Maxim Demenko, who once led the attack for Spartak and wore the national team banner, weighed in on a growing topic in European football circles. The veteran forward spoke about the potential move of Stepan Oganesyan, a young talent from Orenburg, to the Armenian national squad and what such a switch might mean for both teams involved. Demenko shared his assessment with Socialbites.ca, noting that Oganesyan has not yet broken into the elite tier with consistent performances. He described the player as promising but cautioned that it would be premature to declare him a confirmed star. In Demenko’s view, if Oganesyan were to leave Russia for Armenia, the transfer would not be a disaster for the national team, given the depth of available options at the moment. Yet he added a provocative angle: the real question is how the national team coach balances the squad when competition for starting spots remains fierce. He wondered aloud why the selection process sometimes looks inconsistent and hinted that a shift in policy might be underway. In Demenko’s memory, the national team has traditionally carried a pool of roughly 25 players who rotate seats depending on form and event, with four or five players contending for each position. That structure, he suggested, has produced a robust internal competition that keeps players sharp and hungry for a place on the field. This, he implied, is a model the current coaching staff could revisit as they chart the next steps for the squad. The broader takeaway from his comments is that talent development should be paired with clear, stable selection criteria. It is not only about what players can do in training; it is about how they perform when the stakes are highest and how the coach builds balance across the lineup.
The prior day brought a 1-1 draw between the Russian national team and the Egyptian Olympic squad. Bilal Mazhar opened the scoring early for Egypt, but Stepan Hovhannisyan answered after the break, leveling the match and marking his debut for the national team with a goal. The goal by Hovhannisyan symbolized a new era for the squad, illustrating that fresh faces can make immediate impacts even in friendly settings. Both teams took away indications that the roster can grow in various directions as the competitive slate expands to more fixtures and tournaments. The reminder that every match serves as a test for emerging talents landed firmly with observers who watch not only results but the deeper signals a performance can send for national selection decisions.
Looking ahead, the schedule includes a rematch with Egypt in Suez on September 11, a fixture that will further illuminate the form of players who have been pushing for more minutes. A couple of days later, on September 12, Russia is set to challenge Qatar in Doha. These encounters will operate as practical auditions for a wider player pool, offering managers a clearer sense of who can handle pressure and who might need more time to mature at the senior level. Analysts expect that the results will influence not just immediate team selections but the long-term plans for integrating younger players into the national program. The ongoing conversation about Oganesyan’s possible move, alongside the evolving dialogue about squad depth, underscores a broader strategic aim: to maintain a healthy balance between experienced performers and rising talents while preserving a competitive edge for major fixtures in the near future. In this context, Demenko’s remarks contribute to a larger debate about how best to cultivate a national team capable of sustaining high performance across diverse opponents and formats.
In summary, Demenko’s remarks reflect a belief that talent should be nurtured with a clear sense of structure within the national team. The focus remains on delivering consistent results and ensuring that the selection process reinforces merit, readiness, and collective resilience. The conversation around Oganesyan’s possible transfer to Armenia adds another layer to how squads are assembled and how coaches weigh risk and reward when shaping a squad for high-stakes competition. The overall message is one of measured optimism: promising players can rise quickly if given the proper framework, but the path to becoming an indispensable member of the national team requires proven impact, steady development, and a consistently fair and transparent selection process. This is the lens through which observers view the unfolding events, with attention to both immediate fixtures and the longer arc of national team strategy.