Spartak got the goalkeeper who had plagued them for years. They began to suffer even under Carrera.
Georgy Ilyushchenko July 27, 2024, 00:31 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Spartak fans definitely remember Alexander Dovbnya.
Spartak had been looking for an experienced backup goalkeeper for a long time and finally signed 37-year-old Alexander Dovbnya as a free agent. The level of his red-and-white play is well known: the player faced them six times. And he was often inimitable.
More Dovbnya, less Sobolev. Alexander is not the first to be expelled from the base:
Sobolev is the 19th RPL player to be cut from the team. It almost always ends badly.
September 21, 2016. “SKA-Khabarovsk” – “Spartak” (1-0). 1/16 finals of the Russian Cup – 2016/2017
Alexander Dovbnya
Photo by: FC SKA-Khabarovsk
Massimo Carrera hoped to beat the Khabarovsk team with the semi-main squad. A big mistake. Spartak did not create many chances, but Dovbnya took advantage of those where there was a real threat: this was Mauricio’s dangerous header after a corner, and Ze Luis’s cross from close range, and Romulo’s brilliant shot. But Vladislav Nikiforov scored and SKA won sensationally. Even then, Spartak fans remembered the goalkeeper. Moreover. Much bigger and more painful.
August 27, 2017. “SKA-Khabarovsk” – “Spartak” (0-0). 8th round of RPL-2017/2018
Alexander Dovbnya
Photo by: RIA Novosti
The defending champions are stuck in tenth place with just eight points from seven rounds. They had to improve the situation in Khabarovsk in the match with the RPL newcomer and at the same time avenge the cup fiasco. Dovbnya was against. 32 shots on their goal did not lead to any goals. 13 of them were successful, which is also quite a lot. Spartak pressed throughout the match: almost all field players tried to score from different distances and points. Useless. Quincy Promes and Co. could only hold their heads.
But Dovbnya could have worked as a loader. He told us about it himself:
Exclusive
“I was looking for job advertisements as a loader.” The man who stopped Spartak
March 11, 2018. “Spartak” – “SKA-Khabarovsk” (1-0). 22nd round of RPL-2017/2018
Alexander Dovbnya
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Dovbnya’s first defeat to Spartak was not his fault at all. Moreover, if it weren’t for him, the bill would have been much higher than the minimum. Now there were 41 shots in total (12 on target). Once again, 41! By the way, this is a Premier League record. As if the opponent was not a team from the RPL, but from the fifth league of a third-tier championship. And the ball again did not go into Alexander’s goal. He took absolutely everything, including a penalty from Quincy. And when he couldn’t, luck came to the rescue. Only in the 90th minute did the red-and-whites achieve their goal: Fernando executed a perfect free-kick, which even the excellent Iker Casillas could not have stopped. The result is one missed goal in three full matches with almost a hundred attempts by Spartak. Not bad, right?
May 26, 2019. Orenburg – Spartak (2-0). 30th round of RPL-2018/2019
Alexander Dovbnya
Photo by: FC Orenburg
Orenburg knows how to beat Spartak – Dejan Stankovic is already convinced of this. In May 2019, the red-and-whites fought with CSKA for fourth place. And they missed it because Dovbnya, like their new partners, performed superbly. While Alexander Maksimenko made a mistake during a free kick to Ricardo Alves and suddenly gave the ball to Artyom Kulishev, his namesake dragged him along – for example, he saved Maxim Glushenkov from a difficult shot from close range. 15 shots, six on target and not a single goal. By the way, the then coach of the Orenburg team, Vladimir Fedotov, helped his future club.
August 26, 2020. “Rotor” – “Spartak” (0:1). 5th round of the RPL-2020/2021
Alexander Dovbnya
Photo: Edgar Breshchanov, “Championship”
The Volgograd team scored only one point in four matches. Dovbnya did not save them from further decline, although they came close. At least in the match with Spartak. The red-and-whites were not too active and instead of 41 or 32 shots they made only 18 (six on target). But the most important thing is that this time they scored from a penalty. Thanks to Alexander Sobolev’s characteristic jump and Zelimkhan Bakaev’s good approach to the 11-meter mark. Well, how else can you beat this goalkeeper? At the same time, Rotor did not play long enough to lose: only Zuriko Davitashvili took advantage of a one-on-one and then shot at the post.
October 30, 2022. “Spartak” – “Torpedo” (1:0). 15th day of the RPL-2020/2021
Alexander Dovbnya
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
The Torpedo team managed to score only six points in 14 rounds. And 15, because the second Spartak also eliminated them. Dovbnya neutralized Georgy Dzhikia’s long-range shot, Roman Zobnin’s attempt at the near corner, Sobolev’s shot, his interesting low shot and several other Spartak chances (14 shots, eight on target). But Quincy could no longer bear to be forgotten by the defenders.
Now he will be betting on the red and white. Dovbnya is unlikely to be trusted with many matches, but he should have opportunities. Especially considering the instability of the competitors.
Spartak also brought in a great Argentine. Do you remember his other red-and-white compatriots?
Classification
Barco is the ninth Argentinian in Spartak’s history. Who was the best?
