Malcom and Daler Kuzyaev's departure, Rodrigao's injury, arrival newcomers — at the start of the season, Zenit faced personnel problems and the need to change. The unexpected awakening of Mateo Cassierra does not allow St. Petersburg to stall. In the match against Ural, the Colombian scored a brace, this is his sixth goal since the start of the championship. 2023/08/05624413a4d6a235ccacf01c9fb6eddd.png» />ZenitRussia4 : 0
UralRussia
08 ' • Ivan Sergeev (Claudinho)< br>30' • Mateo Cassierra (Wilmar Barrios)
45' • Claudinho68' • Mateo Cassierra
See all goals
Difficult transition from Sochi to Zenit One year ago Cassierra came to Zenit in the status of one of the best goalscorers in the league. Arriving at Sochi only in September 2021, Mateo scored 14 goals for the southerners in an incomplete season and took second place in the scorer race, only passing behind the flashy Hamid Agalarov from Ufa.
Cassierra became one of the main creators of the sensational “silver” of Sochi residents. At the same time, the striker scored a significant part of the goals in important games — both with Zenit, and Krasnodar, and CSKA, and in the last round match he scored a hat-trick in the game with Dynamo, it was the victory in that match that brought Sochi second place.
The interest in the Colombian from the giants after such a season was logical, and the Sochi residents did not retain the player. “Zenith” just needed a forward after the departure of Dziuba and Azmun and Yuri Alberto’s refusal to return to Russia, and the St. Petersburg team relied on a Latin American adapted to the RPL.
This deal seemed to be beneficial for everyone, but the first season for Cassierra turned out to be rather unsuccessful. He almost always played at the start, but almost never scored. His main competitor in the forward position, Ivan Sergeev, scored regularly — but Sergei Semak continued to believe in the Colombian and put him in the squad. Only at the end of the championship, Mateo scored two important goals, but this only slightly smoothed out the impression of the forward's weak performance.
However, Cassierra started this season with a bang. He has already scored six goals in the first six rounds and leads the scoring race. And it's not just about performance — the Colombian looks much more confident on the field.
There are no Brazilians — there is Cassierra Last year, the key players of the «Zenith», Wendel, Claudinho and Malcolm, did not need a striker to complete the attacks. It is much more important that partners can support their constant combination. Therefore, Andrey Mostovoy and Daler Kuzyaev, who found a common language with partners, came out at the base, and, for example, Zelimkhan Bakaev, who played in a different style, often remained on the bench.
This was due to the choice of Cassierra as a starting forward. The Colombian is more effective in playing along than Ivan Sergeev, so the coaching staff often used the Russian as a “joker” from the bench. And Mateo came out at the base and did a lot of rough work, helping the Brazilians to create. Among other things, he created chances for partners, making six assists in the championship.
At the same time, Cassierra himself almost did not score, since he rarely found himself in shock positions. Not only Malcolm, but also Wendel, and Claudinho, and Mostovoy delivered more shots last season than the striker of the St. Petersburg club. Even Sergeev, who usually came on as a substitute and played less than the Colombian, often hit on goal.
But now football “Zenith” has changed. Malcolm and Kuzyaev are no longer on the team, Semak was forced to change the scheme and rebuild the game, and Cassierra has a new role, more familiar to him. He again acts on the edge, as in Sochi, where the striker was only required to complete attacks. And the Colombian copes with this role perfectly.
Simplified football, without many combinations and constant changing positions, suits Cassierra better. In such a game, there are more passes behind the back and tempo crosses, and the forward needs to open a lot in front of the net. Mateo is less likely to be involved in combinations and finish attacks more often. And this change in role instantly improved his performance.
Zenith, which looked unattractive in the first matches of the season, is reborn. Sergey Semak managed to quickly rebuild the team, find a new style and new leaders. And Cassierra, who scores a lot, proves that he can become the leading player of the Blue-White-Blues, and not just a convenient partner for the Brazilians.