The World Cup, while being the biggest event on the football calendar, is also renowned for unearthing stars of the future. Think of James Rodriguez in 2014, Thomas Muller in 2010 and Philipp Lahm in 2006; all of them had breakout tournaments and then went on to justify the hype, albeit to varying degrees. The 2018 World Cup has been no different, with quite a few players enhancing their reputations on the world stage. One of the biggest of those stories has been that of Aleksandr Golovin, who took the tournament by storm in the opening game and had a key role to play in Russias march to the quarter-finals. Playing in a World Cup is the pinnacle of most players careers, even more so if they are part of the host nation; however, Golovins performances may have ensured that the biggest moments of his playing career are yet to arrive, with a move to AS Monaco signed, sealed and delivered. We will now analyze Golovins game and break down his strengths and weaknesses.
Aleksandr Golovin had a good season at CSKA Moscow, scoring seven goals and assisting a further five in all competitions. He came into the spotlight with strikes against Arsenal and Olympique Lyon in the Europa League and was expected to carry Russias creative burden at the World Cup. Golovin lived up to expectations and then some; in fact, he made a far greater impact than expected, leading to the aforementioned transfer for £27million. This may end up being a bargain, especially in the hyper-inflated transfer market that has engulfed football. Golovin is just 22, and thus has a very high ceiling for his development. Nevertheless, there are some weaknesses to his game which will need to be ironed out if he is to realize his potential and rise to the top.
Attacking Contribution
Positioning
Golovin played predominantly as the left-sided central midfielder in CSKAs preferred 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formations last season. He started the World Cup playing off the left flank as Stanislav Chercheshov played a 4-2-3-1 system, but moved back to his favoured role when Chercheshov switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation later in the tournament. Golovin had the license to roam in both roles, either coming inside from the left or taking a more loose role in the centre. He is good at finding pockets of space between the lines, allowing him to link up with teammates and drive towards the opposition goal. His heatmaps and touchmaps from the World Cup will illustrate this in greater detail:
Golovin will be expected to slot
