Russian Revolution

2008 has been a great year for Russian football so far. After victory for Zenit St. Petersburg in the final of the UEFA Cup, everybody’s attention turned to the national team. The shambolic performance in the opening group game against Spain led many people to believe that Euro 2008 was one step too far for the inexperienced bunch of players. However, Guus Hiddink had the experience and know-how to rejuvenate his troops. Success over the Swedes will be followed by today’s encounter against the free-flowing Dutch. No matter what the result is, all of Europe has been forced to take notice of some tremendous individual displays in the tournament and there could be an exodus from Russia on the way.
The young goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev hasn’t really put a foot wrong so far and at 22, he has a lengthy career ahead of him. He has already been linked with Arsenal as they search for a replacement for outgoing Jens Lehmann and their North London rivals Spurs are also on the lookout for a new shot stopper. He has inevitably been compared to the great Lev Yashin but he needs to demonstrate his prowess regularly on the big stage before those comparisons can be confirmed.
The two full-back Yuri Zhirkov and Aleksandr Anyukov have been the most offensive in the competition. Their rampaging runs have been key to the Russian success and they create the chances as they bypass the usually narrow midfield.
Anyukov was one of the key members of the Zenit squad and played well in the final against Rangers. He usually performs as a wing-back but he has been given a more traditional right-back role in the tournament as Hiddink has reverted to a 4-4-2 system. This hasn’t subdued his attacking potential though and his service has helped Roman Pavlyuchenko to have the most shots on target of any player in the competition. Zhirkov’s displays have been much more surprising as he usually plays as an attacking left winger and has previously been dubbed the Russian Ronaldinho. Although he has often played as a left wing-back, many regular watchers doubted whether he could perform on the left side of a back four. However he has confounded the critics as well as sticking to his usual style. His constant forays into the opposition half have excited all viewers and his trickery has bamboozled defenders. Both players have been linked with moves to the Premiership but it appears that they will stay in Russia for one more season before they spread their wings.
Apart from the shocking performance against Villa and Torres, the centre-backs have been relatively solid but I don’t think many scouts will have been suitably impressed. The two that have recently been mentioned in the same breath as various Premiership clubs are the Berezutskiy twins but they were surprisingly omitted from the starting line up for the group games as the 4-4-2 system was used. The same could be said about the midfield which has slightly underperformed as a unit. Igor Semshov and Konstantin Zyrianov are over 30 and the Russian revival has probably come a bit too late for them to forge careers in one of the top European leagues whilst the captain Sergei Semak has already played outside Russia for a season with PSG. The three names that may well be on many shopping lists are Vladimir Bystrov, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Dmitri Torbinsky. Bystrov plays for Spartak Moscow and is recognised as one of the fastest players in football. His pace is a threat and led to him being the most fouled player in the Russian league last season. Clubs in need of a right winger may be taking a close look at him or perhaps his compatriot and former teammate Torbinsky. Both players are 24 years old and they play in the same position but Torbinsky is seen as the better crosser. He has just moved to Lokomotiv Moscow so a transfer this summer is extremely unlikely but his career will be followed by a number of sides. Bilyaletdinov also plays for Lokomotiv and at the age of 23, potentially has a long career ahead of him. He has excelled for Russia in a position just behind the front two ever since Yegor Titov and Dmitry Loskov retired from international football. He is versatile as he has performed equally well on the left side of midfield with his major downside being a lack of goals. However this could be rectified if he played in a more productive side as he clearly has the ability to take more chances.
The two most prized assets in Russian football at the moment are the strike pairing of Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin. Pavlyuchenko has a record of a goal every other game with his club side Spartak Moscow and is adored by the fans. The injury to Pavel Pogrebnyak and Arshavin’s suspension meant that Pavlyuchenko was relied on in the first two games to lead the line. Although he pulled one back against the Spanish, he looked isolated. He faired much better against the Greeks but missed a number of chances when it seemed easier to score. He scored the first goal in the final group game and linked up well with the returning Arshavin. He has been linked to many of Europe’s top clubs including Barcelona and Real Madrid but Celtic and Bologna are believed to be the clubs who are most actively interested in him, reported lodging bids of around seven million pounds. Many people think that a move to either of those two clubs would be a sideways step and Pavlyuchenko is expected to hold out for a move to a more renowned club in Spain, Italy or England. His style seems well suited to the English game and a move to one of the clubs in the UEFA Cup seems most probable. Andrei Arshavin is undoubtedly the most prized asset in Russian football at this moment in time. His suspension from the first two games left Russia short up front and lacking in fluency. His importance was emphasised by his tremendous display against Sweden as he scored the goal that secured Russia’s place in the knockout stages. He was the key player as Zenit won the league title for the first time in 23 years and he set up both goals in the UEFA Cup final against Rangers, winning the man of the match award as well. He has recently stated that he would like to leave Zenit and is expected to move to one of Europe’s top sides after the tournament. At the moment Arsenal seems his most likely destination as he would fit in perfectly with their free-flowing, fast-passing style. However Everton and Tottenham have also been heavily linked with Arshavin and Manchester United may well come in with a late bid as they search for a new forward to provide cover for Tevez and Rooney.
In the past Russian players have found it difficult to make a name for themselves in Europe’s top leagues with Andrei Kanchelskis the only player to achieve continued success during a four year spell with Manchester United. Many of the current crop maybe nervous about making the step up but their quality would serve them well. It probably needs one player to move in order to trigger the exodus and Arshavin could well be that man. With Europe’s top clubs circling like vultures, the Russian clubs will be anxious as one transfer could spark off the modern day Russian Revolution.