The world of calcio is having an increasing influence on Russian football. Following Domenico Criscito’s transfer from Genoa to Zenit St Petersburg, the Russian Premier League is now home to four Italians – Criscito, Zenit manager Luciano Spalletti, Alessandro Rosina (returning to St Petersburg after a loan spell at Cesena) and Salvatore Bocchetti of Rubin Kazan.
Criscito, Rosina and Bocchetti are all excellent players and Serie A’s loss if Russia’s gain. But can football in ‘the motherland’ improve them as players? Will the experience make them more complete or hinder their progress?
It came as a shock that Criscito, one of the few positives for Genoa fans after a mediocre season, was not snapped up by a bigger Italian club, but he has arrived at the Petrovsky Stadium at the right time. Following the 0-0 draw to Terek Grozny, Spalletti criticised Zenit’s inability to attack down the flanks. Criscito has the ability to improve this aspect of Zenit, and Spalletti and Rosina will undoubtedly help the left-back get used to life in the former capital of Russia.
He will, though, have competition. Nicolas Lombaerts is another splendid full-back who, last December, attracted the interest of Chelsea when he quelled the threat or fellow Belgian Romelo Lukaku in the Europa League. Nevertheless, Criscito seems to have Spalletti’s faith and will offer an extra dimension offensively as well as maintaining a solid backline.
His colleague, Rosina, will have less of a part to play in the Zenit setup. He is behind Alexander Kerzhakov, Danko Lazovic and Alexander Bukharov in the pecking order, and may benefit from a permanent return to Italy.
The Salvatore Bocchetti situation is more complicated. He arrived in Kazan last summer but initially struggled, and in April the centre-back stated that he was homesick and wished to return to Italy. “It is hard for me to live so far away from Italy. I would like to go back to my homeland,” said the Neapolitan. “In just two months the transfer window will be open and we will see what can be done for a return.”
However, if his feelings haven’t changed since then, his performances certainly have. Rubin have moved from eighth to fourth, and have conceded just four goals in seven games, thanks in no small part to Bocchetti’s assured defending. He even got on the score sheet twice, with two headers from set pieces, and though he has the worst disciplinary record in the Rubin squad so far this season, (with three yellow cards and one red) in the last ten games he has only picked up one yellow.
Now Juventus are said to be interested in signing Bocchetti, and the skills that he has learned, honed brilliantly in Russia, would help him break into both the Juve and Italian starting line-up.
Italy crashed out of last year’s World Cup having shipped five goals in three games, and four of those goals were from set pieces. Juventus have had similar problems conceding goals from free-kicks and corners, as well as being punished on the counter-attack.
The Russian Premier League is home to some of the world’s best free-kick takers. Keisuke Honda (arguably one of the only three players to have mastered the art of long-range shots with the Jabulani ball at the World Cup 2010, alongside Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan) and Roberto Carlos (World Cup winner and scorer of that free-kick goal against France) are just two of the best in Russia.
When Honda et al unleash a screamer bound for the top corner, there is not much anyone else can do. But positioning, marking and general set-piece preparations are all things that Bocchetti has been getting good practise in, and he has visibly improved. Hopefully Criscito, who unlike Bocchetti was in the Azzurri World Cup team and at fault for a couple of the goals they conceded, can also improve.
There are many counter-attacking teams in the Russian league, notably Dinamo Moscow, who have thrived on Andriy Voronin’s deadly through balls. As this is the chosen tactic of many Serie A teams from Palermo to Udinese, a move to Russia would benefit both offensive Italian players (who would learn to counter-attack effectively) and defensive ones (who would get practice defending them).
However, the case of one player serves as a warning to young, unestablished Italians thinking of moving eastward. Valerio Brandi, a Milan youth product, arrived at Rubin Kazan in 2009. Initially the then-19-year-old was optimistic: speaking to tuttomercatoweb.com, Brandi said “The players have treated me like a little brother, with a lot of respect, and have tried to make me feel as much at home as possible. The technical and managerial staff also give me a lot of attention and never hesitate to listen to my problems.”
However, it soon turned sour. Brandi was only picked for youth team matches, and in an interview with Sovietsky Sport he said that the coach never even talked to him about the possibility of playing in the first team. When his tourist visa ran out he had to return to Italy, and the Russian Football Labour Union have made a complaint to FIFA over his treatment. They have yet to make a decision on the matter. Brandi is unattached: his contract with Rubin expires next year but he is not in the squad.
So if you are Italian and think you can brave the cold climate – more of a problem now that the Russian Premier League is switching to a winter calendar – a move to the former communist power could improve your game tremendously, especially if you are a defender. But, whatever the outcome of the Brandi case, it may be a good idea for teenage youth team graduates who have not yet made a name for themselves to stay in Italy, or at least Western Europe, rather than go to the more mysterious Russian Premier League.
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