Zenit midfielder Oleg Shatov is considered one of the main contenders for getting into the Russian team for the matches of the Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup. The career of a Russian is still gaining momentum, and some are already beginning to count goals and assists of the midfielder.
How did it all start?
The professional career of 26-year-old Oleg Shatov began in Yekaterinburg Ural, where the footballer got from the VIZ-Sanara mini-football club. As part of the “bumblebees,” the young midfielder quickly began to play at the base, and for 4 years he ran away in more than 100 matches, noting 14 assists and 16 goals. This success was noticed by Makhachkala “Anji”, where Oleg Shatov moved to in January 2012 for 3 million euros, failing to establish himself in the capital CSKA.
In the composition of the new club, the Russian played not at his usual position, because of which his coefficient of usefulness fell significantly. For 50 matches for the “yellow” he made only 4 assists and scored 5 goals, two of which are in the qualifications of the Europa League, and one - against the goal of “Krasnodar” in the Russian championship at the 33rd second of the match, which is one of the fastest Premier League results.
Career at Zenith
In the summer of 2013, St. Petersburg Zenit offered the midfielder a contract, and Oleg Shatov agreed, moving to the camp of the country's vice champion for 6.5 million euros. Playing for the “blue-white-blue”, the Russian often became the author of the decisive ball, bringing more and more points to the club's piggy bank. In the first season, the midfielder opened the scoring for goals in the Champions League, hitting the gates of the Dortmund Borussia.
From that moment, Shatov Oleg, a football player with great potential, has been a permanent player of the main team. Several times over the course of different seasons, the player missed matches due to injuries, but returned and proved that he was worth playing at the base. And so far no season has been left without goals scored in the midfielder's asset.
Performance at Zenith
From the very first season for “Zenith” Oleg Shatov began to collect goals and assists for every taste and in any competitions in his collection. For the first year, he only once assisted teammates, 5 times marking an accurate shot, one of which came in the Champions League match. With each subsequent season, the player raised the bar and quickly scored productive points. Already at the beginning of 2017, Oleg Shatov had excellent performance.
The only competition where the midfielder failed to score the scored performance score is the Russian Super Cup - in two matches Oleg did not score and did not make a decisive transfer. But in the framework of the Cup of the country on the account of the Russian 2 goals and 3 passes made in 8 games. In the Premier League, in 89 appearances, Shatov scored 17 assists and another 20 assists. At the European Cup meetings, the midfielder also earned a lot of points, scoring 4 goals and giving 5 passes in the Champions League, adding a point adding to the piggy bank in the Europa League.
The high performance in the club made Oleg Shatov one of the main contenders for the challenge to the Russian team for the upcoming world championships, including the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Moreover, he already has experience of playing for the country's main team - in 28 games the midfielder made 5 assists, having distinguished himself twice more.