Sport-Express:
Dmitri Simonov: “I can’t stop thinking that the away match with Bayern, was, for CSKA, like undergoing a vehicle inspection or a fitness exam. They hassle you, poke you, delve into everything - but then they let you go and you make your way home in peace. It’s very difficult to feel excited or bold in an argument with a highway patrolman or while on the doctor’s exam table. There was no hint of an epic battle in Munich.”
“Now it’s very important how the players and coaches react to this major defeat and to the might, which Bayern displayed in administering the defeat. It’s been a long time since someone toyed like that with the 2012/13 Russian champions. If everyone on CSKA’s roster can quickly part with the nasty memories, like an aggravating morning hangover, everything will be fine. Drink some salted brine, smile, watch a KVN episode (Russian comedy show). Then the team will continue to efficiently collect points, including in the Champions League group. Maybe even a mean competitive streak will be born, bordering on wrath. Then, on Sunday - Spartak. The fans remembered them with their final cheer.”
“And here’s my own small secret. At the Munich hotel, where CSKA stayed, two statues adorned the entrance: a meek red lamb and bloodthirsty wolf in sheepskin - green, for some reason. Given that Bayern’s nicknamed the “Reds”, I wanted badly for CSKA to be the wolf.
But no one changed skins on the pitch.
It’s soothing that Bayern has a whole flock of such sheep. Practically all of world football. Why be sad? We’re not the only ones. We’ll graze quietly, together with Barcelona.”
Championat.com:
Igor Rabiner: “No, CSKA’s mini-chance wasn’t in its individual players. Only one thing - the same thing that, excuse the comparison, happened to Russia before the game with Northern Ireland. What’s more, our national team, which has never won anything global in our era, had much less reason for arrogance than Bayern, which won everything you can win last season. So, I thought, if Munich once became disoriented and slipped up against BATE Borisov almost a year ago, maybe they will now, too? To be frank, what else could we count on, other than “what if”?
“When Vitinho collected the Army Men’s first simple attempt on Neuer’s goal in the 34th minute, it seemed even the bored Bayern stands applauded. But when a few seconds later Honda’s pass to Musa (he would have been one-on-one from 30 yards out!) was liquidated at the last moment by Boateng’s sliding tackle, the hosts tensed up a bit. Although, of them all, only Guardiola probably knew of Musa and his blinding speed. He knows everything.”
“If Mandzukic was their most determined offensive threat before the break, then after the break it was Robben. When Alaba (who promises to become one of the world’s top left backs in the near future), dropped him a lovely “parachute” pass in the 69th minute, the Dutchman received it on his chest and waited so patiently for it to drop to the earth, that, if wont to disregard the athlete’s code of healthy living, he could have leisurely smoked a cigarette. The point-blank shot couldn’t be stopped and Ignashevich, desperately lunging to impede him, didn’t get there in time. 3-0.”
“In general, nothing tragic took place. The most hopeless match from the group stage, of six possible, has been lost. It happened during a time of roster trouble, when even the initial prospects excluded any other potential developments. It’s just that the melody of this loss turned out to be so utterly depressing. It brought us to our knees. Though there wasn’t complete humiliation, for which we must be grateful.”
Sovetsky Sport:
Evgeny Lovchev: “In general, one could understand all of CSKA’s problems - the injuries to several players and the fact that the attacking corps, due to Vagner’s sale and these injuries, is much weakened. And, that they were playing Bayern. There’s just one thing that I can’t understand - the team was afraid taking the pitch, and the manager gave the impression that he knew how it would all end. There’s just one question - why come at all?”
“Bayern provided a masterclass. Pay attention, if you can watch the game again, to how the Germans recover the ball. It’s the same principle Guardiola had at Barcelona - as soon as the team loses the ball, a big group of players rush to recover and then quickly transition to the attack. You get the impression that these guys could keep it up for five halves, not two.”
Vladimir Abramov: “First of all, the fact that the score wasn’t more lopsided (4-0 or more) is due to the Germans, not CSKA’s players. Logically, they should have scored a couple more goals. The first half was awful, and it was even a bit embarrassing for CSKA - they showed us our place is in the toilet. In the second half, Bayern literally felt sorry for our men and decided not to go all the way. Yesterday Real, leading Galatasaray 6-1, kept attacking, in order to score the 7th, and the Turkish goalie wasted time, in order to not let another in. Bayern, though, decided: “We’re not going to cut our enemy up, we’re not going to humiliate.” They let loose their grip and didn’t plan to show their best football.”
Sports.ru:
Denis Romantsov: “Without Elm, Fernandes, Dzagoev and Doubmia and Tosic unable to play 90 minutes, Slutsky had a very easy time choosing the starting XI: everyone healthy played. CSKA is used to conceding first, but if you can be aggressive and load up on offense against Krylia Sovetov in Khimki, then against Bayern in Munich, you have to vacillate between wanting to make up the deficit and risking collapsing entirely. Slutsky made three positional substitutions, without disrupting the tactical balance, but only Tosic’s entrance helped CSKA’s attack - even that was decorative, not productive. The substitutions didn’t affect the nature of the game. There’s nothing to praise Slutsky for after Munich, but blaming the coach, deprived of half his starters against the best club in Europe, would be a similarly vacuous exercise.”
Author: Andy Shenk
I discovered football when my family moved to Russia in the early 2000′s. I’ll never forget sprinting around my house after Russia qualified for Euro 2008, belting out the Russian national anthem. Since 2011, I’ve supported Anzhi in all its inspiring glory and heartbreaking dysfunction. Also Andrei Eschenko’s #1 American fan.
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