“Kononov’s departure will not solve the club’s problems”: experts on the prospects of Spartak, the crisis of Krasnodar and the problems of CSKA

“With a high degree of probability, the composition of the first five RPLs has already been determined”

Former Russian national team striker Dmitry Kirichenko will not be easy to decide who to root for in one of the central matches of the 12th round of the RPL, in which CSKA and Rostov will compete. With the army team, he became the champion of Russia, and in Rostov-on-Don ended his football career and began coaching. In an interview with RT, the expert spoke positively about the yellow-blue game, criticized the wards of Viktor Goncharenko, and also suggested what the future awaits both teams this season.

- CSKA won five consecutive victories in the RPL, but on the eve of the match with Krasnodar, suffered a second consecutive defeat in the Europa League. Why are the results of the team in the internal and external arenas so different?

- Of course, in European competitions the level of resistance is much higher. But in this case I would not talk about any kind of systematic nature, yet all teams have such disastrous matches as with Ludogorets. In my opinion, the domestic championship for the wards of Viktor Goncharenko is now in any case a priority, because they are fighting for the title, as well as for a ticket to the Champions League.

- But can’t a red-blue performance in the Europa League be completely uninteresting?

- Of course, CSKA has a desire to win. I am sure they wanted to beat both Ludogorets and Espanyol, but the rivals were very high. Do not forget that the Bulgarian champion in the second round of the group stage away defeated the “Ferencvaros”. And “Espanyol” - a team of Spanish Examples, this is a very high level. The Catalans were not the army team that could not squeeze, but simply did not have moments.

- It turns out that the RPL level is now so low that our leading teams concede seven goals in two LE matches?

- It is hard to say. The same “Zenith” beat the “Benfica”. Each team has its own story. But again, the level of Examples is very high. The same Lokomotiv, in my opinion, played well with Atlético, but was defeated because it is a rival of a completely different class.

- Why the defense of CSKA at the start of the season is so bad?

- Of course, the team’s defense is not going smoothly, but the army team has problems in the attack. With the same “Espanyol” CSKA practically did not create moments. CSKA is still unstable. He can give a wonderful match, and fail the next game. Still, there are a lot of young soccer players in the red and blue. Moreover, CSKA, whatever one may say, is not enough bench length. In addition, the team was covered by an epidemic of injuries. Goncharenko in such conditions have to look for options. It does not always work out, but the coaching staff manages to squeeze the maximum.

- Is it possible to say that the army team gained experience in a year and will no longer allow failures, as in the last season?

- Excuse me, but behind 11 rounds, and CSKA is the sole leader. So there can be no questions here. And it makes no sense to run into the future.

- Turning to the closest rival of CSKA, is Rostov a real candidate for a medal, or will the team “crumble” in the second round, as it was last season?

- Without a doubt, the team of Valery Karpin is deservedly in the top five. Yellow and blue look very good and score a lot. In the first rounds they missed a lot, but now this problem is not so acute. So, with a high degree of probability, the composition of the first five RPLs has already been determined. For all well-known reasons, Spartak dropped out of it.

- For you, the powerful start of Rostov came as a surprise, given the tactical revolution in the team?

“I can't say that.” Last season, yellow-blue also looked good, if you do not take into account the spring decline. And in the fall, “Rostov” looked decent and also walked in the leading group. Tactical rebuilding is associated with the need to strengthen the game in attack. Yes, a system with five defenders allows you to reliably act on the defensive, but in some matches the team simply did not have the ability to play the first number, to impose pressure. And now the composition of “Rostov” is very good. Roman Eremenko came, who plays a huge role in organizing the whole game. And, of course, Karpin works great.

“Kononov accepted all the negativity”

In another key match of the 12th round, Krasnodar and Spartak will meet. In this case, the red and white will hold the first meeting after the resignation of Oleg Kononov from the post of head coach. Mikhail Mossakovsky, who will comment on the live game on Match TV, told RT how changes on the coaching bridge could affect red and white, and also stood up for Murad Musaev.

- Can Murad Musaev lose his post in case of defeat from Spartak?

- I am sure he will work for a long time and fruitfully at Krasnodar. In this club, the leadership is not prone to sudden movements. The bet on Musaev was made in the future. Everyone understands that in the summer the team completely changed the center of the field. In fact, the whole skeleton has changed. And when a command that plays in possession passes through such personnel perturbations, it will be shaken one way or another. “Krasnodar” does not shake, but shakes, but it is very far from talking about Musaev’s resignation. He will be given more than one chance.

- Do not you think that the specialist in this situation may simply not have enough experience?

- It seems to me that it’s not an age. Now, on the contrary, there is a tendency towards the rejuvenation of coaching staff. But nevertheless, the lack of experience can really affect this situation. But experience is just gaining. This is a person from the Krasnodar system, he is well acquainted with the pupils of the club, which is what the stake was on. Although this choice was unexpected, there is a clear logic in this decision. Galitsky wants to see his club like that. He does not need a team that puts the “bus” on the defensive and takes in legionnaires from the outside, although Galitsky’s financial condition would be enough for the momentary construction of “Krasnodar” from expensive “Varangians”.

- Given the serious personnel changes in the team, will Krasnodar be able to fight for the championship this season?

- And which team in the RPL has no problems? In the first place is CSKA, which on Thursday in all respects lost to Espanyol, occupying 18th place in the league table of the championship of Spain. Zenit has its own shortcomings. Lokomotiv has its own. There is no need to talk about Spartak at all. In this situation, Krasnodar should not be discounted. Whoever will quickly deal with their difficulties, that will go forward.

- Will Spartak give impetus to the dismissal of Oleg Kononov, or until there is no new coach talking about this is pointless?

- There may be a local psychological effect. You can recall how this move worked last season at Manchester United, when Jose Mourinho was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjer. Norwegian can not yet be called a high-level specialist, but the team gave a positive result on the effect of emancipation. But I do not think that this is the story of Spartak. Nevertheless, Kononov did not enslave the team so much that everyone ran only from the very fact of his resignation. Nevertheless, the shake-up occurred in any case, and the players will give all the best to prove themselves to the new mentor. Who knows, perhaps the new Spartak coach has already been selected and will carefully watch the match in Krasnodar. In any case, this is an occasion to get together.

- Do not you think that “Spartak” is simply no one to play in the attack?

- Indeed, in the summer two pure strikers, two big masters, left the team. They did not find an adequate replacement. Added to this are staffing problems. When we look at Esekiel Ponce, the impression is that he is not the center forward. At least in this position he does not look too convincing. We see that footballers who are on the cutting edge of Spartak’s attack are not, in fact, center forwards, despite the considerable amount of money spent on strengthening the attack group. And this is a key position for any team.

- Why, then, the main blow was taken by Kononov, and not the club’s general director Thomas Zorn, who was involved in the recruitment of the team?

- It seems to me that questions in this situation arise not only for them. This is a much more global topic. Wrong to lock everything on a specific person. It’s just that Kononov became the person who accepted all the negativity. I don’t think that with his departure all the club’s problems will be resolved.

- Defeat in Krasnodar will put an end to the medal claims of red and white?

- I repeat, it seems to me that all the top clubs of the country are experiencing problems, so nothing has been lost for Spartak, the more so the appointment of a new coach in case of a hit can give the team a good boost. And competitors will definitely lose points. At least, for the third or fourth places, the red-and-white ones can compete completely.