“Kokorin and Smolov were about the same level of talent at Dynamo” – ex-player of the Wilkshire club

Former Dynamo and Australian national team player Luke Wilkshire believes that forwards Alexander Kokorin and Fedor Smolov were equally talented when they played for the Moscow club.

Who was more talented?

“They were about the same level,” Sport24 quotes Wilkshire. – Smolov, thanks to his mentality, took more from his career. But then, in Dynamo, despite their young age, they both showed a fantastic game. They were very confident on the field.

– Are you surprised that, as a result, they spent almost their entire career in Russia?

– When I first came to Dynamo, Smolov had ambitions to play in Milan. Kokorin also had the opportunity to leave for Europe. But you have to understand that for almost all Russian players, the home championship is fantastic. You play at home, you get good money. And many are simply not ready to go anywhere. Therefore, as I said, Russian football players have mental problems when they move to Europe. They have a hard time there.

“Money and a house are good. But if we are talking about football, the quality is better in European leagues.

Yes, one hundred percent. But here it depends on the personality of each individual player. What does he want from his career? Many do not want to leave their comfort zone. But if you are a professional, then you have to push yourself out of there every day.