"Such a game can not go unnoticed": why Safonov is worthy of a call to the Russian national football team

"The first time I see such a game goalkeeper"

The day before, a match took place in the RPL, which has the right to claim the status of at least the most spectacular in the past few years. In the confrontation of "Krasnodar" and "Zenith" was all: the abundance of beautiful heads, a fight in the field and even injury. Because of this, an outstanding performance by the goalkeeper of the hosts, 20-year-old Matvey Safonov, who not only earned the right to be considered one of the main characters of the meeting, but also identified himself as a candidate for entering the Russian team, remained in the shadows.

For nearly 100 minutes, the young goalkeeper made seven saves, almost every one of which can be called brilliant. Safonov began to work wonders already in the opening, alternately pulling out two of the most dangerous blows performed by Artem Dziuba and Igor Smolnikov. But perhaps he made the most spectacular save in the 15th minute, when he prevented Zenit's top scorer, Serdar Azmun, from scoring. The Iranian responded to the overhang in the penalty area and slammed his head into the very corner, but Safonov responded in incredible ways and blocked the ball with his hand.

Despite all the efforts of the goalkeeper, the “bulls” failed to achieve an important victory and regain their status as the main persecutor of Petersburgers in the RPL. Safonov three times took the ball from the net of his own goal, while he could hardly be accused of at least one of the goals conceded. In the episode with the first of them, he once again saved his team after hitting a corner and was powerless only after finishing it in the performance of Artem Dziuba, and in the other two he had almost no chance to help out his partners.

For such a game, the goalkeeper was praised even by his rivals. Thus, the skill of the young football player appreciated Azmun, who could not beat Safonov.

“We tried, but Safonov pulled complex balls. To be honest, for the first time I see such a goalkeeper game, ”the press service of Zenit quotes Azmun.

The former Zenit footballer Alexey Strepetov, who also admired Safonov’s game, agreed with the Iranian.

“Of course, the goalkeeper of Krasnodar, Matvey Safonov, played very well. He alone fought against the “Zenith” in the first minutes. What were the moments of Dziuba, Azmun, what blow Smolnikov delivered! And in the second half, Rigoni was supposed to score twice, ”said Strepetov to the Petersburg Diary.

Fight for a place to start

It is noteworthy that one of the main characters, perhaps the best match of the RPL in recent years, was the goalkeeper, who only 13th time came out in the first team. Only on November 1, Safonov made his debut for Krasnodar. Appearing at the start due to injury of Stanislav Krytsyuk, Safonov immediately paid attention to both specialists and fans: he was marked by four saves and helped his team break the resistance of the Wings of the Soviets in the Cup of the country. The meeting turned out to be overstressed, and it took an additional 30 minutes to identify the winner.

This was followed by debuts in the Russian Premier League and Europa League. Safonov struck with his precocious game of confidence and eventually strengthened the status of the first number of the team. From that moment on, he went on to the ground in 14 of the 18 matches, and in the European Cup, he missed only the game with Sevilla. In her “Krasnodar” lost with a score of 0: 3.

It is enough to recall his performance in the series with “Bayer” and “Valencia”, in which Safonov showed his remarkable skill and more than once rescued his team. The fact that the goalkeeper at such a young age enjoys such confidence from the coaching staff and is marked by such a confident game makes it possible to seriously consider a comparison between him and the best Russian goalkeeper of recent years - Igor Akinfeev. Since the debut of the leader of CSKA, no goalkeeper younger than 20 years old has been distinguished by such stability.

According to the former goalkeeper of the Russian national team Ruslan Nigmatullin, Safonov’s progress is not only his personal qualities, but also the correct development strategy of the club.

“It is gratifying that the pupil stands for his native team. He soon began to fall into the composition, but it is not just. He has excellent data, coupled with hard work and efficiency. He wants to grow and develop, and the competent policy of the club has helped him not only to create competition for experienced Krytsyuk and Sinitsyn, but also to win a place in the start, ”said Nigmatullin RT.

In the same RPL Safonov held eight meetings, in which he made 28 saves. Thus, he averaged 3.5 hits per game. According to this indicator, he is second only to one goalkeeper of the Russian national team - Marinato Guilherme (4.2). On account of Andrei Lunev and Anton Shunin, there are on average three saves.

As for reliability, Safonov, on average, concedes 0.75 goals per game. He has six goals in his passive, and this is taking into account the fact that exactly half of them fell on a super-productive battle with Zenit. In addition, Matthew knows perfectly well what it means to not lose concentration during all 90 minutes. He has four "dry" meetings in the RPL.

Nigmatullin also noted the skills of the young goalkeeper and drew attention to his ability to play with his feet, which is so valued in modern football.

“He vividly shows himself, he helps a lot. With due respect, he will grow into an excellent goalkeeper, who will perform at a high level for a long time. He has his own style, no frankly weak points. Perfectly acts both on the goal line and at the exits. It interacts well with defenders, ”said Nigmatullin.

The way to the team

Currently, Safonov has already managed to play for youthful national teams of all ages, and now he is in favor of youth teams. In its composition, he managed to spend only a friendly match with the Swedish national team, in which he kept his goal intact and helped the Russian national team win. But given his incredible progress and confident game, it is possible that in the near future he will receive a call to the first national team.

At the moment, the number 1 post in the national team is held by Guilherme, who held in the basis of the qualification matches of Euro 2020 with Belgium and Kazakhstan, as well as two meetings of the League of Nations. Of course, the goalkeeper of Lokomotiv has a great experience, but Safonov can claim a place if not the second, then the third goalkeeper of the national team. Probably, Lunov’s experience and status will play in his favor, but his play Matvey deserved a chance to try himself among the best football players in the country.

Nigmatullin agreed that Safonov earned the right to consider himself as one of the candidates for a place in the national team. At the same time, the former goalkeeper of “Lokomotiv” expressed the opinion that Matvey should better concentrate on playing for the youth team.

“The place of the third goalkeeper of the national team now will not give anything to Safonov. He can compete and will look confident in training, but now he is suitable for age for the youth national team. There he can get practice. At this age, you need to play, "- said Nigmatullin.

He also expressed the opinion that it would be difficult for Safonov to immediately get into the starting lineup.

“It is unlikely that he will go with the first number. Guilherme and Lunev just will not give up the place of the main goalkeeper, and the actions of Shunin do not cause any special complaints. Cherchesov is unlikely to make such changes. I am sure that Safonov was on the extended list. Such a bright game cannot go unnoticed by the national team coaching staff, ”concluded Nigmatullin.