Preview RUS-NIR: Capello’s Russia

September 7th, 2012 | by: nick | Comments(1)

Fabio Capello will receive his first competitive test tomorrow as Russia take on Northern Ireland in Moscow to start their 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. Since taking charge, Fabio Capello has worked to patch the gaps that resulted in the disappointing Euro 2012 campaign. Criticism has been widespread and intense, which has resulted in the omission of established players like Andrey Arshavin, Roman Pavluychenko, and Pavel Pogrebnyak. Russia played out a mediocre 1-1 draw against the Ivory Coast with largely an experimental squad but Capello has expressed confidence in his players. Unlike the Euro 2012 qualification campaign, where Russia were the top seed, they are seeded in second place behind Portugal.

The Euro 2012 debacle has undoubtedly created a blow in the confidence of the players, the training staff, and the administration of the team. But Russia can look back at the qualification campaign and know that they have the ability to perform and top the group. It was done under Dick Advocaat and Fabio Capello has done it in two campaigns with England.

Squad
Capello’s determination will be to win this match. And he will do what he can to walk away with a victory. In terms of the squad, Capello has brought in a large pool of fresh talent to supplant or replace the usual core players. With Arshavin, Semshov, Zhirkov, Pogrebnyak and Pavlyuchenko gone, Capello has increased the depth of the team with players like Taras Burlak, Georgi Schennikov, Viktor Fayzulin, and Artyom Dzyuba.

Formation
Against the Ivory Coast, Capello used a 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 with an experimental squad designed to assess the capabilities and potential of the current team as well as the improvements to be made for the qualification campaign. The formation worked reasonably well throughout most of Dick Advocaat’s reign and there is no real reason to drastically change it.

Players to Watch
Viktor Fayzulin: This speedy winger has been the mainstay of Zenit and made a huge contribution to their capture of the UEFA Cup in 2008. Look for him on either side to speed down the wing.

Georgi Schennikov: One of the up and coming flank players in Russia, Schennikov is the first choice leftback who has made a major contribution to CSKA’s recent seasons. He is the likely successor to Yuri Zhirkov and look for him to play a starting role.

Coverage of the match begins at 11AM EDT on ESPN3