LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW (Lokomotiv Stadium)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE,
LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW 0-1 SCHALKE 04, ATTENDANCE: 21,471

Wednesday was a dedicated football day involving a double header and plenty of beer. What could possibly go wrong?

First port of call though was a visit to Lenin's mausoleum. The former Soviet leader's embalmed body has been on display since his death in 1924. There were plenty of people queueing and it took 40 minutes before I finally entered the tomb. It was a surreal experience.

From there I headed on the red-line metro from Okhotny Ryad but today it was in the opposite direction to the Luzhniki Stadium. Cherkizovskaya is the nearest stop to the Lokomotiv Stadium though my first game of the day was at the adjacent Sapsan Arena, which is also home to Lokomotiv's farm club FC Kazanka, who play in the third tier of Russian football.

The game was the respective youth fixture between Lokomotiv and Schalke. Entrance was free but there was no paper available. The match somehow finished goalless, as the Germans squandered numerous chances. It was an entertaining game to watch nonetheless.

The weather was appalling today as the rain lashed down. It didn't help that the roof in the small section of the stand that you were allowed to sit in was leaking so some of the available seats were drenched. I just about managed to keep myself dry. 

After the youth game, I had about 3 hours to kill, so I Headed back into town for a few light ales before the main event. The main event in question tonight was the Russian Champions Lokomotiv Moscow against German giants Schalke 04. 

the RULE Taproom. a welcome revisit.

The famous Lokomotiv train outside the RZD Arena

Lokomotiv were famously described as Moscow's fifth wheel as, during the Soviet era, Dynamo, Spartak, CSKA and Torpedo all won the Soviet title, the Railwaymen never did better than a second-placed finish and a couple of cup wins.

Lokomotiv were originally founded in 1922 as Kazanka Moscow, where they brought together the best footballing railway workers. In 1936 the club changed their name to Lokomotiv and won the Soviet Cup.

In the post soviet era though Lokomotiv have been a major force winning the  Russian Premier League in 2002, 2004 and 2018 as well as the Russian Cup in 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2015 and 2017. The majority of this success has been under the management of Yuri Semin, who returned to the coach the team in 2016 after initially being in charge from 1986 to 1990 and then 1992 to 2005. The club is also backed financially by RZD (hence the sponsored name of the stadium) which is a subsidiary company of the Russian state railway.

The Lokomotiv Stadium was built between 2000 and 2002 and is on the site of the original Stalinest Stadium which was opened in 1935. The ground missed out on selection for the World Cup due to not meeting FIFA's capacity criteria as it only holds 28,000. I say only holds 28,000 but that is more than enough for Lokomotiv's needs as in 2017/18 their average gate was around 12,500.

There were no problems obtaining a ticket for tonight's game as they were easily available online and printed at home.

The game though was an absolutely turgid affair. In mitigation the rain that had battered the capital all day didn't let up during the game and it meant that English referee Anthony Taylor had a pretty easy night.

Weston McKennie, whose name sounds like he is from Scotland but is actually an American from Texas, headed home in the 88th minute to give 'Die Königsblauen' the victory. The German fans in the corner celebrated as Schalke got their first win in this seasons Champions League but for Lokomotiv that is two defeats in their opening two games.

After sitting through that game I was in desperate need of another beer and fortunately Parka, not far from my hotel, was on hand to see me well into the wee small hours. Yра!