There cannot be many politicians in the world today whowould eschew the popular appeal of sports, and Russia’s president, VladimirPutin, is certainly no exception to that rule. As a native of St Petersburg,Putin could hardly avoid the fissures threatening to tear apart the city’s team,the Russian national champion, FC Zenit. The club’s benefactor, Gazprom, thelargest extractor of natural gas on the planet, spent 3.1 billion rubles, or$100 million, to purchase the Brazilian striker Hulk and the Belgian midfielderAxel Witsel.
Ostensibly, this investment is aimed at making Zenit a powerin the European Champions League. But as Zenit is finding, the natives getrestless when the foreigners are paid disproportionately to what the localsget. In the past week, Zenit dropped its homegrown playmaker, Igor Denisov, andits top striker, Alexander Kerzhakov, from the first team pool and ordered themto train with the reserve squad.
This, because Denisov, Russia’s current national teamcaptain, took it upon himself to voice the established players’ dismay atforeigners’ coming in with wages far greater than theirs. His dispute withZenit today is about cash and what he deems local rights. He said “I’m not against foreign players, butthere must be a balance in the team. Yes, the club bought good players, but doyou think they are so much better than us that they should make three times asmuch?”
His point is that without Hulk and Witsel, the players wonthe Russian league title last year and the year before, and the bulk of themwere born and raised in St Petersburg. His outburst no doubt articulates whatplayers the world over feel when foreign players receive preferential terms.Zenit dealt summarily with Denisov. Kerzhakov was restored to the first teamafter apologizing for what the club called “improper conduct.”
It did not take long before Putin entered the debate. “Ialso complain sometimes” said the president and part-time avid sportsman “Iwould like to note that it is the companies that buy players, and not thegovernment. But fans also want to see world stars, not those who are on thewane, but those who are at their peak.” Later, the Communists of Russia, a StPetersburg branch of the political group, had their say. “We have an explosivesituation at Zenit and the city of St Petersburg,” the group wrote in an openletter to Putin on its website. The Communists asked Putin to “save” the club.And it had a suggestion for where to start. “What Zenit need,” stated theletter, “is a tough taskmaster from the DPRK, where sport is part of a dailystruggle.” Judging from the subsequent silence from the Kremlin and the officesof Gazprom, that might not happen. Russia, along with the rest of soccer(outside of North Korea) will just have to deal with the way the game is going.
