We saw the Russian national team for the first time since November 2021. They saw – and were dumbfounded. If it were not for the anthem, flag and uniform, no one would have guessed that our national team is playing with the national team of Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.
Of course, this sparring is a wide field for experiments. Valery Karpin wanted to get to know someone better, to study something. At the Spartak stadium, located three thousand kilometers from the Otkritie Arena, nine people played for the Russian national team for the first time.
The ban had a terrible effect on the Russian team! The match in Bishkek is a real torment
On this, far from us, “Spartak” named after Dolon Omurzakov, Spartak player Alexander Sobolev scored. And Daniil Utkin scored – Karpin’s key player in Rostov. They flew to Bishkek not in vain, especially the central midfielder. To excel on the day of the debut is a memory for a lifetime. Utkin is generally handsome: according to figures from InStat, he is one of the best or simply the best in the RPL this season in terms of the number of technical and tactical actions (978), shots on goal (29), assists (628), passes under attack (20), rebounds ball (93) and self-inflicted fouls (25). This is the case when getting a football player into the Russian national team does not raise any questions.
But it is obvious that some of the players who were called up by Karpin for the match with Kyrgyzstan are still too early to play for the Russian national team. In the national team, perhaps, there are too many representatives of Rostov: five people, despite the fact that Valery publicly speaks about the goals of his club team – to avoid the struggle for survival and the joint zone. This is a minus of compatibility. Of course, Karpin is closer to his players, he sees them every working day. Utkin is really well prepared by the coach. But how to explain that Alexander Silyanov, who usually plays for Karpin in Rostov on the flank, takes the position of the central defender in the Russian national team? Naturally, the young wagon worries in a less familiar role, makes mistakes.
At the same time, Stanislav Magkeev sits in Karpin’s reserve, not Silyanov plays on the flank, but Danil Krugovoi, who was not at all in the original line-up. Zenit was called up after Igor Diveev was injured. How to understand the logic of the coach?
However, Magkeev’s game in Lokomotiv also does not shake the imagination. But the coach does not invite one of the best central defenders in Russia, Dmitry Chistyakov. Karpin, apparently, proceeds from the fact that Chistyakov has little practice at Zenit, but this is not always a sentence for the player. Remember last year. Zelimkhan Bakaev consistently played at the base of Spartak and was the main one in the Russian national team, while Andrei Mostovoy was content with the role of a substitute in both the club team and the national team. However, Bakaev moved to Zenit in the summer, and it turned out that he was losing the competition to Mostovoy. It turns out that Karpin was wrong in assessing the players. Meanwhile, Bakaev, being a reservist at Zenit, passes on a penalty in Bishkek.
Chistyakov, Alexei Sutormin, Ivan Sergeev: they all deserve a chance in the Russian national team, because they compete daily at Zenit at a different level than other RPL players. And they still get some minutes. We played in all tournaments, even more than the Round Robin.
Karpin advises not to pay attention to critics. Okay, journalists are always looking for negativity, football people are “watered” out of envy, and fans are capricious. But the defender of the national team of Kyrgyzstan Valery Kichin, who plays in our First League for Yenisei, says bluntly: this Russian team would not have played worthily at the World Cup. When an opponent diagnoses you, it’s hard to “not pay attention.”
Valery Kichin
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, Championship
It is curious that Karpin, wanting to put it mildly, spoke in the language of Stanislav Cherchesov, in whose dictionary “mistakes” were replaced by “shortcomings”.
“There is no critical mood. Many things didn’t work out. As I said before the game, it was important to look at the players at this level. So there was a review. Lots of newbies. Some are better, some are worse. Happy with this view. The game has some bugs. This is clear”.
What would the Russian team be like if they had to play at the 2022 World Cup in two months? It remains to be hoped that it is not the same as in Bishkek. Legionnaires would pull up – Alexander Golovin, Alexey Miranchuk, Magomed Ozdoev. Perhaps Fedor Kudryashov would not be in a hurry to leave the national team. Today’s Artyom Dzyuba would hardly make Karpin forget old grievances. Let’s add Arsen Zakharyan and Diveev, who are now injured, as well as Roman Zobnin, who has taken a break, to the virtual squad for the World Championship. That’s all, probably.
“It would be 6-0, they would say:“ Whom did you beat? Karpin and players – after the victory of the Russian team
One day the ban of Russia will end, and then it will be time to globally evaluate the work of Karpin and his staff in the national team. Unfortunately, there are few stars in Russian football, not to mention ready-made players for the top clubs in Europe. Maybe, indeed, Malcolm and Claudinho will be naturalized by some miracle?
