“The whole country found out about them”: in Russia admire the young players of “Rostov”, despite the defeat 1:10

Rostov football players, whose average age was 17.2 years, returned home after a devastating defeat with a score of 1:10 from Sochi in the match of the 23rd round of the Russian Premier League (RPL). However, local fans met them as real heroes who were not afraid of the opponent and were able to impose a fight on him.

Despite the late hour, fans gathered around the Olympus 2 stadium, where the club bus arrived. They chanted chants and staged a colorful fire show.

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Publication from Rostov Football Club (@fcrostov) Jun 19, 2020 at 4:11 PDT

Another noteworthy story is that Zaurbek Tadeev’s wards came from the exit with real celebrities. The well-known taxi ordering service provided all players with free rides, and goalkeeper Denis Popov with unlimited lifetime service. In addition, one of the drivers intends to put a portrait on his car.

Such attention to the 17-year-old goalkeeper is no coincidence. He made 15 saves, which became the new RPL record, and also repelled the penalty kick of Sochi striker Anton Zabolotny. Goalkeeper's father Vladimir Popov praised the actions of Rostovites and emphasized that if the match was postponed, his son could be left without a high point.

“Many will begin to compare Denis with Igor Akinfeev, who also made his debut with a reflected penalty? Good reference. Igor is a legend. One game for the national team is worth. Denis has no ceiling. He wants to achieve the maximum possible: the higher, the better. For me, the whole team that played with Sochi are heroes. Boys are handsome. Well, the son is a good fellow in general! ”, The Championship quotes Popov Sr.

In this case, 10 goals conceded could be a serious blow for the young goalkeeper. He was supported by colleagues in the line, some of whom suggested that Popov had a great future. So, Alexander Belenov urged him not to be upset.

“You played well. All the best is yet to come, but there is a lot to work! Good luck and no injuries! ”Wrote Belenov.

And Anton Shunin remembered his first match in the Russian championship and advised Popov to learn how to deal with mistakes.

“I remember that before his debut in the RPL he slept poorly for several nights and was worried. A step into big football is always difficult. These young guys from the Rostov Academy, of course, were also not easy. Especially when you consider that they were actually hooked out of the house - it was clear that they could not stand in any way and even play a draw. When the team scored in the 52nd second, the goalkeeper took a penalty, it was cool! Denis Popov - well done, there were times when he came to the rescue, ”Shunin wrote on Instagram.

In addition, Popov was supported by the head coach of the youth team of Russia Alexander Kerzhakov and ex-goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Despite the fact that Sochi was initially considered the undisputed favorite of the match, after its completion, many experts paid tribute to the wards of Tadeev. They were especially inspired by the goal of Roman Romanov in the 52nd second of the first half. Ex-Zenit midfielder Vladimir Bystrov suggested that the hosts' mentor, Vladimir Fedotov, was afraid of an opponent, so he released five defenders on the field.

“After the goal of Romanov, I would have given Rostov a victory and would have counted them three points in the table. Such matches are played at club bases between the base and the double. And usually the matches end with a score of 8: 0, 9: 0. Rostov had no chances to win, ”Bystrov quotes Match TV.

Coach Sergei Balakhnin called the outcome of the match obvious, but stressed that the Rostov players showed everything they could.

“Such matches are difficult to comment on - the teams did not match each other. The guys played for Rostov young, it was hard for them, they could not prove themselves the way they wanted, so apart from the desire for Sochi, they could not oppose anything, ”said Balakhnin TASS.

Interestingly, players from other teams did not stay away from the resonant match. Logomotiv midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak noted that "football lost to the coronavirus, but the Rostov players won respect."

Recall that the atmosphere around this match began to heat up a few days before the starting whistle. A coronavirus was found in six Rostov footballers, so the whole team was forced to quarantine. In turn, Sochi did not agree to reschedule the meeting, so in order to avoid technical defeat, it was decided to expose players born in 2001-2004 against it.

Sochi residents themselves added fuel to the fire by publishing a meme that they had to play with schoolchildren. Subsequently, the team’s press officer Alexander Grudnev apologized to the opponent.

“I would like to apologize on behalf of Sochi, because I understand that a professional club should not behave this way. I feel guilty, and not only to Rostov, but also to our coaches and management. There was an attempt at creativity, but in the end she turned against us. If we knew how things would turn out, we would not do that. Therefore, I want to apologize to everyone, ”said Grudnev.

After the game, a flurry of criticism again fell upon the wards of Fedotov because they had done so to a obviously weak opponent. However, some experts defended the Sochi. In particular, the former striker of the Russian national team Andrei Arshavin suggested that the players themselves were aware of the situation in which the Rostovites were.

“I liked what Sochi had, especially this concerns Alexander Kokorin (the author of the hat-trick. - RT ): it seems that he also did not want to play, understanding the whole situation. Sochi players did not want to finish off, did not scoff, did not distort - they just played. They especially did not turn on. If you look at three goals at the beginning of the second half, balls bounced there, when it was harder not to score than to score, ”Arshavin explained.

A well-known commentator Konstantin Genich adheres to a similar position.

“I don’t understand the claims to Sochi at all. Come out to play - play. We lost nine goals - it's okay. All of Russia learned about them, supported them. They went to the Premier League match, what sympathy is there? Turned over the page and moved on, ”wrote Genich.

At the same time, there were those who considered holding the match inappropriate. They complained about the quality of football and the unequal position of rivals.

Sochi had to stop and roll the ball. Or just let out the same guys. The match was just a disgrace, it was disgusting and unpleasant for me to watch it ... And what will happen to Rostov next? Let children out again? Again this question will arise. For them, of course, this is a great experience. Many of them then will not play anywhere. Someone will now be angrier, someone may cry, ”suggested the ex-midfielder Alexander Mostovoy.