Gadzhi Gadzhiev Defends FC Anzhi Makhachkala's Signing of Eto'o

Gadzhi Gadzhiev, coach of the Dagestan-based FC Anzhi Makhachkala, defended club owner Suleiman Kerimov's decision to sign Samuel Eto'o and Roberto Carlos. Gadzhiev made his declarations in an interview with UEFA about the club and its future.

Gadzhiev said that FC Anzhi Makhachkala looks for players with personal qualities as well as football skills. Gadzhiev continued to defend the organization, stating that the club had not made mistakes when it signed their newest players.

Gadzhiev also talked about the future ambitions of FC Anzhi Makhachkala, with regards to the UEFA Europa League and the Russian Premier League. This has been a transformative year, allowing FC Anzhi Makhachkala to unexpectedly rise to its current position.

The first step for FC Anzhi Makhachkala is to make sure that its rise does not eventually spiral out of control. FC Anzha Makhachkala should also find ways to make the club, located in Dagestan, palatable to people who judge the club solely by the area it lives in.

As reported in the Jerusalem Post, Dagestan is the home of separatists, with gunmen responsible for the killing of one of the area's leaders. Russia is regularly a victim of violence and racism instigated by hooligans.

The three most notable examples of hooligan behavior was a person offering a banana to Roberto Carlos, a person throwing a banana at Carlos and the riots and disturbances during a match between Zenit St. Petersburg and FC Anzhi Makhachkala.