In the shadow of Dziuba
Over the past two years, fans of the Russian national team managed to get used to the fact that in an attack the team can count on only one person - Artyom Dziuba. After the home world championship, he turned into its leader, captain and backbone player. Stanislav Cherchesov staked out for Zenit striker a spot at the forefront of the attack, which he freed only in case of injuries.
Last year, Dziuba got into the starting lineup of the national team in all ten matches of the qualifying stage of Euro 2020, and changed it only four times to give a break or provide a little playing time for the reservists. They played a total of 114 minutes. Fedor Smolov spent the most on the field (44 minutes). Next are Nikolai Komlichenko (38) and Fedor Chalov (33).
At the same time, Dziuba regularly got a place at the base absolutely by right, because in the qualification of the continental championship he scored nine goals, gave five assists and did everything to ensure that the national team ahead of schedule selected for the Euro.
However, the lack of an alternative to Artyom scared, because in the event of an injury or disqualification, there was no one to fully replace the captain. Smolov was moping with Lokomotiv and was regularly injured. Komlichenko scored a lot in the Czech championship, but this did not impress the national team coaches. But Chalov in the team Stanislav Cherchesov did not see. Finally, Alexander Sobolev, who scored ten goals at the start of the RPL season, limited himself to a familiarization camp.
What can Russia expect in the absence of Dziuba, the ending of 2018 clearly showed when the naturalized Brazilian Ari played in the attack, having crossed a 30-year milestone. And the fans treated the challenges to the national team of Anton Zabolotny with humor.
Sobolev in Spartak and Smolov in Europe
The current situation on the eve of Euro 2020 was alarming, but in the winter several transfers took place that could create serious competition in the attack of the national team.
To begin with, Komlichenko moved to Dynamo from Mlada Boleslav. Nikolai was close to returning to the RPL last year, but then the leadership of the Czech club could not agree with CSKA. According to media reports, in winter, in addition to the army team, Rubin and Dynamo claimed to be a pupil of Krasnodar. As a result, the forward moved to the camp of white and blue.
So far, this step looks right for a football player from all points of view. Firstly, he went on to increase, because the level of the championship of Russia is higher than the championship of the Czech Republic. Secondly, in Moscow, they will most likely bet on Komlichenko. In the first part of the season, Dynamo experienced serious problems in the attack. The arrival of Nicholas will be a real salvation for the coaching staff. Therefore, he has every chance to repeat the path of Vyacheslav Karavaev, who, after returning from Europe, was also in demand in the national team.
Following replaced the club registration Sobolev. Several top clubs also fought for Alexander, but in the end he chose Spartak. On the one hand, renting to the capital looks rather risky for a football player. Indeed, in “Wings of the Soviets” he regularly received game practice, and in “Spartak” he would face serious competition, and fans in Moscow are much more demanding than in Samara.
On the other hand, Spartak, like Dynamo, urgently needed a powerful forward center in the first part of the season. In the summer, the club sold The Luis with Luis Adriano, but could not fully replace them. Andre Schurrle, Esekiel Ponce, Jordan Larsson - all of them are not able to act on the cutting edge.
In addition, the Swede and the Argentine are good at high-speed attacks, but in most of the RPL meetings, the Domenico Tedesco team has to break into the rich defense of rivals in the class who are inferior in the class. And in such games, textured high Sobolev, competently clinging to riding balls, will be extremely useful. Some do not accidentally compare Alexander with Dziuba, although the attacker himself does not like such a comparison.
Finally, he seriously surprised fans of Smolov, who, one day before the closing of the transfer window in Europe, went on loan to the Spanish Celta. It is hard to imagine whether the forward will be able to prove himself in the Example, because the team from Vigo is fighting for survival and scoring very little.
But the risk of a football player is fully justified. In Lokomotiv, he could not open up to the end and, moreover, was often injured. It seemed that Fedor simply lost his desire to play, and therefore decided to leave for Europe. And if Smolov proves himself in Celta, then the team will receive another strong striker.
Pleasant headache
Thus, on the eve of the European Championship Cherchesov can get a pleasant headache due to the wide selection of scoring strikers, and Dziuba - strong competitors. However, it is almost impossible to imagine that Artyom will not play at the start of the Euro.
But it is quite likely that Stanislav Salamovich will decide to bet on a duet of attackers in some matches. With him, the team last acted in such an arrangement in 2018 in a friendly match with France, and Alexey Miranchuk then played the role of a drawn forward rather.
But Cherchesov had no great choice of forwards. At first he relied on Smolov, then on Dziuba. If Sobolev, Chalov, Komlichenko and the same Smolov are regularly scored in the spring, Stanislav Salamovich may well go for experiments.
In addition, at Euro, Russians will at least have to break into the saturated defense of the Finnish national team and it will be difficult to do this with the help of Dziuba alone. But Artyom is able to make an extremely strong and versatile duet with a fast and agile Smolov or Chalov. At one time, Georgy Yartsev used Alexander Kerzhakov and Dmitry Bulykin like that. And if it is necessary to storm another's gates, the same powerful Sobolev or Komlichenko can come to the aid of Artyom.