In the context of a lack of football: why the RFU should think about holding a tournament of legends

The main event of the past weekend for Russian fans was the Super Cup match between Zenit and Spartak.

However, it was preceded by a no less interesting event, within the framework of which veterans of both teams met with each other.

The game was held at the Petrovsky stadium and ended in victory for the hosts, leaving only positive impressions.

Many fans were happy to see the stars of the past again on the field and enjoy the performance of such brightest performers as Andrey Tikhonov, Dmitry Alenichev, Yegor Titov, Andrey Arshavin, Alexander Kerzhakov and Anatoly Timoshchuk.

For many, the confrontation was not easy.

The match was held in the format of two halves of 40 minutes, it was not easy to maintain a high pace for almost an hour and a half.

In many ways, it was the presence of younger players in the hosts that helped them to gain the upper hand.

If "Spartak" was practically deprived of the opportunity to act on a collision course and relied on a positional attack, then "Zenith" was looking for happiness in counterattacks and achieved his goal.

Both goals were scored after rapid exits from the defense.

First, Roman Shirokov turned out to be quicker than everyone in the penalty area, and then Kerzhakov closed the transfer of Arshavin, who had made a raid on the left edge.

And although after the final whistle, many agreed that they felt a little unusual on the field after a long break, the performance of the masters of the past did not disappoint both the fans and the leaders of Russian football.

So, RFU President Alexander Dyukov was pleased with the atmosphere and said that he would not mind holding such meetings every year.

"Why not?

Our veteran legends have proven to be in great shape.

Legs remember.

Many are fine, they can still play in the RPL.

Revenge at Luzhniki?

Yes, it's possible.

If the players are ready, ”the Championship quotes Dyukov.

Agreed with him and the head coach of "Zenith" Sergei Semak.

According to him, he enjoyed watching the meeting and would be happy to watch the performance of the legends of other clubs.

“This is CSKA, and Spartak, and Rubin, and Lokomotiv ... Fans are interested in seeing their idols.

Today they were pleased to remember a bunch of Arshavin and Kerzhakov: the first passes, and the second scores.

I think everyone enjoyed the match - once again they saw the players they went to watch before and learned something from, ”Semak said on Match TV.

Thus, the mentor of the Petersburgers gave a good idea.

Of course, the duel between Zenit and Spartak has become one of the most fierce and principled in the national arena, so not only matches between the first teams, but also youth ones cause serious excitement.

However, there is hardly any doubt that the games between the conditional legends of CSKA and Lokomotiv would have been less colorful.

Surely, many would not refuse to once again see conditional Sergei Ignashevich, the brothers Alexei and Vasily Berezutsky on the one hand, and Dmitry Loskov, Sergei Ovchinnikov and Dmitry Khokhlov on the field, on the other.

But there are many more teams for which many star Russian football players have played at different times.

Suffice it to recall at least two more Moscow clubs - Dynamo and Torpedo, the two-time champion of the country - Rubin, the winner of the 1995 championship - Alania and the three-time winner - Rotor.

But there were also charismatic Saturn and Wings of the Soviets.

And if you set a goal, then you could create a veterans' league.

You can't think of a better time for this.

This season, Russian teams are guaranteed not to play in European cups and national team tournaments, which is why fans will not be able to fully satisfy their need for a football product.

Yes, both the option of creating the RPL Cup and the reform of the Russian Cup are currently being discussed, but so far none of the ideas has been implemented.

And it's not certain that it will.

Match TV reacted extremely negatively to the creation of another competition and threatens to break the television contract with the Premier League, and it seems unlikely on paper to reorganize in a few weeks.

As a result, a certain vacuum may form, which could be filled by confrontations between veterans.

The meeting between Spartak and Zenit confirmed the interest in such events.

And this despite the fact that both teams were not in optimal compositions.

The same red-and-white ones missed many star performers, including Alexander Mostovoy, because of whose absence a whole scandal erupted.

Over the past few days, new details of the situation have regularly surfaced in the press, and its heated discussion only confirms the theory about the expediency of creating a championship for former football players.

In addition, some of the older players still play either in the minor leagues or in amateur tournaments that do not get the attention they deserve.

The same Roman Pavlyuchenko defends the colors of the "Banner of Labor" from Noginsk, and Shirokov often appears at various friendly competitions.

Although both are still able to demonstrate a fairly high level of skill and attract fans not only to the stands, but also to television screens.

Especially if all this is properly organized and covered.

Of course, one of the main questions will concern the format of the competition.

And in this case, it is very important to find a middle ground and understand how often an ordinary fan will be interested in consuming this product.

And in this regard, it is necessary not to overdo it, because an overabundance will extremely quickly lead to satiety and loss of interest.

And the players themselves are unlikely to be able to enter the field once a week.

Many of them work both in the structures of clubs and teams, and as experts on television, so they are unlikely to find enough free time.

It will be even harder for those who are actively coaching.

In the last meeting, the same Spartak could well count on a number of super players, but Valery Karpin and Viktor Onopko were busy preparing Rostov for the start of the RPL season, and Sergey Yuran and Igor Shalimov - Khimki and Ural, respectively.

But even in their absence, there is an opportunity to assemble very competitive and rich in names compositions.

Thus, it seems optimal to hold matches with a difference of several weeks, and in more forgiving conditions.

As previous experience has shown, it was extremely difficult for many to withstand two halves of 40 minutes, which led to a decrease in speed, intensity level and entertainment.

The same “Zenith” was criticized by many for too defensive tactics, and Dmitry Kombarov even used the term “bus” in relation to his rivals.

“When you haven’t played football for five years, you can play with the bus,” Vladimir Bystrov, who celebrated his 38th birthday in January, replied to him.

In addition, a more concise match format, and possibly smaller pitches, would be much more convenient for spectators and could sustain the buzz level longer in the long run.

In this case, the fans will not get fed up and will wait for new confrontations with much more trepidation.

However, all this is unlikely to be possible without the lack of proper funding.

If sponsors do not see potential in the project, then it will be extremely difficult to attract bright performers to it.

After all, it is one thing to hold one or two meetings a year before significant events like the Cup and the Super Bowl, another thing is to take the field on a regular basis.

It is unlikely that most legends will want to “break” their work schedules and waste their free time if it is not properly paid.