Former Rostov defender Dyakov recalls 'closing down' Anzhi

Former Rostov defender Vitaly Dyakov has revealed how he helped bring about the downfall of star-studded Anzhi in 2013.

Vitaly Dyakov was born on 31 January 1989 in Krasnodar. A product of Moscow«s Lokomotiv academy, he moved to Rostov in 2012. With the Rostov team, he won the Russian Cup in the 2013/2014 season. He played for the yellow-and-blues until the summer of 2015. After that, he played for Moscow»s Dynamo, Tom Tomsk, Turkish side Sivasspor, Dinamo Minsk, and Spartak-2.

«The toughest opponent was Lassana Diarra. The first time I played against him was when he was at Anzhi. He was a player of cosmic level. He did everything so quickly and intelligently when he had the ball. Really out of this world.»

«We caught that time, the late 2000s and early 2010s, when Russia had the strongest foreign players and the Russian Premier League was at its peak. Even that Anzhi side: Eto»o, Willian, Diarra.«

«We beat Anzhi with Rostov, and after that game they started selling off their players. Essentially, I closed down Anzhi. And I closed down Dynamo (laughs). And I also covered up FC Money from the Media League, then we sold it all together. I have rich life experience,» Dyakov admitted on Anatoly Katrich«s YouTube channel.

On 2 August 2013, Rostov beat Anzhi 1:0 in Makhachkala. After that, the Dagestan-based club announced a change of course, sold off its stars and bet on youth.