Onopko was declined by then, became a scapegoat for the national team failures though he was far from the main reason of them. I liked him a lot in the '90s but moving to Oviedo who were constantly fighting relegation was a really bad choice, though tbf most ex-ussr teams were crap at getting good moves for their players. Kanchelskis was an anomaly back then.
I rated Izmailov when he broke through, he seemed a natural talent. Very good dribbling and smart passing with both feet, could play in the centre or on the wings as an ideal supporting playmaker and had a strong shot. His midfield partnership with Loskov was the main reason Loko were able to often avoid being a whipping boy in Europe. Unforunately he was one of the most injury-prone players i've known from that 00s generation, after his breakthrough season you would be lucky to find another one where he managed to reach 20 league games. That stopped him from really developing and Ballack late challenge in a friendly nearly ended his career for good around 2005, he was slower, not as agile after that.
The injuries cut short any chance he had of a big move, though he did eventually go to Sporting Lisbon in 2007, but i didn't bother following how he got on as i didn't expect him to be fit much or his career to go anywhere by that point. as i understand he did do well when fit, but the injuries kept getting worse.
This highlight of dribbling and goals mainly from his Sporting days gives a decent look at what kind of player he was, though it's a mess for about the first minute.
