Inconvenient position and serious competition: why Kokorin cannot reveal himself in "Spartak"

After the first round of the Russian championship, Alexander Kokorin is one of the most criticized players in the league.

This season, the popular striker with a salary, according to media reports, has already played seven matches in the RPL for € 3 million, but managed to score with only one goal and transfer.

And the forward of "Spartak" managed to distinguish himself only from the 11-meter mark.

This level of productivity is unlikely to suit both the coaching staff and the fans, and sports stories only heat up the atmosphere around the player.

Another portion of criticism went to Kokorin after his performance in the 15th round match with Dynamo.

He went out against his former club in the first team and spent 74 minutes on the field, but he could not be noted with effective actions.

Moreover, among the positive aspects, it is possible to note only two won riding single combats and one key transfer, which, together with the absence of shots on target, looks depressing.

Therefore, it is not surprising that after the meeting a number of experts managed to express their dissatisfaction with his performance.

So, the veteran of "Spartak" Yevgeny Lovchev did not have the highest opinion about Kokorin's game in the match with "Dynamo", but considered that the reason for this was primarily psychological problems.

“Kokorin is bad.

There are some players who need to be very trusted and kept in good shape.

A person who does not play goes to the journalists, they tease him: they say, why not play.

He needs to be played, he came out three times for ten minutes, and everyone is already saying that Spartak allegedly is not his team, ”Lovchev said on Match TV.

Tedesco hardly considers Kokorin a key player in the team and an iron player in the starting lineup.

After recovering from injury, Alexander held seven meetings in the national championship, while only taking the field three times from the first minutes.

In these circumstances, it can be really challenging to feel confident and begin to regularly benefit the team.

As the Spartak veteran noted, Kokorin is the type of player who needs to feel the coach's trust.

This is indicated at least by the fact that he acted most successfully in those moments when in fact he was the main, if not the only option in the attack.

You can recall the period of his performances for Sochi, where he was rightly considered one of the main stars of the team, as well as the 2017/18 season at Zenit under the leadership of Roberto Mancini.

The Italian mentor was so impressed with Alexander that he even abandoned Artyom Dziuba and subsequently sent him on loan.

Yes, there was also a conflict between the footballer and the coach, but the mentor would hardly have sent one of his two best forwards to Tula if he had not been sure of something else.

Tedesco has one of the most complete attacking lines in the RPL.

At the moment, Spartak has four high-class forwards, each of whom can claim the title of the season's top scorer.

In the asset of Alexander Sobolev there are five goals scored, while Jordan Larsson and Ezequiel Ponce have six each.

This suggests that these athletes not only possess skill, but are also in excellent shape.

This only complicates the competition for Alexander, which may well affect his emotional state.

At the same time, former Spartak midfielder Denis Boyarintsev believes that Kokorin's problems lie not only in his psychological state and lack of confidence on the part of the coach.

In his opinion, Tedesco cannot decide on the role of the ward, which prevents him from returning to his former level.

“It’s a bit tough for him so far.

In the match with Dynamo, I tried to prove myself, stepped back in search of the ball, did a lot of work.

But the efficiency is poor.

Most importantly, I do not understand in what role Tedesco sees him.

Apparently, the coach himself cannot decide on Kokorin's position on the field, so he releases it here and there, "- quotes Boyarintsev" Sport-Express ".

Lately Tedesco has tried to use Kokorin as one of the two center-forward, and in the meeting with Dynamo he played as an attacking midfielder.

Judging by the touch map of the footballer, who mainly owned the ball near the left and right boundaries of the opponent's penalty area, most often this season he acted in the role of the top ten.

However, in terms of playing qualities, Alexander is hardly suitable for this role.

As a result - low productivity and no threats for the goalkeeper.

Here it is also necessary to refer to the forward's previous speeches.

During his career, he managed to play in different positions, but very rarely coaches managed to use him as efficiently as possible.

So, in Dynamo, he mainly played the role of a central or drawn forward, in Zenit - in the role of left and right winger.

The same can be said about the Russian national team during the work of Leonid Slutsky.

The CSKA mentor tried to fit Dziuba, Kokorin and Fedor Smolov into the base, as a result of which the latter two were forced to act on the flanks.

In these conditions, they felt uncomfortable and could not demonstrate their best qualities at Euro 2016.

One of the brightest periods in Kokorin's career remains the same 2017/18 season, during which Mancini not only expressed confidence in his ward, but also returned him to his place in the center of the attack.

Being at the forefront and having fast wingers on the flanks in the person of Sebastian Driussi and Oleg Shatov, Alexander felt extremely confident and demonstrated a record level of performance for himself.

In the Russian championship, he scored in five meetings in a row, and at the end of the season he chalked up ten goals.

There could have been many more, but injury prevented.

In March, the striker tore his cruciate ligaments in the Europa League confrontation with Leipzig and was retired for a long time.

On the one hand, Tedesco must understand under what conditions and in what position Kokorin can show maximum results, and, if desired, can at any time rebuild the tactical scheme for a football player.

On the other hand, the German specialist is unlikely to agree to such a step.

At the moment, he has reasons why he'd better continue to rely on the trio of Sobolev, Larsson and Ponce.

Firstly, Kokorin is no longer a young and promising footballer who may grow into a superstar in the future.

In March he will turn 30 years old - the age for the striker is not critical, but respectable.

Even in the case of a noticeable improvement in game performance, Alexander's peak will last no more than three or four years, after which a decline will invariably begin.

At the same time, his competitors are noticeably younger and can not only benefit the club for a long time, but also be profitably sold.

Secondly, despite the status of one of the most talented players of the generation, the 2017/18 season remains one of the most productive in Kokorin's career.

In 12 years in professional football, he has never surpassed the bar of ten goals per season, which is not the best result for a central striker.

And there are no prerequisites for the fact that Alexander will suddenly begin to beat the scorer's records.

The reason for this, among other things, is imperfect physical condition due to a long stay behind bars and serious injuries, as well as crumpled preparation due to the pandemic.

In addition, it is possible that Kokorin ended up not in his club.

In "Spartak" it is unlikely that they will build a team for him, and he does not know how to plug holes on the field.

Despite the seeming universalism, Alexander is truly productive exclusively in the role of the only forward and is unlikely to be able to rebuild at the age of 29.