Футбол — the sport North Americans call soccer and most everyone else calls football — is immensely popular in Russia, as you learned on page 345 of your textbook. The most famous российский футбольный клуб is Moscow's Спартак, nine times чемпион России and 12 times чемпион СССР. But the most successful club of late is «Локомотив», which won the first division, the Премьер-Лига, in 2002 and staged an impressive run in the European Лига Чемпионов in 2002-2003. To learn more about the Russian champions, visit their web site at:

http://www.lokomotiv.ru

1			The quickest way into the site is to click on the “русская версия” link at the bottom of the first page. (Clicking on the large icon in the center of the page loads a short "flash" animation with musical accompaniment.) • Why do you think the club is named «Локомотив»? For a clue, find the words "генеральный спонсор клуба" in the right margin. All three words are cognates. Now click on the link labeled “MZD.” This leads to the site of the club's "генеральный спонсор." For the moment, this site is "under construction," but you'll find useful information by clicking on the alternate live link, " Сайт Российских Железных Дорог." • The company "Российские железные дороги" is the parent company of the Локомотив sponsor. What does the company's name mean? Now, replace the first word, "Российские," with the word "Московские," and you'll have the name of the Локомотив sponsor. What is it? • Venture a guess as to how the club got its name.
2			Now take a look at the standings in the Премьер-Лига for 2003. Click on the link labeled “Чемпионат России” just above the league table on the right-hand side of the club's home page. All 16 teams in the ‘чемпионат’ — another name for Russia's professional soccer league — are listed, along with the cities where they play. As you see, Локомотив is not alone in having a Soviet-era name associated with machinery and industry. • What other "industrial" names can you find in the list? Hint: Many of these names, like «Локомотив» itself, are cognates. Other names generally glorify the Soviet system, such as «Крылья Советов», or Wings of the Soviets. Russia's most famous team bears a famous historical name: «Спартак», or Spartacus. • Who was Spartacus? Why do you think this name was so popular during the Soviet era?
3			The columns of numbers to the right contain statistics for the 2003 season. The headings are abbreviations of some words that you already know, and some you don't: И = Игры; О = Очки (Points). The three headings В, Н, and П indicate the three possible results of the games played. Н = ничья, a draw or tie. • В and П refer to nouns derived from verbs you know. What are they? • Which team is currently leading the league? How many games has it won this season? How many has it lost? • Teams at the bottom of the table risk being sent down to a lower division next season. How many points do the two lowest-ranking teams have? Where do they play?
4			The Russian league has seen a welcome influx of quality players from abroad in recent years, and «Локомотив» is no exception. Take a look at the club's roster for the 2003 season by clicking on the “игроки” link on the left-hand side of the page. Scan the roster for non-Russian names. There are loads of them in the list, though not all the non-Russian players are foreigners, of course. Click on the names to find out the players' nationalities and where they were born. • Сколько "легионеров" (this is a cognate) Вы нашли? Откуда они? • Did you catch the name Жулио Сезар да Сильва е Соуза? Откуда он?
5			Finally, it is only fitting that Russia's best soccer team plays in Russia's best, and newest, soccer stadium. Click on the “стадион” link under the heading “клуб.” The “стадион” page contains both ‘графика’ and ‘фото’ of the stadium. • Have a look at these materials and then provide a short description of the stadium in Russian.

А ЧТО ДАЛЬШЕ?

6			Other traditional Russian soccer powers include «ЦСКА» and «Спартак». Find out more about them on their official websites: http://www.cska.org http://www.spartak.com The Российская Футбольная Премьер-Лига also has a site: http://www.rfpl.org Russia has a number of outstanding newspapers and magazines devoted to sports. Two of the most popular are «Спорт Экспресс» and «Советский Спорт»: http://www.sport-express.ru http://www.sovsport.ru