Russian league isn't shit but it sure as hell isn't a huge improvement from the Portuguese league

can't blame Hulk, Porto's chairman was clearly holding out for a bigger fee. I am more surprised about Wistel if he stayed at Benfica for a bit he would have found himself in Italy or Spain.

If hulk wants to eventually move to a top league he would have been better waiting at Porto and not signing a new deal. Now it'll be even longer until he can get in a top league because he's now playing for a mega rich club under a new contract and it's a club who obviously don't need money and will not sell him on the cheap.

Gotta say I don't believe this until it's official.

Art Morte wrote:Gotta say I don't believe this until it's official.

I agree, Hulk is worth at least 100m.

It's already official Art.

ColoJunior wrote:Russian league isn't shit but it sure as hell isn't a huge improvement from the Portuguese league

Anzhi, CKSA, Spartak, Zenit etc that isn't an improvement on a 2 team League?






EDIT: Oh and shite player. More concerned about Witsel ruining his career moving there. He should be starting for a Top 5 team.

Both of them should move to EPL.

Hulk would get exposed in the PL and it seems he's already acknowledged that by this move.

I reckon Zenit have a stronger team than Milan now should they get Witsel & Hulk finally decides to show up in the CL.


They should dominate their group with that team.

A lot of Milan players better than those imo.

Yohan Modric wrote:A lot of Milan players better than those imo.

You guys think of Milan as if their a mid table team.

Just a side step move for Witsel, he isnt losing anything. But it will be even tougher for teams to get him now, Zenit owners is a billionaire and wont sell for pennies.

and no, not a lot of milan players better than both lol, are there even any? i dont think so, would both walk in that eleven

Mr Nick09 wrote:Just a side step move for Witsel, he isnt losing anything. But it will be even tougher for teams to get him now, Zenit owners is a billionaire and wont sell for pennies.

and no, not a lot of milan players better than both lol, are there even any? i dont think so, would both walk in that eleven

i think he was talking about the team as a whole not just Witsel and Hulk.

Only one of Pazzini/Pato, De Jong & Montolivo would get into that Zenit team.

Gil wrote:Only one of Pazzini/Pato, De Jong & Montolivo would get into that Zenit team.

Denisov & Witsel >>>>>> De Jong

Rebaño Sagrado wrote:Can someone post a potential line-up for Zenit ?

Malafeev (very good keeper)

Cristico (Italy) Bruno Alves (Portugal) Anyukov(Plays for Russia

Zyryanov (plays for Russia) Danny (Potugal/Awesome when fit) Bystrov (Russia/Can score from midfield. Denisov(one of best players at the last Euros) Witsel (If transfer goes through)

Hulk (you know him) Kerzhakov (top scorer in Russia and voted best russian player in 2010)


This is a very rough outline but as you can see the stars on there team would be Denisov who is an up and coming superstar as you saw at the Euros. Danny From Portugal has been very good for a long time but moved and took the money a while ago, still plays for Portugal when healthy. Malafeev is a very good keeper and Cristico is a good defender not to mention Bruno Alves is awesome and he and Pepe form one of the best international DM pairings in the world.

Kerzhakov is the top scorer in the russian league all though they have a funky calendar this year but was voted best Russian player in 2010. The rest play for the Russian national team.

And then you throw in Hulk and Witsel and you have a very scary team especially trying to play them in the Russian winter.

do or die for milan tbh

Oh great someone already did the whole Zenit team thing. My bad I started two hours ago and had to go do something and then finished when I got back.

I think we got all of the same players pretty much though.

Danny is back?

I still think Witsel will end up at a big team, just that whoever will get him has to pay a lot more because Zenit have loads of money. Used to think we should get the guy but I really doubt we will now, considering how much this'll probably cost. If we're getting a midfielder in the near future we'll probably go for someone like Fellaini who should turn out much cheaper....

Milan's group just got more interesting though.

Also Hulk vs. Eto'o in the Russian League

Malaga and Zenit to walk the group tbh.

with witsel and hulk they can make some serious moves in CL. would not surprise me if they topped their group

halamadrid2 wrote:Thiago Silva played for Zenit before he moved to Milan, so maybe its just a stepping stone

@Firenze, no its not its quite a good league

No he didn't!!! He played for Dynamo Moscow (didn't even play though, he was injured the whole time).

Zenit was going to make out of that group even without hulk and Witsel. Going to St. Petersburg in the winter and trying to get a point from Zenit is like selling ice to Eskimos (impossible )

I think they were signed after the September 3 deadline for the CL and therefore will be unable to play in the group stages of the competition.

"It's now official. Both players had signed five-year deals," Zenit spokesman Dmitry Tsimmerman was reported as saying by Rueters.

"We were trying to sign them before the September 3 deadline for the Champions League so they can play for us in that competition as well as the Russian league."

To say the RPL is no stronger than Liga Sagres is rather incorrect. Whereas you can say Liga Sagres has Porto, Benfica, Sporting and Braga, The RPL has Zenit, Anzhi, Spartak Moscow, CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, and Rubin Kazan.....while only Zenit stands alone as the elite side out of this group, this league is by no means weak nor is it worse than Liga Sagres, that's a misconception built upon by people who simple don't watch this league.

I myself rarely watch the league, but when I have seen these Russian sides in action in Europe, they've looked quite good and have rarely been hided by their more illustrious opponents. There's a reason why everyone grumbles about their clubs having to take trips to Russia. People are quick to forget that it was Zenit who beat Rangers to win the UEFA up and then Man United in the Super Cup as well.

So I think Hulk and Witsel joining this side only increases their reputation and sends out a signal that they want to be considered among Europe's elite. And considering how dominant they are in the RPL and how consistent they've been in Europe, they're on the right track with signings like this. I personally like this move quite a bit.

Why couldn't they take andrei