Forwards Georgy Melkadze and Rifat Zhemaletdinov from the current youth football team of Russia are the closest in terms of level to the main national team. This opinion was expressed in a conversation with TASS by the senior coach of the youth team Evgeny Bushmanov.
On October 6 and 10, the youth team played the third and fourth matches in the qualifying tournament for the 2019 European Championship, which will determine the European teams that will compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Russians beat the Austrians (1: 0) at home and lost to the Serbs (2: 3) on the road. Melkadze and Zhemaletdinov were in the starting lineup both times, the first scored in the second game, the second in both.
Bushmanov agreed that Melkadze and Zhemaletdinov, as well as midfielder Ilya Zhigulev, at the moment look like the most mature players on the team. “These three play the most at the level of the Premier League. You can add to them Sasha Zuev, who also regularly plays — last season in“ Wings of the Soviets ”, now in“ Rostov. ”He looks a little puny, but this is his constitution, he not a heroic physique, but he has other qualities — he is fast enough, «the coach added.
«We communicate quite regularly with Stanislav Salamovich (Cherchesov — TASS comment), and it is up to him to determine when to bring the first team. In my opinion, Zhemaletdinov and Melkadze are those players who are closest to the main team, but when it comes to about young players, everything changes quickly, someone can shoot, for example, six months later.In the case of the same Sasha Golovin (CSKA midfielder — TASS comment), no one at first understood why he was taken to the main team, but time passed , and everyone understood that this was the right move. The situation is the same here, «the specialist said.
The rights to the 20-year-old Melkadze belong to Moscow “Spartak”, this season he plays on loan for “Tosno” (11 matches). Zhemaletdinov is a pupil of Lokomotiv, played 5 games for the main team (2 goals), and since 2016 has been playing for Kazan Rubin (28 meetings, 2 goals). Zhigulev, who is the captain of the youth team, is a pupil of Krasnodar, he played 13 meetings for the main team. Zuev made his professional football debut for Spartak Moscow (22 matches), this season he plays on loan for Rostov (11, 1 goal).