Rostov Sports in 2016: Historic Bayern Win and Rio Gold
It«s now fashionable to reminisce about 2016. The editorial team at 161.RU is following the trend. We»ve already recalled what Don region stars were like ten years ago. Now we«re nostalgic about sporting events: from Rostov»s play in the Champions League to the Olympic gold won by handball players.
Silver and Victory Over Bayern
It was the best year in the history of FC Rostov. In the spring, Kurban Berdyev«s team came within a step of the championship, finishing two points behind leaders CSKA Moscow. The gold medals could very well have gone to Rostov-on-Don if a Rubin Kazan player hadn»t fouled Igor Akinfeev in the final minutes of the last round match.
Second place in the Russian Premier League (RPL) gave Rostov a ticket to the Champions League. In the qualifiers, the yellow-and-blues first passed Anderlecht, then met Ajax. In Amsterdam, the game ended 1:1, while in Rostov, the yellow-and-blues crushed them 4:1.
In the group stage, Rostov found themselves in the company of Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSV. In November, the yellow-and-blues achieved the biggest victory in their history. At the Olimp-2 stadium, they defeated Munich«s Bayern 3:2.
In the group, the yellow-and-blues finished third and advanced to the spring stage of the Europa League, where they met Sparta Prague and Manchester United.
Missed the Championship but Gained a Star
The regular season of the 2015/16 Russian Championship saw HC Rostov-Don go undefeated, winning 20 matches out of 20. Such a brisk start didn«t allow the Rostov women to win the gold medals.
In the final, Rostov-Don lost to Astrakhanochka under Yevgeny Trefilov (20:21; 26:28). The main star for the opponents was Anna Vyakhireva — in the summer, one of the world«s best handball players changed her registration to Rostov-on-Don.
Rostov-Don didn«t end 2016 without trophies. As it happened, in all the finals, their opponents were the handball players of Astrakhanochka. In May, Rostov-Don won the Russian Cup, defeating them 24:21, and in September, in the Super Cup, they took revenge for the championship defeat — 34:23.
Conquered Rio
The Summer Olympics took place in Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil, Don region athletes performed quite successfully. Rostov native Vlada Chigireva won a gold medal in synchronized swimming.
In the handball tournament, the Russian women«s national team won gold medals. In a dramatic semifinal, Norway was defeated (38:37), and in the final, the Russians were stronger than the French (22:19). The Russian national team included six players from Rostov-Don: Vladlena Bobrovnikova, Yekaterina Ilyina, Anna Sedoykina, Maria Petrova, Anna Sen, and Marina Sudakova.
A product of the Don swimming school, Yulia Efimova, won two silver medals in Rio: in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events.
Gold Went to Tambov
In the 2015/16 season, the «Condors» played in the country«s third strongest league — the VHL-B. Rostov almost repeated the handball team»s path. The Rostovites won the regular season, but lost in the playoff final. The real kryptonite for the Condors was Tambov. In the final series, the «Wolves» won 4-1.
Lost Novocherkassk
The third strongest football league was then called the PFL championship and was divided into groups on a geographical basis. In the «south» zone, there were two Don teams: Rostov«s SKA and Novocherkassk»s Mitos.
The «army men,» who played home matches in Bataysk, finished sixth. Mitos became 12th and then announced its dissolution.
