I classify the type of such questions that are put in the heading as “unanswered questions”, and this, whatever one may say, is not going anywhere. Really - why? The forward of the Jamaican team Marlon King has already adapted, and Andriy Shevchenko - not yet. Mark Atkins could do this, but Juan Sebastian Veron could not. Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp took this difficult two months, but then everything went like clockwork. To Robert Pires, to become “his” in England, it took him a whole season. And Sean Gauter - he immediately accustomed. Scandinavians tend to adapt better than South Americans. What is the reason for this?
English Premier League - this is not a pound of raisins for you, that's what. But, in truth, looking at how such a cool footballer like Shevchenko does little on the field is surprising and painful at the same time.
Although English football is a purely “thing in itself”, a truly world-class player should not have difficulty adapting to it. However, the reality is that the process of acquiring foreign football players on Foggy Albion can be called anything but an exact science (even such a dock in this matter as Arsene Wenger did it, paying a lot of money at one time for Pascal Sigan, Cabo Diavar and Oleg Luzhny). Therefore, as screenwriter William Gouldman said about Hollywood in a famous aphorism, “no one knows anything”: why does Shevchenko have problems, when will they end (and will end at all) - in a word, why does all world stars in England always have something wrong . Here are the six most likely versions.
1. "He just needs to give time"
In fact, it would rather be surprising if Shevchenko had no problems at all. Most of the best Premier League legionnaires did. Bergkamp, for example, scored his first goal for Arsenal only in the eighth match, and Henry in the ninth, for which both were ridiculed by the tabloids. Eric Cantona, before being on the other side of the Pennine Mountains (in Manchester United) and finding himself there, was on the sidelines for almost a year in Leeds. The current “troubles” of Shevchenko — rather far-fetched than utterly mischievous — are also shaded by the brilliant form of Didier Drogba, who, it is worth noting, has been a slightly foreign body in the Premier League for two seasons. In general, all this hype around the “why” should not be misleading to Jose Mourinho. If a good football player makes his way to the top, then it’s super talented (and Shevchenko, of course, is) and even more so.
He just needs to give time. The most severe adaptation problems are usually experienced by attackers. Footballers of other roles (for example, Claude Makelele, Gabriel Heinze, Sami Hüyupä and Peter Schmeichel) upon arrival in England discover that their functions in the fields of the Premier League, in fact, are not much different from the “continental” fields. Of course, the striker is different, but nevertheless, many fans have a wrong view of the problems of teamwork and the establishment of game ties: they say that the defenders need more time, because in the rotation of the line-up the defense plays almost the role of a “sacred cow” You can’t touch her! In fact, in football, everything is exactly the opposite: it’s much easier to destroy than to build, so the players of the attack group in order to catch the rhythm of the game and find mutual understanding with partners need no less time than the defenders.
2. "The British" meat grinder "is to blame for everything
Even Roy Keane, citing Verona’s English career as an example, said: the version that world-class players can not do anything with the notorious “meat grinder” of the Premier League is devoid of common sense. The idea that English football is too fast and does not allow you to relax for a second, which “guest workers” cannot like, is a simplified approach. If everything had been so simple, the England team would have consisted entirely of Watford players - and not a muzzle. In the Premier League, undoubtedly the most athletic football in the world is played, and British beef is not to everyone's taste, but the success of miniature football players such as Juninho Paulista and Gianfranco Zola indicates that anthropometric data are far from a determining factor. As for Shevchenko, it is unlikely that such a defender-tick as Paolo Montero, stood on ceremony with him in the matches of series A.
3. "He is disturbed by personal problems"
Many of those who made the most mistake in the Premier League - Juan Sebastian Veron, Diego Forlan, Sergey Rebrov, Albert Luke - are meek and insecure players. People who are easily pressurized and grappling with difficulties are usually called “friends only in happiness”. The same applies to Jose Antonio Reyes, who was thrown out of English football not so much through the fault of the Neville brothers, but because of his own character and manner of playing. As soon as he got on his feet, he immediately stopped flashing his heels. And the exact opposite to him - Cristiano Ronaldo - a man with a completely different mentality. Possessing extraordinary courage and self-confidence, he, figuratively speaking, will knock on the closed door as much as necessary, and it does not matter what they say to him on the threshold.
In addition, Reyes and Veron, as well as Ian Rush during their Italian business trip, showed an excessive tendency to nostalgia. The player can also suffer due to some personal problems that seem to be not directly related to his profession, but also how they interfere with his career. But the fact that the volume of publications about Shevchenko and his wife Kristen Pazik in the sections of the secular chronicle of English newspapers occupies the same amount of space as on sports pages, suggests that life in London suits him completely.
4. "It is misused tactically"
Such a precedent, and quite bright, was already in English football. In 2001, Verona was bought at the whim of one exalted coach who suddenly had extra money (although Ferguson's priority hunting item was Patrick Vieira, who was also a central midfielder that summer, but on a completely different plan), and many believe that the failure of the Argentinean was due to the coaching thoughtlessness. Indeed, the bet on Verona in the middle line was initially incorrect: in the quartet of midfielders of Manchester United there was a place for only one conductor - the incomparable Keane. Subsequently, realizing his miscalculation, Ferguson took a long time to get out of this situation, transferring Verona to the right edge.
Verona’s acquisition resembled a virtual transfer to Championship Manager, where players are bought for their names, and not as a result of in-depth analysis. The same can be said about Luke, Rebrov and Kleberson, who were taken, as they say, "without a king in their head." And as an example of a thoughtful breeding policy - the work of Wenger, who, before determining the usefulness and location of a player in the tactical configuration of the team, will look at it more than a dozen times.
In this regard, there is a fear that Shevchenko, like Veron in his time, is not in its place; that it was bought because of its status - at the behest of the exalted club owner "with extra money." On the battlefields of the Italian championship, Sheva filigree supplied the phalanx with magnificent midfield masters - Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Clarence Seedorf, Rui Costa. At Chelsea, he is more likely to rely on long programs performed by Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack or Didier Drogba discounts. Moreover, sometimes he - a born predator - is used as a right winger in the 4-3-3 pattern, which looks as grotesque as Johan Cruyff’s attempts in Barcelona 18 years ago to fashion a “total footballer” from Gary Lineker, which was pushed to the right edge.
5. “He is not in shape”
And the casket just opened. Shevchenko, like Wayne Rooney, has not yet fully recovered from an injury received on the eve of the World Cup. In addition, his departure into the shadows was inevitably influenced by the problems associated with entering a new culture, a new club and a new style of play. This is the man who scored 127 goals in 207 matches of Serie A - the most sophisticated defensive stronghold of world football. If he already managed to become what he has become, then the English Premier League will sooner or later submit to him.
6. “His best years are already behind us”
Do not talk nonsense!
Translation by Andrey KARNAUKHOV