The limit on foreign players is one of the most painful topics.for fans of Russian football. There is not a single fan in the whole country who, one way or another, would not express his opinion on this issue. Well, let's and we will discuss a little on this topic.
The first limit on foreign players in Russia was introducedafter the championship of the Russian Empire in 1912. In that distant championship the team of St. Petersburg won, which consisted of more than half of the British. After innovations, entering the field by more than three foreigners was banned, which then seemed logical.
For objective reasons during Soviet timesAbout the limit could not be in principle. The first foreigner in the championship appeared only in 1989 - Bulgarians Tenyo Minchev, whom Krylia Sovetov had exchanged for the attention of two volleyball players. Since that time, the number of foreign players in Russia has gradually increased. Nonsense was the appearance in Moscow “Locomotive” of an American in 1990, Dale Mulholland. Playing for the Soviet club was his dream, for which he had to fight.
After the collapse of the USSR, foreigners in the Russianchampionship has become more. The problem was that not all of them knew how to play football. The limit of legionaries was already on the agenda. However, not everyone was interested in his return, because foreign footballers were cheaper than homegrown, moreover, it is a kind of exotic, which attracts spectators to the stands. But in 1999, the RFU was forced to introduce a limit on foreign players, though only in the lower leagues.
In the country's superiority, the limit has moved to2005 The field could not go more than five foreigners, but with one reservation. A football player who has played a certain number of matches for his national team (10 or more) was not considered a legionary. The following year, this amendment was abolished, but the number of foreign players on the field at the same time was increased to 7.
Currently, the limit on foreign players in Russiaallows to be on the field no more than 6 foreigners. Also, the legionary is considered to be one who has Russian citizenship, but has no right to play for the national team of the country. A striking example of this is Peter Odemwinge, a native of Tashkent, a former player of the Moscow Lokomotiv, who later turned to English West Bromwich Albion. Peter was played for the national team of Nigeria and had no right to play for Russia.
The tightening of the limit was dictatedthe need to grow more quality local players. The Russian national team positions itself as a high-class team that wants to constantly participate in world and European championships. At the same time, she clearly lacks stability. So, 2008 was perhaps the most joyful and positive for Russian football fans, and 2010 was a real nightmare. Then the team lost in the play-offs to the Slovenes and did not go to the world championship in South Africa.
Now the head of the RFU and part-time ministersport Vitaly Mutko says that the limit in Russian football is vital. In his opinion, this tool will help us grow a greater number of high-class football players. If this cannot be done, the Minister of Sport has promised to solve the problems of the national team with the help of the naturalization of legionnaires.
Not everyone agrees with this position.Many believe that in our championship there should not be such a thing as a limit on foreign players. When they introduced it, the Russian championship was significantly lost in entertainment, but this is still half the trouble.
The main problem is thatRussian players have no competition. Clubs are forced to maintain players, pay them a high salary, regularly issue on the field only because they have a Russian passport. This whole situation is reminiscent of the economic development of the USSR, when the country went down an extensive path, which meant an increase in the number of enterprises, farms, etc., but at the same time the quality of production remained unchanged.
If we talk about the limit on foreign players inEuropean Championships - there it is almost absent. In most countries, the limit is only nominal, in no way affecting the real state of affairs. It is believed that the English Premier League is most mired in the legionnaires, but this does not prevent the country from having a world-class team that always claims for rewards.
The current tightening of the limit on foreign players inRussia is positioned as the preparation of the national team for the home world championship in 2018. As a comparison, we can cite preparations for the similar 2006 championship for the German national team.
In 2000 at the European Championships in Belgium and the Netherlands“Bundestim” could not even overcome the group stage. All Germany said that this is a real shame for German football. When the Germans received the right to host the 2006 World Cup, they were given special subsidies for preparing for the World Cup. With this money, a huge number of sports football schools across the country were opened for children aged 13-17. Also, the clubs of the first and second divisions were obliged to open special centers for training young football players.
It bore fruit.In 2006, the “Bundesmountain” in the match for the 3rd place beat the Portuguese. After 8 years in Brazil, the Germans and did become world champions. And this is despite the fact that the formal limit on legionnaires in Germany operated for a very short time, and in the end was completely canceled as superfluous.
Anyway, the limit on foreign players in Russiaacts and cancel it while no one is going. We need to come to terms with it. But at the same time, we must be extremely clear that without the development of youth sports no limit tightening is able to save Russian football.
