Can Anzhi really attract the likes of Samuel Eto’o?

Reports in the media in the last few days are suggesting that Inter striker Samuel Eto’o could be on his way to Russia with megarich club Anzhi Makhachkala, in a deal worth close to £30million.

The move is seen as a signal of intent on behalf of Russia’s nouveau riche.

Ambitious

The little club from Makhachkala were taken over by billionaire Suleyman Kerimov in January of this year.

The Russian businessman is believed to be worth over £2.5 billion. He certainly has the cash to create a dynasty at Anzhi but can the club really attract the big names?

Signings

Anzhi already have Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos on their books, but the Brazilian is truly in the twilight of his career. They have however attracted Russian international Yury Zhirkov, who recently joined from Premier League Chelsea.

League

The standard of the Russian league isn’t great and I just can’t see the likes of Eto’o deciding to ply their trade in the Russian Premier League. Lots of money has been invested in teams like CSKA, Rubin Kazan and Zenit but the league hasn’t made the giant leaps expected.

Russian games don’t attract the biggest crowds. The only games that seem to attract big crowds are the local derbies, where feelings run high amongst the fans.

Image

Russian football has been blighted by accusations of racism and prejudice. The countries attitude to black people seems stuck in the dark ages.

With recent incidents of racist taunts towards Roberto Carlos just an example of the bigotry that still infects the game in Russia. I’m not sure Samuel Eto’o would appreciate playing in a such circumstances.

Money

According to his agent the prospect of Eto’o moving to Russian football is a real possibility. This move could only be motivated by money. Granted Eto’o is likely to earn big money by moving to Anzhi but it will be at the expense of playing in a top quality league.

Eto’o seems to still have the appetite and talent to still play in one Europe’s top leagues. At just 30 years of age he could still try his luck in the Premier League. Manchester City are interested in him. I’m sure if he moved to Eastlands he wouldn’t be picking up peanuts.

Difficult

It will be difficult for Anzhi to develop into a major force in football. The likes of Zenit St Petersburg have achieved success by spending money but its difficult for clubs in smaller cities. Its harder for them to attract fans and that means struggling to bring in revenue.

That means the club will always have to depend on the money of their billionaire owner. Although he may be prepared to put his money in now, its not an endless supply. If he decides to walk away the club would be left in a perilous position of players on big wages and no fan revenue coming in.

Fans

Unfortunately for Anzhi they are based in Russia and not England. The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City who have been taken over by billionaires had good fan bases in their local areas. Anzhi as a club is less than 20 years old and not even an established team in the Russian top flight.

It will take a long time for Anzhi to build up a good fan base from the local 550,000 population of the city. As the Beatles once sang “Money can’t buy you love”.

Unlikely

I can see Anzhi maybe experiencing a bit of domestic success but I can’t them winning a European trophy like Zenit did though. I can’t see major stars being attracted to the Anzhi project either and will be very surprised if Samuel Eto’o moves to Russia.

Can Anzhi Makhachkala attract major stars?