"He knows how to benefit from an uncomfortable situation": why Dziuba became the most talked about RPL footballer

Hat-trick doesn't count

Zenit striker Artyom Dzyuba has become the most talked about football player in the Russian championship in recent months.

Moreover, it does not matter how he played the match, was the leader on the field or remained in the shadows, came out from the first minutes or ended up on the bench, scored a hat-trick or missed a penalty.

The forward earned such close attention to himself by refusing to come to the Russian national team, headed by Valery Karpin.

The head coach of the national team and Dziuba had a conflict in the past.

And if the mentor nevertheless invited Artyom, then the striker did not fight his emotions for the good of the national team.

As the former head coach of "Tom" Valery Nepomnyashchy recalls, under whose leadership the Russian played at two years old, Dziuba always had a difficult character, but the Russian conflicts primarily with those who have no sense of humor.

“Sometimes he could say about a football player:“ Why are you putting this criminal in the squad?

He plays for the opponent! "

I can see that he is almost right.

But not to speak in the same way!

In training, he had conflicts, without it nowhere.

But everything was always resolved instantly, ”Nepomniachtchi said on the air of the Youtube channel“ Sychev Podcast and Denis Kazansky ”.

However, this time the scale of the conflict went beyond the club to the level of the national team.

Now every step of Dziuba is viewed through the prism of the national team, although even Karpin himself closed this topic for himself, as well as the door to the national team for Artyom.

If not the best game happens, the 33-year-old striker is immediately retired. So, for example, the commentator Gennady Orlov did after the match of the 17th round of the RPL with Rostov, in which Zenit drew 2: 2. According to the expert, Dziuba can no longer be the leader of St. Petersburg residents.

“How many martial arts did he lose? Osipenko emerged victorious in these duels. If Dynamo beat Ufa, Zenit's lead will be reduced to two points. What intrigue in the next round, what a poster! Let's see. “Zenith” will need to show everything that he is capable of. Only Dziuba should not be released from the first minute. There is Azmun, even if he starts. And then the Petersburgers are losing their speed advantage. Needless to say that Dziuba's age affects? I don't know ... Ibrahimovic is older, but sharper. In my opinion, Artyom is not training as it should be. Here is the result for you, "- quotes the words of Orlov" Sport-Express ".

Despite the fact that Dziuba with ten goals is the second in the scorers' race of the Russian championship after Hamid Agalarov (13), many are sure that the forward could not help the Russian national team in the match with Croatia.

The same opinion is shared by the honorary president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov.

“I have a good attitude towards Artyom, but I cannot say that he is the best footballer in the country.

It is difficult to say how the athlete could help in the match against Croatia, ”the expert said in an interview with Match TV.

At the same time, it is forgotten that this season Artyom went down in the history of national football.

Dziuba beat Oleg Veretennikov in the number of goals in the Russian championships.

It took him 375 matches to score 144 goals. 

The forward is criticized, even if he has distinguished himself more than once in the game.

Former CSKA defender Vladimir Ponomarev said that Artyom would be useless in the national team after the meeting of the 15th round of the RPL, in which the striker scored a hat-trick, and his club won 5: 1.

“Only with such teams can he set records.

Dziuba is healthy, but in Europe he will be quickly dealt with.

Abroad, Zenit is handled quite easily.

And here the boys don't know what to do with him.

Can't take the right position.

In the national team, he will not score.

Hopefully we will play as in 2018 on the pillar.

But now we already have faster forwards, ”Ponomarev said.

The best footballer in Russia over the past five years

The experts who criticize Dziuba also forget the fact that players from the RPL are selected for the national team, and not from foreign championships. According to Zenit and Russian national team midfielder Magomed Ozdoev, most Russian players are inferior in technique to Artyom.

“I have always treated Dziuba well as a footballer, because with such a height, with such data - and so to work with the ball.

I don’t know where it came from that Dziuba was a log.

I think 90% of football players in Russia will not accept the balls that Artyom handles.

Play the match with Lokomotiv.

Look at the forward's goal with your left foot.

In the game against Arsenal, intelligence is visible.

How he dealt with the defenders and the goalkeeper.

If you love football, you start to analyze just such moments, because a player cannot just score more than anyone else in the RPL, well, this is impossible, "Ozdoev said in an interview with the Sports.ru Youtube channel.

Notes the uniqueness of Artyom and Nepomniachtchi, who even in "Tom" saw the talent of the forward. 

“He always knew how to continue the game.

It doesn't matter for him where to start the attack, he can adapt to his partners.

Even then, Dziuba easily parted with the ball when needed, or he could catch on to it, ”the coach said.  

The most objective in this case are the comments of foreigners.

Former Zenit coach Vlastimil Petrzhela believes that there is no equal to Artyom in Russia and should not follow his failures.

“Dziuba is the best RPL striker in history, there is no equal to him in terms of level now.

This must be admitted.

Azmun is not even as good as Artyom.

Have you seen how many goals he scored in the championship?

You will be shocked.

Didn't convert Malmö's penalty?

I cannot say anything about this.

Well, I haven't scored, what's next?

Ronaldo didn't score either.

I think Zenit needs to buy young players in the summer transfer window to compete with Artyom, ”Petrzhela said in an interview with RB-Sport.

According to the former Zenit striker Luka Djordjevic, Dziuba is an example to follow for many players, including him.

“In the last five years Artyom is definitely the best striker in Russia. It's very difficult to play against him. I know this: I talked about this topic with many defenders. So I really have a lot to learn from him. I am glad that I played with Dzyuba at Zenit and Arsenal. It was not Dzyuba who put me in reserve, but the coach. All Artyom could do was stop scoring, ”Djordjevic said.

Will Artyom cope with the pressure from the football community?

After all, no one is being watched so closely in the RPL this season.

There is a feeling that this is an indispensable and necessary condition for his success.

He loves to be the center of attention.

Moreover, it is far from always important whether it is positive or negative.

His name is associated with a love scandal with one of the hosts of the current Match TV, and a video of an intimate nature, accidentally posted on the Internet.

He often concentrates on himself.

For example, at the awarding of "Zenith" with gold medals of the Russian championship, Artyom put on a Deadpool suit, which was also perceived ambiguously. 

As Nepomniachtchi notes, a football player always knows how to benefit from his uncomfortable situation.

“Artyom is a good guy, but a boor.

There is no getting away from this.

I am not ashamed to talk about it.

But he's also smart.

Dziuba knows how to benefit from an uncomfortable situation.

It has always been that way.

Now he is an adult, completely independent person.

But all his actions show how he grew up, ”the coach said. 

It is a pity that the Russian national football team suffers from this in this case, which in March will play with Poland the play-off match of the 2022 World Cup.