Search: ' Savo Milosevic'

Russia has surprise new champions, from the Islamic region of Tatarstan. James Appell reports on Rubin Kazan's year of glory

When the Russian championship entered its mid-season break in May after 11 rounds, the unheralded Rubin Kazan sat atop the table. Rubin had taken many by surprise by winning their first seven matches, but few gave them any chance of remaining at the top once the season resumed in late July. In addition, during the break Rubin were rocked by the arrest of sporting director Rustem Saymanov, in connection with a triple murder committed in 1996. Then, straight after the restart, Rubin had five successive draws. The tide seemed to be turning.

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Next season the Bosnian league will finally include clubs from all parts of the fractured country. Nedim Hasic reports on the slow process of unification

Next season Bosnian football will be united for the first time since the war. After the Dayton peace agree­ment was signed in November 1995, Bosnia be­came the only country in the world with three different football leagues. The Premier League, organised by the Bosnian Football Federation (BFF), was recognised by UEFA and FIFA, while the Croat-controlled part of the country maintained its own tournament, as did the “ethnically cleansed” Bosnian Serb enclave, Re­publika Srpska.

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David Wangerin ponders John Gregory's departure from Villa Park – were Doug Ellis's tight purse strings to blame?

In February 1998 Aston Villa manager Brian Little was preparing to give a routine press con­ference about his plans and hopes for the rest of the season when he received an urgent phone call from chairman Doug Ellis. Little made his excuses to the reporters and disappeared, returning an hour or so later to say he had just resigned. Four years later, Aston Villa’s latest manager John Gregory is asked about relations with his notorious chairman. “Have I ever been tempted to walk away in frustration?” he is quoted as say­ing. “No, never. It’s a thing I’d never do.” Days later he walks away – apparently in frustration.

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Apparent misfits in the Premiership, more than a few imports have gone on to have perplexingly good careers elsewhere. We tracked down three of them, Gabriele Marcotti looking at Darko Kovacevic

If he hadn’t been run out of town after making just eight starts for Sheffield Wednesday, perhaps Darko Kovacevic might have earned himself a funky nick­name in Yorkshire. Certainly, English fans tend to be a little more imaginative than their Spanish coun­ter­parts (“Golacevic”was the best Real Sociedad sup­porters could come up with). Perhaps he might have entered Sheffield lore as the “Darko Destroyer” – after all, he was Nigel Benn’s contemporary.

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What more is there to say about Stan Collymore? David Wangerin takes up the challenge and comes to the conclusion that he simply ended up in the wrong job

Should have, would have, could have. Dalian At­kinson springs to mind. All the tools you could want: strong, quick, good in the air, a nose for goal and al­ways capable of the extraordinary. Should have been an England regular, could have guided Aston Villa to a championship or two, would have been one of the top strikers the club has ever seen. Drag out the video of his wonder-goal at Selhurst Park in 1992, the one where he runs through the entire Wimbledon team and plants the ball in the net with such graceful nonchalance. Even the strains of Clive Tyldesley’s post facto commentary can’t re­move the lustre of such genius.

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