No guarantee Brooks pans out. How were Herculez Gomez' usmnt prospects looking towards the end of his mls career? So... Yea... It happens.
Eugene doesn't quite have the physical stature to be an elite player. He's got decent quickness but he is not fast or big/strong. His best shot is to become a Chris Rolfe type (whom I would have called up, btw, based on his Fire performance) but Russia and Ukraine are a lot deeper than that and the US prefers a more direct, athletic style. That fact that Starikov was a part-time starter on the worst team in the Russian League a year ago and an unused roster member so far with a current 12th (out of 16) place club doesn't speak of a rare talent.
They change when the talent or physical ability is there, and other issues have slowed the player down. None of it is there. It ain't changing.
Eugene was removed in the 79th minute. He played a lone forward and had some trouble filling that role. He lost the ball a few times and had one play where he dribbled around aimlessly instead of taking defenders on. However, overall I think he did ok with some goo knockdowns and keeping possession. This was just 20 minutes in the 2nd half that I saw. Rostov played a good defend and counterattack game in the time I saw. It's still 0-0 with 10 minutes left. PS. Starikov apparently turned 24 yesterday. EDIT2: Ended 0-0. Great result for Rostov. Pletikosa had 2 amazing saves at the very end.
He played as SS in his 2nd game. I didn't mention it here but I made a gameday thread. However, he is behind Holenda and Cesnauskis in the forward pecking order. And apparently behind others as well.
Starikov came in as a sub in the 53rd minute as Rostov lost 2-3 at Krasnodar. He won a penalty in the 56th minute which Cesnauskis took, hit the post, and Kirichenko put in the rebound. Now the Russian league has a long winter break. Next Rostov game is in March.
Very nice interview. I'm hoping he can prove himself at Rostov. From what little I've seen, he's a quick, small player that is surprisingly good in the air and can hold the ball up. Here's to a successful 2013!
Tonight I learned that Rostov and Rostov on Don are two separate cities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostov_on_Don
Just like there is a Springfield in every state but most associate it with Illinois. Strike that ---- most Americans associate Springfield with the Simpsons!
The funny thing about this is that the old Leningrad citizens were generally considered the most cultured type - got them museums and theaters and what not - in the defunct country. Of course, the city also conjured up the current Russian ruler, so there goes the "class" argument.
During the winter break, FC Rostov are in the UAE holding camp. They played a friendly against a lower division (I assume) Turkish club called "Ataturk" on the Rostov website, but which I can't dind anywhere else. Anyway, it was a beatdown of the highest order, as Rostov won 17-1. They changed the entire team at halftime, when the score was 7-1. Starikov came and played what looks like a winger position going off the order of names in the lineup. He scored 2 of the 10 goals in the second half. http://www.fc-rostov.ru/press/news/7810/
One needs magic journey to find that club. I looked through Wikipedia and didn't stumble over the name in 5 tiers of Turkish football.
Rostov played another friendly against Azerbaijani club Neftchi and won 2-1. Starikov played the 2nd half and seemed to be active. He had 2 shots at the keeper, assisted on the game winning goal, and had another almost-assist. Russian match-report: http://www.fc-rostov.ru/press/news/7821/