This is a curious match to preview as while I am hoping for a never-say-die effort by both clubs, I can’t be sure that it is being taken as serious as I’d like. This particularly so in considering Man Utd’s Sir Alex Ferguson’s commentary that has given contradictory indications of his intent:
“I remember the last time we went there I only played half a team. When I saw Lazio celebrating at the end, it was like they had won the World Cup. I was not too pleased (and) that will not happen again.”
Yet he also commented earlier today:
“The Super Cup means no pressure on either team. It’s prestigious but provides a platform for the players to go out and enjoy themselves.”
The key to this comment (and for those who might have more than a passing interest in this match) is “no pressure“, which basically sounds the alarms of nice ribbons being given out after the match and hearty-cheer for the opposition. “No pressure” means a “friendly” or in this situation, a chance to get to Monaco and the local night-life. Nothing that fans have in mind or UEFA I’m sure.
However such is the case with this match and as much as I had hoped and even delayed posting my preview, waiting for some indication, this has all the makings of a easy-going friendly so the crushing mid-field challenges of Anatoliy Tymoschuk might be put on-hold in a free-wheeling non-contact match.
As further ballast of this being a less-than do-or-die match, Man Utd will welcome back Nani from suspension, Ji-Sung Park,Gary Neville and the Canadian who doesn’t play for Canada, Owen Hargreaves from injuries and a number of them are expected in the starting grid. While certainly they all have the ability to occupy their respective position during regular matches, their inclusion signals the match as a use of a “tune-up” and a chance to improve fitness.
However this match will provide fans of the game to watch the extraordinary collection of Football talent that Dick Advocaat has put together at Zenit Saint Petersburg and for that alone it is worth watching. Oddly enough, while many will know primarily of Andrei Arshavin’s superb talents, I’m not positive I would say he is the most valuable member of the club. I might reconsider that comment but the point is, this club has an outstanding array of talent and while clubs consider paying a Kings ransom for Andrei, a review of the lineup reveals player after player who will make a massive impact with any club.
Your new possible favourite midfielder, at least after the match, is quite possibly Anatoly Tymoschuk. A ruthless tackler, who never quits and leads through example, has exemplary vision with the ball. He is said to be valued at £7 on the transfer market, which seems a trace like a Boxing Day sale price to me in todays market and I couldn’t imagine Zenit without him. In-fact, in a match he was recently suspended for, they looked lost and void of the fire he imparts. While clubs hunt and peck for midfield leaders, I’m surprised the twenty-nine year-old Ukraine international isn’t on every clubs short-list.
Equally stated striker Pavel Pogrebnyak is now back from knee injury and if he remains healthy, watch Russia in the World Cup. In my opinion if he hadn’t been injured before the Euro’s, the talk of the Football world would have been around Pavel, who is a classic predator. The twenty-four year-old striker is a remarkable talent and while rarely discussed, is a tremendous leader in the club and role model to fans.
The rich midfield is packed with an assortment of quality pedigree including twenty-two year-old Viktor Fayzulin who plays well beyond his years in all facets of the game, Igor Denisov, an extremely complete player who will excel in-time on the international scene, Konstantin Zyryanov one of Russia’s top Footballers, offensive whirlwind Dani, who just came over from Dynamo Moscow. Up-front with Andrei Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak, Zenit has featured the tenacious and creative attacking Turkish international Fatih Tekke (Turkey) along with Alejandro Domínguez who has consistently shown to be a high level attacker. Defensively Dick Advocaat has continued his assembly of top pedigree with international capped Roman Shirokov (Russia), Ivica Krizanac (Croatia) and Kim Dongjin (Korea) along with recent addition Sébastien Puygrenier.
I will be posting a full review of the match once it concludes.
