High level, champion mentality and strong motivation: how Mamaev and Rostov can help each other

A new challenge for Mamaev

The football prospects of Pavel Mamaev after leaving the prison remained unclear. Unlike Alexander Kokorin, whom Zenit supported to the end, Krasnodar immediately distanced himself from his football player, and in September the parties agreed to terminate the contract. Mamaev became a free agent.

And already on Friday there was information that Pavel could sign an agreement with Rostov. It is reported that the term of the contract will be two years with the possibility of extension for another one.

At first glance, the yellow and blue are at great risk. Firstly, they take a 31-year-old athlete who has not played football for a whole year on a professional level. It is unclear what form Mamaev is currently in, although condition can be pulled up within a few months.

Mamaev’s desire to rehabilitate and Karpin’s ability to work with “shot down pilots”

However, in Mamaev’s possible alliance with Rostov, there are still more pluses than minuses. And we are talking about both the player and the club. Firstly, Pavel is a high-class football player, and this is unlikely to be disputed by anyone. In his so far the best season of his career, the Torpedo pupil scored 23 points for performance (10 goals + 13 assists) in the RPL and made an incredible duet in the attack of Krasnodar with Fedor Smolov. As a result, the then head coach of the Russian national team Leonid Slutsky had no choice but to take Mamaev to the European Championship.

The next season after the Euro was unsuccessful for Paul. He recovered from injuries for a long time and also got into a scandal with a party in Monte Carlo, after which he was even temporarily exiled to the youth composition of the southerners. However, at the beginning of last season, Mamaev slowly began to return to its previous level. He scored a rabona, handed out assists and played well with partners. It is no coincidence that after the footballer was taken into custody, the experts were seriously worried about the prospects of Krasnodar.

Strengths, for sure, remained with Mamaev even after imprisonment: the ability to play a pass, a good vision of the field, the equipment delivered and a good shot. A football player with such qualities can strengthen not only Rostov, but also almost any top club in the country.

Another undoubted advantage of Paul for Rostovites is his experience. Mamaev played for teams (CSKA and Krasnodar), which always fought for the highest places and sought to win trophies. Mentally, he still aims precisely at this and is able to bring the right atmosphere to the new team, because only Mamaev won the Cup of Russia three times.

At the same time, “Rostov” is clearly lacking a champion character, and Karpin’s wards lose points not even in matches with direct competitors, but in games with teams that are clearly inferior in class. So the yellow-blue on the road were defeated by Ufa and Tambov. Paul’s experience should help avoid such situations in the future and win victories not only at home with a crowded stadium. In the end, CSKA, the colors of which the player defended more than one season, has always been famous for the ability to score maximum points in matches with outsiders and rivals from the middle of the tournament table.

An additional motivation for Mamaev will be the desire to prove to the public and fans that he should be discounted early. Paul is already 31 years old, and he may not have another chance to prove himself. “Rostov” will be able to give him this opportunity, for which the player will respond with a dedicated game. Surely, he will want to prove a lot to Krasnodar.

At the same time in Rostov-on-Don Mamaev will have a bit easier than in any top club, where he would have been riveted maximum attention, and every mistake would be accompanied by a flurry of criticism. In “Rostov” he will get the opportunity to play football calmly without unnecessary excitement. At the same time, the stadium built for the World Cup here regularly gathers about 30 thousand fans. In such an atmosphere, Pavel will be pleased to return to the game.

In addition, Karpin knows how to work with the so-called "downed pilots." Among them can be called Roman Yoremenko, who missed two years because of the disqualification imposed for the use of cocaine. After returning, the Finn tried to gain a foothold in Spartak, but in winter left the red and white allegedly due to increased trauma. Karpin in this situation was not afraid to take Roman, and he immediately became the team leader.

Competition with Popov and a place in the center of midfield

If we talk about Mamaev’s specific place in Karpin’s constellations, then Pavel can take one of the positions in the center of the field. Matthias Normann is indispensable in the role of Rostov’s opornik, but experienced Ivelin Popov and Roman Eremenko are located above him.

And Mamaev may well compete with the same Popov, who is already far from young and does not always manage to competently act in destruction. Moreover, in addition to the Finn and Bulgarian Karpin from the central midfielders can only rely on the young Daniil Glebov.

So the technical, loving and able to play pass Mamaev will be at least useful to Rostov as a rotation footballer. Moreover, one should not forget that this season Karpin made a real tactical revolution in his team, and now the southerners are playing not with three central defenders, but according to the 4-3-3 scheme, and strive to act as the “first number”. It was in this kind of football that Mamaev was used to playing in Krasnodar.

True, Paul will be able to make his debut for the yellow-blue only in the new year.