Russian Premier League Opens Fan Voting for Best Players and Coach Awards; Winners to be Announced May 26

The Russian Premier League (RPL) has announced the start of fan voting for the best players and coach of the season awards. The list of candidates for the best player award includes 32 nominees, such as Srdjan Babic, Alexander Maksimenko, and Danil Prutsev from Spartak Moscow; Konstantin Tyukavin, Bitello, and Diego Laxalt from Dynamo Moscow; Igor Akinfeev, Fedor Chalov, Ivan Oblyakov, and Abbasbek Fayzulayev from CSKA Moscow; Maxim Glushenkov, Nair Tiknizyan, and Ilya Lantaratov from Lokomotiv Moscow; Claudinho, Wendel, Matteo Cassiera, Douglas Santos, and Wilmar Barrios from Zenit Saint Petersburg; John Cordoba, Eduard Spertsyan, Matvey Safonov, and Junior Alonso from Krasnodar; Mohammad Mohibbi, Danil Glebov, Maxim Osipenko, and Yegor Golenkov from Rostov; Benjamin Garre and Nikita Saltykov from Krylia Sovetov; Irakli Kvekveskiri from Fakel; Yevgeny Latyshonok from Baltika; Mirlind Daku from Rubin; and Brian Mansilla from Orenburg.



For the best coach award, the contenders are Vladimir Ivich (formerly of Krasnodar), Sergey Semak from Zenit, Igor Gerasikin from Krylia Sovetov, Marcel Lichka from Dynamo, Rashid Rakhimov from Rubin, and Valery Karpin from Rostov. After the fan voting, which will conclude on May 13, the list of candidates for the best player award will be narrowed down to 10, while in other categories such as best forward, midfielder, defender, goalkeeper, goal scorer, and assist provider, there will be three nominees each. The winners will be selected by a commission consisting of coaches and team captains, Match TV experts, renowned footballers, league officials, and sponsor companies. The awards ceremony is scheduled for May 26. Last season, the best player was Brazilian Malcom from Zenit, and the best coach was Vladimir Fedotov from CSKA.