Failure of Dynamo
The fiasco of Kirill Novikov's team not only reduced the number of possible participants in the Europa League from Russia to two, but also seriously inflamed the atmosphere around Rostov.
The failure of the second Russian club in the qualification of the tournament risks causing a wave of indignation from fans and specialists, which may well lead to serious consequences.
If at the end of 2019 the failure in European competitions was considered by many to be an unfortunate accident and refrained from taking decisive action, now they may well judge otherwise.
For example, the "victim" can be the same limit on foreign players, which many consider the root of the problems of domestic football.
On paper, the confrontation between Rostov and Maccabi from Haifa is very similar to the meeting between Dynamo and Tbilisi Lokomotiv.
Yes, the Israelis are noticeably superior to the railway workers in the experience of performing in European competitions, but the last significant one dates back to the late 2000s - early 2010s.
Then the Greens twice took third place in the group stage of the Europa League, and also managed to pave the way in the main round of the Champions League.
True, there Elisha Levi's charges did not perform very well, losing to Bayern, Juventus and Bordeaux all six matches with a total score of 0: 8.
Maccabi has never made it to the group stage of European competitions over the past six years, which has led to a significant drop in the UEFA club rankings.
He is currently only 3.925, the sixth-worst result among the remaining teams.
For comparison, “Rostov” has it equal to 12,000, which allowed the Russians to be among the seeded in the draw.
However, Lokomotiv Tbilisi proved last week that you shouldn't pay too much attention to this.
Before the match with Dynamo, he ranked last in this indicator, but still managed to create a sensation.
Ex-Real Madrid footballer and American goalkeeper
If the Lokomotiv line-up, estimated at € 3.83 million, made them respect themselves, then the Maccabi players should be seriously feared.
Unlike compatriots, Rostov (€ 45.15 million) is only three times more expensive than its counterparts, not 15 times.
At the same time, the Israelis have players who have not only performance experience, but also victories in the largest European championships.
The Spanish midfielder Jose Rodriguez stands out against the general background.
From 2009 to 2012 he played for the youth team of Real Madrid, after which he managed to try his hand at Deportivo, Malaga, Mainz and Galatasaray.
At the heart of Madrid, he played three times in the King's Cup, but he still has the right to be considered its owner.
Moreover, his contribution to the victory of the Turkish team in the Cup and Super Cup of the country is more significant.
Along with Rodriguez, it is worth noting the Australian striker of Ukrainian origin Nikita Rukavitsa.
The footballer was born in Nikolaev in 1987, after which he played with varying success in the Netherlands and Germany.
The most successful period fell on 2010-2012.
As part of Hertha, the forward played 60 matches, in which he scored 23 points (6 goals + 17 assists), and also earned a call to the national team.
At the World Cup in South Africa, he appeared twice on the field, but played only 31 minutes in total.
Former Queens Park Rangers midfielder Tjaronne Sherry and former Norwich and Bolton winger Janick Wildshut also cannot be ignored, but goalkeeper Josh Cohen deserves special attention.
The American spent most of his career in the United Soccer League, the second-tier US football division after the MLS.
There, he successfully defended the colors of Sacramento Republic and even claimed the title of the best goalkeeper of the season, but in 2019 he decided to move to Israel.
Performance issues and crumpled preparation
Undoubtedly, such a selection of players can hardly be called stellar, as a result of which Rostov is still considered the favorite.
Unlike Dynamo, Valery Karpin's charges will play at home, which also promises to be at least small, but help.
However, their physical condition can hardly be called ideal, and one of the reasons for this will be the canceled meeting with the "Rotor".
As part of the RPL debutant, an outbreak of coronavirus was recorded, as a result of which the match of the eighth round was canceled.
Rostov was awarded a 3-0 victory, which allowed them to share fifth place in the table with Krasnodar and Dynamo, but preparation for the game with Maccabi was crumpled.
Karpin noted that he would have to change the training plan in order to bring the players in proper shape.
On the other hand, the blue-yellows received additional rest days, which could be of key importance in such a period.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many national championships started later than expected and are now obliged to make up for lost time.
At the same time, the meeting with "Rotor" could be of great importance for "Rostov" not only in terms of maintaining optimal shape, but also psychology.
The last time Karpin's wards won at the end of August, after which they first lost points in the confrontation with Krasnodar, and then failed to take over Lokomotiv.
In the match with Volgograd, they could not only take three points, but also correct the statistics.
Until now, Rostovites have never scored more than one goal in 90 minutes this season.
As for the performances in the selection of European cups, the experience of "Rostov" cannot be called unequivocally positive.
In the 2014/15 season, Miodrag Bozovic's wards started from the playoffs as the owners of the Russian Cup, but failed.
The Turkish "Trabzonspor" stood in their way.
As a result, the defeat with a score of 0: 2 away and a goalless draw at home.
However, two years later, Rostovites under the leadership of Kurban Berdyev gave the most successful performance in European competitions in the history of the club.
They overcame the Champions League qualification without any problems, after which they bypassed PSV and took third place in Group D. Only Atlético and Bayern were higher up.
In the spring, Rostov went to the Europa League and reached the 1/8 finals, where he lost only to the future winner in the person of Manchester United.
It is noteworthy that in the final, Jose Mourinho's charges played against Ajax, whom Kurban Berdyev's charges blocked the way to the main club tournament of the Old World.
Re-meeting with Mourinho and Tottenham instability
In case of success in the game against Maccabi, Rostov can again expect a meeting with the Portuguese specialist.
The triumphant of the Russian-Israeli confrontation will fight for getting into the group stage with the winner of the Tottenham - Shkendia pair.
Despite all the difficulties at the start of the season, the British are considered the clear favorites and are likely to pass the Macedonians.
In this case, Rostovites will have a great chance to take revenge on the "Special" for the defeat in the 1/8 finals of the Europa League.
Of course, Tottenham is still a very strong team, the backbone of which is made up of people with experience in the Champions League final.
However, Londoners cannot boast of stability.
The team can play extremely toothless in the match against Everton, and then burst into five goals in the meeting with Southampton.
In addition, Londoners are highly dependent on their leaders.
If one of the Harry Kane - Son Heung Min pair is not playing, then any opponent has a chance.
This was perfectly demonstrated by Lokomotiv from Plovdiv, which almost beat Tottenham in the second round of selection.
The Bulgarian footballers locked themselves in their half of the field and did not allow him to feel confident, but in the end they waited for an error from the opponent's side and opened the scoring.
The fate of the match was decided by an episode in the 80th minute, when the hosts received a penalty kick into their own goal and lost two players.
Londoners took advantage of this gift and first restored parity, and then snatched the victory.
But even this is unlikely to prevent Mourinho's team from being the favorite.
The Russian teams are rather unsuccessful against the English, which is not surprising, given the difference between the leagues in terms of security and the level of players.
In 77 meetings, domestic teams won 19 victories, drew 22 times and lost 36 times.
The last successes in the confrontation with the founders of football date back to 2014.
Then CSKA took over Manchester City in the Champions League, while Krasnodar was stronger than Everton in the Europa League.