521 minutes without goals, lack of alternatives and a tight schedule: what is the reason for Dziuba's "scoring drought"

Seven matches of Dzyuba without goals

The match against Rubin was one of the most unsuccessful matches for Artyom Dziuba in the current season.

He looked like a pale shadow of himself and hardly clung to the ball.

As a result, the Zenit captain was actually cut off from the team, which, among other things, predetermined the first home defeat of Petersburgers in the RPL in almost two years - 1: 2.

The statistics are also very eloquent.

In 90 minutes, the striker defeated 197-centimeter Silvie Begic and 187-centimeter Karl Starfelt in just one single combat and did not shoot at someone else's goal, which has happened to him three times this season.

In the matches against Lokomotiv (0: 0) and Dynamo (0: 1) Artyom also did not threaten other people's goals, and Zenit did not score a single goal in the end.

The wards of Sergei Semak managed to upset Rubin after playing the standard position, and the forward played the role of a football player in it, drawing the attention of the opponent's defense.

The meeting with Kazan became for Dziuba the seventh in a row without goals.

The footballer did not score in four matches for Zenit and three for the national team.

The striker scored the last ball at his own expense at the end of September in the game with the Premier League outsider Ufa, in which he scored a hat-trick.

But the beginning of the season turned out to be quite successful for Dziuba.

He upset Lokomotiv in the Russian Super Cup match and scored six goals in nine RPL starting rounds.

The captain also scored a brace for the Russian national team in the League of Nations match with Serbia.

However, then the footballer had a scoring drought, which has lasted for 521 minutes, not counting the stoppage time.

Heavy loads and age

At the same time, we must not forget that October turned out to be an incredibly difficult month for the striker, because in 22 days he was forced to play seven games in all tournaments.

That is, Dziuba, who turned 32 in August, had to go out on the field every three days on average.

This is a very big load for an older athlete, especially with his anthropometry.

It only complicated Artyom's life and the unusual calendar of the Russian national team, which held three meetings in just six days.

If the participation of the captain in the matches of the League of Nations with Turkey and Hungary did not raise any questions, then entering the field in a friendly game with Sweden even surprised at half-time.

Stanislav Cherchesov could have given the leading footballer a little respite, and provided practice to Nikolai Komlichenko with Alexander Sobolev, but he still released the veteran onto the field.

In the next two official matches, Dziuba invariably did not have enough strength for the ending, but Cherchesov did not dare to change him in this situation either.

Upon his return from the national team in Zenit, the captain was still given a little rest, and he remained in reserve for the meeting of the 11th round of the RPL with Sochi (3: 1).

Nevertheless, in the 66th minute, he was nevertheless thrown into battle immediately after the southerners reduced the gap in the long run to a minimum.

But even such a break helped the footballer play a good Champions League match with Club Brugge a few days later.

Having failed the first half, like the whole team, after the break, Artyom looked much better: he actively clung to the balls and competently played along with his partners.

And when the score was 1: 1, he almost hit the opponent's goal with a blow at close range.

At the moment, Dziuba has become a hostage of his own importance both for the club and for the national team, because without him it is impossible to imagine both teams.

For Cherchesov, Artyom is not only the captain and the main forward, but also the footballer around whom the whole team's offensive game is built in the absence of injured Alexander Golovin and Alexei Miranchuk.

After the World Cup, the forward missed only two matches of the national squad, both of which were friendly and due to injuries (with the Czech Republic and Germany in 2018).

For example, at the decisive meeting of the League of Nations last season in November 2018 with Sweden, he entered the field with an incompletely healed injury and played all 90 minutes.

And since November 2018, the striker has not missed a single game of the national team at all, spent at least half on the field (with Sweden).

If Artyom was changed, then only at the end of the meetings.

At the same time, the football player does not get younger, and it is obvious that it is more and more difficult for him to withstand such a load.

It's also hard to imagine the current Zenit without Dziuba.

Artyom has a well-played duet with Serdar Azmun, and it is very difficult to replace the Russian in this pair with anyone.

So, in the last season of the RPL, both scored 17 goals and shared the title of the league's top scorer.

And Artyom with 12 assists, in addition, became the best assistant of the tournament.

In addition, the captain of the Petersburgers was recognized as the best player of the RPL-2019/20 season according to the results of a vote by coaches and team captains, as well as journalists.

Towards a conflict with Semak

Dziuba's indispensability for the national team can be understood, since there are still no such effective and useful strikers in the country.

But "Zenith", which has serious financial resources, could well, if not find a replacement for the captain, then at least strengthen the attack.

However, the club strengthened all lines in the summer, except for the attack.

Thus, at least until winter, Sergei Semak will have to rely solely on Dzyuba and Azmun, and the loss of one of them will turn into serious problems for the team.

The absence of the Iranian in the game against Rubin led to the defeat.

At the same time, it is not entirely clear how the aged captain would react to the young coach's decision to keep him in reserve.

The footballer plays a significant role in the success of the team, which is almost higher than the role of Semak, and this move would hardly have caused him positive emotions.

For example, in the match with Spartak the specialist wanted to change Dziuba in the end, but he reacted to this extremely emotionally and as a result remained on the field.

After the final whistle, Semak called the incident a "game moment", but it is possible that he himself does not want to go into conflict with the leading football player, given the history of the latter's relationship with other specialists.

One way or another, the striker has nowhere to draw strength in the near future, since until December 16, Zenit are waiting for five matches of the group stage of the Champions League and seven for the RPL.

The national team will again have three meetings in six days in November.

And more and more tired Dzyuba risks repeating his "achievement" two years ago, when he did not score at the club level from October 25 to April 20 - almost six months.