The St. Petersburgers dominated at the Russian superfinals to retain their titles
Kristall fought a desperately tight final against Spartak Moscow, just edging the Red and Whites 6-5, to claim their fifth title, while seven goals saw WFC Zvezda cruise to victory in the women’s league.
After crashing out in the early stages of the Euro Winners Cup, BSC Kristall had something to prove in the Russian championship this year. They did so with their fifth title, which saw Angelo Schirinzi’s side reach a new height in Russia beach soccer, becoming the first team to win the league so many times.
It wasn’t an easy battle though, as Spartak Moscow matched them almost goal for goal throughout the tie. The Moscovites just lost the opening period by 2-1 and, despite drawing the rest of the periods 2-2, this early advantage was enough for the men in orange to get their hands on the trophy once more.
In the end they were deserving winners, and Kristall’s killer Brazilian duo, Rodrigo and Mauricinho, took the individual awards for being the top scorer (Rodrigo with 22) and top assister (Mauricinho with 20).
Their countryman Lucao (Krylia Sovetov) won the best player of the tournament, while Russia’s national team star Dmitry Shishin (Kristall) won the MVP of the Superfinal award. The best goalkeeper trophy was awarded to Pavel Bazhenov of Spartak Moscow.
Krylia Sovetov managed to down Lokomotiv Moscow in the play-off for third, in a relatively low-scoring 3-1 victory, which sees the Samara-based side finish in the top three for a third time in their history (2011, 2015 and 2019).
In the women’s league, WFC Zvezda defeated Lex-Yablochnaya in the final of the women’s Russian championship by seven goals to one to claim title number four.
The 2019 trophy means that the former European champions have claimed four of the last five Russian leagues, only failing to win the 2016 edition.
Two teams from St. Petersburg met in the final at the Dynamo beach sports stadium in Moscow, but although the trophy was sure to return to the city for another year ahead of kick off, it soon became clear with which team it would travel.
In the first period, Zvezda built a three-goal advantage. The second was goalless, but in the final third the crowd witnessed a sudden flurry of five goals in the space of a few minutes. Zvezda netted four of them, gaining a clear and insurmountable lead over their city rivals, claiming a third successive title in the Russian women’s league.
Who will stop the kings of queens of Russia..?
