Such a team definitely would go to semi-finals at least.
Natalya NosovaIt’s just a day before the start of 2018 FIFA World Cup™, and Russian fans are full of hope, as well as anxiety following their national team’s bitter results. From October 2017 to June 2018, the team won just one game out of eight (against South Korea), and head coach Stanislav Cherchesov is facing harsh criticism. There are deep-rooted problems with Russian football, experts claim.
While we in Russia still believe in our guys, we decided to dream and create a completely fictional but all-powerful team of those who made Russia great in history: not on the football field, but in different spheres of life, ranging from politics to fine arts. And by gosh, it would’ve been
Often referred to as a cornerstone of Russian literature, Tolstoy astonishes and overwhelms – that’s what he’d do with opposing forwards. Plus, he’s always been eager to keep himself in good shape, even developing his own workout. Surely, it’d be just as hard to break through this team’s defense lines as through the four volumes of War and Peace.
Full-backs must combine defending and attacking skills, covering the entire flank, and it takes a certain artistic flair to do the job. If someone can do it properly, it’s Mr. Avant-Garde, a man who took not just Russian, but also world art to a whole new level. The creative tricks of this full-back would be just as surprising, and decisive, as his paintings.
DM is perhaps the most important position on the field in terms of connecting defense and attack, thus providing balance. This requires a systematic approach. The man who formulated the Periodic Law and created the periodic table of elements has these qualities. With his impressive beard and scientific mind, Mendeleev would make it impossible for the opponent to destabilize his team.
Playing abroad can be useful for footballers, and choreographer George Balanchine knows that. He spent more than half his life abroad, escaping the USSR in the 1920s, and creating
Lenin’s legacy remains controversial in Russia and some anti-Communist fans might boo him, but this man is great in changing the game and seizing opportunities. Lenin would smash the defenders as he smashed his political opponents – a true revolutionary knows how to attack. And obviously, he would play LEFT winger.
Russian military history knows many skillful commanders, but Generalissimo Suvorov, who served for 54 years and never lost a single major battle, is the finest. His skills in the offense are brilliant, and in 1799 he took his army across the Alps to defeat the enemy. So, it’s not surprising that he’d be a killer-striker, leaving the other team eating dust.
Certainly, real Russian and Soviet national teams also had their moments of glory: check out this collection of historic matches.
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