Football
RPL is the best reality show. Thanks for the ratings to Spartak and Dziuba
Why do we scold our championship, but still love.
Since last year, our football has found itself in a new reality – without European cups and official games of the national team. Flocks of legionnaires flew to other lands. The fan sectors were empty one by one. In such scenarios, it was difficult not to fall into despondency for any person involved in Russian football. The best antidepressant in the end was the WORLD RPL season, which gave us a lot of exciting stories.
In difficult times for Russian sports, the football championship is the main outlet for spectators, even despite the noticeably sagging level of the tournament and the hegemony of one team. With all due respect to the KHL, which hosted an incredible Gagarin Cup, or the VTB United League, which hosted an equally fantastic playoff, the RPL today is the best sports reality show, which, even in its 20th year of existence, does not lose interest in yourself.
Each character here has its own role, worthy of a separate nomination.
The unique double of Talalaev and the mysterious story of Sychev
Khimki and Torpedo claim the best comedy role. At one time, Netflix filmed a sensational series about the life of Sunderland, but they know how to make a real show in a pretty town from the near Moscow region. That’s where the documentarians had to rush!
The main figures of this season: 5 coaches for the championship and 1 goal by Ilya Sadygov, who scored so violently with the score 1:6 Spartak Gogniev. If TV were allowed to film the entire Khimki cuisine of this season, a hit for all time would be guaranteed.
In “Torpedo” the leadership changed twice, and the team managed to train four specialists. Andrey Talalaev set a unique achievement, having managed to work in one season with three teams (Akhmat, Torpedo, Khimki), two of which were relegated to the First League. Let Pep Guardiola prepare for a historic treble with his Man City, we have our own answer to that.
The best debut role goes to Marcel Licka and his “Orenburg”. The nice team of the Czech coach immediately jumped to seventh place. With a budget similar to Torpedo, the club handled money in a completely different way. “Orenburg” in the transfer market behaved like an experienced second-hand visitor, who, with modest opportunities, is able to dress with a needle. Now even in Moscow they are looking at Argentine new clothes.
The most cinematic story is the season of Vladimir Pisarsky / Sychev. As if in the hero of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, two different people coexisted in one attacker. One in the first part of the season lit up in Orenburg (14 goals in 15 matches), and in the second spring he dissolved in Wings of the Soviets (0 goals in 11 matches). Perhaps, in the summer, Vladimir should think about the return of his former driving surname.
The path of Sergei Yuran, who in August was decided to be put out the door at Khimki, was beautifully looped. In the last round, the coach beat the former team, which is unknown when it will now return to the RPL. Yuran and his PARI NN are waiting for play-offs with Rodina, in which Nizhny Novgorod looks like clear favorites.
In the nomination for the Audience Choice Award, Fakel cannot have competitors. His stadium and fans are the most emotional impression of this season, and the songs of Sektor Gaza in the stands are his main soundtrack. In Voronezh history, the 12th player has really become the most important factor in home success. It is no coincidence that even the much more experienced Ural, PARI NN and Wings took fewer points at home than the Voronezh team.
“Ural” again brilliantly played the role of Baron Munchausen, who managed to pull himself out of the swamp by the hair. After eight rounds, the Yekaterinburgers sat down tightly at the bottom with one point in the asset, but in the end, Gancharenko, who replaced Shalimov, pressed the gas pedal, and the team avoided the hassle of fighting for survival.
Dziuba and Spartak are the main creators of ratings
In the NBA, the award is given to the best progressing player, whose statistics have grown significantly compared to the previous season. If the most regressing teams were celebrated in the RPL, then there were no alternatives for the two winners of last year – Sochi and Dynamo. The sharp decline is not much of a surprise, given that both teams have lost the main creators of the success of 2022. Without Vladimir Fedotov and Sandro Schwartz, as well as leading players, Sochi and Dynamo were a shadow of themselves last year.
Artem Dzyuba’s role in the Turkish series clearly did not work out. He is still the hero of domestic action comedies, which he proved upon his return to Russia. Someone may be wildly annoyed by Artyom’s activity outside the football field, but there can be no questions for him regarding the game itself. At the age of 34, Dziuba scored an impressive 8 + 5 in 11 RPL spring matches, once again proving to everyone who the dad is here.
Dziuba and Spartak are generally the main generators of the rating of an endless reality show called RPL. Any producer will attest that a mixture of adoration and hate is much better than either ingredient alone. For the RPL, Spartak is like the Lakers for the NBA or Ferrari for Formula 1. Champions can change, but just not the most talked about and popular team for decades.
This time, Spartak did not disappoint again, giving everyone a season as fiery as the head coach’s hair. Passion and madness, always adjacent to the “red-white”, is both fuel and poison for the team. If in the first part of the season Guillermo Abascal surprised with peppy football, then in the spring they were already talking more about something else. Finally, everything turned into Dom-2 at the very finish line, when Sobolev and Jikia transferred to the RPL everything that irritates the “true” media football fans so much.
Compared to the emotional Spartak, which constantly gives informational reasons, the other two RPL winners can hardly be called the main stars of the TV show. They just know how to play football well and avoid scandals just as well. For our league, both achievements are unique. Zenit quite routinely got the fifth consecutive league title and the long-awaited second star on the emblem. If Sergei Semak wishes to wear all the gold medals in his playing and coaching career, the cervical vertebrae may simply not withstand.
Vladimir Fedotov has only two medals so far, but at the end of the season, many consider him to be the best coach. A year ago, he sensationally took silver from Sochi, and now he got medals of the same sample from CSKA, which has not reached second place since 2018. With such a coach and a breeding department rehabilitated after previous failures, one can think about a challenge towards St. Petersburg.
***
It is easy to admire a man in his moment of triumph. The same applies to the native championship, which is definitely not at the peak of its development. Teams do not take UEFA Cups and Super Cups, and do not participate in European competitions at all. At such moments, it is especially valuable to stay close. “Love us black, and everyone will love us white,” Gogol once wrote as if about the current realities of the RPL.
The Russian championship is like a close relative, whom we often scold, but still love. Moreover, he provides plenty of reasons to talk about himself. Even though he is far from being the most successful, you can see a lot of shortcomings in him, but we always look forward to his return home. This time you will be bored until July 21, when the new RPL season starts.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.