Few managers in football history were as influential as Nikolai Starostin at Spartak Moscow. He was the man who came up with the name when club were formed in 1935, proposing Spartacus [the gladiator who led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic and whose legend was later made into a 1960 film starring Kirk Douglas], as the symbol for people's will.
Starostin personally drew the emblem that has remained virtually unchanged ever since. He played for Spartak in the 30s with his three younger brothers, survived Stalinist repressions in the 40s, and took care of the club as a manager for four decades from 1955; remaining loyal to it until his death in 1996, at the age of 93. During the Soviet times, he kept Spartak representing the people, not the establishment.
While Starostin is a legend whose legacy is worshipped by everyone at the club, there is one thing he failed -- or maybe didn't want -- to achieve during his tenure: Spartak have never had their own stadium. The most popular team in Russia wandered between different venues in the capital, using the national stadium at Luzhniki for many years, and also playing at Dinamo, Lokomotiv and Torpedo. For long decades, Spartak fans felt homeless, and desperation grew when several attempts to find their own stadium fell through at the beginning of the century.
Now, though, the waiting is over. Leonid Fedun, who bought Spartak in 2003, made building a new stadium his most important goal, and his dream became reality when Spartak Stadium was officially opened last week in the north-western Tushino district of Moscow. The construction -- which started back in 2006 -- was supposed to be finished five years ago, but was delayed several times, as the costs skyrocketed to about $500 million. For the Spartak faithful, however, it was well worth waiting for, as their new home is nothing short of spectacular.
Spartak Stadium, named Otkritie Arena locally for sponsorship purposes for the next six years, has a capacity of 42,000 and resembles Munich's Allianz Arena in design. With a new underground station opened nearby, it is very accessible for fans from around the city. Fedun proudly claims that his project is "the most modern stadium in Europe," and it is natural that it will host matches during the 2018 World Cup, as Moscow's second stadium behind the Luzhniki that is currently being renovated and looks likely to host the final.
With Rubin Kazan having opened their brand new Kazan Arena last month, Russia now have two stadiums ready for the biggest sporting event in its history. For years, the Russian Premier League suffered from notoriously poor conditions at dreadfully outdated stadiums, and attendances are rather low as a result. This is about to change, especially in the capital where CSKA and Dinamo are also building new arenas. Spartak were able to do so first, and that fills the hearts of their fans with pride.
The emotional opening ceremony took place on Aug. 30, when two teams of Spartak veterans -- including stars like Rinat Dasayev, Fyodor Cherenkov and Aleksandr Mostovoi -- took the field. It was only fitting that the first ever goal at the glorious stadium was netted by Valery Shmarov, scorer of the most legendary goal in the club's history (the free-kick in the dying moments of the game against Dynamo Kiev in 1989, that won Spartak the Soviet title.) The event was somewhat marred by Spartak fans who constantly whistled the famous defender Viktor Onopko, who now serves as the assistant coach at the hated local opponents CSKA, but it was still an impressive unveiling.
Fedun, who was born in the Ukrainian capital, wanted the first "real" game at the stadium to take place against the historic archrivals Dynamo Kiev. The current political crisis prevented the event from going forward, and Red Star Belgrade, whose ultras have a long standing friendship with Spartak fans, were invited instead. Although Spartak have lots of foreigners in their squad, Swiss coach Murat Yakin, recruited from Basel in the summer, named 10 Russians in the starting lineup for the big occasion last Friday, and Dmitry Kombarov scored the first historic goal in a 1-1 draw.
The new stadium is of huge importance for Fedun, who was fiercely criticized by Spartak fans for lack of success on the pitch. The most popular club in Russia by a distance, Spartak won nine of the first 10 Russian titles since the breakup of Soviet Union, and were a major force in European football as well, reaching the European Cup semifinals in 1991 and Champions League quarterfinals in 1994 and 1996. Ever since, though, their name became synonymous with constant failure. Spartak won their last championship title back in 2001, and they haven't lifted any trophies at all since winning the Russian Cup in 2003.
At times, their aspiration to regain the top status was almost farcical. For example, coach Valery Karpin stated at the beginning of 2014 that he was certain of winning a league and cup double. He was bizarrely sacked just a few weeks later after Spartak were totally outplayed by third-division Tosno in the Russian Cup, and the team completely fell apart without him, finishing sixth in the league and even failing to qualify for Europa League. For Zenit and CSKA fans, who hate Spartak deeply, the Red-and-Whites have basically become a laughing stock. Could the new stadium change everything?
Spartak certainly hope it will, taking optimism from the way Juventus Stadium instantly helped the Old Lady stop the slide and win three Serie A titles in a row. "Of course Spartak will become champions now. They have no other option," said Rashid Rakhimov, ex-Spartak star who now coaches Terek Grozny. The first official game at the new stadium will take place on Sunday when Spartak host newly promoted minnows Torpedo Moscow. They are supposed to win comfortably, but will they? In their last fixture, shown on the big screen at Spartak Arena after the veterans' game, Spartak gifted Amkar Perm their first league win since March, and they remain terribly inconsistent under Yakin so far.
Fedun thinks that he has found a way to fix that. A huge statue of a gladiator welcomes Spartak Stadium visitors outside, but the most important sculpture is placed inside, right near the pitch. Behind the Northern stand goal, Nikolai Starostin can be seen sitting on the bench alongside his three brothers, Aleksandr, Andrei and Pyotr. "They see everything now, and they will remind our players that they must give their utmost all the time", the president said. Starostin's spirit is hovering over the stadium, and with him "The People's Team" should be invincible.