Doubts about Sunday’s football in Moscow appeared in the morning. The weather forecasts did not disappoint: heavy snow fell in the capital.
CSKA and Rostov would play first. There was still time before the game, but it was already evident that it would hardly be normal football. The field was covered with an even layer of snow and a tractor sprang into action, a meme of our football since the days of the “snow derby” in the early 2000s.
A tractor removes snow from the grass before a game.
Photo: Alexander Safonov, “Championship”
There was information on the air about the desire of both clubs to postpone the match, but in reality everything turned out differently. Valery Karpin was against the match, while CSKA and, above all, the main referee Rafael Shafeev were in favor of holding the match.
When the teams entered the field, it became eerie; After all, Shafeev took the white and orange ball in his hands. The same one that Baltika and Spartak played in Kaliningrad. But fortunately, the fears quickly disappeared and the teams rolled a completely orange ball in the snow. It was clearly visible, even despite the snowfall.
After the match, Karpin did not mince words. He criticized those who made the decision to hold the match and was willing to use the same unprintable word that led to the suspension of Lokomotiv coach Mikhail Galaktionov.
What did Karpin say after the game?
“What idiot made this decision?” Karpin’s words after the game against CSKA are a total rupture
RPL President Alexander Alaev spoke about alternative calendar options for not touring in December.
“How is the weather? Snezhnaya. And cold. What to do in such a situation? We discuss this issue every year. You can decide not to play in December. But then we will have to go on further tours in the fall. This option was considered. Let me remind you that the decision is not made by the league. 16 clubs vote for the options presented. This year there were two options. But it wouldn’t have helped much, because we would have finished on December 3. In recent years, we have only finished in November once: the last year, since the World Cup started. You can decide not to play in December, but you have to look strategically,” RB Sport quotes Alaev.
CSKA forward Fedor Chalov was sure that the match will take place in any weather:
“Today there was more wrestling than football. We did not lose and we deservedly won. It was something like beach soccer. They often played on horseback and with their heads. We understood perfectly that the match would take place in any weather. I already had a game like this when I debuted with the main team. That’s nostalgia. Méndez scored CSKA’s first goal. We are all happy, it even started to snow.
How did you explain the game to the legionnaires in such weather? For Brazilians it’s like sand, maybe. Stadium workers were not involved in clearing snow during the game. This helped: at least the penalty areas were as clean as possible. There it was more possible to interact.
When you run fast, the snow gets in your eyes and you lose your orientation in space, at times you can’t see. Is it possible to play in this weather? Complex problem. What would we do? For me it was an interesting experience, but I wouldn’t want to repeat it.”
Fedor Chalov celebrates a penalty goal
Photo: CSKA
CSKA coach Vladimir Fedotov noted that it is difficult to hold matches in Russia in December, taking into account the weather conditions.
“I want to thank the fans who supported us in this weather. As for the climate itself, something needs to be analyzed. We know when winter comes. Playing in December with our weather conditions is difficult. We only have one stadium with a roof: in St. Petersburg.
It is clear that when we return to the “spring-autumn” system, we will still have winter, but there will be more games on good grass. It is clear that we simplified the game. We always trusted how the ball moved. Overall it wasn’t that bad. On Monday there will be even more frost. Therefore, it was more logical to postpone the match until spring. We don’t know how or what is in the regulations.
Do I agree that there was no football today? In our soccer practice, the start and end of the championship were held on ice fields. Records can be found. Snow football is a separate sport. But at the same time, football itself was no different. Although we played on a snow field. Somewhere it is denser, somewhere less. Will Mendes get sick after jumping into the snow? He is already adapted, he didn’t arrive yesterday. “I have already adapted to the Siberian frosts.”
It was difficult to call what was happening football:
CSKA and Rostov repeated the bus meme. It is impossible to win more beautifully under the snow.
Rostov captain Danil Glebov admitted that until recently he did not believe the match would take place:
“We spent a week preparing for one thing, but in the end… We probably should have postponed the game. Did you like today’s game? What was it: football or something else? Whoever gets pregnant will win, and that’s how it happened. They “brought” a penalty (0-1) and ran to recover. Who is this game for? It’s unlikely that fans would be interested in this.
Transition to “spring-autumn”? Don’t know. It seems to me that the Cup could not have been played, but simply postponed so that it would be finished at the end of November. It would be more logical to play with CSKA in October in Moscow and now in Rostov. Until recently I didn’t believe there would be a game. The question of why we are playing now should be asked of those who draw up the schedule and make those decisions. Well done! Today’s match showed for the tenth time that something needs to be reconsidered. The objective of this game? Who liked this game?
Let’s follow other events from matchday 17 of the RPL:
“Spartak” lost in Grozny without Abascal! The rojiblancos lost the opportunity to enter the top 3!
CSKA midfielder Ivan Oblyakov did not mind running onto the field in felt boots. According to the player, his feet were frozen:
“If they told us to play, then we will play. They are all in the same conditions, including the weather. It’s true that my feet are cold. It would be nice to jump in felt boots. We even tried playing soccer: some worked, some didn’t. I think we played a good game. The red ball is a little different. It slips a little on the snow.
Overall it worked well. I haven’t heard of anyone wanting to play. Do you agree with Karpin that this was the murder of football? This is his opinion. They told me to play: I will play and have fun. I left thinking that I once played in the snow when I was a kid and I’ll try it here.”
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS