"Zlatan wants to get my shirt, and I want to get his," said Artyom Dzyuba through a smile a month ago after Russia thrashed Lichtenstein 4-0.
The Spartak Moscow striker entered the field at halftime, set up Alan Dzagoev for a move that ended in an own goal by Franz Burgmeier, got fouled in the box to win a penalty and finally scored his very first goal for the national team from Aleksandr Kokorin's assist. This was definitely his night, and he was making plans for the visit to Stockholm to meet his role model.
That the Russian media went wild in jubilation was rather bizarre. After all, it was a routine home win over minnows who were not supposed to pose significant threat anyway. One simply can't praise someone for playing a good 45 minutes against them as though he has just lifted the World Cup.
There was an explanation for those strong emotions, however. Fabio Capello has ignored Dzyuba for so long that it became almost ridiculous -- more so than Jogi Low's refusal to call up Stefan Kiessling.
Finally, at long last, the Italian coach changed his mind, and the admirers of Dzyuba talent could shout that they were right all along.
Dzyuba didn't mention Zlatan Ibrahimovic incidentally -- he really tries to emulate the great Swede. A couple of years ago, the striker mentioned in an interview that he wants to play like Ibrahimovic and was mercilessly ridiculed. Nevertheless, he was absolutely right. While their talents can't be seriously compared, Dzyuba has certainly picked his idol correctly.
At 196 centimeters, Artyom is even taller than Zlatan, and his technical abilities are much better than those of a regular old-school centre-forward. Dzyuba is not only strong in the air and physical in the penalty area, but also has a good ball control. His vision is well above average, and he can play as a second striker and send quality through balls to his teammates.
Sometimes he is even capable of unorthodox decisions that baffle his opponents. He might be light years behind the real Ibrahimovic, but it will be difficult to think of a striker who resembles the unique PSG star more than Dzyuba.
It took Artyom a long time to win over Spartak fans, as he was usually discarded in his young days because of indiscipline. In 2009 Spartak sent him on loan to Tomsk after a strange incident during the preseason camp in Austria when midfielder Vladimir Bystrov accused Dzyuba of stealing money from him in the dressing room. The striker denied the allegations and vowed never to talk to Bystrov again but was able to return to his club only when the latter was sold back to Zenit.
After a positive 2011-12 season, which saw him included in the provisional squad for Euro 2012 but left out at the last moment by Dick Advocaat, Dzyuba was benched by new Spartak coach Unai Emery. His frustration was such that he referred to the Basque specialist as a derogatory term that loosely translates to 'little coach' when talking to the media after the 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Dinamo.
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Emery was fired on the same day, but Dzyuba didn't make himself any favours with such a behaviour, earning the nickname of 'igrochiska' -- a 'little player.' Using foul language when talking to fans didn't help him either.
Dzyuba was loaned out again after falling out of favour with Valery Karpin. He went to Rostov, and this time it proved to be an inspirational move. The team was built around his talents, their self-confidence skyrocketed and the striker netted 17 goals in 28 games, finishing just behind CSKA Moscow's Seydou Doumbia in the scoring charts.
Rostov even won the Russian Cup, and that was the first silverware in Dzyuba's career because Spartak have gone trophy-less since 2003.
It was obvious that the in-form striker deserved a chance to prove himself for the national team, but Capello thought otherwise. He was disappointed with Dzyuba's performance in the 45 minutes he got against Northern Ireland in Belfast in August 2013, during which Russia didn't shoot on target even once, and never called him up again.
Some said that the real reason behind the decision was that Dzyuba is simply too cheerful and easy-going for the Italian's liking.
The campaign to include Dzyuba in the World Cup squad was immense, and when Russia failed to qualify for the second round from an easy group, many a pundit reminded that the team lacked a quality, tall centre-forward who could be useful in the games versus South Korea and Algeria.
Upon returning to Spartak in the summer, Dzyuba became central to the plans of new coach Murat Yakin, and enjoyed his best month so far for the Red-and-Whites, scoring three braces in August, including two goals that enabled his team to beat CSKA 2-1 in the big Moscow derby. Even Capello couldn't possibly ignore him now, and the Russian Zlatan was given a rare chance to shine against Liechtenstein. He took it with both hands, and now the big question is whether Capello can fully admit his mistake.
Will Dzyuba be named in the starting lineup for Russia on Thursday for the first time in his career, at the age of 26? The whole country is waiting to know the answer, and there is a good chance that it will be positive. Anticipating what is rather amusingly branded as the Battle of Titans, the Russian Football Union offered fans to participate in an unusual contest and design a shirt that Dzyuba will gift Zlatan.
The results were farcical in the extreme, as the original winning version read: "Bests do not born. They become."
Dzyuba even signed that shirt before the language was corrected, now reading: "The best are not born. They are made."
The striker hopes to show the message after scoring in Stockholm -- which, fitting in with Dzyuba's career so far, will probably earn him a yellow card.
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