Artem Chobanian

 
 

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov

Winger, Midfielder: Lokomotiv Moscow
Born: February 27th, 1985
Height: 185cm. Weight: 79kg

 

2004 — Champion of Russian Premier League 2004 — Received “Premium Player” award 2005 — Champion of CIS Union Cup 2005 — Russian Supercup winner

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is one of the youngest and most famous Russian players. At just 22 years-old, Diniyar became Lokomotiv Moscow captain last season. He is an attacking midfielder and has proved to be a leader on the pitch, giving accurate passes and moving restlessly to get the ball.

As you can see from the dates and events above, this young footballer has achieved success in his career and tries to lead his team forward with all his zest. When Dmitry Loskov left the club, there was a question of who would be the captain. The players chose Diniyar. He was surprised, but promised to do his best to justify the hopes of his team mates. In his first season as captain Diniyar Bilyaletdinov did everything to show why his teammates wouldn’t soon regret their decision.

As he himself says, he is not quite good as a captain, yet, but tries to inspire the team through his vastly improving play. He is one of the few players in the Russian Premier League who has a blog on the Internet. He had to start blogging after the persistent demands of Lokomotiv fans for information, any information, about their captain.

He is a humble guy who does not say/write too much, but the bloggers love him and his writing because all the information he posts is true and first-hand. Diniyar’s constant drive to succeed and his popularity with the fans make us believe he will be one of those rare players who will stay with one club until the end of his career, helping Lokomotiv to retain their position as one of the leading Russian clubs.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is one of the best Russian players who will take part in Euro 2008 and he will probably replace the influential Arshavin in the first two games of the tournament. Guus Hiddink didn’t hesitate in his decision as to who will play in the centre of his midfield, though there are enough players in Russia who would love to spend even one half playing in Euro 2008.

After Hiddink’s decision to bring Arshavin to the Euro finals (controversial since he is suspended for the first two group games due to a red card in qualifying) many fans, sport journalists, and pundits have thought about the possibility of these two wonderful players controlling the centre of midfield. They are sure this pair of players will bring victories to the squad if they pass the group stage.

With such great performances shown by Zenit St Petersburg on their way to winning the UEFA Cup, everybody in Europe thinks these Russian players are the best the country has to offer. Frankly, even Hiddink had to admit he would love to call up all Zenit’s players to his squad, but unfortunately he could not, but he was lucky that Russian clubs had lots of talented players who deserved to travel to Euro 2008. The first of these Hiddink mentioned was Diniyar, and with Arshavin being out of the first two games, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov’s role in the squad cannot not be underestimated.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is still a young player, and of course he has a lot to learn. Among his strengths we should mention his ability to play at a very high tempo, alongside very accurate passing ability. He is not a Beckham or a Zidane, but likes to bring his teammates into the game, helping to create scoring opportunities. Like Arshavin, he is fond of running on the flanks and taking an unexpected route to goal. He will definitely make progress and should become a very good player with Lokomotiv and the Russian national team.

Among the weak points this player possesses we can’t help but mention his indecision in moments when he has to make up his mind about something important. He is sometimes rebuked by his team mates at Lokomotiv for that and once he even had a small fight with Sergei Gurenko at the end of a match. He is a nice guy, who loves his team but is not yet perhaps able to take all the responsibility that comes with being Lokomotiv’s captain on himself. If he is to be seen as Arshavin’s counterpart, he just has to grow in the footballing sense of the word.

In general, there can be just one verdict concerning this player: he is good. Apart from his weak points he is no worse than Andrei Arshavin, who he is often compared with.

As the Russian squad will have to play their two first games without Arshavin, who is definitely riding high now after Zenit’s success, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov will definitely make an impact and will be able to lead his team to victories. Of course, their first rival will be Spain and that match will probably be lost by the Russian squad.

It’s not good to predict all these matches in the Euro finals, but I think Russia will pass the group round anyway. Guus Hiddink does not want to single out anybody from his team, but most definitely positive results for the Russian team will be provided by such midfielders as Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Konstantin Zyrianov, and Vladimir Bystrov. If these three footballers play the way they did at the beginning of the season, the Russians will have great success at Euro 2008.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov wrote on his blog: “I have no intention of evaluating or comparing the working methods of different coaches. I trust Hiddink. But even more than this, I trust my teammates and I am sure that if there is something I can do, then I will do it. I hope my contribution to the team’s success will be valuable and my friends will be happy to tell me, ‘Boy, you played great!’ These would be the words I would like to deserve…”