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| Shulenin scores the game-winning goal. Photo: fcdynamo.ru |
Dynamo's Decline
Despite
clearly having had more possession of the ball in the first half and
over 20 shots throughout the game (only 6 of which were on target),
Dynamo Moscow started off the 2012/2013 season near the bottom of the
table. The team, which outnumbered Volga after the 52nd minute when
Maksimov was red-carded for a dangerous foul, conceded one goal from
a corner kick. A throw-in for Volga on the 69th minute resulted in
Sapogov's cross to the right side, giving Shulenin the opportunity
for a header.
It is
clear why FC Volga won the match. It is a team that plays as one unit
both in the attack and defense. When Volga had possession of the
ball, all ten players went forward. When Dynamo had the ball, all ten
Volga players receded to the 18-yard box to fend off the attack. One
way or another, the team would have scored. Gadzhi Gadzhiyev, who
took over as manager after Dmitri Cheryshev's unsuccessful stint at
the club (he had a 30.56% win percentage), demonstrated his skill by
leading the underdogs to a win despite the fact that they were
playing with 10 men for nearly half of the game. The former Anzhi
manager (Guus Hiddink recently took over), Gadzhiyev is infamous for
his row with match officials during last season's win against none
other than Dynamo Moscow. He broke the door to the referees' room
during halftime to protest the controversial decisions the officials
made during the match. It doesn't look like he needs to do any more
door-breaking, though, as the refereeing in today's game was
top-notch. You gotta take your hat off to this coach, not only for
leading a 10-man team to victory but for making the right
substitution and getting Shulenin into the game. Volga celebrated their well-deserved win as though they'd just won the Cup.
As
much as you can talk about the success of Volga's new management,
it's evident that their win was also due to Dynamo's poor playing
style. Silkin's team had sloppy attacks and didn't make use of their
opportunities. That's not to say they didn't come close to scoring on
more than one occasion, and were only prevented from doing so by
Volga's amazing goalkeeper, Ilya Abayev. The veteran keeper's best
moment of the game was a fantastic save on the 86th
minute, when Dynamo captain Kevin Kuranyi stretched to tip the ball
in about a foot from the net. Abayev acted quickly, getting down low
and sending the ball in the opposite direction with an outstretched
left leg. Many other keepers would have panicked in that situation.
But Volga only had three shots on goal, and Dynamo could have easily
won this game 3-0 or 4-0.
There
were two evident precursors to Dynamo's failure – last season and
the pre-season friendlies. While friendly matches do not affect a
team's premier league standings and are often dubbed meaningless,
these games do matter. The pre-season is a reflection not of the way
a team will play all of their games in the league, but of that team's
potential. Dynamo had two wins and a draw in Sweden, but played
rather poorly. Their performance was not surprising – last season,
the team catapulted from third place in the leader board to fourth.
They were lucky enough to make the 2012-13 UEFA Europa League
qualifying round. There are quite a few things wrong with the team.
For starters, Assistant Manager Dmitriy Hohlov has left the main club
and now manages the reserve team. No Andriy Voronin, Samedov, and
Smolov means less talent on the team. As much as 17-year-old Panyukov
can bring to the pitch, he's still an inexperienced player, and would
do well by playing alongside Voronin and Samedov. All of these
factors stem back to the root of the problem – Sergei Silkin. The
saying goes “ask not what the club can do for you, but what you can
do for the club”. Silkin has done a lot for Dynamo in terms of
demolishing a team that was ready and able to make the Champions
League. His attitude towards his players is more business-like than
human. It is clear that he cares about flattering the club's
president far more than flattering the club – his making Kuranyi
captain was a direct result from the President's rather than the
manager's preference for the player. What about having Anton Shunin
as the main goalkeeper? Roman Berezovsky is not only far more
experienced, but a far better keeper, holding the record for the
greatest number of penalty saves in all of Russia. The talent is
present, but the manager refuses to use it. When profit comes before
merit, success is only fleeting. The manager can make all the
promises he wants about getting the team to play an attack-oriented
game. If he can't get along with the players, he can't lead his team
to victory – end of story.
Nevertheless,
pretending Volga is really FC Barcelona in disguise due to their red
and blue striped kit won't make Dynamo fans feel any better.
A
loss is a loss, whether it's 1-0 or 5-0. It's three points taken by
someone else and, in this case, by the better team.
A fun
fact that might add some cheer to the lives of Dynamo fans: Luke
Wilkshire has become the club's most popular player after unveiling
his latest tattoo of the club's name at Dynamo's meet-and-greet
session.
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