When Alexander Kokorin agreed to move to Cyprus, many refused to see any football prospects in this transfer. It seemed that after a season and a half on the bench, the Russian just wanted to go to the resort and start preparing for retirement. If even in Serie A the striker did not find enough motivation in himself to play, then why would he strain himself in the modest Aris?

However, in Limassol, Sasha quickly shut up the haters. Our striker scored a magnificent transfer already in his debut match, and now he has scored his first goal in almost two years. And while the disgraced master lights up on a warm island, his Fiorentina has not won for a month …

Bite your elbows, Florentines!

Return of the legend

Violets have long wanted to get rid of Kokorin, but they managed to do it only last summer. For a season and a half in the Italian club, the footballer did not chalk up a single effective action, spending most of his time on the bench or in the infirmary. So local experts even called his transfer “the worst in Serie A”. True, Sasha was not very worried about all these attacks: the money came to his account regularly, and it would be too expensive for the team to break the contract unilaterally …

But in August, Fiorentina still managed to reason with the player, and the Russian agreed to move to Aris on an annual lease. Knowing Alexander’s inclinations, the fans immediately decided that he just wanted to extend his summer vacation for another nine months and is unlikely to tear his veins in Limassol … But, as it turned out, the passion for the game is still alive in the striker.

Photo: © FC Aris Limassol

Kokorin responded to ridicule with deeds, showing himself already in his debut match. Entering the second half of the game against Olympiacos from Nicosia, the Russian helped the team to defeat the opponent, giving an assist at the very end of the meeting. Having received an uncomfortable pass about 30 meters from the goal, Sasha handled the ball with his chest and with a one-touch turn sent it exactly at the feet of his teammate, who scored the final goal – 5:0.

Flashed the goalkeeper and made history

Two weeks later, a historic event took place in the championship of Cyprus. Having not scored points in the 3rd round, Alexander approached the next game in full combat readiness – and scored his first goal in 655 days, that is, in almost two years. The last time Kokorin scored even as part of Spartak: on November 29, 2020, he scored a penalty against Rotor (2: 0). And Sasha scored from the field even for Sochi, when he scored a hat-trick in a scandalous match against the Rostov Academy (10: 1).

This time, Karmiotissa had to get acquainted with the firepower of Kokorin. Appearing on the field after the break, the Russian again uncovered the gun only in the final segment of the match. At the 90+5th minute of the match, the striker made a leisurely pass with the ball along the left flank, and then removed the defender with a jerk in the penalty area and remained eye to eye with the goalkeeper. Our master outplayed the goalkeeper with ease, sending the ball right between his legs with a powerful blow. True, Kokorin’s goal did not bring victory to Aris (1: 2), but it led the domestic public to ecstasy: the end of his unfortunate series in Runet has been discussed for the second day.

Photo: © FC Aris Limassol

Fiorentina fans are now probably missing the Russian magician: one of the Italians even wrote on social networks that the club lacks the “negative attention” that Sasha attracted to the violets.

Whatever the beneficial effect of Kokorin on the Florentines, the difference in team results with and without a Russian in the team is obvious. If last season the Italians finished in the European Cup zone for the first time in many years, now they are trailing at the bottom of the table. In all tournaments, Fiorentina has not won for eight matches, and recently it completely lost to the modest Basaksehir in the Conference League (0:3). Violets were considered the favorites of their European Cup group, but after two rounds they occupy the last line in it, yielding even to the Latvian RFS.

So without Sasha, things in Florence do not go well at all. It remains to be hoped that the club will somehow manage to survive one season without Kokorin, and the striker will return to the rescue next summer: his contract with Fiorentina is calculated until 2024. However, another question is whether the player himself wants to return to ungrateful Italy, when he finally found worthy rivals in Cyprus. So the violets still have to earn the attention of the legend.