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Russia 90's midfielders generation

2.1K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Abedi  
#1 ·
Though a lot could be remembered as underachievers(especially internationally), Russia still produced a great group of technical midfielders during the 90s, probably one of the deepest in Europe as far as playmakers and top-notch passing midfielders are concerned.

Aleksandr Mostovoi
Ilya Tsymbalar(Ukrainian born)
Andrei Kanchelskis(ukrainian born)
Igor Korneev
Igor Lediakhov
Igor Shalimov
Oleg Veretennikov
Dmitriy Alenichev
Dmitriy Loskov
Egor Titov
Valery Karpin
Andrei Tikhonov
Valery Yesipov
Vladislav Radimov
Dmitriy khoklov
Sergei Semak

All technically gifted top players at one point or another.Who did you rate highest?favourites/least favourites etc..

I've always thought Korneev was an interesting , underrapreciated player even in Russia.He was an excellent, complete playmaker for CSKA in his early years when the league was still one of the best in Europe, then a move to severely struggling Espanyol and injuries seemed to derail his career.He was never really given a chance at Barca and past his best by the time he played in Holland, but still played well and scored a lot of good goals for Feyenoord when given a chance.
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#2 ·
Hey welcome to the forum man.

Looking at those past players it's really evident that the technical ability of Russian footballers has dropped since then You're right about Russia in the 90's, the amount of playmaking midfielders we had was ridiculous. Unfortunately we didn't have quality strikers during that era, even Kerzhakov or Pavlyuchenko would have made a huge difference for those teams.

If I were to rank those guys based purely on talent (not career achievements ) I would say that Mostovoi is the clear #1, the amount of talent he had was just incredible, technically one of the best players of his generation easy. Loskov is a favorite of mine such a classy and smooth player with insane passing range in both feet. Shame that almost no one knows about him outside of Russia.

Shalimov unfortunately was never able to live up to his great talent despite a great first season for Inter. Titov had a very good career but considering the talent he had he should have made a name at a bigger club, I really don't know why he never made a move abroad. Anyway here are my rankings for Russian midfielders of that decade (not counting wingers like Karpin).

For pure talent,

1. Mostovoi
2. Shalimov
3. Titov
4. Loskov
5. Alenitchev
6. Radimov
7. Kalyvanov
8. Korneev
9. Tsymbalar
10. Khokhlov
 
#3 ·
g8ATcDfme-k


Used to love watching this guy play.He was lazy and ill-disciplined, should have done more than waste his career away at Sporting Gijon where he was always fighting with players and causing trouble, but when he wanted to he could playmake with the best.Great touch and imagination.