The transition of the former Zenit striker Artem Dzyuba to the Turkish Adana Demirspor was initially perceived by many with skepticism. Artem got off to a good start, scoring in his debut game for the club, but this was the last positive news related to the performances of the Russian in the Super League.

After eight rounds, Adana is in second place in the standings – the last time the team lost was on August 22. But the Russian striker has practically nothing to do with the success of the club: in his first two matches, Artem got into the starting lineup, in the third he came on as a substitute in the end, and then spent three meetings in a row on the bench.

Is Dziuba really not needed by the head coach? Fans don’t agree!

Fans want to see Dziuba on the field

The reasons why Artyom remains on the bench are known only by Adana head coach Vincenzo Montella and the Russian himself. They are probably very convincing, but the team’s goalless draw with Galatasaray in the last 8th round of the Turkish Championship raised many questions among some fans regarding the tactics of the Italian specialist:

kid $cott: There is only one reason why I criticize our coach: you took a player like Artem Dziuba to your team, and we would have more chances to win if he played.

Hasan Huseyin Solak: Why start with Emre and Belhand in attack when there is Gulbrandsen and Dziuba?

Artyom Dziuba / Photo: © Adana Demirspor

saatli marif taklidi: “Adana” cannot get out of defense with such tactics, I think that the team should make long throws at Dziuba.

Emre KIr: I would like Dziuba, who has not played for a long time, to finally enter the field, he is hungry for goals.

Dzyuba just doesn’t need Montella?

The opinion of the fans can be understood, but the fact that the head coach of Adana puts the attacking midfielder Younes Belhand at the forefront of the attack in the 4-2-3-1 scheme probably speaks of Dzyuba’s very deplorable form. Moreover, Montella is not a supporter of the riding game with long overhangs on the main “pillar”, and it is this factor, apparently, that affects Artyom’s position.

Looking back at Dziuba’s career, who managed to play in many clubs and with different coaches, one thing can be said with certainty: the forward is lost when the team starts playing on the bottom. Artyom showed excellent statistics for several years at Zenit under Sergei Semak, who for a long time chose the tactics of sheds and throws into the penalty area, but as soon as the coach turned to the model of a combination game with passes and breakthroughs to someone else’s half of the field from the bottom, Dziuba dropped out of the game.

Despite his talent for completing attacks, Artyom is a very limited striker, for the effectiveness of which his teammates need to make dozens of passes into the penalty area. However, such a model did not always lead to success – if in the RPL Dziuba managed to push through mid-level defenders with their mass, in European competitions more skilled opponents most often completely neutralized Artyom.

If we add to the above the age of Dziuba (34 years old) and poor form due to the missed pre-season, it becomes clear that Montella’s decision is quite logical. Probably, Artem expected that by moving to a little-known middle team, he would definitely get playing time and a scattering of goals, but in reality everything turned out to be much more prosaic.