Analyzing a football career and public remarks about Sobolev
Former Rubin Kazan player and two-time Russian champion with Kazan, Alexei Popov, voiced criticism of Spartak Moscow’s forward Alexander Sobolev regarding his interest in computer games. He shared these thoughts in a public comment on a sports portal. The discussion touched on Sobolev’s professional focus and his off-field activities, including gaming and overall commitment to training.
Popov remarked that Sobolev seemed to climb the ladder alongside peers who balance football with other pursuits. He noted a difference between Sobolev and players like Golovin and Smolov, suggesting Sobolev had already earned noticeable on-field status but questioned whether he remained fully invested in football. According to Popov, Sobolev appeared disengaged from daily football routines, taking fewer trips, and possibly reducing training time to two or three hours per day, with the remainder of the day spent resting. He asserted that on-field behavior indicated Sobolev might not be fully in sync with the sport at the highest level.
Details surfaced on Telegram on Thursday, August 8, when Sobolev was linked to updates about his interest in the game Dota 2. Reports indicated that during a two-week suspension from Spartak, Sobolev spent roughly 24 hours per day engaged with the game, raising questions about balance between sport and leisure. In total, the footballer was said to have invested a substantial amount in virtual gear within Dota 2 and Counter-Strike, amounting to nearly 600 thousand rubles.
Popov emphasized that Sobolev had not yet cemented a position as a leading striker. In his view, transfer history suggested that Krylia Sovetov, upon selling him to Spartak, did not see Sobolev as a guaranteed core player, and the move was viewed as a decision based on tactical consideration rather than a long-term fit. This perspective cast Sobolev’s early moments at Spartak in a more cautious light, highlighting the pressure runners-up feel when joining a top club from a smaller team.
In Spartak’s lineup, Sobolev was not included from the start after the initial match of the current Russian Premier League season against Orenburg ended in a 0–2 defeat. Reports indicated that Sobolev communicated to head coach Dejan Stankovic a desire to depart, signaling potential dissatisfaction with his role during the campaign.
Since 2020, Sobolev has been a member of Spartak, appearing in 139 games and posting 58 goals with 32 assists across all competitions. His contract remains in effect through the summer of 2026. In the most recent Russian Championship season, he played in 27 fixtures and scored five goals. There were rumors of a possible transfer to Zenit in the offseason, but Spartak reportedly adjusted his price, leading Zenit to withdraw from negotiations. The discourse around Sobolev also touched on broader issues, including perceptions of discrimination in football, as voiced by former Spartak coach Chernyshov, who commented on the topic in relation to Sobolev’s experiences.
Overall, the discussion around Sobolev reflects the balance athletes must strike between professional commitments and personal interests, and how public perceptions can shift when a player’s off-field activities are scrutinized alongside on-field performance.