The Russian team was saved from defeat in the match against Qatar (1-1), and the quality of the game once again left many questions. There is no point or desire to criticize the young people who played for Egypt. For many of them, the national team is something new and strange. But the question is why the foundation once again did not show anything decent. Was this a surprise to fans though?
Let’s be honest, how many of us go to work every day with maximum motivation? Or do they continue trying to fulfill their obligations more or less adequately and go on vacation? Then the team found itself in a similar situation, where there was nothing to fight for. It seems that the only way out of this situation is to follow the advice of coach Valery Karpin: “Whoever can leave, let him leave, I give him advice.”
But how many are willing to follow him? If a mentor can immediately see the difference in the level of training of Alexander Golovin and the rest of his players playing in the Russian Premier League, then this says a lot. The problem lies in a different, rather childish, approach. Most of our players only want to go to the best clubs or at least the strong ones.
Mikhail Shapaev / RFU
Neither scold nor praise. The Russian team suffered a draw in Qatar
This is reminiscent of periodic population surveys. For example, the desired salary, according to them, is three times higher than the national average. But in this case, the next question should be what a person does to at least try to get closer to what he wants. Most likely, the vast majority would answer nothing.
This also applies to footballers: if they are not willing to work hard even in the RPL, how are they going to attract the attention of strong European teams and receive a good salary offer? Dmitry Medvedev said many years ago that it is necessary to increase labor productivity. This seems to apply not only to ordinary citizens, but also to national team players.
Of course, it is possible to progress in the national championship even in the current situation without European competitions, but this requires a lot of effort. It’s a shame for the national team players if they come to the training camp in worse physical shape than Golovin, who plays in the French championship, which started just a month ago.
Mikhail Shapaev / RFU
“Pure discouragement and hopelessness.” Mostovoy walked for the national team after the match with Qatar
Returning to Karpin’s words, it is worth admitting that he was right. In the Russian reality, it is simply difficult for footballers to find the motivation to work 100%. So they come to the selection, so what? And in the RPL, the majority do not fight for the championship or maintain a residence permit in the elite, so in most cases they also do not care what place they occupy, fifth or, say, eighth.
The situation is extremely unpleasant and difficult. The fact is that when we return to the global sports community, it will take a long time for us to get out of the hole we are in. There will probably be a few unique people who will be able to very quickly re-engage in the process and almost immediately demonstrate their ceiling in terms of results, but the rest are unlikely to be successful.
Russian football, at best, was not characterized by high quality and the players were not distinguished by their diligence. Now both problems have gotten even worse. We just don’t notice them yet, because we are immersed in our own fenced world. The reality will be painful. And to avoid this, you need to start plowing now.
