Spartak has no right to be in tenth place: experts on the future of Tedesco, the crisis of CSKA and Moscow derby

“Both Derby Must Be Fighting”

RT: How bad is it that the two Moscow derby Lokomotiv - Spartak and CSKA - Dynamo will take place on Sunday at the same time?

Ruslan Nigmatullin, former goalkeeper of Lokomotiv, Spartak and the Russian national team: Honestly, I did not quite understand this decision. Since I probably won’t go to the stadium, I would love to watch both matches on TV. And so you have to develop fine motor skills and constantly switch channels.

Valery Kechinov, six-time champion of Russia in Spartak: As far as I understand, the match between CSKA and Dynamo was postponed to a later time, to make it easier to work as a policeman. I do not consider the incident a big problem. Each team has its own fans, I do not see any obstacles for them, so as not to come to the stadium. Interests of viewers? It is rather a question for the compilers of the calendar. It is what it is. It was necessary to think earlier.

Alexander Grishin, USSR champion in CSKA, ex-coach of the youth team of the army: This is a disgrace. The organizers had to breed two derby. For example, one could be held on Sunday, and the second on Monday, and there would be no problems. Still, viewers wanted to see both matches live.

Andrey Kobelev, former head coach of Dynamo: I think that all aspects are taken into account when drawing up the calendar. If two derby hit almost at the same time, it means that there really wasn’t any possibility to separate them. Everyone cheers for different teams, so nothing bad happened.

RT: Victories over CSKA and Lokomotiv could be the starting point for the revival of Dynamo and Spartak?

Ruslan Nigmatullin: It’s hard to say, because everyone needs a victory in a derby. If we take the standoff between CSKA and Dynamo, then both teams have enough problems. CSKA needs to establish business in the RPL after the failure in the Europa League. Dynamo survived the change of coach at all, and now a young interesting coach, Kirill Novikov, has stood at the head of the team, and he has done an excellent job with the youth team. Perhaps he will be able to translate his ideas into a basis.

In general, as practice shows, the victory in the derby in the future does not mean anything. It is clear that this is a good psychological bonus, but by and large you need to score points in matches with teams inferior in class. It often happens that you win a derby, and then stumble where you shouldn't. But for psychological stability, winning a derby is certainly important.

Valery Kechinov: Any victory adds self-confidence and helps to play more relaxed. And when you are in the basement of the standings, what kind of moral condition can be discussed. The result dominates, and you cannot get rid of the burden of responsibility. Therefore, there is no game, no result. I think the red-white ones do not have the right to be in tenth place, in whatever condition. And the composition of the team is good. Now Spartak is waiting for a very serious rival - Lokomotiv, which looked decent in the confrontation with Juventus.

Alexander Grishin: It’s not worth saying that, because each game is a different story. Easy “Dynamo” and “Spartacus” will not. It is interesting to see how the teams under the leadership of Novikov and Tedesco will prove themselves. I would like to see something new in the performance of these groups. And so, both meetings should turn out to be fighting, because everyone needs points.

Andrey Kobelev: It's always nice to win in a derby. It's no secret that teams from the same city always compete with each other. Any victory can give a positive impetus, and success in a derby all the more. But in RPL it’s hard to resist any team, so I wouldn’t divide opponents into weak and strong. In this case, “Spartak” separates from sixth place only two points, “Dynamo” - a little more. If not for the five, then for the six it is quite possible to compete for both. A series of victories can bring you closer to the European competition zone, because points will lose everything.

“Tedesco needs to start winning soon”

RT: Is Tedesco able to surprise Semin, or Lokomotiv can only give points to Spartak himself?

Ruslan Nigmatullin: Lokomotiv has accumulated a certain amount of fatigue, as many players of the team are forced to break into three fronts: RPL, Champions League, and national teams. And in connection with the epidemic of injuries, only young people are sitting on the bench at Semin. In Spartak Tedesco only instills in the players their vision of the game, it will certainly take time. The new coach needs to understand who is able to move red and white forward. But in this match I consider the favorites of the railway workers.

However, Spartak has very demanding fans. Only victories are always expected from the team. No one there will tell Tedesco: "Train, and we will wait for the result." You yourself saw that after a draw with Rubin, a mass of dissatisfied appeared. Tedesco wants to start winning as soon as possible so that the team gains confidence in their abilities.

Valery Kechinov: It will be a very difficult game, and in it I would not bet on Spartak. Lokomotiv can only come up with problems for itself, because Tedesco spent very little time on the team. If the railway workers do not tune properly, lose their concentration, then red-white can punish them. Otherwise, Spartak will have a very hard time.

Alexander Grishin: Teams really are in different conditions, because the railroad workers played a tough game with Juventus this week and they had little time to recover. But in Lokomotiv an excellent team is now assembled, everyone is fighting for each other. I think that the wards of Semin will play their football and will catch Spartak on counterattacks. But the red-greens may not have enough strength for the entire match, so they will probably try to score a quick ball, so that they can calmly control the course of the meeting. As for Tedesco, he was called in order for Spartak to start playing good football. It will be interesting to see what fresh ideas he brings.

Andrey Kobelev: Lokomotiv has a very balanced roster with a lot of experienced players. The team has a certain class, so I don’t think Tedesco will surprise Syomin with anything. To some extent, we can talk about the fatigue of the railway workers after the match with Juventus, but they had enough time to recover. So Lokomotiv is a clear favorite of the derby.

“Five teams are still participating in the championship race”

RT: CSKA suffered three defeats in a row in the Europa League, and in the RPL lost to Rostov at home and tied in Ufa. CSKA in the near future will begin to lag behind competitors?

Ruslan Nigmatullin: I would not want this to happen, because CSKA is one of the most stable teams in Russia in recent years. We are used to the fact that he is always among the leaders of the national championship. And unsuccessful series happen for all teams. The formation of red and blue continues. We must not forget that the army club has many young players.

Valery Kechinov: Of course, the army team is not easy, since the defeat leaves a negative imprint. Moreover, other applicants for gold look confident.

Alexander Grishin: The team goes through a certain psychological decline, does not win for a long time, and this always affects the state. The sooner they get out of this hole, the better. Still, young football players are gathered in CSKA, and they are characterized by instability. But if the red-blue ones lose a couple more matches in the RPL, we can say that they really fell out of the cage.

A short bench? I would not say that. In the same game with Ferencvaros, the army team had some good legionnaires left: Lucas Santos, Kristiyan Bistrovich, Yaka Biyol. Yes, Fyodor Chalov, Mario Fernandez, Nikol Vlasic have a big load, but this is happening with the leaders of all teams.

Andrey Kobelev: Defeats in the Europa League are one story, and if you look at the RPL standings, CSKA is only three points behind the leaders. It's just that after a couple of misfires, everyone at once starts talking about some kind of crisis. It seems to me that the army team has no crisis, and they still aspire to the highest places. But Dynamo is generally fighting for survival, so they also need points.

As for the change of coach for blue and white, I don’t know this situation from the inside, so I can’t judge. But Novikov has long been working in the structure of the club, he knows many football players. Perhaps this will help the team at this stage. I know him personally, but I can’t say what football he will put in charge, for this you need to watch the next five or six matches. But I don’t think Cyril’s lack of experience is a problem, because he is not taken from the air, you can’t buy and borrow experience.

RT: Do you agree that Lokomotiv in the fall looks like the main competitor of Zenit in the fight for the championship?

Ruslan Nigmatullin: Yes, I think that it is the railroad workers who are the main rivals of St. Petersburg in the race for gold medals, despite certain personnel problems.

Valery Kechinov: At the moment, yes. You can also call "Krasnodar". The team has a game and due to this it achieves the result. I think it is these three teams that will fight for gold. Rostov? Still, the defeat with a score of 1: 6 from the “Zenith” has become eloquent. I really believed in the wards of Valery Karpin, but the applicant for the championship has no right to lose to a direct competitor. I think the yellow-blue will continue the struggle for a place in the top five.

Alexander Grishin: In my opinion, five teams are still participating in the championship race, since the backlogs are insignificant. Who will be more successful will win the title. On the other hand, there are 17 more rounds ahead and it’s hard to think ahead. It is difficult to say in what condition the applicants for gold will be after a winter break.

Andrey Kobelev: What can I say if the first round has not even ended? But we see that five teams really aspire to the championship, which have already come off quite a bit from their pursuers. And today, this five is really stronger than everyone else. But it will be possible to speak about the final circle of applicants for gold only for five to seven rounds to the end.