Beschastnykh makes surprise move
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Article summary
Russia striker Vladimir Beschastnykh has returned home to join first division club FC Kuban Krasnodar.
Article body
Russia striker Vladimir Beschastnykh has joined Russian first division club FC Kuban Krasnodar from Fenerbahçe SK.
Record holder
The 29-year-old Beschastnykh, who holds the record for most goals scored for the Russian national team, with 26 in 71 appearances, had been in negotiations with various Premier-Liga clubs, but instead chose to join Kuban, thus becoming the highest-profile signing in Russian first division history.
'Lucky to have him'
Beschastnykh has signed a two-and-a-half year contract. Kuban's general director, Vladimir Podobedov, said: "We still have not seen Beschastnykh play recently but the class of this player is known to everyone in Europe and for us securing his signature was more important than evaluating his fitness. We are lucky to have signed such a player."
Promotion hopes
Kuban are chasing promotion to the top flight and currently lie third in the first division. Beschastnykh said: "There is no guarantee that my new club will win promotion, the competition is very tough. But I will do my utmost to help Kuban win a place in the Premier-Liga. I have not been training for a long time now, and my fitness is far from its best. But I will be back in form shortly."
