We got into the top twenty: how CSKA celebrated the 20th anniversary of winning the UEFA Cup

In the FONBET gala match, the First European Cup in honor of the 20th anniversary of the victory in the UEFA Cup defeated the national team of European clubs with a score of 5:1. The hat-trick was scored by 40-year-old Brazilian striker Wagner Love, who became the main character of the meeting. Alan Dzagoev and Milos Krasic each scored one goal for the Army. The legendary Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba scored a prestige goal for the guests. The match was remembered not only for the beautiful goals, but also for the interesting ideas from the organizers. About how it was — in the material of Izvestia.

Duels, familiar faces and Wagner's cap

Exactly 20 years ago, on May 18, 2005, CSKA beat Sporting 3-1 and took the first European Cup trophy among Russian clubs. On this occasion, the army decided to hold a gala match with the world stars who played against them in that draw.

The match promised to be spectacular: Akinfeev vs. Drogba, Carvalho vs. Makelele's pressure, Zhirkov vs. Nani. Although it was a friendly game, the number of award-winning players who were used to winning hinted that the fight would go on until the very end.

The gala match is not only a show, but also a reference to the tactics of 2005. Then Valery Gazzaev played 3-5-2 with an emphasis on the flanks and Carvalho's creativity. Everything happened again that evening. The all-star team, unexpectedly led by Alexander Mostovoy, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Makelele in the support zone and Drogba on the edge.

The match started with an interesting moment: immediately after the kickoff, an inaccurate Odia pass went off, after which the ball flew out of the field. As it turned out, it was a planned mistake by Laizans — the Nigerian was greeted with applause, and Krasic came out instead.

The Serb brilliantly entered the game and created the first dangerous moment, which turned into a goal. Ignashevich made a great diagonal pass to Milos, who swept down the flank and sent a pass to the 11-meter mark to Dzagoev, who neatly outplayed Cudicini. It is worth noting the actions of Wagner, who competently led the defenders away, freeing up the area for Alan.

The speeds weren't the fastest, but the game really looked good. Moreover, no one expected any kind of super intensity, yet such shows are arranged for the sake of emotions and celebration.

CSKA had the initiative for most of the half, and it was no surprise that Gazzaev's team scored the second goal. Tosic's cross turned out to be gorgeous in accuracy, but what a Wagner! The Brazilian, as in his youth, detached himself from his guardians, got off the ground and sent the ball into the net in a jump. Well, where can there be without the legendary celebration? The striker put on a cap, just like 20 years ago in a meeting with Auxerre.

At the same time, the team of stars looked interesting. The danger first at the gates of Akinfeev, and then Gabulov, was created on a regular basis. The Fernandes—Nani—Drogba trio stood out in particular. The legendary Ivorian almost managed to escape from the center of the field one-on-one, but he was stopped by Vasily Berezutsky at the cost of injury. The defender was immediately replaced and smilingly stated in an interview with Match TV that he had "torn up" after running for Didier.

Nevertheless, the former Chelsea striker still got his way, scoring after Nani's cross. The Portuguese, by the way, looked very decent in the first half — he gave not only movement, but also beauty.

"It's always a great pleasure to come here,— Didier Drogba told Izvestia. — I'll be happy to come again! That's great. The CSKA fans were rooting for the team beautifully, it's cool!

Nababkin, Krasich and Gazzaev

After the break, CSKA was much more active. Largely due to the connections of Nababkin, who participated in all the scoring attacks. First, Kirill brought Wagner to a rendezvous with goalkeeper Frey, who replaced Cudicini. Naturally, the Brazilian calmly figured it out and drove the ball into an empty net.

And in the very next attack, Kirill crept along the edge and served on Dzagoev. Alan failed to score, but Krasic was on time to finish, winning the fight against Yepes.

But Wagner shone the brightest this evening, scoring a hat-trick. It was amazing how easily, effortlessly, he did it. It's like it hasn't been 20 years.

In the second half of the match, the Army team's opponents were tired not only physically, but also mentally. Nani was running around the entire perimeter of the attack, but it was difficult for him to come up with anything alone, and the Moscow team's defense got used to Drogba's game.

"I'm proud of Ovechkin's record as a simple Russian peasant"

Eight—time champion of Russia Oleg Romantsev - about who doesn't like the strong, about Zenit and possible matches of the national team on neutral fields

The final 5:1 is a very confident victory for CSKA 2005 under Gazzaev's leadership. The result is pleasant for the Russian team, but this is the case when the main thing is something else — a holiday that the players gave to the fans. Thanks to their performance, many people plunged into a warm atmosphere of nostalgia this evening.

"We are grateful to all the guys who responded and came to Moscow," Roman Babaev, CSKA's general director, told Izvestia. — Because it was definitely not the kind of money that could not be refused. Rather, they were interested in participating in this event, well, and making some money. The approximate budget for the entire event is 100 million rubles, but we earned more.

Babayev noted that the club plans to hold similar events before the return of the European Cup. The next one will be a Fraternal Cup with Partizan and Dynamo.