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The Grigory Fedotov VEB-Arena in Khodynka Field, Moscow. Photo: Getty Images via pfc-cska.com.

An age old problem?

You can’t win anything with kids. A quote almost any English based football fan will know. Alan Hansen uttered the infamous words on Match of the Day back in 1995 after a youthful Manchester United side had lost 3-1 to Aston Villa. That same side went on to win the league and cup double. Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and David Beckham were all aged 21 or less at the time, and featured heavily throughout the season. CSKA Moscow are looking to do something similar this year.

When comparing the sides, it’s easy to draw some parallels. After losing 9 first team players this summer, CSKA have had to take the same approach as Man Utd did in 1995, turning to their youth academy for a large chunk of their new squad, while scouting effectively for cheap and young players from smaller nations.

Of the first team players listed on their official website, 17 out 23 of the players are aged 23 or less, while 8 of those are straight from the CSKA academy. Not to mention the 6 older players who also graduated from the academy, including Igor Akinfeev.

After six round of the 2018/19 RPL season, CSKA sit in 6th place in the league on 9 points. Having started shaky with an a draw at RPL new boys Krylia Sovetov and then lost at home to FC Rostov, CSKA have now gone four unbeaten and are looking better every week. So far, they have included 23 different players in their match day squads, with 17 of those being U23.

This is not including new boys Arnor Sigurdsson (19) and Takuma Nishimura (21) or the long term injured Konstantin Kuchaev (20) and Aleksandr Makarov (22). They join Alan Dzagoev and Viktor Vasin on the treatment table, though Dzagoev is expected back much sooner than the rest.

Rebuilding on a Budget

CSKA have relied heavily on a number of young players this season, and their shrewdness in the transfer market is really shining through with some of them. In defence, Brazilian defender Rodrigo Becao (22) was plucked from obscurity in his homeland, having played just 7 senior matches in the 12 months before his loan move to Russia. He is teamed up with academy graduate Nikita Chernov (22), who after two loan seasons away, has finally been given his chance at his boyhood club.

In midfield, in the absence of Alan Dzagoev who limped off injured in the Russian Super Cup and Khetag Khosonov (20) who limped off after 51 minutes vs Yenisey, Croatian playmaker Kristijan Bistrovic (20) and Slovenian rookie Jaka Bijol have taken up key roles in the team. Having joined the club in January and July respectively, the two youth internationals cost a combined €800k, and based on their excellent starts for the club, are top examples of CSKA’s excellent scouting network.

Bistrovic, who made his first start for CSKA in a 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal in the Europa League, made an instant impact with a solid performance, and this season has undoubtedly been one of the Army Men’s best players, topping his fine performances with two goals and an assist in the opening matches.

CSKA Moscow v Arsenal -Kristijan Bistrovic was the player of the game. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images)

Supporting the forwards has been a mixture. One of CSKA’s most high profile signings, Nikola Vlasic (20) on loan from Everton, has started all three matches since his arrival and has put in some truly fine performances. He will go a long way to fill the void left by the departing Aleksandr Golovin. Alongside Vlasic has been a rotation of players, but all vying for the spot are Ilzat Akhmetov (20), a new arrival from Rubin Kazan, Ivan Oblyakov (20), a new arrival from FC Ufa, as well as former Hull striker Abel Hernandez being deployed deeper. When Kuchaev returns from his ACL injury, he will be eyeing starting role, though he is also able to fill in at wing back – he put in a terrific display against Lyon in the Europa League in that role.

Up front, 20 year old Fedor Chalov finally hit his stride. After firing blanks in the opening matches of the season, it seemed as if he may repeat his feat of not scoring in the first half of the season. But he finally broke his duck against Arsenal Tula, and has since scored 5 goals in 3 matches, including a hat-trick against Ural at home. Timur Zhamaletdinov (21), another CSKA graduate, has played second fiddle to Chalov and Hernandez, and will have to soon compete with Japanese forward Nishimura once he is established in the squad.

On the fringes of the squad there are yet more academy graduates, with Efremov (23) filling in at left wing back and Astemir Gordyushenko (21) getting some minutes from the bench. Fellow academy graduates Pomazun (22), Pukhov (20), Kyrnats (20), Tiknizyan (19) and Zhironkin (18) have all appeared on the bench multiple times thie season. Young forward Zhironkin has been lighting up the reserves league with 4 goals and 2 assists.

Can CSKA make it work?

CSKA have a Champions League campaign including matches vs Real Madrid and Roma, as well as a long domestic campaign as they aim to reach European football yet again. While there is a lot of youth, there is still some experience dotted in the team. Uruguayan forward Hernandez will be partnered with Chalov on a regular basis, while Russian internationals Mario Fernandes, Igor Akinfeev and Alan Dzagoev should be mainstays in the team if fit.

While winning a European trophy is highly unlikely, there’s still a chance of domestic glory. With reigning champions Lokomotiv underperforming, Spartak having to deal with the loss of Promes and Krasnodar struggling in their post Smolov days. This just leaves Zenit as a strong competitor on paper. Having gotten off to a slow start, Artem Dzyuba’s goals are powering them through and they currently top the table and are looking strong.

If Viktor Goncharenko can keep this group of players on the kind of form that saw them trounce Ural 4-0 and Arsenal 3-0, they surely have a good chance of challenging for the Champions League spot once more. But the inexperience of this squad could leave him in a tricky situation as the second half of the season appearances, and fatigue begins to set in.

Whatever happens, this is an exciting step for Russian football. For so long, the league has been plagued with the same players doing the rounds, ageing squads and unambitious scouting. CSKA have blown it out of the water this season. Of the current crop, Bistrovic, Bijol and Chalov look like they can really take their game to a high level, particularly the Croatian, and yet there is so much talent here that CSKA could use this team for 10 years in a row with minimal effect on their game.