Khabarovsk, a city only 19 miles from the Russian-Chinese border, is, for the first time ever, host to a side in the Russian Premier League. The side nicknamed the Army Men have been promoted to the top flight for the first time since their formation in 1946, 71 years ago. But who are they, and how did they get to the top flight?
Created by a military commander named Major Aleksey Khmelnitskiy, SKA-Khabarovsk’s inaugral season in the Soviet league system came 7 years after their formation, in the Far Eastern Zone of the Soviet Union, finishing fourth out of six teams, not disastrous, but not exactly what they would have hoped for in their debut campaign.
Their best ever finish in the Soviet league era was in 1980, where they finished sixth in the second tier under the management of Boris Semyonov, who was awarded with the title ‘Honored Coach of the Soviet Union’. SKA’s best finish of all time is joint between the 2012-13 season and the 2016-17 season, finishing fourth in the second tier both times. The first time was not to be, losing 3-0 to Rostov, who competed in the UEFA Champions League 4 years later.
However, it was second time lucky for the Siberian club, who drew both matches to Orenburg 0-0, but won 5-3 on penalties, sparking wild celebrations from the supporters, who had never seen their team in the Premier League.
Their manager, Aleksei Poddubskiy is somewhat of a club legend, having spent all of his playing career there apart from 3 seasons, spent at CSKA Moscow and Okean Nakhodka. He then went on to become assistant manager from 2013 to 2017, spending 2015 as caretaker manager, before being tasked with the mountainous job of keeping SKA above the drop zone.
SKA-Khabarovsk’s squad is still very small just three weeks before the start of the season, having only 9 players signed up. This makes Poddubskiy’s job even more tricky, possibly signing some players from the reserve sides, or looking in the market for some bargain buys, but must not panic-buy, a sign many see as destined relegation for promoted teams in recent years.
Their additions to the squad this year are Maksim Tishkin from Baltika Kaliningrad, Konstantin Savichev from Spartak-2 and Kyrgyz midfielder Anton Zemlianukhin from Thai side Sukhothai, all players signed with no fee. Despite signing some players on the cheap, they let go a whole host of players, releasing 11, crucial for squad depth.
Their first fixture is at their home ground, the Lenin Stadium in Khabarovsk, hosting Russian heavyweights Zenit St. Petersburg, who have to fly for 11 hours before landing in Khabarovsk, on the 15th June 2017. How will the Army Men conquer the mammoth task of staying afloat in the Premier League?
Pitchside 