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JOHN DAVIES: FOUNDATION TO SUCCESS IN RUSSIAN FOOTBALL
Following Diniyar Bilyaletdinov's recent departure
from Lokomotiv Moskva to Everton, joining fellow Russian internationals
Yuriy Zhirkov, Andrey Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko in the English Premier
League as well Pavel Pogrebnyak to VfB Stuttgart of the Bundesliga, astute
observers of the game are beginning to understand the growing "gold
rush" towards some of sports finest talent lays in Russia. .
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Diniyar Bilyaletdinov Photo SPORT EXPRESS
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Climbing from FIFA's international ranking of thirty-nine
in September 2006, Russia has charged up to sixth in the world and showing
signs of rivaling its stature ten years prior. Naturally this ties into
the emergence of the Rosgosstrakh Championship of Russia and one of the
best, though rarely discussed, junior development programs in the sport.
Combining a base of strong fundamental skills, appreciation of the unique
creative aspect of the sporting discipline within a foundation of athletic
development, Russia has emerged with lighting fast pace as not only a
Football powerhouse but a design template for others to watch in awe.
As a coaching consultant who applies his trade within the journalism field,
this allows me a unique vantage. As we move towards the next decade it
is obvious that since the Euro 2008 and after a number of years of personally
pointing out the development path behind laid in Russia, the Football
world has finally taken heed. In these early stages, well financed clubs
in the sport are scooping up the highest profile stars but in-time as
their own scouting systems improve the lesser known and younger players
will be highly sought after. Spartak Moskva's roster alone with Pavel
Yakovlev, Sergey Parshivlyuk and Evgeniy Makeev, all twenty-years of age
or younger, represents just a small amount of the extraordinary players
coming from domestic youth development program that every club should
have high on their acquisition list and lest I forget to mention CSKA's
Alan Dzagoev and Dynamo's Aleksandr Kokorin, are both teenagers with virtually
limitless potential.
With this in-mind, fans of the game in Russia, both old and new are going
through a unique period where many of the biggest stars are shifting to
higher profile leagues. Though it will likely take quite some time before
I forget the sound of the "Army-Men" faithful chanting Yuriy
Zhirkov's name at Luzhniki, with each move a new player steps to the spot-light
and the domestic game builds. Naturally it is a trying experience for
the fans but such is the case when the nation grows into being a powerhouse
of the sport.
On the heels of these recent activities there are certainly more in the
horizon, some a morsel sooner than others. With the transfer window readying
to close the midnight oil is being burned throughout many backrooms with
Vladimir Bystrov's name being high on many lists. While the distance between
rumour and fact will be settled in time, one thing is very clear; the
fundamental plan that was put into place to develop the game within Russia
has worked to perfection.
Prepared by John Davies
Sport
Express Daily, 28 Aug 2009
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