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This week on the pod, Richard takes over hosting duties and he is joined by Football Radar's Anna Konovalova. Anna is a Moscow-native Spartak fan and an expert in Russian, German and Austrian football. Follow Anna on Twitter: @iamanch @FRFussballAnna @HexenkesselPod - Anna's pod on German football in Russian Thus, the pair discuss the swathes of German specialists taking over at RPL clubs, discuss parallels between Austrian & Russian football and evaluate the Hypercube reforms suggesting following that of the Austrian Bundesliga, and finish off with evaluating all the big events of the past week including; Rui Vitoria's sacking, Paolo Vanoli's arrival at Spartak and all the action from the Dynamo - Zenit match at the top of the table. RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

This week on the pod, it's a red & white takeover as James is joined by Hanu & Alexey to discuss Spartak's second-ever European Group Table-Topping campaign before checking out the rest of the midweek European results. Hanu - @H4nuu & @PodcastWTI Alexey - @loonyspectre Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 04:15 - Spartak's Table-Topping European Campaign 32:34 - Zenit's draw against Chelsea 50:40 - Lokomotiv's Disappointing Campaign 1:06:35 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

On David's last pod before his Christmas vacation, we take a look at what to expect from Tomas Zorn in his "new" role at Lokomotiv and ask whether or not Ralf Rangnick still exerts his influence at the club from afar. We also review all the latest in the RPL and take a look back at the FNL Winter part of the season as a whole with their break already underway. Timestamps: 01:24 - Zorn's "New" Role 20:48 - FNL Winter Review 37:02 - RPL Action 37:10 - Khimki 3-3 Krasnodar 40:13 - Arsenal 3-1 Lokomotiv 45:08 - Rubin 2-3 Dynamo 52:13 - News in Brief 57:03 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

This week, Rich returns as we all dissect the midweek European games involving Russian sides as Spartak defeat Napoli again. Then, we quickly look at Russia's opponents in the WC 2022 Playoffs draw before delving deep into Ralf Rangnick's time at Lokomotiv & impending move to Manchester United. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:05 - Malmo 1-1 Zenit 14:11 - Spartak 2-1 Napoli 33:06 - Lokomotiv 0-3 Lazio 37:00 - 2022 World Cup Playoff Draw 40:18 - Rangnick to Manchester United 58:51 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

James & David focus on the Sbornaya Senior, U21 & U19 squads in an International Football special. We do dive into the RPL right at the end but as the last game week was almost 2 weeks ago now that is old hat, as David stans Karpin & Gladyshev for 20 minutes instead. Timestamps: Intro - 00:00 Sbornaya - 01:10 U21s - 18:17 U19s - 37:18 RPL Catch-Up - 43:49 Outro - 55:51 RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

It was a mixed week in Europe this time out, as Zenit lost to Juve while Lokomotiv and Spartak drew with Galatasary and Leicester respectively away from home. We also take another look at the upcoming Russia squad and recap all of the RPL Round 13 Action from the last week. Also, apologies for James' sore throat this week, blame him for going to two away games and shouting at Sunderland for losing 5-1 & 3-0 in them... Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 00:50 - European Matches Roundup 02:10 - Juve 4-2 Zenit 09:01 - Galatasary 1-1 Lokomotiv 15:33 - Leicester 1-1 Spartak 25:40 - League Coefficients 30:24 - Karpin's Russia Squad Reduced to 30 37:48 - RPL Round 13 38:36 - Rubin 1-0 CSKA 41:30 - Arsenal 1-2 Sochi 45:16 - Krasnodar 0-1 Krylia 49:02 - Zenit 4-1 Dynamo 52:34 - News in Brief 54:51 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

James & Richard deep-dive into the big game of the weekend as Zenit defeated Spartak 7-1 & covered the rest of the RPL games before exploring the gargantuan 41-man Russia squad. Timestamps: 00:57 - Zenit 7-1 Spartak 25:01 - CSKA 3-1 Krylia 34:50 - Akhmat 1-0 Ural 38:59 - Dinamo v Zenit Preview 47:06 - Karpin's 41-man Squad 59:51 - Russian Cup Next Round 01:00:30 - "Shomurodov" Controversy 01:02:17 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

We look back at a d disappointing week in Europe as Spartak lost 4-3 to Leicester, Zenit fell 1-0 to a late Dejan Kulusevski goal for Juve and Lokomotiv also conceded late in a 1-0 loss against Galatasary. We also unpack all the RPL action from last weekend. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:31 - Spartak 3-4 Leicester 19:18 - Zenit 0-1 Juventus 33:36 - Lokomotiv 0-1 Galatasary 49:40 - RPL Round 11 01:13:02 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

This week, we discuss the Russia games, Richard writes a biography of Markus Gisdol, David waxes lyrical about some players nobody has heard of before and James forgets how league tables work in a hectic end to the pod. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:20 - Russia 1-0 Slovakia 14:34 - Slovenia 1-2 Russia 25:02 - Russia U21 Matches 32:38 - Markus Gisdol in at Lokomotiv 48:47 - Latest FNL Action 59:03 - PFL Broken Website 01:02:02 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

James & David cover all the latest goings-on in Russian Football, mainly Lokomotiv & Marko Nikolic parting ways, analysing a weekend of upsets in the RPL before discussing the cavalcade of changes that engulfed Valery Karpin's Russia squad in the past two weeks. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:18 - Nikolic Leaves Loko 23:03 - Loko 1-2 Rostov 28:27 - Rubin 0-1 Nizhny 35:50 - Dynamo 0-1 Krylia 42:23 - CSKA 0-0 Krasnodar 48:39 - Zenit 1-2 Sochi 57:28 - Russia Squad Changes 01:08:50 - Pryadkin Resigns as RPL President 01:12:24 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

This week, James & David are joined by Hanu from the Whatever This Is Podcast to discuss all the midweek European games involving Russian clubs. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 02:10 - Zenit 4-0 Malmo 18:05 - Napoli 2-3 Spartak 43:18 - Lazio 2-0 Loko 01:00:46 - Russia U21s & RPL Keepers 01:10:00 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

We return to the top of the RPL this week to discuss the biggest games from last weekend's action, including CSKA's victory in the Main-Moscow Derby. We also cast an eye over Zenit's victory over Rubin, Dynamo's defeat of Sochi and the latest Russian National Team squad. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01 30 - Sochi v Dynamo 18:25 - Rubin v Zenit 29:01 - Spartak V CSKA 41:45 - Russia Squad 54:20 - Russian Cup Results 55:35 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

Attention turns to European matters this week, as the UCL & UEL Group Stages return. We have fingers in more pies than a leper in a cookery class as Zenit travelled to Chelsea while Spartak & Lokomotiv hosted Legia and Marseille in Moscow respectively. We'll discuss all of that including a special guest appearance at the end. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:47 - Chelsea 0-1 Zenit 24:13 - Spartak 0-1 Legia 48:35 - Loko 1-1 Marseille 01:03:22 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

After taking our own short international break last week we are reconvening here to discuss all three of Russia’s recent WC qualifying games - the first three under new boss Valery Karpin. Then, take a look at how the U21s faired in their two games & ahead of the return of the RPL this weekend and after deadline day yesterday shall summarise the entire window as a whole. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:10 - Russia 0-0 Croatia 07:20 - Cyprus 0-2 Russia 11:40 - Captaincy Debate 21:12 - Russia 2-0 Malta 29:00 - Russia U21s 45:00 - Transfer Window Summary RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com

On this week's pod, we record earlier than scheduled - with the RPL games brought forward to Thursday & Friday at the behest of Valery Karpin in order to have more training time with his Sbornaya squad in the upcoming international break. We discuss all the latest RPL action as Dynamo top the league for the first time in years, get all the latest lowdown on transfers and start off with all the juicy information regarding the foreigner limit after the RPL clubs met in the week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:14 - Foreigner Limit Proposals & Decisions(?) 17:30 - Transfer News & Speculation 39:50 - Dynamo Top the RPL 44:05 - CSKA under Berezutskiy 2 49:52 - Ufa hold Zenit 56:30 - Cordoba @ Krasnodar & Loko win 1:02:25 - Worst Foreign Players in the RPL 1:12:05 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com Medium - Russian Football News

This week on the pod, we discuss the squads for both the Sbornaya and U21 teams for the upcoming national break - the first under new boss Valery Karpin. Recap all the latest in the RPL before rounding off with a quick look over the Hypercube Reform proposals. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:30 - Karpin's First Sbornaya Squad 14:10 - U21 Squad 23:45 - Loko v Zenit 29:18 - Krasnodar v Arsenal 34:19 - CSKA v Rostov 39:01 - Nizhny v Ufa 44:00 - Carl Starfelt @ Celtic 45:29 - RFU x Hypercube Reforms 1:13:40 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com Medium - Russian Football News

This week, the pod team explore all the European fixtures that involved Russian sides (spoilers, it was as disappointing as you'd expect) before rounding up all the RPL action and summer news from those we missed out on last week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 02:03 - Partizan Belgrade v Sochi 07:30 - Rubin Kazan v Rakow Czestochowa 17:40 - Benfica v Spartak Moscow 31:15 - CSKA & Khimki 35:50 - Loko & Krasnodar 45:15 - Akhmat 50:20 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com Medium - Russian Football News

First of all, apologies for a no-show last week as some very late emergencies came up & made recording in time for the Friday RPL games impossible. But we are back this week to discuss all the recent RPL action, cast over who Sochi & Rubin were drawn against in the Europa Conference League and discuss the Valery Karpin debacle as he is given the Sbornaya job, agreeing to work with both Rostov and the national team only to then leave his role as Rostov boss after two successive defeats. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:56 - RPL Recap So Far 40:25 - Conference League Draw & Next Round 48:29 - Karpin @ Sbornaya - Semin @ Rostov 01:00:51 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com Medium - Russian Football News

The RFN Pod team reconvenes just in time for the new season, as we are back just in time for some RPL and European Conference League action. We cast an eye over Sochi's 3-0 win in their Europa Conference League Second Qualification Round First Leg victory over Kesla. The FNL also started two weeks ago but due to some various vacation commitments unfortunately we were not able to record so we will also recap on some of that action before finishing off looking at all the big RPL transfers in the short summer break. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:19 - Sochi 3-0 Kesla 18:15 - The start of the FNL Season 36:04 - RPL Summer Transfers 55:40 - Outro RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com Medium - Russian Football News

This week, James & David are joined by a special guest. That guest is none other than the former Editor-in-Chief of RFN - the Great Dane himself - Toke Theilade. The pair discuss Russia's Euros in general, focus on the 4-1 defeat to Denmark, and the emotional impact of Christian Eriksen's cardiac arrest & subsequent recovery upon the Danish nation & team. Timestamps: Introduction - 00:00 Russia 1-4 Denmark - 02:30 Outro - 45:10 RFN Socials: Twitter - @RusFootballNews Instagram - rusfootballnews Youtube - Russian Football News Email - russianfootballnews1@gmail.com