuban' in the last home match of the season.
During the evening, a lot of fans came to Cherkizovo earlier to see the Cup, which was exposed out of the Stadium. The trophy led to the creation of a long crowd made up by all the supporters who wanted to see the Kubok and to take a photo with it.
Furthermore, the society also didn't forget the younger fans. During the break, Ilya Abaev was in the family sector to communicate with them. The children were fascinated by our great goalkeeper, watching him enthusiastically. Ilya made autographs, took photos and talked to whoever was interested.
The game started slowly. Both teams seemed to have left all the emotions in Astrakhan, so the rhythm wasn't so high.
However, after 22 mins Kuban' took the lead - Guilherme tried to put off a ball, which instead hit Baldè and entered into the goal. Lokomotiv answered with Kasaev, but his shot flied over the post.
The next chance was again for Loko: Tarasov made a beautiful assist for Miranchuk, who missed a big opportunity 1-on-1 against Belenov. A few minutes later, Samedov scored in offside and so the referee had to cancel the goal.
In the second half, the guests tried to control the vantage. 'Railroaders' also finished the match in 10 men because Niasse was sent off after an argument with Sunjic, who was hit by the Senegalese striker.
However, Lokomotiv was able to score without him. Fernandes, who replaced Shishkin, made a stunning shot that beat Belenov.
At the end of the game, the whole team thanked with the fans for the support during the season, showing a banner that said: "The Cup is yours". Fans answered with the usual chants "This is our Cherkizovo" and "Thanks, guys!".
The amazing victory against Kuban' in the final of Russian Cup will be remembered for years and years, with the fans that have waited these moments since 2007. The Kubok has already arrived in Bakovka, where was welcomed by an open training with a lot of journalists. The atmosphere was warm and both players and staff made some nice photos to share with fans. In particular, captain Guilherme said: "I played as it was the last match in Lokomotiv. I've waited this trophy for eight years. I wasn't able to sleep, I had a lot of adrenaline. We won the Cup and reached the group stage in Europa League. Lokomotiv is a big club that merits to play regularly in European competitions." Tomorrow, the Kubok also will be present at Cherkizovo for the revenge against Kuban'. Kuchuk's team shouldn't ask anymore to this RPL. Lokomotiv, instead, wants to overcome Spartak, which was defeated by Ufa yesterday (1:2). Compared to the match in Astrakhan, Kuban' should change its starting line up. Manolev, Kulik, Khubulov and Baldè could replace Bugaev, Rabiu, Tkachyov and Almeida. Cherevchenko, at the same time, also should make a few substitutions. Yanbaev and Skuletic haven't recently played very much, while Mykhalyk could replace Fernandes, who wasn't very convincing. About the tomorrow's game, Guilherme said: "Our season wasn't so lucky. We have to win for our fans. It would be great to win both with Kuban' and Zenit." Abaev, Corluka and Pavlyuchenko haven't trained in the main group after the victory in Astrakhan, so their presence is in doubt. Probably, the Tajik coach shouldn't risk and could let some players to play more.
