Who knows what Alan Dzagoev could have been in one of the top 5 leagues in Europe. The Russian attacking midfielder and winger played in his homeland for 17 years, at times reaching very high levels, enough to arouse the interest of many big names. The team of his heart, the one he played for from 2008 to 2022, was CSKA Moscow, where he moved after a season at Lada Togliatti: 437 appearances, 89 goals and 95 assists and penalties won. The ’90 class also boasts 37 matches in the Champions League and 19 in the Europa League, competitions in which he scored 7 and 3 goals respectively, and 59 in the national team, with which he managed to reach 9 goals.
Dzagoev he is the prototype of the number 10, the one capable of seeing plays that others don’t see, of imagining gaps where there are none and always creating numerical superiority, perhaps through those dribbles that his low center of gravity allows him to carry out with great ease. He is now at the end of his career, his character has prevented him from realizing his dream, which is to play in Premier League like his idol Frank Lampard, someone else who, if we talk about class, has nothing to envy anyone.
During his career he won the Russian championship 3 times, the Russian Cup 4 times, the Russian Super Cup 3 times and the third division of the Russian championship once, but he could have done much, much more. After the 3 goals and the assist against Wolfsburg, Besiktas and Manchester United in the Champions League, but above all following the 2011 match in which he put Inter captain Javier Zanetti in serious difficulty, there were many teams that wanted him. At home they talked about Chelsea, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Porto and Juventus. Stuff that would give anyone a headache. Dzagoev, however, after saying no to the Blues in 2010 “to grow”, once again refused the transfer to Stamford Bridge the following year, when Villas-Boas allegedly made false documents to bring him to London. The coach will then go to Tottenham, will ask the owners for the playmaker, but Abramovich, taking advantage of his friendship with CSKA Moscow, will prevent the transfer of Dzagoev to the Portuguese coach. He retired in November 2023 in Lamia, Greece, but he would have deserved much more from this sport. Alan Dzagoev turns 34 today.