Diario AS about Cristhian Noboa, goalscorer in Russia: He has a dose of talent that brings experience and intelligence

Cristhian Noboa lives his fifteenth year in Russian football, beyond a brief assignment to Greek PAOK in 2015 and despite the fact that he turned 37 last April, he lives one of the sweetest moments of his career, at least in terms of to scoring records.

The midfielder accumulates nine goals in just twelve games and equals Promes at the top of this statistic and surpasses Malcom, a former Barcelona player, by one goal. The finishing touch to this spectacular moment of form would be Alfaro’s call to play the World Cup in Qatar next month.

Noboa already left the best numbers of his career in the 2020/21 season when he scored twelve goals for Sochi in 25 games. In this campaign he is on his way to breaking all the records in the current sixth place in the Russian championship led by Zenit Saint Petersburg.

The former Emelec player only participated in two games in the Qatar qualifiers, although he was present at last year’s Copa América with a testimonial role, he appeared as a substitute in two games, against Venezuela and Peru.

In his last game, the Ecuadorian, in addition to scoring, was chosen as the best player of the match when he led the 4-0 win against Lokomotiv.

In Sochi he has found his place, as happened in the successful Rubin Kazan more than a decade ago, with several steps through the Champions League. In the great continental club competition, Noboa left several memorable performances. He scored in 2010 in the draw against Barcelona and years later, in the ranks of Rostov, he added four goals in the group stage. One of them served to defeat Bayern.

After that brilliant participation, he signed for Zenit, but then everything indicated that the decline of his career was beginning. He spent several seasons in which he barely added minutes and age weighed.

However, a powerful new project arrived in Sochi and there he took command of the midfield to lead the team to compete with the best clubs in the country. The club’s progression has been constant until last season, when it finished in second position. Sanctions imposed by UEFA on Russian clubs prevented Noboa from returning to the Champions League.

Alfaro will announce the squad for the highly anticipated World Cup in just a few days and it seems clear that Noboa has a place among the 25 that will go to Qatar. A player who brings experience, goals and intelligence to manage the offense at key moments. A dose of talent in a selection that dominates through physique. (D)