Where are they now? The star-studded Anzhi side - Odil Akhmedov

Following Anzhi’s promotion to the Russian Premier League in 2010, a first for the Eagles, local billionaire Suleyman Kerimov purchased a 100 percent stake in the club and immediately injected the sort of funds only a few have the luxury of boasting.

The long game was out of the question for Kerimov; to herald the start of his reign, a wave of world-class names pitched up at this relatively unknown club. From Roberto Carlos to Samuel Eto’o, Anzhi went from minnows to major-league players overnight.

And it wasn’t just the team that got a millionaire makeover. The dugout also underwent a drastic overhaul, with former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink stepping into the equation and guiding the club to the Europa League Round of 16 in his first full season.

It was a first for the club, and an initial step toward the upper slopes of European football, where they would hope to establish themselves in years to come.

And then Alan Pardew came along…

Newcastle United stopped Anzhi in their tracks and the dream was quickly shattered. A 1-0 defeat on aggregate to the Magpies was perhaps not the primary factor in Anzhi’s ensuing capitulation, but it marked perhaps the last high point.

In August later that year, Anzhi’s £116m-a-season budget was slashed by two-thirds. A fire sale followed and the club finished dead last in the Russian top-flight the following season, bringing an end to Anzhi’s brief fling with the elite level.

Publicly, ‘sporting results’ were given as the motive behind this change in strategy, but it is also worth noting Kerimov’s business interests had just taken a hit, reducing his net worth by £325m.

It has been downhill ever since. A dramatic fall from grace, with Anzhi now competing in the third tier of football in Russia. But, let’s cast our minds back to the Yellow-Greens side that played Newcastle in that 2012/13 Europa League first-leg tie.

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Central midfield: Odil Ahmedov  

• Anzhi appearances: 110
• Current club: Shanghai SIPG

Having impressed for boyhood club Pakhtakor Tashkent in his native Uzbekistan, Ahmedov caught the attention of Anzhi, who acquired his services in 2011. In the ensuing fire sale, the Uzbek was kept on board despite interest from Arsenal, which was more than just paper talk according to Ahmedov himself.

“It’s true that Arsene Wenger wanted me to play for him,” Ahmedov told Shanghai-based newspaper Xinmin Evening News.

“However, Anzhi spent a huge amount of money at that time and our boss [Suleyman Kerimov] had no intention of selling me to make money.”

He did manage to find the escape hatch in 2014, joining Krasnodar before securing a bumper move to the Far East with Shanghai SIPG soon after.

Source: Squawka