Translated material
Kerzh's choice
Frankly degrading in the St. Petersburg Zenit, Kerzhakov, being in the prime of his life in age, made a risky and absolutely competent career leap: he moved to the Spanish Seville, a team trying to become top in one of the strongest national leagues in the world. Now, it seems, Kerzh is taking an even more risky and much less obvious step: not having established himself in the main team of Sevilla and wanting to get playing practice before the 2008 European Championship, he agrees to a sharp decline in the level of his career, which is the almost decided transfer of the forward to Moscow "Dynamo".
The talented but extremely unstable Russian forward fell into a psychological trap. Of course, every great football player dreams of playing in the World Cup or continental championship. Of course, in addition to a good salary, an ambitious and capable striker (and Kerzhakov undoubtedly is one) also wants to constantly go on the field and score goals. In addition, Kerzhakov is clearly one of those players who are more comfortable feeling like a team leader, rather than a backup to his attacking partners, which he remained for a season and a half in Seville. But here comes a difficult choice. What is better - to be a bencher in a strong team of a strong championship or a clear leader (with the full burden of psychological responsibility for the result) in a not very strong team of not the highest quality championship? There is no definite answer.
If we talk about professional incentives (we are not discussing Kerzhakov’s salary in Seville and future salary in Dynamo, agreeing that Muscovites have the opportunity to at least “replicate” Seville money), in Spain there were definitely at least no less of them . First of all, because in competition with such strikers as the Malian Kanoute (who, due to his age, is unlikely to be able to last long at the current level) and the Brazilian Luis Fabiano, playing against Barcelona, Real Madrid and other clubs that are superior in level to the best Russians, you can progress. Yes, of course, to progress you need game practice: well, here the football player has to “tear his veins”, proving his right to a place in the squad. At the same time, Kerzhakov did not seem to have any conflicts with the Seville coaching staff. You just have to be aware: in the current Russian championship it is impossible for players of Kerzhakov’s level to progress, they only have a chance, at best, not to degrade. In this sense, Russia is not fundamentally different from the United States or some oil-producing Arab countries, where relatively famous foreign football players come to finish their games for a lot of money.
In other words, Kerzhakov’s choice is justified only if he is absolutely sure that there is no chance of getting playing practice in Seville before the European Championship and will be able to play in Dynamo Moscow, and especially at the Euro itself, so as to receive a new invitation to a team from a stronger championship.
In Russia, alas, it is already possible to collect players who have outgrown the level of the national championship, but did not make a career breakthrough in time, which is why they did not reach the level of skill that they could have counted on. So, for example, Spartak players Andrei Pyatnitsky, Valery Kechinov and even - excuse me, fans of the "red and whites" - Yegor Titov largely ruined their careers. On the brink is Andrei Arshavin, who, of course, at the current Zenit can be paid much more than in most teams from strong European championships, where he is still in principle being sold, but who is simply obliged to make a qualitative leap in his career.
It may be objected to me that the return of players like Kerzhakov, and even to the metropolitan “Dynamo”, which is not yet even one of the Russian giants, raises the level of our championship. But if we want to see our team strong, we must be aware that it is better for our most gifted players in their prime to perform in the strongest possible national championships. Kerzhakov does not have the task of raising the level of the Russian championship, he has the task of becoming a striker of a good European level. In Seville he lacks practice; in Moscow Dynamo there are not enough worthy opponents. So decide here which is better...