Russian football is buzzing with excitement. Why? Because since Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov bought mid-table premier league side Anzhi Makhachkala, the club has bought and been linked with some incredible players. So who are they?
The club was formed in 1991 in the then U.S.S.R by retired local footballer Magomed-Sultan Magomedov. In 1992 they joined the nation's second division and in 1996 they were promoted to the division above (the second highest division in Russia) and after winning that in 1999 they qualified for the Russian premier league. They stayed in the league until 2002.
Following their relegation Anzhi struggled to return to the Russian premier league due to a lack of players and funding. However the team finally did manage to return to the promised land in 2009 and in their first season back in the premier league they finished a respectable 11th.
However now the club's prospect all of a sudden look a lot brighter. Since the new owner invested in January, experienced world cup-winning left back Roberto Carlos has joined, as well as Yuri Zhirkov from Chelsea and Mbark Bousaffa from Anderlecht. However the signing that has really made everyone take notice of the club who's city, Makhachkala only has 578,000 inhabitants is undoubtedly that of Samuel Et'to who joined from Internazionale for 27 million euros.
Just like Chelsea in 2003 and Man city in 2009 however, it is inevitable that Anzhi will be linked with many players who are highly unlikely to join them such as Dani Alves and Neymar have already been linked with the Russian outfit.
Also, due to their 10th place finish last season Anzhi are unable to compete in this year's champions league and therefore may struggle to bring in any more big names despite the money at their disposal.
However there is no doubting the sense of positivity and excitement about Anzhi and all the stars they will be bringing to the Russian premier league. You never know, the stars they bring in may even see a Russian side for the first time in recent years really challenge for the crown of being the kings of Europe in the UEFA Champions league. These are exciting times for both Anzhi and Russian football.
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