Guus Hiddink announced on Saturday plans to step down as manager of the Russian national team when his contract runs out at the end of June.
It was news many people were expecting, given the country’s failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and the Russian Football Federation’s difficulty in paying Hiddink’s annual $10.2 million [...]

Leg one in Moscow showed Russia to be superior to Slovenia but perfectly capable of losing. However you wish to look at the 2-1 Saturday win, Russia is now a 1-0 loss away from missing out on South Africa, and going up against one of the best defending teams in the region, the result [...]

CSKA Moscow has seen its domestic season become derailed amidst coaching staff turmoil, now on their third coach in two months. From the club’s perspective, no season where they fail to challenge for a league title can be considered a success. Nine points behind second place Spartak Moscow going into Sunday’s match with Rubin [...]

It is not often that you get a chance to knock a king off his throne. If the international footballing landscape had monarchs, the Germans would be one.1
The country has won three World Cups, finished second four times, and placed third three additional times. In their sixteen appearances in football’s ultimate event, they [...]

At some point, we need to stop asking how good Rubin Kazan are and start wondering how good they can get. After today’s 5-1 over FC Saturn Moscow Oblast, Rubin has outscored their opponents 20-2 in their last six matches. Beyond the staggering goal differential, we’re starting to see the signs – good [...]

Chris Riordan writes for Russian Football Now, which will regularly be updating World Soccer Reader on Russian football. He wrote the following article summarizing Sunday’s match between league-leading Rubin Kazan and second place Spartak Moscow (or Moskva, as it’s pronounced and spelled in Russian).
The number three played a significant role in today’s epic Russian [...]