Who has had the worst streak in football lately?

Anzhi’s Ivorian striker Lacina Traore walks through the snow during a Europa League match against Hannover 96 in Germany on February 21, 2013. (Patrik Stollarz/AFP/Getty Images)

Now, here is a team that reflects the “investment gone wrong” ideology, with maybe a tad bit of raw flavor. It seems the consent is now complete that Anzhi Makhachkala has accurately messed up their credentials, especially after losing 5 Russian league games in a row. Yes, of all the top leagues in Europe, Anzhi along with a team called Elaz??spor (from the Turkish league) has managed to keep the streak of that dimension running. Fortunately, such is life.

Since, the days of surplus - the days of Samuel Eto’o’s massive contract, presenting Bugatti Veyron’s as gifts (in the case of Roberto Carlos), raking in miles between Moscow and Makhachkala to play a home game, and aggressively staging a transfer market melee over big names, are now undoubtedly relegated to the past. That’s ironical considering their current standing in the league table.

“It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.” Oscar Wilde once wrote in his short story – The Model Millionaire

Suleyman Kerimov, Anzhi’s benefactor since 2011, probably learned this the hard way, having gone through a tough time recently, dealing with lawsuits and financial disintegration of his business interests.

But on the positive side, Anzhi has remained somewhat true to its roots. Emphasis on the word, somewhat.

In the weekend game against Amkar Perm, Anzhi players were seen sporting t-shirts supporting Dagestan’s pride in the boxing arena, 32-yr-old Magomed Abdusalamov, who remains in critical condition after his recent loss against Cuba’s Mike Perez in New York.

And late last month, Anzhi successfully filed an objection with the Russian football association’s disciplinary committee after certain supporters of FC Kuban set the Dagestani flag alight. FC Kuban was fined $15,000 for this act.