Guus Hiddink has been blamed for ruining Yuri Zhirkov’s talents by a Russian football legend.
Zhirkov has been an £18million disappointment at Chelsea after being plagued by injury last season and he is threatening to ask for a move in January if there is no way into Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
The 27-year-old is commonly seen as being behind left back Ashley Cole in the Stamford Bridge pecking order, despite making his name as an attacking winger before leaving CSKA Moscow for England before last season.
The world saw Zhirkov excel as a makeshift raiding full back for Russia at Euro 2008, but 1960 European champion Viktor Ponedelnik believes the role did more harm than good.
‘As a player, Zhirkov was broken by Hiddink,’ said Ponedelnik, 73. ‘And it’s important to say this loudly.
‘Yuri played tremendously as a left attacking midfielder. He has a left leg as if he were holding a spoon in his hand to eat borsch (vegetable soup) from a cup.
‘But Hiddink decided to invent some revolutionary system so that one player was the left back and the attacking winger. But for that it was necessary to insert four hearts in Zhirkov.’
Zenit St Petersburg and Spartak Moscow are monitoring Zhirkov’s availability.
Zhirkov has been an £18million disappointment at Chelsea after being plagued by injury last season and he is threatening to ask for a move in January if there is no way into Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
The 27-year-old is commonly seen as being behind left back Ashley Cole in the Stamford Bridge pecking order, despite making his name as an attacking winger before leaving CSKA Moscow for England before last season.
The world saw Zhirkov excel as a makeshift raiding full back for Russia at Euro 2008, but 1960 European champion Viktor Ponedelnik believes the role did more harm than good.
‘As a player, Zhirkov was broken by Hiddink,’ said Ponedelnik, 73. ‘And it’s important to say this loudly.
‘Yuri played tremendously as a left attacking midfielder. He has a left leg as if he were holding a spoon in his hand to eat borsch (vegetable soup) from a cup.
‘But Hiddink decided to invent some revolutionary system so that one player was the left back and the attacking winger. But for that it was necessary to insert four hearts in Zhirkov.’
Zenit St Petersburg and Spartak Moscow are monitoring Zhirkov’s availability.
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