Sochi bets on Chistyakov and new foreign players.

Ignatiev, Djordjevic and Melkadze were eliminated

The first point in the plan to save Sochi from relegation was the choice of coach. We made an original bet on Robert Moreno. The Spaniard, who previously coached the Red Furies before Luis Enrique’s return, was unemployed for almost two years after failures in Monaco and Granada. Now he will save Sochi from relegation. And he was given full powers. There is no club official who would stop Moreno from recruiting players for himself.

First of all, the mentor dispersed the famous attackers. Melkadze, Djordjevic and Ignatiev left Sochi as free agents. The former Spartak striker left for the Georgian club Kolkheti Poti. Luka Djordjevic, who did not play for Lokomotiv and Zenit, was left without a team at the age of twenty-nine. And Ivan Ignatiev went to Serbia. Sochi admitted that the attackers who played in the autumn part of the season were not up to the task.

Correct assessment. The midfielder Noboa, even if the Ecuadorian on the eve of the departure from RPL began to appear in the starting lineup much less often, scored 2 goals this season. Ignatiev and Djordjevic had a lot of it. And Melkadze did not create a single goal in the first part of the season, even if we take the passes in attack. Sochi felt that the funds saved on the salaries of these players could be spent on the salaries of newcomers under a new coach, changing the attack.

Without Noboa, we have to look for new team leaders

At 38, the Ecuadorian did not play as well as in the silver season in Sochi under coach Fedotov. Christian was offended by the coaches who didn’t build the game around the leader’s passes and goals. As a result, Moreno, a coach who speaks the same language as Noboa, decided to say goodbye to him. Christian, as a free agent, returned home to Emelek, where he was found by Rubin Kazan scouts in 2007.

Then Noboa won the title with Berdyev, a match in the Champions League, transfers to Dynamo, Rostov and Zenit. One of the main legionaries in history RPL, they were several games away from breaking the league record. Moreno decided that the presence of such a figure would distract from the reorganization of the team. There is no longer a coach playing, we need to look for new managers. The candidates are already in the southern club’s application.

Sochi has Slovenian midfielder Kramaric with a good last pass. I failed to meet the standard set at the beginning of the season – a brace and an assist in the match against Rostov, but I helped with passes and shots against Ural and Dynamo. In defense, central defender Drkusic was not allowed to go to France. Vanja did not win a place in the starting team of the Slovenian national team, but for Sochi he is a fundamental player. The defender’s success serves for salvation in the spring.

Zenit’s Goilo in goal, Margasov on the wing, Yusupov in the center of the pitch and Burmistrov closer to the attack should take control of the match. Young Kravtsov had some good runs. It is impossible to declare all football players a complete failure. Sochi lacked a significant hand from the coach, but in terms of personnel, the team that finished last season in tenth place just above Krylya Sovetov is definitely not among the weakest this season.

Sochi’s new results are much worse than their football

Sochi cannot be called a hopeless outsider. They are not the Torpedo of last season with 13 points in the whole championship. The southerners already have 11 points and twelve games ahead of them. Sochi is not a club on the verge of financial collapse, like Tosno before. The very fact that three forwards who did not meet expectations were quietly released as free agents says a lot about Sochi’s capabilities. The club is owned by a billionaire.

Even if Rotenberg doesn’t waste money, that’s why no one expected Messi in the winter. But Moreno had time to prepare and found unusual newcomers. Sochi scouts took the club to the top, but the managers never spent an incredible amount of money. The Southerners played Cassierra, the best sniper of the season RPL of Zenit, Sarveli – striker of Lokomotiv, Prutsev – midfielder of Spartak. Adamov, Rodrigao and Kovalenko left for Zenit.

Sochi players were highly regarded by other clubs. And now it is important to guess with the new portion of legionnaires. They signed young Caracas striker Saul Guarirapa from Venezuela and took him on loan. Ecuadorian Cabeza was taken as a free agent, Emelec sent him RPL another of their players after Noboa, also a free agent. Central midfielder Harutyunyan came from Pyunik to play for the Armenian national team.

Austrian midfielder Yukic from Austria, Chilean defensive midfielder Saavedra from Universidad Catolica and the most famous newcomer of the winter, defender Chistyakov from Zenit, complete the transfer vinaigrette. Since the results in Sochi are bad, but the team’s performance is better, a lot depends on motivation. According to expected points, Sochi is higher than Lokomotiv and Akhmat and could be in tenth place in the championship.

By fall, it seemed like nearly every player on the roster was packing their bags, looking for a reason to leave. If Robert Moreno restarts the team, and the newcomers turn out to be footballers of a decent level with the desire to prove themselves in Europe, then the symbiosis of efforts will provide salvation in Sochi. But their opponents are strong. Even if they beat Baltika in the standings, which is realistic, they would have to find a second team that would be relegated in place of the southerners.

We doubt that Akhmat will lose ground easily; their team is too strong. Orenburg can also improve with the Argentines. So “Sochi” must hope that “Ural” or “Fakel” does not have enough strength. But they verified it RPL Coaches, we are in no hurry to award Moreno the title of savior.