“I think Fedotov gave the go-ahead”

Mario Fernandez is 32 years old, he will be 33 in the fall. There are enough players in the Russian championship, and in other leagues, who continue their careers even at a more respectable age. Artyom Dzyuba is 34, Denis Glushakov is 36, Sergei Ignashevich was 38 during the home world championship. If everything is in order with health, there are no serious injuries, then Mario is still quite capable of benefiting CSKA. So age is not a problem here.

With adaptation, Fernandez will not have any difficulties either: he played in our championship for a long time, was involved in the national team. And now in the Moscow club, besides him, two more Brazilian defenders will play. Yes, and there will be no problems with a set of forms: now is the off-season, there is time before the start of the new RPL draw.

I think that in any case, the return of Mario was discussed with the head coach Vladimir Fedotov, and he gave the green light to this transition. The player will definitely not be superfluous in the composition. I can assume that the team has some difficulties in defense, since the contract with even older Kirill Nababkin was extended. Fernandez is still a player of a higher level.

“No one pressured”

Of course, the fact that he is returning from Brazil leaves some questions. If he had been doing well, then he probably would have stayed there. Still, it is more comfortable to play in your native country, being close to your family. But in the championship there, he was not very competitive, there were problems with playing practice. We do not know all the circumstances, but I can assume that the initiative to return to CSKA could come from Fernandez himself.

Mario Fernandez / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Sergey Pivovarov

Can fans have claims about the circumstances of his departure and return? I don’t think there will be any major problems. He is a real professional, he always fought on the field, without fear of injury, he earned respect for his play in the club and the national team. The fans loved him, and many of them got into a position when he decided to take a break from playing for CSKA. At least, I did not notice any condemnation either in the press or in private statements.

Mario left for family reasons, you should not look for any political reasons here. I doubt that someone at the state level put pressure on the player, as was done in the case of some of our legionnaires from Europe. Theoretically, Fernandez had the right to run without asking the leadership of CSKA about anything, but he informed everyone, said that he was not leaving for good, and later hinted that he was ready to return when needed.