Man-mountain Zenit striker Dzyuba was not always a Russian football brand leader, domestic goalscoring chart overlord, national team skipper and popular transfer target for a host of clubs in the West.
Indeed, for much of the 31-year-old’s career, he has had to deal with media brickbats, condemned as too slow, too cumbersome, too inconsistent, too happy-golucky and too ready to clash with authority figures.
Back in 2017, he plumbed rock bottom. In the spring of that year, he was reportedly involved in a heated bust-up with Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov. Just a few months later, he fell out of favour with then Zenit boss Roberto Mancini, who promptly banished him to the reserves.
Dzyuba, with 20-odd caps for Russia at this point, appeared to have no chance of featuring at…
