Last chance to save a career: why Kokorin needs to return from Fiorentina to Russia

The career of Alexander Kokorin in Italy has long been reminiscent of an unsuccessful series that has nothing to do with sports.

In January 2021, the footballer moved from Spartak to Fiorentina for €4.5 million, but for a year and a half he failed to prove himself.

Indicative statistics - during this time he spent only 11 matches in the team, did not score a single goal, but missed about 3.5 months due to health problems.

So the current off-season turns out to be crumpled for the striker.

At the end of July, the club published a list of players who will go to the next training camp in Spain and Austria, but Alexander was not on it.

“They told me to train here because I missed a lot and I’m not ready to train with everyone yet.

I'm fine.

News about the termination of the contract in the Russian media?

I always see this only in the press, ”R-Sport quotes the athlete.

For the previous collection in Moena, the forward arrived later than the partners and worked on an individual program.

The reason, according to media reports, was the coronavirus transferred after a vacation in the Maldives.

It was reported that he had a high temperature for several days.

Against this background, discussions have intensified about the possible early termination of the contract, which expires in June 2024.

However, the player's side, apparently, does not intend to agree with this.

In particular, the Russian agent Timofey Berdyshev emphasized that his client was going to continue his career at Fiorentina.

According to other sources, Alexander's side is ready to leave, but only if they receive all the €3.6 million due before the end of the agreement, while the club is ready to pay only €2 million.

One way or another, for Kokorin, the next season threatens to be completely lost, which is an unaffordable luxury at his age.

If in the past he played a total of only 125 minutes in all tournaments, then, taking into account the completely missed pre-season, he risks getting even less time.

The transition to another European club with such modest statistics is practically unrealistic, as well as a trip to China or the countries of the Middle East, where a Russian could be offered a salary comparable to the current one.

In this situation, the striker, if he wants to revive his career and spend several seasons at a high level, has only one way out - a return to the RPL.

On the one hand, it is not at all a fact that the teams of the Premier League, watching the latest failures of a football player, will take risks, especially given the increased trauma.

On the other hand, immediately after his release from prison, the athlete brightly showed himself as part of the Sochi, which had risen to the elite division, and, having scored seven goals in ten matches, moved to Spartak.

Experts interviewed by RT are sure that Kokorin, despite the unsuccessful segment in Italy, is able to remind fans of himself.

So, according to the well-known agent Alexei Safonov, there is a high demand for him in the RPL and there will be no problems, including with employment in leading clubs.

“He is still able to calmly play for any team from the top eight of the Premier League.

Yes, even though he is already 31, he still has high speed and has not lost this quality.

We have such a level of championship that Kokorin will be in the first roles here, ”Safonov expressed confidence.

Andrey Kobelev also supported him, under whose leadership the striker began his career at Dynamo.

The coach noted that even teams that set themselves serious goals experience personnel difficulties in the attack line.

And there is a shortage of quality attackers with a Russian passport in the RPL.

“You can say that Kokorin is no longer the same, but if you look at the personnel situation, there are not enough scorers for many.

Sochi lost Mateo Cassierra.

Lokomotiv clearly could use a high-level center forward.

Yes, they signed a contract with Ivan Ignatiev, but you can’t compare him with Alexander - this is heaven and earth.

CSKA also lacks a striker.

Therefore, Kokorin would be useful, but the problem is that not everyone will be able to take him because of the high financial requirements, ”the specialist emphasized.

As an additional advantage for the mentors of domestic teams, Kobelev called the versatility of a football player, since he is able to close several positions at once, including on the edge and on the edges of the attack, and perform different functions.

But Kokorin’s salary can really become an obstacle on the way to his return to Russia, because in Fiorentina, according to media reports, he earns € 1.8 million. Taking into account UEFA and FIFA sanctions and suspension from European competitions, even the leading clubs are not in are able to offer such conditions and rely on less stellar and famous performers.

For example, in the summer, Lokomotiv strengthened the attack by the young Montenegrin Marko Rakonyats and Ignatiev, who flew to the FNL as part of Rubin, Zenit - Cassierra, who played in Sochi, and Sochi - Vladislav Sarveli, who sparkled in Wings of the Soviets.

Especially in the case of Kokorin, we are talking about an age-related injury-prone player.

But Safonov believes that the level of the ex-footballer of the national team is so high that the strongest teams are ready to offer him a good contract.

“Alexander may well agree to €1.7-1.5 million if he really wants to return.

Look how many players after 30 years old are bought for big money, for example, in the Premier League.

It's not a problem at all.

The main thing is to make a clause in the agreement so that he cannot hit anyone with pieces of furniture and give him the book “12 chairs” by Ilf and Petrov,” the agent added.

However, according to him, this is only possible if he undergoes a thorough medical examination and long training camps, so that potential employers can make sure that the athlete does not have serious health problems.

At the same time, the option of signing an agreement without viewing is excluded.

However, desire and motivation are much more important - is a football player ready to start a career from scratch at the age of 31 and prove to others that he is able to prove himself again in the RPL.

Former striker of the Russian national team Dmitry Bulykin, who played in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, believes that Alexander needs to make every effort to return to the previous level.

“It is interesting to see how Alexander gets through this recession, because we all understand that he is a good player.

I'm sure that in a year and a half in Italy he didn't lose much physically.

Sasha is able to return if he works hard.

Actually, in the near future we will understand how much he himself needs this, ”explained Bulykin.

Moreover, he called the middle peasants of the RPL an ideal option for continuing his career with Kokorin.

There, the Lokomotiv graduate is guaranteed to get game practice, as he once did in Sochi, and, having gained confidence, he will start scoring again.

“Of course, the absence of goals for such a long time deals a serious blow to the psychological mood of the attackers, especially since Kokorin practically does not enter the field ... I have no doubt that in his current state he can score ten goals in the RPL in a season, ”- Bulykin added.

But Kobelev, on the contrary, is sure that the former ward, after a long stay in Italy, has no desire to return home, although he does not enjoy the confidence of coaches at Fiorentina.

“For some reason, it seems to me that Alexander himself is not eager to go to Russia and is not averse to staying in Italy.

It is also impossible to exclude options with other European countries or the Middle East and China.

Or he can play for Fiorentina until the end of the contract.

It is unlikely that the club will agree to immediately pay everything due for two years.

There are many questions that are not related to football, ”the specialist said.

Finally, Bulykin, based on personal experience, expressed the opinion that moving to Russia should not cause discomfort for a football player, since he will find himself in an environment where everything is familiar to him, and the failure at Fiorentina will be quickly forgotten.

“Alexander will arrive far from being a winner - he failed to prove himself in Italy.

But I'm sure it means nothing to him.

You should not be afraid of any problems of a psychological nature and protracted adaptation, ”said the former forward of the Russian national team.