# 2012–13 Russian Premier League

The 2012–13 Russian Premier League (also written as SOGAZ RFPL for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st season of the Russian football championship since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and 11th under the current Russian Premier League name. It began on 21 July 2012 and ended on 26 May 2013, with a winter break between the weekends around 13 December 2012 and 10 March 2013.
16 teams from 12 cities compete in the season, with Zenit St. Petersburg as defending champions. For the first time since 2005, no Siberian clubs take part.
This was the first season in Russian football history to be played on the basis of the autumn/spring calendar, rather than the spring/autumn schedule traditionally used in Russia due to climate conditions.
A total of sixteen teams participate in the league, the best fourteen sides of the 2011–12 season and two promoted clubs from the 2011–12 National Football League.

## Teams

The following teams are mathematically confirmed to compete in the 2012–13 season:
* Alania Vladikavkaz (promoted from the National League)
* Amkar Perm
* Anzhi Makhachkala
* CSKA Moscow
* Dynamo Moscow
* FC Krasnodar
* Krylia Sovetov Samara
* Kuban Krasnodar
* Lokomotiv Moscow
* Mordovia Saransk (promoted from the National League)
* FC Rostov
* Rubin Kazan
* Spartak Moscow
* Terek Grozny
* Volga Nizhny Novgorod
* Zenit St. Petersburg
Tom Tomsk and Spartak Nalchik were relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season after finishing the season in the bottom two places. Both teams returned to the First Division after respectively seven and six seasons in top level.
The relegated teams were replaced by 2011–12 First Division champions Mordovia Saransk and runners-up Alania Vladikavkaz. Former Russian champions Alania made their immediate return to the Premier League, while Mordovia are playing their first season at the highest football level of Russia.

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Location | Head Coach | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Alania | Vladikavkaz | Valeri Gazzaev | Taras Tsarikayev | Umbro | RusHydro |
| Amkar | Perm | Rustem Khuzin | Dmitri Belorukov | Puma | Perm Krai |
| Anzhi | Makhachkala | Guus Hiddink | Samuel Eto'o | adidas | Podari Zhizn |
| CSKA | Moscow | Leonid Slutsky | Igor Akinfeev | adidas | Aeroflot |
| Dynamo | Moscow | Dan Petrescu | Leandro Fernández | adidas | VTB |
| Krasnodar | Krasnodar | Slavoljub Muslin | Alyaksandr Martynovich | Kappa | Home Credit Bank |
| Krylia Sovetov | Samara | Gadzhi Gadzhiyev | Ivan Taranov | Umbro | Samara Oblast |
| Kuban | Krasnodar | Leonid Kuchuk | Vladislav Kulik | Nike | RGMK |
| Lokomotiv | Moscow | Slaven Bilić | Guilherme | Puma | RZD |
| Mordovia | Saransk | Dorinel Munteanu | Evgeni Aldonin | adidas | MAGMA |
| Rostov | Rostov-on-Don | Miodrag Božović | Stipe Pletikosa | Joma | Rostov Oblast |
| Rubin | Kazan | Kurban Berdyev | Gökdeniz Karadeniz | Umbro | TAIF |
| Spartak | Moscow | Valeri Karpin | Sergei Parshivlyuk | Nike | Lukoil |
| Terek | Grozny | Yuri Krasnozhan | Rizvan Utsiyev | adidas | AK |
| Volga | Nizhny Novgorod | Yuriy Kalitvintsev | Ruslan Adzhindzhal | Puma | MRSK Center and Volga Region |
| Zenit | St. Petersburg | Luciano Spalletti | Roman Shirokov | Nike | Gazprom |
* ^ On the back of number.

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Table | Incoming | Date | Table |
| Lokomotiv | José Couceiro | Contract expired | 14 May 2012 | Pre-season | Slaven Bilić | 14 May 2012 | Pre-season |
| Volga | Dmitri Cheryshev | Sacked | 7 June 2012 | Pre-season | Gadzhi Gadzhiyev | 7 June 2012 | Pre-season |
| Spartak | Valery Karpin | Resigned | 10 June 2012 | Pre-season | Unai Emery | 10 June 2012 | Pre-season |
| Amkar | Miodrag Božović | Resigned | 11 June 2012 | Pre-season | Rustem Khuzin | 11 June 2012 | Pre-season |
| Rostov | Anatoly Baidachny | Sacked | 11 June 2012 | Pre-season | Miodrag Božović | 11 June 2012 | Pre-season |
| Dynamo | Sergei Silkin | Resigned | 6 August 2012 | 16th | Dmitri Khokhlov (caretaker) | 6 August 2012 | 16th |
| Kuban | Dan Petrescu | Resigned | 14 August 2012 | 8th | Yuri Krasnozhan | 16 August 2012 | 8th |
| Dynamo | Dmitri Khokhlov (caretaker) | Caretaker spell over | 17 August 2012 | 16th | Dan Petrescu | 17 August 2012 | 16th |
| Alania | Vladimir Gazzayev | Resigned | 14 November 2012 | 15th | Valery Gazzaev | 14 November 2012 | 15th |
| Krylia Sovetov | Andrey Kobelev | Resigned | 15 November 2012 | 12th | Aleksandr Tsygankov (caretaker) | 15 November 2012 | 12th |
| Mordovia | Fyodor Shcherbachenko | Mutual agreement | 19 November 2012 | 16th | Vladimir Bibikov (caretaker) | 19 November 2012 | 16th |
| Spartak | Unai Emery | Sacked | 25 November 2012 | 7th | Valery Karpin (caretaker; from 13 Dec 2012 – permanent) | 26 November 2012 | 7th |
| Mordovia | Vladimir Bibikov (caretaker) | Caretaker spell over | 28 December 2012 | 16th | Dorinel Munteanu | 28 December 2012 | 16th |
| Kuban | Yuri Krasnozhan | Sacked | 8 January 2013 | 4th | Leonid Kuchuk | 9 January 2013 | 4th |
| Volga | Gadzhi Gadzhiev | Resigned | 19 January 2013 | 13th | Yuriy Kalitvintsev | 19 January 2013 | 13th |
| Krylia Sovetov | Aleksandr Tsygankov (caretaker) | Caretaker spell over | 27 January 2013 | 14th | Gadzhi Gadzhiyev | 27 January 2013 | 14th |
| Terek | Stanislav Cherchesov | Contract expired | 26 May 2013 | 8th | Yuri Krasnozhan | 26 May 2013 | 8th |
Last updated: 26 May 2013

## Tournament format and regulations
### Basics

The 16 teams played a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams twice, once at home and once away. Thus, a total of 240 matches was played, with 30 matches played by each team.

### Promotion and relegation

The teams that finish 15th and 16th will be relegated to the FNL, while the top two FNL teams will be promoted to the Premier League for the 2013/14 season.
The 13th and 14th Premier League teams will play the 4th and 3rd FNL teams respectively in two playoff games with the winner securing a Premier League spot for 2013/14 (see paragraph 4.5.1 in the league regulations).

### Junior teams

According to long-standing practice, a tournament of junior teams will be held in parallel with the championship. The age limit for junior teams' players for this season is yet to be decided. Each club will be allowed to field no more than 3 field players and 1 goalkeeper older than the age limit.

### Foreign players

As of 4 July, a team will be allowed to have 7 foreign (non-Russian nationals) players on the pitch at the same time, unlike the previous season when the limit was 6 foreigners per team. The new rule will run until 2017.

## Season events
### Dynamo – Zenit game

On 17 November 2012, the game in which Dynamo Moscow was hosting Zenit St. Petersburg at Arena Khimki was abandoned at the 37th minute with Dynamo leading 1–0 through a free kick goal by Vladimir Granat when a firecracker thrown from the stands hit Dynamo goalkeeper Anton Shunin. Shunin was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with the chemical burns of his corneas and eyelids, conjunctivitis, and otitis of his right ear with partial loss of hearing. Dynamo insisted that the game should be awarded to them. Zenit's general director Mikhail Mitrofanov suggested that Zenit might drop out of the Russian league altogether if the game is awarded to Dynamo. According to the police, the main suspect is a female fan who was arrested after the game. The criminal investigation was opened on the charge of hooliganism. On 22 November, Russian Football Union's Control-Disciplinary Committee awarded the game to Dynamo with a score of 3–0 and fined both clubs. Dynamo had to play their next home game (against Rubin Kazan) behind closed doors and Zenit had to play their next 2 home games (against CSKA Moscow and Anzhi Makhachkala) behind closed doors as well. Yellow cards received by Bruno Alves and Roman Shirokov before the game was abandoned still count for disciplinary purposes. Shunin did not play in the remaining 3 games of 2012. Zenit only gained 2 points in their behind closed doors games, Dynamo won their behind closed doors game. Zenit filed an appeal for that decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which heard their case on 9 May 2013. The appeal was denied on 14 May 2013.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | CSKA Moscow (C) | 30 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 49 | 25 | +24 | 64 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Zenit St. Petersburg | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 53 | 25 | +28 | 62 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | Anzhi Makhachkala | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 45 | 34 | +11 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 4 | Spartak Moscow | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 51 | Qualification to Europa League play-off round |
| 5 | Kuban Krasnodar | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 48 | 28 | +20 | 51 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 6 | Rubin Kazan | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 39 | 27 | +12 | 50 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 7 | Dynamo Moscow | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 48 | |
| 8 | Terek Grozny | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 48 | |
| 9 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 43 | |
| 10 | Krasnodar | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 42 | |
| 11 | Amkar Perm | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 34 | 51 | −17 | 29 | |
| 12 | Volga Nizhny Novgorod | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 46 | −18 | 29 | |
| 13 | Rostov (O) | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 29 | Qualification for the Relegation play-offs |
| 14 | Krylia Sovetov Samara (O) | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 31 | 52 | −21 | 28 | Qualification for the Relegation play-offs |
| 15 | Mordovia Saransk (R) | 30 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 30 | 57 | −27 | 20 | Relegation to Football National League |
| 16 | Alania Vladikavkaz (R) | 30 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 53 | −27 | 19 | Relegation to Football National League |
* 1 2 Dynamo Moscow ahead of Terek Grozny on head-to-head points; Dynamo Moscow–Terek Grozny 1–2, Terek Grozny–Dynamo Moscow 1–2.
* 1 2 3 Amkar Perm ahead of Volga Nizhny Novgorod and Rostov on head-to-head points; Amkar Perm: 7 pts, Volga Nizhny Novgorod: 5 pts, Rostov: 4 pts.

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALA | AMK | ANZ | CSK | DYN | KRA | KRY | KUB | LOK | MOR | ROS | RUB | SPA | TER | VNN | ZEN |
| Alania Vladikavkaz | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 |
| Amkar Perm | 5–1 | | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 3–3 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| CSKA Moscow | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Krasnodar | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| Krylia Sovetov Samara | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Kuban Krasnodar | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 6–2 | 2–2 |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Mordovia Saransk | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–3 | | 3–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 |
| Rostov | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Rubin Kazan | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Spartak Moscow | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 |
| Terek Grozny | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 0–3 |
| Volga Nizhny Novgorod | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–2 |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | |

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

| # | Scorer | Goals | Team |
| 1 | Yura Movsisyan | 13 | Krasnodar/Spartak |
| 1 | Wánderson | 13 | Krasnodar |
| 2 | Lacina Traoré | 12 | Anzhi |
| 3 | Ahmed Musa | 11 | CSKA |
| 3 | Ruslan Mukhametshin | 11 | Mordovia |
| 4 | Samuel Eto'o | 10 | Anzhi |
| 4 | Aleksandr Kerzhakov | 10 | Zenit |
| 4 | Aleksandr Kokorin | 10 | Dynamo |
| 4 | Kevin Kurányi | 10 | Dynamo |
| 4 | Dame N'Doye | 10 | Lokomotiv |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Jan Holenda | Rostov | Alania | 3–1 | 25 August 2012 |
| Yura Movsisyan | Spartak | Terek | 3–1 | 10 March 2013 |
| Wánderson | Krasnodar | Anzhi | 4–0 | 31 March 2013 |
| Royston Drenthe | Alania | Mordovia | 3–1 | 15 April 2013 |
| Hulk | Zenit | Alania | 4–0 | 4 May 2013 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Premier League Manager of the Month | Premier League Manager of the Month | Premier League Player of the Month | Premier League Player of the Month | Reference |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club | Reference |
| August | | | Yura Movsisyan | Krasnodar | |
| September | | | Samuel Eto'o | Anzhi | |
| October | | | Aleksandr Kokorin | Dynamo | |
| November | | | Kevin Kurányi | Dynamo | |
| March | Kurban Berdyev | Rubin | Vágner Love | CSKA | |
| April | Kurban Berdyev | Rubin | Dmitri Kombarov | Spartak | |
| May | Leonid Slutsky | CSKA | Vágner Love | CSKA | |

### Top 33

On 11 June 2013 Russian Football Union named its list of 33 top players:

### Annual awards
#### Russian Manager of the Season

CSKA Moscow manager Leonid Slutsky, received the Russian Manager of the Season.

#### Russian Player of the Season

The Russian Player of the Season was awarded to Igor Akinfeev.

#### Russian Referee of the Season

The Russian Referee of the Season was awarded to Aleksandr Egorov.

### Attendances

Last updated: 26 May 2013

## Medal squads

(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)
* 1. PFC CSKA Moscow
* Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (29), Sergei Chepchugov (1)
* Defenders: Vasili Berezutski (29), Mário Fernandes (28), Sergei Ignashevich (28), Kirill Nababkin (19), Georgi Shchennikov (18), Aleksei Berezutski (5), Pyotr Ten (1).
* Midfielders: Rasmus Elm (26 / 5), Pontus Wernbloom (26 / 4), Zoran Tošić (25 / 3), Aleksandrs Cauņa (25 / 3), Alan Dzagoev (24 / 7), Keisuke Honda (23 / 7), Pavel Mamayev (19 / 1), Mark González (11), Sekou Oliseh (11), Ravil Netfullin (8).
* Forwards: Ahmed Musa (28 / 11), Vágner Love (9 / 5), Seydou Doumbia (7 / 3), Dmitri Yefremov (3), Tomáš Necid (1).
* Manager: Leonid Slutsky.
* Transferred out during the season: Sekou Oliseh (on loan to  PAOK).
* 2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg
* Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (26), Yegor Baburin (4), Yuri Zhevnov (2).
* Defenders: Tomáš Hubočan (24), Aleksandr Anyukov (22 / 1), Nicolas Lombaerts (22), Bruno Alves (21 / 1), Domenico Criscito (12 / 2), Renat Yanbayev (11 / 1), Luís Neto (9 / 1), Aleksandar Luković (9), Milan Rodić (4), Michael Lumb (1), Igor Cheminava (1).
* Midfielders: Konstantin Zyryanov (27 / 6), Roman Shirokov (25 / 5), Viktor Fayzulin (24 / 6), Vladimir Bystrov (24 / 3), Igor Denisov (23), Axel Witsel (19 / 4), Sergei Semak (16 / 2), Danny (12 / 2), Pavel Mogilevets (2), Alexey Yevseyev (1), Vyacheslav Zinkov (1), Danila Yashchuk (1).
* Forwards: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (23 / 10), Hulk (18 / 7), Aleksandr Bukharov (9 / 1), Maksim Kanunnikov (9 / 1), Luka Đorđević (7), Aleksei Gasilin (1).
* Manager: Luciano Spalletti.
* Transferred out during the season: Renat Yanbayev (end of loan from Lokomotiv Moscow), Maksim Kanunnikov (to Amkar Perm), Michael Lumb (to Bochum).
* 3. FC Anzhi Makhachkala
* Goalkeepers: Vladimir Gabulov (27), Yevgeny Pomazan (5).
* Defenders: João Carlos (25 / 2), Rasim Tagirbekov (22 / 2), Arseniy Logashov (19), Christopher Samba (17 / 2), Kamil Agalarov (14), Ali Gadzhibekov (8), Emir Spahić (7 / 1), Ewerton (7), Andrey Yeshchenko (2).
* Midfielders: Jucilei (27), Mbark Boussoufa (26 / 4), Oleg Shatov (24 / 3), Yuri Zhirkov (23 / 2), Mehdi Carcela (20 / 1), Odil Ahmedov (17 / 1), Lassana Diarra (14), Willian (7 / 1), Georgy Gabulov (7 / 1), Sharif Mukhammad (3), Aleksei Ivanov (1).
* Forwards: Samuel Eto'o (25 / 10), Lacina Traoré (24 / 12), Fyodor Smolov (15), Shamil Lakhiyalov (8), Serder Serderov (4), Nikita Burmistrov (4).
* Manager: Guus Hiddink.
* Transferred out during the season: Christopher Samba (to Queens Park Rangers), Shamil Lakhiyalov (to Krylia Sovetov Samara), Georgy Gabulov (to Alania Vladikavkaz), Nikita Burmistrov (on loan to Amkar Perm), Aleksei Ivanov (to Mordovia Saransk).