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Today, the Russian Championship kicks off with two matches. Although the opening of the football season took place a week ago in Moscow, where the country's champion "CSKA" defeated the "Spartak" team in the Super Cup, the real challenge for the "army men" begins now - in the 15th season of the "Premier" league, they will have to overcome strong competition and defend the title of last year's champions. Having attracted new sponsors, "CSKA" spent the off-season mostly on maintaining the team and added only one prominent player, rising Brazilian football star Jo. The forward, who arrived from "Corinthians," made an impressive debut - his goal in the Super Cup match nearing the end decided the victory for "CSKA." The country's vice-champion, Moscow's "Spartak," was also quite restrained in the transfer market, preparing for a return to the Champions League of the 2006/07 season by bringing back Romanian Gabriel Tamas from Bucharest's "Dinamo" after the sale of defender Nemanja Vidic to "Man Utd." "Spartak's" defense will also be strengthened by the Austrian Martin Stranzl coming from "Stuttgart," and the team's attacking capabilities will be increased by the arrival of Dutch Quincy Owusu-Abeyie from "Arsenal." After a disappointing end to the last season, St. Petersburg's "Zenit" failed to secure a spot in European tournaments for the next season. Although Vlastimil Petržela's UEFA Cup team is currently performing successfully, injuries and disqualifications can hinder the team's ability to compete with the leaders. The only purchase made by the club during the off-season is the Korean Young-Min Hyun. Moscow's "Dinamo" had the most work to do in winter. After last year's "Portuguese" fiasco, the ambitious club decided to rely more on local players - with Yuri Semin taking over as the team's coach, the team added Russian national team goalkeeper Sergei Ovchinnikov and midfielders Igor Semshov and Aleksei Smertin. In addition, "Dinamo" strengthened its legionnaires' ranks with Jean Nart and Andres Mendoza. After relinquishing the first place to "CSKA" at the end of the last season, "Lokomotiv" also underwent significant changes. Serbian Slavoljub Muslin was appointed as the team's coach, and several promising foreigners joined the team - such players as Scottish national team forward Garry O'Connor and the 18-year-old Brazilian prodigy Celsinho, dubbed the new Ronaldinho. Making foreign acquisitions, the Moscow region's "Saturn" club also spent money, appointing Vladimir Weiss, previously of "Artmedia," as the head coach and strengthening the team with such talents as Finnish national team forward Aleksei Jeromenko, Serbian and Montenegrin national team midfielder Simon Vukcevic, and Lithuanian national team defender Edgaras Cesnauskis. Another Moscow club, "Moskva," which starts the championship today against Perm's "Amkar," brought back national team defender Sergei Semak and added "Saturn" player Pavel Bystrov. Meanwhile, Tatarstan giant Kazan's "Rubin" practically did not strengthen during the off-season, but this season will again aim to secure a place in a European tournament. As for the weaker teams, the new acquisition of Moscow's "Torpedo," Lubomir Kantonistovas, will have the difficult task of trying to replace I. Semshov, who moved to "Dinamo." His first opportunity to prove himself will be today's match against Tomsk's "Tom," which also has some ambitions as shown by the strengthening with national team candidates Pavel Pogrebnyak and Aleksey Bugayev. Escaping bankruptcy in 2005, Samara's "Krylya Sovetov" will likely aim to simply secure a place in the middle of the tournament table this season, while "Amkar," "Rostov," and newcomers in the competition Nalchik's "Spartak" and Vladivostok's "Luch-Energia" face a tough battle for survival in the top league. However, Lithuanian football fans are undoubtedly most interested in how the Lithuanians playing in this league are doing. In 2005, there were 15 Lithuanians registered in the "Premier" league clubs, but this season there will be significantly fewer. This is because many have moved to teams in other countries, and the only newcomer among the Lithuanians in the championship will be Edgaras Cesnauskis representing the "Saturn" team. Lithuanians in the Russian "Premier" League "CSKA" - Deividas Šemberas "Dinamo" - Žydrūnas Karčemarskas "Spartak" - Ignas Dedura "Rubin" - Orestas Buitkus "Tom" - Andrius Skerla "Krylya Sovetov" - Evaldas Raziulis "Zenit" - Robertas Poškus, Egidijus Majus "Saturn" - Rolandas Džiaukštas, Edgaras Česnauskis
