Home soil a strong draw for Russians in era of globalised football

England and Italy squads also stacked with players based in their domestic leagues

Alexander Kokorin, No 9, of Russia shoots at goal during the 2014 Fifa World Cup Group H match against South Korea at Arena Pantanal on June 17, 2014 in Cuiaba, Brazil. Adam Pretty / Getty Images

Most World Cup managers have to get out a map to pin down the whereabouts of their star players, but for Russians it appears there is no place like home.

Among the teams in Brazil for the finals, Bosnia, Ghana, Uruguay and Ivory Coast have just a single home-based player in their squads. Algeria and Cameroon have only two.

Even the likes of Belgium and 2010 World Cup finalists the Netherlands regularly export their top players to bigger leagues.

According to think tank British Future, of the 736 players selected for the tournament, no fewer than 478 (65 per cent) live and work outside the countries they play for, while 258 play at home.

Players are increasingly being tempted further afield. Bosnia’s Edin Dzeko plies his trade for Manchester City, but his teammate Zvjezdan Misimovic wears the colours of Chinese Super League club Guizhou Renhe.

Fabio Capello’s Russian squad bucks the trend, with all 23 players based at home.

Russian forward Maksim Kanunnikov said he believed having all the players based in one country makes for a tight-knit squad – one who are aiming to right a dismal recent World Cup record.

“It is a positive thing for our team I believe because everybody knows each other. We are really close together,” he said at the team’s training base in Itu, outside Sao Paulo.

“On the other hand, nobody knows us from the outside. We are not a known team as everyone plays in the domestic competition.”

Close behind Russia are England, where few players have been tempted to leave behind the comforts of home and the riches of the English Premier League.

Roy Hodgson’s men have just one player not playing in England, albeit in Scotland – Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Greg Dyke, the English Football Association chairman, noted in a speech last year that an influx of foreigners to the Premier League came at a time when few English players were playing overseas.

“We are not Belgium or Holland where most of their top players are playing abroad or even France, Spain or Italy who are now frequently exporting significant numbers of players,” he said.

“Almost uniquely among the top footballing nations, virtually all of our top players are playing in their home leagues, so if the best of our emerging young players can’t get a game here it means we do have a serious problem.”

Money has been pouring into Russian football, with clubs such as Zenit St Petersburg, Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Moscow spending the cash, perhaps persuading more players to stay at home.

Dynamo Moscow forward Alexander Kokorin said drawing the entire World Cup squad from home-based players is less a trend than a quirk, suggesting many Russians still dream of joining the giants of European football.

“I don’t really think it’s a question of money. I believe a lot of Russia players have a dream to play in Europe for the big clubs,” he said.

“I think it’s a question of timing. Everybody is just waiting for offers to come, and when a good offer comes I’m sure most of the players will try and take their chance in Europe.”

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