Sergei Yuran: Andrei Arshavin finally relaxed

Famous football player, former player of Benfica, Porto and Spartak, and one of the most extraordinary Russian coaches Serey Yuran told why European clubs reject our football players.

2008. Joyful crowds enliven the night streets, the Russian national football team is shooting up in the rankings, and Russian players, riding the wave of success, are one by one joining foreign clubs. It seems that that European Championship thundered just recently, but already now, on the eve of the next stage, our football risks completely rolling back to its starting point.

Yes, we still have our representatives in famous European clubs, but this, the last reminder of past conquests, is now a big question. Yuri Zhirkov “broke” with England last summer. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov , Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin are likely to follow his example in the very near future. Now, when the sons are thinking about returning to their father’s house, the following question becomes relevant: what have they achieved during all this time? Whose foreign career stage can be called successful?

Unfortunately, the first answer that comes to mind is not the most comforting answer. And what actually encouraging can be said about the group of players, among whom Pavel Pogrebnyak looks the most stable and entrenched - a striker who scored one goal in seventeen matches for his German Stuttgart, and that was from the penalty spot?! Having reduced unnecessary emotions, Sobesednik.ru tried to understand the reasons for the unsuccessful performance of the current collections on the forefront of club football, and Sergei Yuran , who shone at one time on European fields, shared his authoritative opinion on this issue.

Competition

Roman Pavlyuchenko was the first to experience it. The striker was very unlucky - the coach, who wanted to see him in the team, was replaced by the club's management a month after Roman Pavlyuchenko settled in the team. After that, Tottenham was headed by Harry Redknapp, a classic English “coach” with a strong character and an unshakable opinion, in whose head his own gaming model was ripening. The main striking force of the new tactics was to be England forward Jermain Defoe and former Spurs captain Robbie Keane, who had returned to the team. Thus, Roman Pavlyuchenko found himself cut off from the base by two public favorites at once. The situation, it must be said, turned out to be unenviable, but not unique. Yuri Zhirkov could easily sympathize with his fellow countryman, because throughout his entire English career he was none other than Ashley Cole’s personal understudy. As for the rest, Andrei Arshavin and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov also soon made it clear that no one in the Foggy Albion was waiting for legionnaires with open arms - a critical squint was more common among the British.

According to psychologists, all a person’s problems are rooted in his past. So we, analyzing the failures of domestic football players in the West, look back and see that in their homeland this whole honest company has forgotten from a young age what healthy sports competition is. Even the most sophisticated memory will not be able to conjure up the image of Andrei Arshavin , sitting on the Zenit bench with a healthy blush on his face. Yuri Zhirkov, cheerfully running out as a substitute, was also hardly observed by anyone. As for fellow captain Diniyar Bilyaletdinov , his status apparently obliged him to spend days and nights on the field.

Sergey Yuran: Yuri Zhirkov suffered the most from the competition . Chelsea recruits the best players every year, which makes it very difficult to stay there. Despite all the positive qualities of Yuri Zhirkov , despite all his professionalism, it must be admitted that his level was objectively lower than those players who play in this team. Andrei Arshavin , having spoiled things, created problems for himself. In the first year he showed himself excellently. The fans and management were very pleased with him. Then that’s it, I relaxed. Now the best option for him is to return to Russia. In Anzhi or somewhere else. If it were in demand in Europe, negotiations would have been going on long ago. You can quickly earn yourself a bad reputation there.

Late departure

For comparison: Cristiano Ronaldo set off to conquer foreign countries barely reaching adulthood, Andrei Shevchenko, already at the age of 22, went to fall in love with the Italian capital, which, after some time, also attracted 21-year-old Kaka. Our main hope, Andrei Arshavin , was able to get abroad only at the age at which an enterprising football player begins to look for good coaching courses for himself. And it was somehow awkward to call Roman Pavlyuchenko a talented striker from Russia. At 26, a completely different quality is valued - skill.

On the other hand, it is absolutely impossible to reproach another Russian player with a late departure - Diniyar Bilyaletdinov . It must be admitted that Bilyaletdinov is absolutely sinless in this regard, but this does not mean that he has a huge supply of time in reserve. With such frequency of appearances on the field, it won’t take long for him to wither away, catching up with his national team captain in the waist.

Sergey Yuran: There is no big problem in adulthood. Leaving like me at 21 is much more difficult. 26-29 is, on the contrary, a super-age, the prime of a career. By that time I already had a lot of experience behind me. It’s not just anyone who comes, but a national team player, one of the most respected football players. But this does not mean that he will have authority to play or train for him, he must get used to it himself.

Lost in translation

“It’s not me, it’s him!” - it was not at all difficult to read lips, as in his first match for Tottenham, Roman Pavlyuchenko tried to appeal to the referee. However, he seemed deaf to the pleas of our bombardier. A real British referee never changes his decisions, especially if he is addressed in some foreign dialect.
Many at that time called language illiteracy the main problem of Roman Pvlyuchenko . And indeed, Pavlyuchenko’s embarrassment and tension were striking when the media, after several months, were interested in successes in this area. However, even here his faithful comrades did not abandon him - they supported him. Yuri Zhirkov , for example, when he left for Chelsea, successfully reached his destination only thanks to the linguistic abilities of a sports reporter who followed him on duty. It is unknown in what direction the best Russian winger would have flown if a conscientious worker of the printed word had not been next to him.

Sergey Yuran: A foreign language can become one of the factors. Almost everyone, one way or another, experiences difficulties with it. When I arrived in Portugal, I didn’t know the language at all. I had to learn from scratch and constantly practice communication. It is impossible without this. It is necessary to have constant contact with both teammates and fans. But in this regard, you can be calm about many of our guys - Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and Andrei Arshavin , for example, are fine with English, therefore, this cannot be the main reason for common failures.

Lack of ambition

The method of producing fire in the eyes still remains one of the main tasks in relation to our football players. To the question “What are we missing?” The answer suggests itself that there is just enough of everything, and even too much. When a South American makes a mad dash, it may seem that he is trying to escape not only from a defender, but also from his innate fate of being a beggar. When the Englishman makes a desperate tackle, it is clear that he is eager to earn the respect of the fans, which will help him continue to perform at the highest level. But when looking at the movements of football players from our native championship, for some reason one charismatic cartoon character immediately comes to mind, namely the imposing cat from The Return of the Prodigal Parrot. “They feed us well here too,” he purrs, slurping a juicy sausage. Is it possible to say unequivocally that the cat is wrong? He's even happy in his own way.

Sergey Yuran: Mentality plays the most important role in this situation. In Germany, England, Italy, Portugal it is very different from ours. Europeans pay a large sum for you, they pay a high salary and they always want to see you at your maximum. Whether it’s an official match, a friendly, a cup or a training session – it doesn’t matter. They know how to count money. Unfortunately, we don’t know how to count money. Well, not all clubs, let's say. Hence the difference in the level of professionalism. For example, here in Russia - as soon as he starts playing, he is immediately untouchable, irreplaceable, but in Europe there is no such thing. I also had a similar period - I scored goals and walked, I thought that everything was fine. This is a huge mistake! There, every single workout matters. Otherwise, you won’t be able to play constantly and be popular. I believe that the lack of professionalism, the lack of desire is the main disadvantage of our football players. However, at this moment they need to be wished patience. When you are not included in the application or put in as a replacement, it is very annoying, but you don’t have to be like many weak people who simply broke down psychologically because of this. Endure and prove! Believe me, both the club president and coach will only be happy when the players begin to prove that they really live up to the level.