Introduction:
The 25-year-old (or 27 depending on who you believe) was meant to be the next big thing and take the mantle from Andrei Arshavin to be Russia’s future. However, things have not worked out as planned for Kokorin and his career has stalled somewhat.
He first burst onto the scene at Dinamo Moscow in 2007, having come through the academy at neighbours Lokomotiv, and was immediately seen as a potential talent. Despite not hitting great form in his first spell at Dinamo, Anzhi bought his contract for a cool €19m. However, when Anzhi’s owner Suleyman Kerimov pulled the plug on his funding to the Dagestani club, Kokorin was sold back to Dinamo having never played an official match for the club.
His return to Dinamo was more of a success as the 6 ft striker began to find the back of net on a regular basis; leading to constant speculation about a move to a big European team. With his contract due to end in a matter of months (June 2016) Kokorin found himself in the driving seat to pick his next move. Although there was apparent interest from western European clubs, including Arsenal, Kokorin opted to stay in Russia and moved to Zenit St. Petersburg in the winter transfer window of 2016.
Strengths and weaknesses:
One of Kokorin’s strengths is arguably also a weakness. The Zenit man has been utilised as a front man as well as in roles off the striker, this of course shows his versatility but is possibly the reason why he has failed to live up to his potential. The fact that he has been switched around so often has made him into a jack of all trades and master of none.
In terms of attributes, Kokorin’s strongest points are his finishing and heading. One of the reasons why he was so highly rated at such a young age was because of his ability to finish off chances so coolly, something he still has in his locker. The Zenit forward also has exceptional heading ability as demonstrated by his goals for Russia against Algeria in the 2014 World Cup and against France in the recent friendly.
The 2015/16 season:
This season has certainly been more about Kokorin off the pitch rather than on it. He started the season at the now-relegated Dinamo Moscow where he was arguably a victim of the club’s financial problems as morale dropped thanks to the chaos surrounding the once great club. Kokorin should have been a leader at Dinamo but instead of putting in good performances on the pitch, he seemed to be more interested in his protracted transfer saga, safe in the knowledge that he was guaranteed a big-money move. Many felt that, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, he should have taken the plunge to a bigger league in order to really test himself. However, the former Anzhi man took the easy (and financially luring) route and moved to Zenit St. Petersburg in a €2.5m deal. The former Russian Premier League champions clearly bought Kokorin for next season, and perhaps purely to stop others from buying him (do not forget his valuable Russian passport), as he is still yet to complete a full 90 minutes for his new team.
The winter transfer window was arguably Kokorin’s last chance to test himself in a big league as no team will now pay the huge fee it will take to prise him away from Zenit whilst his wages are also astronomical and do not represent value for money. While Kokorin may have missed the boat in his club career, in international terms he still has a decent amount of time to prove himself.
Despite the fact he has years on his side, with criticism mounting by the day, the Euros could be the forward’s final opportunity to show himself as the future of Russian football.
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