De Rússia con amor
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/911/1/De-Russia-con-amor/De-Russia-con-amor.html
Nick Dorrington
By Nick Dorrington
Published on 09/23/2007
Like Dan Akroyd and Chevy Chase before them, a slew of young South American soccer players are harshing the frozen tundra to conquer a new land...Russia.
Like Dan Akroyd and Chevy Chase before them, a slew of young South American soccer players are harshing the frozen tundra to conquer a new land...Russia.
De Rússia con amor
To go from the sweltering hot sands of the Copacabana, to Moscow in the heart of a Russian winter may not seem to be the most attractive move for a footballer, but it is one that is becoming increasingly more common. As of this week, there are currently nineteen Brazilians, as well as six Argentines and one Colombian plying their trade in Russia’s top division. Add to that, a further twenty Brazilians in the Ukrainian first division and there is quite a community growing across the former USSR countries.
The main reason why many of them are keen to make the move is money. As Maxi Moralez, a young Argentine midfielder, voted the second best player at this year’s U-20 World Cup, said on his recent move to FC Moscow, “I would have liked to stay with Racing, but I think about the economic progress for me and my family”. Most of the recent signings by Russian and Ukrainian clubs have been of players aged between 19-22, who are just starting to establish themselves in their own domestic leagues. At this stage in their careers, many of them will be earning very little and therefore cannot afford to hold out for an established big European club to come in for them, when the Russian or Ukrainian clubs are offering at least three or four times their current salary.
The secondary reason for a great number of them is the opportunity to play in the big European competitions, such as the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. Clubs such as CSKA and Spartak Moscow in Russia, and Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev in the Ukraine, are guaranteed at least UEFA Cup football almost every year, and a chance to test themselves against Europe’s best is obviously an attractive proposition for many Brazilians and other South American players. There is also the hope that by impressing against famous opposition, they will be able to engineer a move to one of Europe’s big leagues.
Although Spain, Portugal and Italy are clearly the most popular European leagues for Brazilian players, it may surprise you to find that the English Premier League, officially the richest league in the world, can only count twelve Brazilians between its twenty clubs. In fairness, this is mainly due to the restrictive work permit conditions for non-EU players in England, in fact, only two of those twelve players (Denilson of Arsenal and Lucas Leiva of Liverpool) had no experience of European football before signing for their respective sides. It seems that the Russian and Ukrainian leagues could become a feeder league for the Premier League, with Brazilian playmaker Elano being the first player to make the switch, signing for Manchester City from Ukrainian side Shanktar Donetsk this summer.
For the clubs, the signing of young Brazilian players is the only chance they are likely to have to attract players of that calibre to their sides.
Although the Russian, and more recently the Ukrainian national sides perform solidly in International tournaments, they are often lacking a creative force, which is something that South American players in general are famed for providing. Therefore bringing these players to the club not only provides success on the field, but their playing style often results in larger crowd attendances and more merchandising sales off the pitch.
The greatest exponent of success generated by an influx of Brazilian players is CSKA Moscow, who became the first Russian side to win a major European trophy when they defeated Sporting Lisbon by three goals to one in the 2005 UEFA Cup final. The winning side included striker Vagner Love, who scored the third goal in the final and creative midfielder Daniel Carvalho, who was man of the match in that game, and also became the first foreign player to ever win the Russian League player of the season award in 2005. CSKA also won the Russian League and Cup double in 2005 and retained the league title in 2006. Their present side, which now includes no fewer than six Brazilians, currently lie in fifth place in the 2007 league, and have qualified for the first group stage of the Champions League.
The main reason why many of them are keen to make the move is money. As Maxi Moralez, a young Argentine midfielder, voted the second best player at this year’s U-20 World Cup, said on his recent move to FC Moscow, “I would have liked to stay with Racing, but I think about the economic progress for me and my family”. Most of the recent signings by Russian and Ukrainian clubs have been of players aged between 19-22, who are just starting to establish themselves in their own domestic leagues. At this stage in their careers, many of them will be earning very little and therefore cannot afford to hold out for an established big European club to come in for them, when the Russian or Ukrainian clubs are offering at least three or four times their current salary.
The secondary reason for a great number of them is the opportunity to play in the big European competitions, such as the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. Clubs such as CSKA and Spartak Moscow in Russia, and Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev in the Ukraine, are guaranteed at least UEFA Cup football almost every year, and a chance to test themselves against Europe’s best is obviously an attractive proposition for many Brazilians and other South American players. There is also the hope that by impressing against famous opposition, they will be able to engineer a move to one of Europe’s big leagues.
Although Spain, Portugal and Italy are clearly the most popular European leagues for Brazilian players, it may surprise you to find that the English Premier League, officially the richest league in the world, can only count twelve Brazilians between its twenty clubs. In fairness, this is mainly due to the restrictive work permit conditions for non-EU players in England, in fact, only two of those twelve players (Denilson of Arsenal and Lucas Leiva of Liverpool) had no experience of European football before signing for their respective sides. It seems that the Russian and Ukrainian leagues could become a feeder league for the Premier League, with Brazilian playmaker Elano being the first player to make the switch, signing for Manchester City from Ukrainian side Shanktar Donetsk this summer.
For the clubs, the signing of young Brazilian players is the only chance they are likely to have to attract players of that calibre to their sides.
Although the Russian, and more recently the Ukrainian national sides perform solidly in International tournaments, they are often lacking a creative force, which is something that South American players in general are famed for providing. Therefore bringing these players to the club not only provides success on the field, but their playing style often results in larger crowd attendances and more merchandising sales off the pitch.
The greatest exponent of success generated by an influx of Brazilian players is CSKA Moscow, who became the first Russian side to win a major European trophy when they defeated Sporting Lisbon by three goals to one in the 2005 UEFA Cup final. The winning side included striker Vagner Love, who scored the third goal in the final and creative midfielder Daniel Carvalho, who was man of the match in that game, and also became the first foreign player to ever win the Russian League player of the season award in 2005. CSKA also won the Russian League and Cup double in 2005 and retained the league title in 2006. Their present side, which now includes no fewer than six Brazilians, currently lie in fifth place in the 2007 league, and have qualified for the first group stage of the Champions League.
De Rússia con amor
It is not all good news though, as there are inevitably a number of South American players who are never quite able to adapt to the harsh and bleak weather conditions in the Eastern block. Also, many get frustrated as their employees refuse to allow them to move to a bigger league. A recent example of this is the case of Matuzalem, who stopped turning up for training at Shakhtar Donetsk after they refused to allow him to move and eventually signed a contract with Spanish side Real Zaragoza. Shakhtar have now taken the issue to court as they believe Matuzalem to still be under contract to them, and are claiming $34 million in damages.
International recognition can also be hard to come by for players that make the switch to these leagues. Maxi Moralez may well note that his fellow Argentines in the Russian League do not have a single senior cap amongst them. This was also an issue for Brazilian players under the previous national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who continually ignored those playing in Russia and the Ukraine. Luckily for them, when Dunga took charge of the national side after their disappointing World Cup, he started to look further afield for his selection, with players such as Elano, Daniel Carvalho, Vagner Love, and most recently Jo, becoming central players in the current national setup.
The final issue is the effect that an influx of South American players will have on the development of young home grown players and ultimately the national sides. Defensively it is unlikely to be a problem, but with the offensive midfield and forward positions increasingly being taken by South American imports, there could end up being a real dearth of talent in these areas in years to come. This is a problem faced by many European leagues, with some UEFA officials keen to restrict the number of foreign players that each club can have on their books.
The signing of South American players by Eastern bloc clubs brings with it a lot of positives and only a very few negatives, which is why so many clubs have jumped on the bandwagon. Although it has improved the quality of football in these leagues and made them a better spectacle, CSKA Moscow aside, it has not yet bought the great success in Europe that many of the clubs would have been hoping for. The closest a side from this region has recently got to winning the Champions League was Dynamo Kiev in the 98/99 season, a feat they achieved with a squad almost entirely comprised of Ukrainian players. That may provide a little food for thought for the clubs thinking that South American imports are the only way forward.
International recognition can also be hard to come by for players that make the switch to these leagues. Maxi Moralez may well note that his fellow Argentines in the Russian League do not have a single senior cap amongst them. This was also an issue for Brazilian players under the previous national coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who continually ignored those playing in Russia and the Ukraine. Luckily for them, when Dunga took charge of the national side after their disappointing World Cup, he started to look further afield for his selection, with players such as Elano, Daniel Carvalho, Vagner Love, and most recently Jo, becoming central players in the current national setup.
The final issue is the effect that an influx of South American players will have on the development of young home grown players and ultimately the national sides. Defensively it is unlikely to be a problem, but with the offensive midfield and forward positions increasingly being taken by South American imports, there could end up being a real dearth of talent in these areas in years to come. This is a problem faced by many European leagues, with some UEFA officials keen to restrict the number of foreign players that each club can have on their books.
The signing of South American players by Eastern bloc clubs brings with it a lot of positives and only a very few negatives, which is why so many clubs have jumped on the bandwagon. Although it has improved the quality of football in these leagues and made them a better spectacle, CSKA Moscow aside, it has not yet bought the great success in Europe that many of the clubs would have been hoping for. The closest a side from this region has recently got to winning the Champions League was Dynamo Kiev in the 98/99 season, a feat they achieved with a squad almost entirely comprised of Ukrainian players. That may provide a little food for thought for the clubs thinking that South American imports are the only way forward.