Green protest

CSKA failed to win the first match of the season

Russian champion CSKA did not start the season in the best way. Having drawn 0:0 in the first match of the 1/16 UEFA Cup with Maccabi from Haifa, the army team not only disappointed the packed stadium in Vladikavkaz, but also made it difficult for themselves to reach the next stage of the tournament.

The army team got the opportunity to take a closer look at Maccabi, which in Israel is called “green” for the color of its uniform, at the Channel One Cup, in which the Israeli club also took part. The CSKA football players in full force attended the first half of the game “Maccabi” - “Dynamo” (Kyiv), however, they did not learn anything special from it. Indeed, Roni Levy’s team did not shine at this tournament, and if you consider that this was the best half of the Israeli team’s performance in this cup, then one could expect an easy victory for the army team in the 1/16 of the UEFA Cup. In any case, even in Israel there was no doubt that after the next round in European competition there would definitely be one less local team. And most likely this team will be Maccabi from Haifa.

The head coach of the Muscovites, Valery Gazzaev, seemed to believe that there were no problems in the meetings with the Israeli club. Arriving in Vladikavkaz, on the eve of the match he openly named the starting lineup of his team. However, Gazzaev had few options: due to the fact that Vagner Love received a slight injury, from which he would recover only for the return match in Israel, and Daniel Carvalho had just started training in the general group, Ramon’s debut in official matches was almost inevitable.

Ramon really took to the field from the first minutes. But it’s unlikely that another Brazilian at CSKA will be able to take this game into his asset. However, like his entire new team. Maccabi turned out to be not at all as simple as they pretended to be three weeks ago at the Channel One Cup. Having calmly coped with the traditional starting onslaught of the home team, the Israelis carried out a sharp counterattack already in the 5th minute. After passing along the left flank of the visitors, the ball was delivered to Katan, whose shot hit the goal post. The next dangerous moment was again created by Maccabi - in the middle of the first half, Kalautti scored dangerously. And after the Argentine’s shot, the ball missed the bar by only centimeters.

This is where the army team would understand that the opponent deserves more respect than he was given. But Krasic still recklessly walked forward, exposing his right flank, and defensive midfielders Aldonin and Dudu did not have time to insure their partners, who were too carried away by the attack. Too often in simple situations, the army defenders also made mistakes, while all of CSKA’s offensive actions mostly came down to high passes into the center of the penalty area, where tall Jo was supposed to be on duty. But by the break, Gazzaev’s team could boast of only one dangerous moment, and that was created after an error by visiting goalkeeper Davidovich.

In the second half, the teams initially managed to manage without any scoring chances. Gazzaev, releasing Shemberas onto the field, closed the problematic right flank. However, this did not help the “red-blues” attack, and although CSKA had a gaming and territorial advantage, the army team failed to translate it into something tangible. Even the hopes placed on Daniel Carvalho were not realized. Coming on as a substitute about half an hour before the end of the game, the Brazilian made his presence known several times with his trademark free kicks. One day, after his kick, the ball whistled over the crossbar of Davidovich's goal. In another episode, Dudu responded to Carvalho’s accurate transmission, but again was inaccurate.

The closer the final whistle was, the more Maccabi players huddled towards their goal. But they still weren’t going to give up. And with every minute, the bold hopes of Israeli team head coach Roni Levy for a goalless draw looked more and more justified. As a result, the guests achieved their goal. And now in the return match, which will take place on February 22, CSKA needs a victory. “Nothing terrible happened,” Valery Gazzaev noted about this. “Even if it wasn’t our best match, everything will be decided in a week in Israel.”

Andrey VDOVIN