Boris KhodorovskyAll materialsWith the light hand of insider Ivan Karpov, the news that Zenit players Claudinho and Malcolm have begun the process of obtaining Russian passports has become one of the most discussed in our football community. Even Dynamo's complaints about Sergei Karasev's refereeing and Sergei Yuran's employment problems faded into the background. Neither the players themselves, nor their agent, nor Zenit, nor the press service of the passport office of the Petrogradsky district of St. Petersburg comment on this information. Although its authenticity raises serious doubts. First of all, because Claudinho and Malcolm, like Zenit, do not get a Russian passport. It is not worth considering the naturalization of Brazilians as an opportunity to strengthen the Russian national team after the end of the ban imposed by FIFA and UEFA. This is not the case of Marinato Guilherme and Mario Fernandez, not to mention Ari, who obtained citizenship by marrying a Russian woman.
AriGoalkeeper of Lokomotiv, who happened to be in Moscow in 2007, received a Russian passport seven years later. They designed it so that the goalkeeper was not considered a legionnaire. In 2016, Guilherme was called up to the Russian national team, becoming the first naturalized player from far abroad in its composition. The Brazilian was played for the youth team of his country, but was not involved in the main national team. The ex-defender of CSKA, who officially suspended his career, has a slightly different story. He played one friendly match for Brazil. They were going to call him to the official one, but the coaching staff of the Russian national team and the leadership of the RFU turned out to be quicker. The five years of Mario's stay in our country, which were necessary for playing for the national team, were just expiring, and in July 2016, Fernandez was granted citizenship by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the fall of 2017, he made his debut as part of Stanislav Cherchesov's team.Mario Fernandez Claudinho and Malcolm are not played for the Brazilian national team, but there is one important nuance. They won the «gold» of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and participation in the final of the Olympic tournament automatically excludes the change of football citizenship. For the same reason, the Russian Olympic champion defender Douglas Santos from Zenit will not help the Russian team either. Like the soldier Bruno Fuchs, who became the Olympic champion a year ago. Although his coaching staff of the Russian national team can hardly be considered as a reinforcement. Maybe Zenit needs the registration of Russian passports for its leading legionnaires in order to free up two more positions for new foreigners? This version does not stand up to scrutiny. Firstly, according to the current regulations, a player who cannot be used in the Russian national team will still be considered a legionnaire. Secondly, with the current limit (13 foreigners, not counting the players from Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, in the application and 8 on the field), why do we need two more? In the RPL, even with six legionnaires as part of Zenit, it rolls everyone out, but there is no limit in European competition. At least 11 foreigners expose, as the Moldavian «Sheriff» does!
