The partnership with Lokomotive Moscow that started in summer 2004 was prolonged in May 2005 for two more years. Beside of boardings in the stadion and the TV spot with brand ambasador and national goalkeeper (for Germany) Timo Hildebrand Continental Tires Russia is using this sponsorship to visit games together with tires dealers and journalists. From time to time Lokomotive players support Continentals activities at trade fairs and events like f. e. during the Moscow International Motor Show 2004.

Time is changing. In Russia’s powerful city, in the capital Moscow, the changes are particularly obvious in football. Earlier, Dynamo, Torpedo, Spartak and CSKA Moscow were the determining factors in football in the Soviet Union and, for a long period, in the new Russia as well.

But by 2002 at the latest, a new sputnik had appeared on the Russian football horizon. It goes by the name of Lokomotive Moscow. The football club was founded back in 1923 and its home is the Lok Stadium in Moscow with a capacity of 23,960

Re-formed in 1936 and 1990, it was given its present name, “FC Lokomotive Moscow”. The former “railwaymen” won the Russian title for the first time in 2002, and it was quite a surprise at the time. As title holders, they finished fourth in the following year. 

Then in November 2004, news agencies informed the world that the first title had not been just a one-off. “Lok Moscow have secured the Russian championship after a 2-0 win at Schinnik Jaroslawl. The goals came from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov und Dmitri Sychev. Although favourites CSKA Moscow – the defending champions and Champions League team – won 4-1 away at FK Moscow, they had to concede the title to the new champions.”

Coming out on top against local rivals and former army club CSKA was a tremendous success for Lok Moscow, who ended up one point ahead of the league’s most expensive team. After the political upheavals, Lok and their President Valeri Filatov had now firmly established themselves as the third force alongside Spartak Moscow and CSKA Moscow.

There had also been signs in the past that the previously slightly insignificant club now belonged to the elite. Lok integrated many talented Russian players into the club and provided the majority of the members of the Russian national team. At EURO 2004 five of the club’s players were in the team that beat Greece, the eventual European champions, in the group match.

Between the posts was the man with the pony tail: known by the rest of the team as the “Boss”, Serge Ovchinnikov, had already appeared in goal for FC Porto. Defenders Vadim Evseev and Dmitri Sennikov were in action at the back. Vadim is a product of the club’s own youth team. Having previously played for CSKA, Jaroslavl and Kasan, Dmitri signed for Lok from Petersburg in 2000 and played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup™. Dmitri Loskov operated in the middle of the park. Lokomotive brought him to the Russian capital back in from FC Rostselmash Rostov on the Don in 1977.

Loskov played an important role in the team that reached the semifinals of the Winner’s Cup in 1997/98 and 1998/99. Loskov was Russia’s leading goalscorer in 2000 and scored the decisive goal for Lok in the championship play-off against CSKA Moscow in 2002/3.

Up front, Dmitri Sychev was also a member of the European Championship team. He is considered to be one of the most talented forwards in Russia since Vladimir Beschastnykh. At the age of 18 years and 222 days, he became the youngest player to ever play for Russia in the FIFA World Cup™ at the tournament in Japan and South Korea in 2002.

Team coach Yuri Semine was a striker himself but played for the local rivals Dynamo with whom he won the cup in 1970. He joined Lok from Pamir Duschanbe in 1986 and went on to finally take the championship after coming second on three occasions. His meticulousness paid off. Not only for the club team but also for the national team which includes three members - Izmailov, Sychev and Loskov – of the championship winning team. In the meantime, Russia are heading for Germany and the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.