The ex-leader of Zenit and the Russian national team Artyom Dzyuba returned to big football after a long pause. The 34-year-old striker chose the Turkish championship as a new place to continue his career, where he did not intend to go a few years ago. The debut match turned out to be difficult, but the Turkish public should like our player.

Artyom gave himself the perfect birthday present!

Carried the ball to the target

The debut of Artem Dzyuba in the Turkish Championship took place in the third round – Adana Demirspor, which was in the lead after two matches, received a difficult opponent in the form of Fenerbahce. The Russian striker appeared on the field at the start and in the first 65 minutes of the match there was little to remember. Skeptics had the impression that the newcomer was confused in the new environment and would leave the field without significant success.

Football fans who believe in signs must have paid attention to the cool reception of our player by Turkish TV people. In the line-ups presented to the fans, photographs were prepared for all the Adana players – except for Dziuba, who appeared faceless to the audience. Well, Artyom had to prove in practice that he is not an empty place and is able to make some noise in the Super League.

The debut time of the Russian legionnaire, however, turned out to be blurry. He spent it in an attempt to cling to the ball, but did not really achieve anything. Eight touches of the ball and several martial arts won – that’s what Artyom was able to record in his asset. His team conceded two goals before the break, and at the beginning of the second half, Adana had to capitulate to Fenerbahce and for the third time…

At the 56th minute, the guests played one ball from the penalty spot, and after 10 minutes Dzyuba also found his moment. Kevin Rodrigues completed a pass into the opponent’s penalty area, Henry Onyekura tried to shoot from an acute angle, but it was the Russian striker who brought the ball to the target. And he opened the scoring for Adana on his 34th birthday!

Artyom’s goal seemed to inspire hope for a comeback in the team, but Dzyuba’s former partner in Zenit soon deprived his partners of the chance for a draw. Yaroslav Rakytsky grossly violated the rules at the end of the meeting and left Adana in the minority. The Istanbulites took advantage of the removal of the Ukrainian defender and again increased their advantage. With this score, the match ended – 4:2.

Our goalkeeper did not finish the game until the final whistle, he was replaced in the 87th minute, but he coped with his main task in his debut match – he managed to score. Now it would be nice to put the performance in the Super League on stream.

Turkish Championship. 3rd round

Fenerbahce (Istanbul) – Adana Demirspor (Adana) – 4: 2 (2:0)

Goals: Valencia, 20 (from the penalty spot), 41. Zaitz, 47. Alioski, 84. – Belhanda, 56 (from the penalty spot). Dzyuba, 66.

Removal: Rakitsky, 82.