Por: Inside The World Cup
Fabio Capello has brought endurance and defensive stability to the Russian team, but doubts over captain Roman Shirokov’s form and fitness are a worry ahead of Brazil
This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a co-operation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.
4-3-3 has been the main formation in which Fabio Capello has sent out his Russian team. There are three basic things that Italian wants to see in his side – discipline, speed and team movement. Capello taught our team to endure, he taught our team to defend. Central midfielders Igor Denisov, Denis Glushakov, Roman Shirokov and Viktor Fayzulin play a crucial role in this style of play. They provide a high-pressure pressing game, so that the team can win the ball back quickly. In addition, Shirokov is an expert at making late runs into the box – this is one of main attacking option for the Russia.
This style of play works very well against big teams like Portugal, with the 1-0 win in Moscow the best example. But physically it is very demanding, and it is very hard to get it right without good preparation. Russia had a problem against team like Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland, who likes to “park the bus” in their box. In Brazil they should be wary of Algeria.
Capello has a few “untouchable” players in the squad. Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, a pair of centre-backs Sergey Ignashevich and Vasiliy Berezutski, playmaker Shirokov, right winger Aleksandr Samedov and forward Aleksandr Kokorin.
Denisov was the main defensive midfielder in the first half of the qualifying campaign, but he did not play in the last few matches: Glushakov became Capello’s first choice in this position. But now the Spartak Moscow man is in really poor form, like his teammate Dmitry Kombarov, who was the main left full-back in the qualifying. So, Denisov has a good chance to return to the first XI in Brazil.
Kokorin played most of qualifying as a left winger, and Aleksandr Kerzhakov played as a centre forward. But Zenit’s striker was not so good in second half of the season (only nine games and two goals after the winter break). So it is likely that Kokorin will start up front at the World Cup, with Kerzhakov on the bench. In that case, Yuri Zhirkov, Aleksei Ionov and Oleg Shatov will compete for left winger’s position (all have been included in the 30-man provisional squad).
The weakness of the Russian team is in the centre of defence. Ignashevich and Vasiliy Berezutski are really good players. Yes, they are very experienced, they understand each other very well. But Capello has no further options in this position. Alexey Berezutski has not played much this season while Vladimir Granat has no international experience.
If Ignashevich and Vasiliy Berezutski get injured or suspended, it will be a really big problem for our team.
Who is the player who is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup?
Aleksandr Samedov. The 29-year-old right winger worked really hard in recent years and has made great progress. He had a very good season for Lokomotiv: scoring seven goals and making nine assists in the Russian Premier League. He was not in the first XI at the start of the qualifying campaign, but now Samedov is one of the few guaranteed starters in the squad. He is fast, intelligent player and he has a fighting spirit.
Who is the player who is going to disappoint the most?
Roman Shirokov. Probably, he is the strongest player in Russia at the moment, excluding Akinfeev. He put in fine performances during the qualifying campaign, and he is the captain. But it has been a difficult year for Shirokov. He had a big conflict with Zenit’s ex-manager Luciano Spalletti, falling out with the Italian and being loaned to Krasnodar. And Shirokov has had some injuries in the last few months. If Shirokov is in poor form in Brazil, it could be a big disaster for our team.
What is the realistic aim for your team at the World Cup and why?
Just get past the group stage. Fans’ expectation is very high, because they think that Russia has an easy group (the same situation as two years ago at Euro 2012). Yes, we can beat South Korea and Algeria, and we can get some points against Belgium. But our team must be in the best shape to do this. We will play on another continent, in a different time zone, in very hot climate – that could be a big problem.