Not long ago, rumors appeared in the media about the possible departure of 32-year-old Brazilian forward Willian Jose from Spartak. Online publication “Euro-Futbol.Ru“reflects on why the ex-Real Madrid player did not take root in the Red-White camp.
First emotions
On July 1, 2024, Spartak Moscow announced the transfer of Jose from Betis for a modest two million euros. The purpose of buying the Brazilian was clear – he had to give results here and now, because the adaptation of Manfred Ugalde was very delayed, Keita Balde and Shamar Nicholson were in an incomprehensible state after their loans, and Alexander Sobolev was already sitting on his suitcases and preparing to move to St. Petersburg.
The club hoped that Jose would immediately become Spartak’s main player and score regularly, but something went wrong.
Overweight
After his vacation, Jose returned with a lot of excess weight, which could not but upset the management and coaches of Spartak. Despite this, after some time, Dejan Stankovic still gave Jose a chance to prove himself, but was again disappointed. At a certain point, Stankovic simply suspended the Brazilian from training with the team for several weeks. However, it is worth recognizing that after his return, Jose was never able to get into shape and reach his level, and in just a month and a half the championship will go on a winter break.
Competition
Jose’s failure was influenced by the competition that unexpectedly appeared in Spartak in the position of center forward. Obviously, the Brazilian went to the club as the first forward, but through his own fault he could not immediately become a player in the main team, and at that moment Ugalde unexpectedly opened up under Stankovic. Together with Barco, the Costa Rican took part in 10 of Spartak’s first 11 goals. In addition, in a fairly short period of time, Shamar Nicholson, who returned from his loan, regained his condition. Stankovic trusted the Jamaican, and he thanked the coach with regular goals. In connection with such a game between Ugalde and Nicholson, Jose automatically became Stankovic’s third choice, but the Serb still provided several chances to the Brazilian, released him in the starting lineup for the Cup, but the experienced forward never showed what was expected of him at Spartak.
Efficiency
As part of Spartak, Jose appeared on the field in 11 matches in all tournaments, while only three times he appeared in the starting lineup in Russian Cup games. During this period, the Brazilian was able to score only once, scoring his only goal with a direct free kick. Of course, we can say that Jose’s performance is influenced by the amount of playing time and the status of a substitute player, but, for example, this does not prevent Nicholson from scoring after coming on as a substitute.
I don’t think anyone will be upset if Spartak sells Jose this winter and buys a more goal-scoring forward, because recently rumors about a possible transfer of John Cordoba have intensified again. Even if Spartak does not find a replacement for Jose, the Brazilian’s departure can hardly be a loss for the red-whites, who have two quality strikers and Mikhail Ignatov, who can fill this position if necessary. Moreover, young Pavel Meleshin plays on loan and regularly scores for Sochi.
What positions should Spartak strengthen to return to the championship race?
Dmitry Milyaev
