Crisis in the football labor market.
The leaders had two Russian central defenders in the center
There are thirteen positions in total – two for the top five clubs and three in central defense. CSKA. But only two Russian players were close to the core during the recent fall. Igor Divev CSKA and midfielder Litvinov. But Ruslan will only keep his place if he convinces Stankovic at training camp that he is better suited to a duo with Babich than foreigners. In the essentials of the leaders RPL There are few Russian central defenders, even Morozov did not enter the starting line of Lokomotiv. Zenit has Brazilians, Serbs and Kazakhs. Krasnodar has Brazilians.
Dynamo has foreign players from South America. Spartak has an international selection of defenders for goalkeeper Maksimenko, and Chernov and Litvinov are not leaders. The best defensive lines are represented by the visiting players. Babich improved Spartak’s performance without the ball. Balbuena, although he had many questions about the match, is the captain of Dynamo. For Zenit, Alip played an important role and two Brazilians, Nino and Rodrigao, made mistakes. U CSKA in the center of defense Diveev and two Brazilians, namely Moises and Rocha.
They are united by experience, as well as rumors of departure. It is clear that the Army team wants to retain its key players, as the club has been subject to a transfer ban. CSKA the sports director left, but after the trials they will fight for the newcomers thanks to the efforts of the famous club manager Babaev. His first task is to prepare for the departure of Willian Rocha. The controversial defender has thought about leaving again. The Brazilian has considered Turkish options and is currently evaluating invitations from his native country.
The agent of course denies official negotiations, because that’s the law – the club is questioned first. Villiás Roša has a long contract with CSKAwill therefore only announce his departure at the end of negotiations with the new club. For the military team, he is a valuable footballer. He has a complex character. He was disqualified and apologized for his vile behavior during the derby against Spartak, when he started a fight and tried to hit his opponents. But we are talking about a highly skilled defender.
It is important for Krasnodar and Dynamo to find defenders
The “citizens” lack players, since in the center there is only the newcomer Diego Costa, the confirmed Kayo injured and Tormen, who arrived earlier than the youngest Brazilian. Diego Costa immediately started playing and enjoyed it; they certainly don’t intend to let him go anywhere. But Tormen has found a new club. We started talking about negotiations with the Turkish team. Since before that the experienced Paraguayan Junior Alonso decided to leave Krasnodar, we would not be surprised by another problem for coach Musaev.
Murad Olegovich understands that Krasnodar is not Moscow, although even in the capital there are families of footballers who ask for a transfer, as was the case of Davila from CSKA. And now Dynamo could lose their playmaker Bitello. Given the no-fly zone, the Krasnodar players were very tired in the first part of the season. Some players want to end up in Türkiye and Brazil to quietly continue their careers and earn hundreds of thousands of euros in local currency. Tormena could leave Krasnodar.
And that’s a problem because Kayo missed a month and a half with a knee injury and then failed to impress the coaching staff. “Krasnodar” achieved an unbeaten series with the duo Tormena and Costa. Kayo appeared against Rubin and in the Kazan match the locals lost points playing to a draw. The player had nothing to do with Spartak’s defeat, but Krasnodar needs people in the center of defense. Even if Tormena stays, we need to strengthen our position in case of a break in the spring.
Dynamo has a lot of people in the center of defense. We signed a new contract with the Uruguayan Marichal. Paraguayan Fernandez and Serbian Majstorovic are in the lineup. But Dynamo’s defense was not far behind Lokomotiv’s defense in terms of organization. And if captain Balbuena is seriously considering returning to Brazil, then he must urgently look for defenders. Additionally, it is important to take into account that Dasa and Skopintsev are not coach Lichka’s favorites. These players can leave Dynamo in 2025, that is, full-backs are needed.
Zenit determined to find the right fullback
We know one of the main reasons why leaders RPL there are errors in transfers to the center of defense – Lokomotiv did not play against Montes and Nyamsi, or the clubs recruit collections of average players, moving to the flanks. Central defenders are expensive these days. And if a player knows how to take the ball, then it is more profitable for him to end up in England, Italy or Spain, rather than wasting time at clubs without access to European competitions. Hence the desperate search on the South American market or betting on friends.
Zenit signed Kazakh Alip, took a few Brazilians and recruited Slovenian Drkusic, the former Sochi captain. Vanya has been sent to Red Star, but things are not going well for him. One of the pleasant surprises of Euro 2024 was that the Serbian club was not ready for the competition. In the Champions League, Drkusic played only one match in which his team conceded four goals to Inter. Drkusic could be sent back to Zenit this summer, but what condition will he be in? Cannot strengthen the club RPL.
Like Alip, Vanya is suited to playing a leadership role among the middle peasants. But it’s difficult to bet on central defenders of this class in key matches. Zenit does not play in the Champions League, their defense would not have been noticed there, since even in RPL goalkeeper Latyshonok saved a lot and became one of the heroes of the first part of the season. Evgeny covered up some mistakes from the Brazilians and Kazakhs, but Semak was obsessed with finding the right back. He was dissatisfied with Volkov, Karavaev, Erakovich, Mantuan and Adamov.
The latter was loaned to Akhmat. Mantouan could leave Zenit this winter and Volkov is seriously injured. There remains Karavaev, for whom we have been looking for a replacement for a long time, even Mario Fernandez was brought in for a test, and Erakovic. The Serbian disappointed Semak, they stopped trusting him in the center and forgot about Strahinja as an option on the right side. They were interested in Lokomotiv player Silyanov, but now they have turned to Uruguayan Gaston Martirena, full-back of Argentinian Racing Racing.
IN RPL there are already Uruguayans on the flanks. Dynamo’s Laxalt was moved to the support zone last season. Giovanni from Krasnodar didn’t play right away. And his colleague Olasa from the left flank asked Bielsa not to call him up to the national team, because the player does not see his wife and son. This is a popular reason why foreign players are considering leaving. In September, Olasa was at home two days out of thirty. Defenders of the Moscow and Zenit clubs have a slightly simpler schedule, but everyone is looking for more profitable options.
About the Author
