Wie die Engländer Voronin sehen
The Kop don’t sing his name
Text: Titus Chalk Bild: Imago
Hertha vermisst ihn schmerzlich, in Liverpool hat er keine Schnitte. Wie stark ist Andriy Voronin denn nun wirklich? Unser englischer Mitarbeiter Titus Chalk über einen Mann zwischen Bundesliga und Premier League.
If there is one player who sums up the quality gap between the Premier League and the Bundesliga for English fans, it is the perplexing Andriy Voronin. The dashing Ukraine international with the shampoo advert locks and penchant for denim arrived at Liverpool in 2007 to little fanfare – and other than the occasional howl of derision, has failed to generate any since. The Kop don’t even have a song for him.
In his 269 minutes so far this season (two starts, and seven substitute appearances), he has largely failed to sparkle, leaving Reds fans ambivalent: »He was actually one of the better players in the catastrophic defeat against Fulham [Liverpool lost 3-1 last weekend and had two players sent off],« one season ticket holder Dave Cottrell says. »But he doesn’t have the explosive impact to be one of the very best Premier League strikers.« Barry Purchase, another Anfield regular is unequivocal: »Voronin is just not up to Premier League standard. He would struggle to get into most teams. Benitez should have raised some money by selling him.«
Things had started so well for Voronin. Vital goals against Toulouse and Sunderland in his first few games for Liverpool suggested he might cut the mustard (eine sehr englische Redewendung!) as a squad player. But with a total of only six goals in 36 appearances, even those modest hopes have evaporated and for all his effort, the striker has failed to score this season. “Having gone to Hertha and scored plenty of goals, we thought he would come back in good form,” says Purchase. »But he looks out of his depth. He runs around a lot and looks busy, but there’s no end product.«
»Alert and decisive in front of goal«
That wasn’t the case at Hertha where his 11 goals last season, helped the Berlin side secure fourth place. Former Hertha stalwart Hanne Weiner describes him as, »Ein sehr ausgeschlafener Stürmer, aufmerksam und gedankschnell vor dem gegnerischen Tor.« – for English readers, »alert and decisive in front of goal.« For any Liverpool fans reading, yes he is talking about the same player, Andrei Woronin as he is known in Germany.
So where has that killer instinct gone? Weiner says the pace of the Premier League has left him exposed: »In England wird einfach ein besserer Fußball gespielt, das Niveau ist höher. Das Spiel ist schneller, wenn auch nur um Zehntel-Sekunden. Aber diese Unterschiede machen die Qualität eben aus.« - »In England the football played is simply better, the level is higher. The game is faster, even if only by a tenth of a second. But these little differences can be decisive.«
It is likely, too, that the striker’s confidence is suffering. »Every striker at Liverpool plays second-fiddle not just to Torres but Steven Gerrard as well, which must be pretty devastating in terms of self-confidence,« says Cottrell. »He's a similar player to Dirk Kuyt in that he needs a long run of games to get match-fit as opposed to top-class Torres who can do it on one leg, practically,« says Cottrell. »Starting occasionally or coming on as a sub here and there is just no good for a player like Voronin, the engine never has long enough to warm up.« A somewhat unsentimental manager, it is unlikely Benitez has put an arm around him either to lift his spirits. And with the current sense of crisis surrounding Liverpool, the scrutiny and pressure Voronin faces on his trips from bench will only grow.
So what can he do to help himself? Apart from staying behind after training to practice his finishing, there is one thing: »The ponytail,« says Cottrell. »It has to go. I'm sorry, but when the crowd are looking for a scapegoat, this does him no favours whatsover. ‘Voronin, you look like a horse's arse!’ was one recent outburst heard at a game.«
Hertha fans meanwhile, would love to have him back, ponytail and all, not least tonight against Heerenveen. The problem is, it’s not just Voronin they’re missing from last season, but the likes of Marko Pantelic and Josip Simunic – when it comes to quality, the cupboard is strictly bare. Weiner sees worrying parallels with the Hertha side he played in, in 1979: »Das erinnert mich an 1979, als nach der Saison Erich Beer, Norbert Nigbur und ich aus Berlin weggingen und während der neuen Spielzeit noch Uwe Kliemann, Michael Sziedat und Jürgen Milewski den Verein verließen. So viele gute gestandene Spieler kann man auf einen Schlag eben schwer ersetzen. In der Saison 1979/80 ist Hertha dann abgestiegen.« – a successful side lost its key players, and the following season were relegated. A glance to the bottom of the table and it is all too clear that this year’s side are hurtling towards the same fate.
Which makes my trip to the Olympiastadion for a potential six-pointer at the weekend all the more interesting! Actually, what should make it very interesting is being in with the 1. FC Köln fans in the away end, who my chaperone for the day Sebastian promises me are some of the best in the business. I’m not sure what I’m letting myself in for (apart from copious amounts of beer and several laps of the Ringbahn), but Schlachtenbummler is my favourite German word so far and I’m thoroughly looking forward to it. Los jetzt!
Thanks to Alex Raack for sparing Hanne Weiner my broken German and to all of you who have read this far in English!
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