German international striker Kevin Kuranyi is struggling to score for Dynamo Moscow because he is putting in less effort, Dynamo coach Sergey Silkin said Friday.
Kuranyi came on as a substitute in the club’s 1-1 derby draw with CSKA Moscow on Friday, but did not score, his fifth game without a goal since he struck against Spartak Moscow in November.
“We’re waiting for him to start scoring in this situation. But one factor is that he is making reduced demands on himself,” Silkin said.
Silkin added that the situation was similar to Kuranyi’s scoreless run in early 2011, when he did not score until Dynamo’s 14th game of the season.
Kuranyi was brought on as a half-time substitute against CSKA, but did not join play for two minutes after the match restarted, which Silkin blamed on the striker’s poor grasp of Russian.
“It wasn’t a case of sabotage. I told him to warm up and get out for the second half. I told him that directly, and there was no one to translate it,” he said.
“Clearly, he understood my words as an instruction to work up, but not to go onto the pitch straight after the break. There’s no grievance against Kevin in this case.”
Dynamo had problems with CSKA’s pace on the counter, Silkin said.
“The Army team, with a one-goal advantage, tried to play in organized way, drawing us into their half and trying to organize fast counterattacks, which worked out well for them.”
“Maybe not everything worked out for us in that game, but the players earned their goal with their commitment.”
Dynamo remain third in the Russian Premier League table, seven points behind leaders Zenit St. Petersburg, who have a game in hand against FC Kuban on Saturday.
