Semak must be afraid of all opponents.
The champions began to lose at home
The defeats against Dynamo and Lokomotiv were important. The failures are not due to the incredible advantage of the Moscow guests, but these are not one-off events, as in previous seasons. Zenit have two defeats in four home games RPL. We lost once all last season. In the penultimate championship there was a similar grandmaster figure. At home, Semak’s team could score 40 points out of 45 possible, when the best pursuers of the game within their own walls scored a maximum of 36 points, as CSKA. But that breakthrough didn’t make Fedotov a champion. But Zenit, thanks to their home successes, made up for their away failures. Last season Semak had 2 misfires at home and 7 on the road. Already on the way to the fifth title, it was clear that the team was running out of strength, even if the same opponents forgave Zenit year after year. Semak has allowed himself many draws, 15 in the last two seasons RPL. Now the results are even worse, we have lost points in half of the games played in the new championship. The away syndrome also remained and Orenburg took advantage of it.
The defense lacks a distinctive leader
Captain Santos is a great player, but he has no more charisma than Maguire. The key central defenders of Zenit’s champion teams were of a higher class than those available now. Returning to Rodrigao’s team does not guarantee success. Renan, Erakovic and Alip are not as interesting players as Orenburg’s Argentine Perez. All the named players, like the hunted Chistyakov, do not have the charisma to control the game. Semak said that for Orenburg everything fell apart, that’s true. But even if the starting goalkeeper is Kerzhakov, and not Vasyutin, the St. Petersburg team can concede three goals in one match. At the same time Zenit is a lucky team, they managed to equalize the score CSKA. Semak was also incredibly lucky that Abaskal did something strange in the match between Spartak and Zenit. If all Muscovites beat St. Petersburg, the champions would have 5 defeats in 10 rounds, as well as a draw against Rostov. Zenit has a terrible defense without a clear leader, even though the team is almost always in possession of the ball.
The main players have lost motivation
Zenit lacks an elite striker. In terms of shots on goal during the match, the St. Petersburg team was not much ahead of Rostov. The champions are also inferior to Dynamo, Krylia Sovetov and Spartak. Do we see problems with motivation? When a person has a salary like Santos, Barrios and Wendel, the agents chirp that the player loves Zenit and dreams of winning RPL. But for every key foreigner, the new championship will be the next, and not the first. Moreover, the title will not give a ticket to the European Cups, but Champions League it was Zenit’s competitive advantage in negotiations with Witsel, Hulk, Criscito and other stars. Wendel and Claudinho tried to leave and get jobs at Flamengo. Barrios regrets turning down an invitation to Nottingham Forest. Next year inside nuclear submarine he may not be called up due to recession and age, he will leave for Turkey. And the young defender Renan lacks motivation. He can’t do it RPL, fell from the base. He risks losing his place in the Brazilian national team.
Semak doesn’t know how to interest football players
Malcolm wanted to play: he became the best player around RPL. Before this, the Brazilian rolled up cotton wool, even when injuries did not interfere. The winger dreamed of being called up to the first Brazilian national team and moving there PSG. It was not possible to go to Paris, but earn with Neymar in Saudi Arabia. Without a leader, which Dzyuba was before Malcom, Semak cannot create a team with character and lively emotions. Even if we remember Zenit’s best matches in the new season, and there were few of them, we saw a rational favorite. No inspiration, no carnival. Semak lacks personal brightness during difficult times for St. Petersburg residents. Sergei Bogdanovich did not even send Dziuba after Artyom’s obvious rudeness. Humility is not always appropriate in football. After the defeat in Orenburg, Semak brought to life the brilliant phrase “sometimes it’s not the one who is better who wins, but the one who scores more.” In football, whoever scores the most goals always wins. For five years in a row it was Zenit, but even during the golden period after failures in Europe, the club’s fans already had enough questions for Semak. By standard RPL The team’s coach is decent, no worse than the others. But this is a mentor for prosperous years.
Zenit has finally lost its untouchability
And I still haven’t found my identity. Even under Villas-Boas the project was implemented on the legionaries. Then they copied Shakhtar. But the Ukrainian club knows how to sell players profitably and also has a strong academy. How many young people does Zenit have in its core? Semak also does not know how to work with purchased Russians. And foreigners have lost the desire to fight for Zenit without the Champions League. Semak lost to Dynamo, Lokomotiv and Orenburg. Coaching fails. And these are not Zenit’s last failures, because in football we give up, we relegate in status, like Juventus, Lyon or Manchester United in leagues where these clubs were “eternal champions”. “Krasnodar” and “Spartak” should be ashamed that they do not impose a serious fight on such “Zenith” in the standings. And Petersburgers are ashamed that they do not drive confidently, because they are still more powerful than everyone else.
Semak must admit his fault in the main change of the season. Now all the clubs RPL They see that against Zenit they can play to win. Not everyone will be able to destroy the champions with crosses before the break as skillfully as Orenburg, but Baltika also beat Semak in the Cup. Without untouchability, it’s a different world for Zenit. Last time, Journey Through the Looking Glass ended with three seasons without gold. And keep in mind that we make predictions for Semak’s sixth victory by focusing on the winning plays of Wendel and Claudinho. Without these Brazilians, if transfers are requested in the winter and it is not possible to buy an equivalent replacement for that much money, it will become much more difficult.
