Spartak found reinforcement in the center of defense in the person of the defender of Red Star Zvezda Strahini Erakovich, agreed with the player and the club — and then Zenit intervened, interception former footballer. But Muscovite fans should not lose heart. Spartak may well find a more suitable player in terms of style.
To Dynamo or Spartak? In “Zenith”! Strahinya Erakovic is a young central defender, a pupil of “Crvena Zvezda”. At the age of 19, he made his debut in the main team, quickly became a first-team player. He played for all the junior and youth teams of Serbia, and last year for the first time he got into the national team and even went to the World Cup in Qatar.
In 2022, Dynamo Moscow was interested in the Serbian — there were rumors for a long time about negotiations that were progressing with great difficulty because of the player’s desire to move to another European championship. Then Zenit appeared on the horizon, which is associated with Red Star through a sponsorship contract with Gazprom. Erakovich did not leave for St. Petersburg, but the Blue-White-Blues received the right of priority buyout. On this, the negotiations ended, and the Serbian defender remained in Belgrade for another year.
History repeated itself this summer. This time, Spartak became interested in the player and moved much further in the negotiations. The Red-Whites really need a good central defender — there are many players for this position, but there is not enough quality, and Erakovic had to pair Jikia in the center of defense. The clubs practically agreed, but at the last moment Zenit appeared again, which used its right and lured Strakhinya to St. Petersburg.
Spartak fans are indignant. Everyone was under fire from criticism: Zenit, intercepting players from competitors, and the Serbian player, who did not insist on moving to the “brotherly” club, and the leadership of Spartak, who left the team without strengthening in the defense line before the start of the season. But his transfer could not be so successful for the team.
Deceptive impression Eraković's track record looks decent: champion and Serbian Cup titles, several dozen matches in European competitions, a place in the national team. It seems that a football player with such a background is an absolute top.
But it's worth taking a closer look. In «Red Star» he did not always play in the center of defense. Veteran Nemanja Milunovich regularly starts at the base, and Strahinya in this case goes to the right flank. This was in the matches of the Champions League qualification, which “Crvena Zvezda” failed again. So most of Erakovic's «European» matches are in the Europa League, he has never played against top clubs. The situation is similar for him in the national team: he took to the field in matches with not the strongest opponents — the national teams of Lithuania, Montenegro, Jordan. mozallowfullscreen» allowfullscreen=»allowFullScreen» frameborder=»0″>
Erakovich is a rather fast player, which allows him to be used on the flank. Versatility and high speed are big pluses for a central defender, but Erakovic does not always use these advantages correctly. He often plays too aggressively, unjustifiably thrown out of the lane and does not always have time to fight, which leads to failures and zones. That is why the coaches put him on the flank against serious opponents — Erakovic's mistakes are not so critical there.
Strahini's transfer to Spartak could be a big mistake. The team needs a player with good tactical skills, able to insure partners, maintaining a balance in the defensive line. You can’t say the same about Erakovic, and paired with Georgy Jikia, he would look no better than Alexis Duarte. And you can forget about the struggle for high places with such defense. It is better for the club to spend these funds on another player and not worry about the transfer of the Serb to St. Petersburg.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.