Russian football speaks Portuguese

The exclusion from international competitions since March 2022 has made Latin America in the main quarry for the clubs of the Slavic country. With honorable exceptions, the European market is off-limits to oil rubles. More than a third of the 451 footballers who play in the Russian honor division are foreigners and many of them are Latin Americans: Brazilians, Argentines, Colombians, Uruguayans, Paraguayans, Mexicans or Ecuadorians.

It’s no longer just that those players see Russia as a springboard to more powerful leagues of Europebut many of them stay in the country, given that the salaries paid are well above the sporting level of the championship and have nothing to envy of what they would earn in mid-table teams in Spain, France either Italy. The Russian coach, Valeri Karpinhas bitterly acknowledged that Europeans do not want to play in this country, so the clubs decided to take their petrorubles to the southern hemisphere, where the quality of the players is also high.

The leading teams bet on Latin America

The statistics are devastating. He Zenith was the one that opened the season a few seasons ago by copying the successful model of the Shakhtar Donetskwho dominated Ukrainian football and won the Europa League with half of the staff made up of Brazilians. The gas consortium Gazpromwhich finances the club Saint Petersburghad invested large amounts in the last twenty years in signing foreign coaches and soccer players, but in recent years it has focused its sights exclusively on Latin American soccer.

In fact, of the 28 players on the squad, eleven come from American countries that speak Spanish or Portuguese. Seven of them – six Brazilians and one Colombian – were starters in the last game played at home against the Locomotive (2-0). The team from the former tsarist capital spent 28 million euros to sign the Brazilian midfielder Gersonwhich disputed the Club World Cup with the Flamengo. Furthermore, a few months before it paid approximately 35 million euros to Botafogo for the signing of Luis Henrique.

In the same line, the Krasnodarcurrent Russian champion, fielded six Latin Americans (four Brazilians, a Uruguayan and a Colombian) in their last match against the Spartak Moscow (2-1). His franchise player is the Colombian John Cordobawhich he scored last season against Dynamo the winning goal that gave The Bulls their first league title. International with his country, he was named best player in the Russian league. Furthermore, the CSKA He has nine Latin American players on his team; he Dynamoseven; he Spartakfive; and the Locomotive It is the exception to the rule with only three footballers.

The Russian team joins

In addition to the clubs, the most affected by the war in Ukraine It was the Russian team, which missed the Qatar World Cupthe Euro Cup from Germany and it will not be from the game in the USA World Cup., Mexico and Canada. To make matters worse, he has not been able to play friendlies against renowned European teams. They had to settle for very low level teams, with the exception of Serbia, Cameroon either Iran.

The Russian Football Unionwho hopes to be able to compete in the qualifying phase for the next Euro Cuphas recently decided to expand the geography of its rivals. Tried to disembark 2024 in Latin America with a friendly with Paraguaybut it had to be canceled due to the most serious terrorist attack that occurred on Russian soil in twenty years and was perpetrated by jihadists in a concert hall near Moscow.

Then he invited Russian lands to the national teams Cuba and Grenadebut the next step was already Boliviaa national team that still has options to qualify for the World. Be that as it may, the Russians had no mercy and defeated the Andeans clearly (3-0). Next on the list will be two other Spanish-speaking teams: Peru and Chile. The match against the Peruvians will be played on November 12 in Saint Petersburgwhile The Red The copper will be beaten three days later in the Olympic stadium Fishtin the spa of Sochi (Black Sea). Tickets sell like hotcakes, since friendlies are the only opportunities to see the national team live.

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Although the emoluments that UFR Paying the invited federations is a secret, the press points to several million dollars, depending on the ranking of the team in question. With such revenues, there is no doubt that Russian fans will still see more Latin American teams pass through in the next international window in March 2026. It was rumored that the Argentina of Messi I was willing to play Russiasomething he already did in the past when Maradona He was the coach. The Brazil of Carlo Ancelotti It would also be in the bedroom.