Putin mocks Russian team Zenit over foreign players

[achuzia-the-air-raid]

Putin mocks Russian team Zenit over foreign players


By Associated Press October 3 at 5:00 PM



MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday mocked top club Zenit St. Petersburg for not fielding enough Russian players.

With Russia hosting the World Cup next year, Putin told a meeting of sports officials that Zenit couldn’t claim to be popularizing soccer as a “truly Russian game” because it didn’t give enough starts to Russian players.

When Zenit president Sergei Fursenko suggested more attractive styles of play could attract fans and make football “a real Russian game,” Putin hit back.

“You’ve got eight foreigners running across the pitch, playing for Zenit in the Europa League, well done,” the Russian president said in televised remarks, Apparently referring to Zenit’s last Europa League group stage game against Spain’s Real Sociedad.

Zenit started against Sociedad with three Russians, five Argentines, a Slovenian, a Serbian and an Italian. Three Russians came on as substitutes.

Zenit won 3-1, with two of its goals scored by Russian starter Alexander Kokorin, and the other by Argentine Emiliano Rigoni.

Russian league games allow six non-Russians on the pitch at any time.

In recent years, Russian officials have been keen for the country’s clubs to develop local talent.

Despite occasional protests from coaches that top Russians should consider playing abroad to gain experience at the highest level of the game, all of the country’s 23-man squad for the Confederations Cup squad this summer played at home. That was unique among the eight teams in the tournament.

A year earlier, 22 of the 23 Russians picked for the European Championship played in the Russian league. Russia’s 2014 World Cup squad was also entirely home-based.

Restrictions on foreign players in the Russian league have helped to drive up wages for Russian players, encouraging them to stay at home.

___

This story has been corrected to show that current Russian league rules allow six, not seven, foreign players on the pitch at any one time.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/d ... a1dd44ec51


http://www.espnfc.com/russia/story/3220 ... an-players

[Eaglezbeak]

I'd like to see how far they go with a pure Russian team!

[oloye]

There is nothibg wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certaib rules in place to protect british players!

[pajimoh]

There is nothibg wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certaib rules in place to protect british players!

Oga Oloye, I'm struggling to think of any rule in the EPL that allows for a minimum number of Englishmen on the field at any given time? We've seen clubs put out a team that consists of all foreign players.

[metalalloy]

There is nothibg wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certaib rules in place to protect british players!

Oga Oloye, I'm struggling to think of any rule in the EPL that allows for a minimum number of Englishmen on the field at any given time? We've seen clubs put out a team that consists of all foreign players.

Perhaps there should be. Doesn't that go towards Oloye's question of how do Russian (or English in this case) players develop if they do not get playing time? The home grown rule does little to help their development if they are rooted on benches and dev squads. Having quotes in the starting lineup or at least on the match day squad would def affect the quality of play for the league as a whole, but should be beneficial to the players of the these countries and ensure that their goal of developing and promoting their young talent is actually realized.

[Ayo Akinfe]

There is nothibg wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certaib rules in place to protect british players!

[1] I disagree 100% with what he is saying
[2] Placing restrictions on foreign players has never and will never develop local talent
[3] If Russia wants quality as against quantity, the key is to step up scouting, academies and youth training programmes
[4] How many Russian clubs go to search for players ion the outbacks of the Urals, Chechnya and Siberia?
[5] All placing restrictions does is limit the quality of the league
[6] If Russia were to lift its restrictions on foreign players, wages would drop and more of its footballers would go abroad. This would open up more space
[7] Just look at how the English Premier league has developed due to the influx of players from everywhere
[8] Does Zenit St Petersburg for instance have a proper youth set-up?
[9] Alex Ferguson has shown us how to develop local talent. His babies including the Neville brothers, Beckham, Giggs, Butt, Scholes, etc all came through around the same time. That for me is the way to go
[10] Ask yourself if there are local Russian players of the same calibre of the foreigners playing for Zenit who could step in and do as good enough a job

[oloye]

There is nothing wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certain rules in place to protect british players!

Oga Oloye, I'm struggling to think of any rule in the EPL that allows for a minimum number of Englishmen on the field at any given time? We've seen clubs put out a team that consists of all foreign players.

Sometimes i wonder if we ahould not resort to speaking in vernacular so that we can understand each other. I made mention of certain rules...certain rules that are indirectly geared towards addressing the issue Putin has raised. Have you not heard of the home grown talent rule or why were the likes of Man City having to sign some british players to make the numbers? What of the rule that stipulates that for a foreign player to play in the epl he must be an international and must have played x number of games in a year? So you think these rules do not have these concerns at heart.
In Italy some years ago there waa a cap on number of foreign players.....there is nothing new in what Putin is saying and it is not only football that this addresses.

A nation hosting the WC in year's time and does not have players in the top teams in her country, does not have players playing in the champions league to help nurture and develop her players...such a nation need to address that situation whether it is politically correct or not! It needs to be addressed if she is hoping to make a decent showing at her own festival!

PaJimoh ma binu,ma so yoruba lati isinyi lo!

[oloye]

I'd like to see how far they go with a pure Russian team!

I dont think that is the wholesome issue! I think the general concern here is how to develop local talent, something which does not exclude bringing in foreign players to add to the mix, but wont be achieved by not giving the local talents the chance to partake.

[pajimoh]

There is nothing wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certain rules in place to protect british players!

Oga Oloye, I'm struggling to think of any rule in the EPL that allows for a minimum number of Englishmen on the field at any given time? We've seen clubs put out a team that consists of all foreign players.

Sometimes i wonder if we ahould not resort to speaking in vernacular so that we can understand each other. I made mention of certain rules...certain rules that are indirectly geared towards addressing the issue Putin has raised. Have you not heard of the home grown talent rule or why were the likes of Man City having to sign some british players to make the numbers? What of the rule that stipulates that for a foreign player to play in the epl he must be an international and must have played x number of games in a year? So you think these rules do not have these concerns at heart.
In Italy some years ago there waa a cap on number of foreign players.....there is nothing new in what Putin is saying and it is not only football that this addresses.

A nation hosting the WC in year's time and does not have players in the top teams in her country, does not have players playing in the champions league to help nurture and develop her players...such a nation need to address that situation whether it is politically correct or not! It needs to be addressed if she is hoping to make a decent showing at her own festival!

PaJimoh ma binu,ma so yoruba lati isinyi lo!

Oga Oloye, first you did not specifically mention any rule and I also stated that "I'm struggling" to remember any rule, not that there are none.

In any case my point is at least the Russians have a rule that permits 3 players on the pitch at any given time. To the best of my recollection, I don't think the EPL have such rules. That is why I referenced the fact that teams have put out 11 foreign players. Which one could conclude, in line with Putin's observation, is even worse

[Orion]

I'd like to see how far they go with a pure Russian team!

I dont think that is the wholesome issue! I think the general concern here is how to develop local talent, something which does not exclude bringing in foreign players to add to the mix, but wont be achieved by not giving the local talents the chance to partake.

Yep, a balance is required. You need some good foreign players in your league so that the local guys can play against good opposition and raise their own game. However, you need to leave room for said local talent to be able to come through the ranks and not get totally drowned out by the foreign players.

[Eaglezbeak]

I'd like to see how far they go with a pure Russian team!

I dont think that is the wholesome issue! I think the general concern here is how to develop local talent, something which does not exclude bringing in foreign players to add to the mix, but wont be achieved by not giving the local talents the chance to partake.

Never the less I'd like to see!

[Mr Shows]

I'd like to see how far they go with a pure Russian team!

I dont think that is the wholesome issue! I think the general concern here is how to develop local talent, something which does not exclude bringing in foreign players to add to the mix, but wont be achieved by not giving the local talents the chance to partake.

Yep, a balance is required. You need some good foreign players in your league so that the local guys can play against good opposition and raise their own game. However, you need to leave room for said local talent to be able to come through the ranks and not get totally drowned out by the foreign players.

The influx of foreign players, while it improved the standard and marketability of the EPL has had a negative impact on the 3 Lions. England simply started to strengthen their grassroot academies and improve at that level. Their recent victory in the U20 WC shows this is the way to go. It pays off in the long run.

[Mr. Piffington]

There is nothibg wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certaib rules in place to protect british players!

Oga Oloye, I'm struggling to think of any rule in the EPL that allows for a minimum number of Englishmen on the field at any given time? We've seen clubs put out a team that consists of all foreign players.

Perhaps there should be. Doesn't that go towards Oloye's question of how do Russian (or English in this case) players develop if they do not get playing time? The home grown rule does little to help their development if they are rooted on benches and dev squads. Having quotes in the starting lineup or at least on the match day squad would def affect the quality of play for the league as a whole, but should be beneficial to the players of the these countries and ensure that their goal of developing and promoting their young talent is actually realized.

What they need to do in England is introduce B teams instead of forcing sorry arse players on managers.

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

Oloye:

you guys are missing the finer message here. The man is stoking Nationalist flames. Zenit is well-known for a fan base which periodically threatens their team against signing foreign, especially Black players. Zenit is exactly the wrong team to be criticized for such, considering their fans' history....

[pajimoh]

There is nothibg wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certaib rules in place to protect british players!

Oga Oloye, I'm struggling to think of any rule in the EPL that allows for a minimum number of Englishmen on the field at any given time? We've seen clubs put out a team that consists of all foreign players.

Perhaps there should be. Doesn't that go towards Oloye's question of how do Russian (or English in this case) players develop if they do not get playing time? The home grown rule does little to help their development if they are rooted on benches and dev squads. Having quotes in the starting lineup or at least on the match day squad would def affect the quality of play for the league as a whole, but should be beneficial to the players of the these countries and ensure that their goal of developing and promoting their young talent is actually realized.

I think something is lost in translation and probably my fault. I'm merely pointing out that the English are probably in a worse situation than the Russians 'cos there's no rule that I know that forces the EPL teams to field a given number of English players. At least the Russians have such rules that allows for up to 6 Foreigners and by extension, at least 5 Russians.

I'm specifically talking about the EPL and not the reserves etc.

[metalalloy]

There is nothibg wrong in what he is saying...how does Russian players develop if they are denied playing time? I believe even the EPL have certaib rules in place to protect british players!

Oga Oloye, I'm struggling to think of any rule in the EPL that allows for a minimum number of Englishmen on the field at any given time? We've seen clubs put out a team that consists of all foreign players.

Perhaps there should be. Doesn't that go towards Oloye's question of how do Russian (or English in this case) players develop if they do not get playing time? The home grown rule does little to help their development if they are rooted on benches and dev squads. Having quotes in the starting lineup or at least on the match day squad would def affect the quality of play for the league as a whole, but should be beneficial to the players of the these countries and ensure that their goal of developing and promoting their young talent is actually realized.

I think something is lost in translation and probably my fault. I'm merely pointing out that the English are probably in a worse situation than the Russians 'cos there's no rule that I know that forces the EPL teams to field a given number of English players. At least the Russians have such rules that allows for up to 6 Foreigners and by extension, at least 5 Russians.

I'm specifically talking about the EPL and not the reserves etc.

Bros, I understood you completely. I agree with you that there is no such rule in the EPL, and I said above in my first sentence, that perhaps, there should be such a rule or quota (or whatever you want to call it) if the goal is truly indigenous player development.

The real goal of the home grown rule appears to be to help English academies, and not necessarily help develop young English players. If they really wanted to allow more english players to be developed from a young age in the hopes of creating more talented players, the current status quo that counts foreigners such as Fabregas and Kele who come to English academies at a young age to satisfy the home quota would be scrapped, and a mandate that these english home grown players play a certain amount of games in the season instituted.

For me, I'm happy our boys get a chance to earn a living, so for their sake, i hope nothing changes.

[oloye]

Oloye:

you guys are missing the finer message here. The man is stoking Nationalist flames. Zenit is well-known for a fan base which periodically threatens their team against signing foreign, especially Black players. Zenit is exactly the wrong team to be criticized for such, considering their fans' history....

Is there any other way to regulate the manner of situation captured here without being nationalistic? Is there anyway you can fight for anything local or domestic without being in the corner of the nationalist?

The real cause for bother will be if he demands that only Russians should be fielded..which we know is not the case here. If 8 out of 11 players representing one of the biggest clubs in Russian are not russians....heck anyone who has the love and interest of Russia at heart should voice it out.

There was a time when Wenger and Arsenal were being hounded for not fielding enough english players. If 8 out of 11 players representing Rangers on the continent happen to be bredas or plantainians...heck i would mock Rangers ...... I am sorry sir, even as much as i pride muself as being liberal, i struggle to accept that

[Kabalega]

Good Russian players need to get out of Russia and play in better leagues.
However, they do not because, they are poor travelers who struggle to adapt to living away from home.
This has been a widely known issue for a while now.
Look at all their talented exports.


Their game is also too insular. You can see it in the Russian national football team.
Unfortunately, their protectionist policies in soccer and the wider Russian society, only exacerbate the problem(s).
It's affecting other Russian sports too, so much so that their Olympic teams are now taking cheating to a new level.

These policies limit Russia's potential and will eventually lead to its downfall.

PS: It makes sense to protect the young but at some point they should be exposed to the wider world.

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

Oloye:

you guys are missing the finer message here. The man is stoking Nationalist flames. Zenit is well-known for a fan base which periodically threatens their team against signing foreign, especially Black players. Zenit is exactly the wrong team to be criticized for such, considering their fans' history....

Is there any other way to regulate the manner of situation captured here without being nationalistic? Is there anyway you can fight for anything local or domestic without being in the corner of the nationalist?

The real cause for bother will be if he demands that only Russians should be fielded..which we know is not the case here. If 8 out of 11 players representing one of the biggest clubs in Russian are not russians....heck anyone who has the love and interest of Russia at heart should voice it out.

There was a time when Wenger and Arsenal were being hounded for not fielding enough english players. If 8 out of 11 players representing Rangers on the continent happen to be bredas or plantainians...heck i would mock Rangers ...... I am sorry sir, even as much as i pride muself as being liberal, i struggle to accept that

Oloye:

perhaps there are other ways. Problem is, the way Russia is as a country, a "comment" or an "observation" by Putin sends messages to people. Maybe the FA should be actually making regulatory laws if this is a problem. Putin "mocking" this problem just encourages the xenophobes.

[oloye]

Oloye:

you guys are missing the finer message here. The man is stoking Nationalist flames. Zenit is well-known for a fan base which periodically threatens their team against signing foreign, especially Black players. Zenit is exactly the wrong team to be criticized for such, considering their fans' history....

Is there any other way to regulate the manner of situation captured here without being nationalistic? Is there anyway you can fight for anything local or domestic without being in the corner of the nationalist?

The real cause for bother will be if he demands that only Russians should be fielded..which we know is not the case here. If 8 out of 11 players representing one of the biggest clubs in Russian are not russians....heck anyone who has the love and interest of Russia at heart should voice it out.

There was a time when Wenger and Arsenal were being hounded for not fielding enough english players. If 8 out of 11 players representing Rangers on the continent happen to be bredas or plantainians...heck i would mock Rangers ...... I am sorry sir, even as much as i pride muself as being liberal, i struggle to accept that

Oloye:

perhaps there are other ways. Problem is, the way Russia is as a country, a "comment" or an "observation" by Putin sends messages to people. Maybe the FA should be actually making regulatory laws if this is a problem. Putin "mocking" this problem just encourages the xenophobes.

May be he has no control over that other than to mock the system.
I agree with you chief that this position can be exploited by xenophobes abi how you call them foolish racists again...abeg help me na night school my village fit send me

I knew the concerns of many and the critics of Putin's position would stem from the concerns you just expressed. In fact na you gangan i dey wait for when i responded to this thread

[Scipio Africanus]

Where is that Arsene Wenger quote about Arsenal, good wine and English players who are not good enough?

[Chief Ogbunigwe]

Oloye:

you guys are missing the finer message here. The man is stoking Nationalist flames. Zenit is well-known for a fan base which periodically threatens their team against signing foreign, especially Black players. Zenit is exactly the wrong team to be criticized for such, considering their fans' history....

Is there any other way to regulate the manner of situation captured here without being nationalistic? Is there anyway you can fight for anything local or domestic without being in the corner of the nationalist?

The real cause for bother will be if he demands that only Russians should be fielded..which we know is not the case here. If 8 out of 11 players representing one of the biggest clubs in Russian are not russians....heck anyone who has the love and interest of Russia at heart should voice it out.

There was a time when Wenger and Arsenal were being hounded for not fielding enough english players. If 8 out of 11 players representing Rangers on the continent happen to be bredas or plantainians...heck i would mock Rangers ...... I am sorry sir, even as much as i pride muself as being liberal, i struggle to accept that

Oloye:

perhaps there are other ways. Problem is, the way Russia is as a country, a "comment" or an "observation" by Putin sends messages to people. Maybe the FA should be actually making regulatory laws if this is a problem. Putin "mocking" this problem just encourages the xenophobes.

May be he has no control over that other than to mock the system.
I agree with you chief that this position can be exploited by xenophobes abi how you call them foolish racists again...abeg help me na night school my village fit send me

I knew the concerns of many and the critics of Putin's position would stem from the concerns you just expressed. In fact na you gangan i dey wait for when i responded to this thread

Oga, na true I de tok sha. During my years there, whether and how dem harass you for street depends on weting Ogas at the Top dey tok...especially for TV.

[Bell]

For me, I'm happy our boys get a chance to earn a living, so for their sake, i hope nothing changes.

I WOULD SAY...

...this is the problem facing international soccer, particularly African soccer. Everybody wants "our boys" to earn a decent living but when will Nigerians take it up to provide such opportunities domestically? Please, don't tell me about the high quality of soccer conditions overseas: Nigerians and the rest of the world should try to provide same, or a reasonable proportion instead of depending on foreign leagues pecifically those in Europe) to develop their players with all its attendant problems. I;m surprised FIFA allows this imbalance, where Europe is only place where reasonable soccer is played, to persist.
Bell