Substitutions
Official statistics say that every third sub made by Kuchuk converts to a goal or an assist, and this is the highest figure among Premier League coaches. In 2014 Lokomotiv is keeping on schedule: Pavlyuchenko and Ozdoev created a decider in a game against Krylya Sovetov, while Tkachev completed the rout of Ural. Substitutions made before the game cannot be considered less important. Ozdoev starts the game instead of ex-Anzhi star Boussoufa and show at least the same level performance, in form Denisov is usually on the bench after he plays for Uzbekistan and right defender Shishkin becomes the “Russian Lahm” if all defensive midfielders are injured or disqualified.
Shooter
There was only one year in Russian history, when Lokomotiv had an upper class forward: Sychev in 2004. That year he returned to his homeland from Drogba’s Marseille and immediately became the player of the year. But after his injury in 2005 he failed to return to his level and Lokomotiv failed to replace him. Peter Odemwingie was good before and after Lokomotiv, but his poor display made red-green fans thank WBA for his departure with a racist banner. Harry O’Connor helped the railwaymen to win their last trophy – the 2007 Russian Cup – but he scored only 7 times within the year and a half he spent in Moscow. And well enough known Felipe Caicedo, bought from Manchester City, has degraded to be better fit to play at the level of Al-Jazira. Dame N’Doye has already scored 12 goals in 20 games this season and, what is more important, I’ve never seen defenders like Douglas looking so out of place when facing him. Dame looks like a guy who came from English Premier League, and if he continues to play like this, he will be there soon.
Transfers
Lokomotiv made the most of Anzhi’s fall, buying the very players it needed: quality attacking midfielder Mbark Boussoufa and world-class defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra. Last winter the club lost national team defender Eschenko; today the team has Vitaly Denisov, who has already made 6 assists, including an amazing 50 meters throw. Guilherme’s injury seemed a disaster for the team, but now it would be hard for him to return to the squad as Abaev shows very solid display. The fewer mistakes Lokomotiv makes on transfer market, the more players Kuchuk can use in his rotation.
No pressure
If you look at the rating of football team tags on the most popular Russian sport site, sports.ru, you will find out that while Spartak, Zenit and CSKA form the top three, Lokomotiv is only 10th behind Real Madrid, Manchester United and other foreign clubs. Only 9.5 thousand attended Saturday game of the RPL leader against Ural. Yes, Dynamo supporters, who shelled the players from paintball guns, prove that even insignificant amount of fans can put pressure on players. But in Lokomotiv, the female president Olga Smorodskaya takes all the fans hate in case something goes wrong, like previous presidents did (ask Lipatov). The example of Sychev shows that fans remain pretty loyal to the players even if they beat offsides records. And if the team is 7th again, they would rather blame management. Such attitude can make players complacent, and that’s what happened under Bilic. But right now, when the title is so close, it prevents players from overheating, which happens with Spartak players every year.
Hunger
This is the first season Lokomotiv plays without people who have won the league with the team: Loskov retired and Sychev is on loan at “Russia-2004” team Volga. But Lokomotiv plays with two-time bronze medalist Samedov, two-time silver medalist Shishkin, three-time silver medalist Pavlyuchenko, and U-20 World Cup silver medalist Maicon. Lokomotiv plays with Guilherme, who left Brazil in 2007 and still has not won anything. These players understand they will not have too many attempts to win the league or to play in Champions League. As the level of competition in Russian League is enormously high, nobody can guarantee this team will be able to fight for the title next season. These guys will use this chance – or they will regret it all their lives.
Leave a Reply