The top scorer of the RPL was marinated on the bench. Why didn’t you go to Europe?

When a young football player suddenly gives away the season of his life, the fans cheer for the new star, while pundits cautiously suggest waiting. This is exactly what happened in the case of Gamid Agalarov, who scored 19 goals for Ufa and became literally the personification of a new generation of Russian strikers. However, in the summer, a representative of the glorious football dynasty moved to Akhmat – and now he is suffering.

Most of the time the hero of last season spends on the bench. Of course, this causes bewilderment and indignation among people representing the interests of a football player.

Hamid’s father even ran over the coach!

Third in position

In the new team, Agalarov is not going well. This season, he spent only five matches in the championship, and he never came out at the start. In the last three meetings, Hamid did not appear on the field at all. For 200 game minutes, the striker scored one ball – against the Torch (2: 1). The goal turned out to be victorious, but after that there was no more trust from the coaching staff. Today Agalarov is not just a substitute – for Andrey Talalaev he is the third choice for the center forward position. For some reason, Mohamed Konate and Vladimir Ilyin are more attractive to the coach of Grozny.

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It is difficult to say what exactly Talalaev does not like. In terms of the percentage of martial arts won, Agalarov even surpasses himself in the previous year (48% versus 35%). In potentially scoring positions, the forward also turns out to be no less rare. In Ufa, his xG for 90 minutes was 0.55, and now it is 0.53. The difference is within the margin of error. Is that Hamid now has a little less shots on goal (2.59 vs. 1.99 shots per match), but this is just a consequence of the small amount of playing time.

Maybe it’s about things that can’t be measured in numbers. For example, in the form of a player or in his inconsistency with the model that Talalaev builds. In Ufa, Agalarov was the central figure that all programs aspired to. Akhmat’s attack, on the other hand, is multipolar. Therefore, we need forwards who are able to play along, and not just complete. However, in this component, Konate and Ilyin are unlikely to seriously outperform Hamid. On average, he makes even more passes under attack per match than they do (0.99 vs. 0.88/0.89).

Father’s wrath

About two weeks ago Andrey Talalaev was asked what was wrong with Agalarov. The head coach of Akhmat then limited himself to routine phrases that seemed to calm everyone down.

– Everything is fine with Agalarov, he adds, he works under loads. If he scores chances, as with Zenit and Spartak, he will get more playing time. Does Konate play badly? We have competition in this position, – said Talalaev in an interview with “Championship”.

Since then, however, Agalarov’s position has not only not changed, it has drastically worsened. In fact, the top scorer of the RPL was marinated on a bench. Now the striker does not get match practice at all, and this annoys people from his environment. The day before, Hamid’s father even burst into an angry tirade against Talalaev.

– Why take a player in the status of top scorer and keep in reserve? Why was all this fuss about the transition needed? The plans, to be honest, were different, but Akhmat insisted. Coach Talalaev called and asked to go to Akhmat. (…) Invite the top scorer and keep three matches in reserve and not even release … If you have two players for one position, then why do you take the third?! I don’t understand, – Ruslan Agalarov is quoted by Match-TV.

Ruslan Agalarov / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Said Tsarnaev

The dissatisfaction is understandable. In the summer, Agalarov could go to Europe – the Portuguese Maritimo was actively interested in him. However, the football player made a choice in favor of Akhmat, succumbing to the persuasion of Talalaev. As a result, Europe sailed away, and Hamid remained in Russia, where he does not even receive permanent practice. Although his teammates are sure: there will still be.

– In training, it is clear that Hamid is a high-class striker, he has driving qualities. I think that sooner or later it will break through, ”the captain of Akhmat, Rizvan Utsiev, told the Championship.