Last chance for Goncharenko or preparation for the arrival of Berezutsky: what could be behind the coaching resignations at CSKA

Along with the capital "Spartak" one of the main newsmakers of the offseason in Russian football can be safely called CSKA.

At the end of 2020, the red and blue ceased cooperation with coaches Sergey Ovchinnikov and Viktor Onopko, which caused bewilderment among both fans and experts.

And in 2021, the company of specialists was made up by the former mentor of the academy - Evgeny Varlamov, who spent 17 years in the club in total.

At the same time, with the departure of Varlamov, everything is relatively clear.

He worked at the CSKA Academy for 12 years, during which he took an active part in the development of such football players as Fedor Chalov, Timur Zhamaletdinov and Vyacheslav Karavaev, but decided to take a step forward.

This is evidenced by at least the fact that the day before it became known about his appointment to the position of assistant head coach in FC "Riga".

Let the Latvian championship not be called one of the leading in Europe, but the transition from youth to adult level can still be considered progress.

It is noteworthy that in the new club he will work together with other famous footballers in the past - Alexander Filimonov and Maxim Kalinichenko.

In the situation with the other two specialists, everything is somewhat more complicated.

If in the case of Varlamov it can be assumed that leaving CSKA was his initiative, then Ovchinnikov and Onopko were unlikely to be in the mood to leave the club.

At the very least, such conclusions can be drawn based on the statements of the ex-captain of the Russian national team, who called the decision of the army bosses unexpected.

According to Victor, after the match of the 19th round with Rostov, he was confident that in January, together with the team, he would begin preparations for the second part of the season.

But on December 28, there was a telephone conversation with the general director of the red and blue Roman Babaev.

As a result, it became clear that no contract extension is planned.

Subsequently, many were quick to assume that such reforms in the coaching staff were to one degree or another associated with the figure of Viktor Goncharenko.

It's no secret that before the end of the first part of the season, the Belarusian mentor was in limbo and risked losing his position.

On the eve of the meeting of the 19th round of the RPL, CSKA had a seven-match losing streak, which deprived him of not only the first place in the national championship standings, but also a ticket to the Europa League playoffs.

The crisis was evident, in connection with which the confrontation with "Rostov" could well have become the last specialist at the head of the team.

In any case, many publications adhered to this opinion, and some spoke of Goncharenko's future resignation as a fait accompli.

Perhaps the confident victory helped the Belarusian not only retain the position of head coach, but also get the right to change the staff.

And it is not surprising that the first to go out were Ovchinnikov and Onopko, with whom he could not have the most cordial relations.

First of all, we are talking about Ovchinnikov, who managed to replace Goncharenko twice in the last year.

This happened for the first time in the match against Dynamo within the 24th round of the RPL season 2019/20.

Then the Belarusian specialist put the team in a difficult situation and left for their homeland after a crushing defeat from Zenit with a score of 0: 4.

It is noteworthy that at the press conference after the match, the head coach's assistant allowed himself some rather ambiguous comments.

So, he twice expressed disagreement with the mentor - both in terms of tactics and the formation of the composition.

In particular, he hinted that he did not agree with the decision to release Viktor Vasin at the base, and not Herdur Magnusson.

“There was a personal mistake in the second minute, then the second early goal.

Quick goals take their toll, but we were unable to rebuild.

Zenith effectively used the emerging zones.

We made a lot of mistakes in defense.

In my opinion, the defense could have been built differently.

But it turned out the way it happened.

We got a lot of food for thought ... This is our internal decision, which I would not like to comment on.

The choice is made by the head coach.

Probably, Vasin gave reason to be released in the starting lineup, ”said Ovchinnikov.

The second time he served as head coach in early December.

Goncharenko did not have the right to lead the charges from the sidelines due to the bust of yellow cards, which is why the responsibility passed to Ovchinnikov.

As in the game against Dynamo, CSKA failed to win and had to be content with just one point.

Nevertheless, positive moments could be noted this time too.

In particular, one of his best matches after moving to Moscow was played by Chidera Ejuke, who was noted for an assist.

Moreover, Ilya Shkurin became the addressee, for whom this goal was the second in a red and blue T-shirt.

It is noteworthy that eight minutes after that, Edzhuke gave way to the field to Fedor Chalov.

And as it turned out later, this decision was made not by Ovchinnikov, who led the team, but by Goncharenko.

In this regard, the assistant again allowed himself an ambiguous speech in the press.

“The head coach makes the decision about substitutions.

Well, the replacements have happened.

In my opinion, Edjuke looked good, sharpened.

But, again, the head coach makes substitutions ... Chalov tried, but not everything worked out.

We are looking for something.

But so far, at least the players who came on as substitutes have not really strengthened the game, ”Ovchinnikov said.

Based on this, we can conclude that the experts did not always agree with each other, and, possibly, even conflicted.

And after Goncharenko retained his place in the club, Ovchinnikov's departure was only a matter of time.

According to the media, the Belarusian received carte blanche to form the headquarters and, as expected, decided to get rid of those who disagreed.

Based on the above, we can conclude that the next six months will be decisive for both Goncharenko and CSKA.

The mentor has been with the team for the fifth season, but so far he has never led her to gold.

Yes, in the first two years the army team took silver, but then they finished the championship twice in the fourth line.

But if earlier a specialist could refer to a weak composition, in fact, a complete absence of cash injections and expensive transfers, now he has no such excuse.

According to Transfermarkt, this summer alone the army team spent € 30 million on newcomers, and, according to rumors, they are actively working on the market in winter.

So, the press is already talking about the interest in the Fenerbahce midfielder and the Turkish national team Ozan Tufan, for whom CSKA is allegedly ready to pay € 10 million. The search for a supporting midfielder is also reported, and among possible candidates Danilo from Nice, Lubos Kalvakh from Victoria Plzen and Adam Nagy from Bristol City.

At the same time, the famous Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari reports that the army team has already agreed on a contract with the Brazilian.

It is expected that, taking into account such expenses, serious progress is expected from Goncharenko in comparison with previous seasons.

Of course, gold is the ultimate dream, but silver can certainly be called a satisfactory result.

At the very least, it will give the team the opportunity to compete for getting into the group stage of the Champions League, which will return part of the funds spent on transfers to the budget.

Otherwise, the resignation of Goncharenko, which has been discussed for a very long time, will not be long in coming.

The mentor himself repeatedly tried to leave his post, and after another failure in the home arena, the management is unlikely to persuade him to stay.

Especially in light of the fact that the club already has a candidate for replacement.

We are talking about Vasily Berezutsky, who was appointed assistant head coach in August.

In general, the possible appointment of Berezutsky can be called, if not logical, then corresponding to the trends of the times.

Many European clubs willingly give their former players a chance to work, and often such decisions pay off.

Suffice it to recall the examples of Josep Guardiola at Barcelona and Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.

At the same time, there were cases when former footballers headed the team without having any experience in this field.

In this context, we can mention both Jurgen Klopp (Mainz) and Andrea Pirlo (Juventus).

Unlike the German and the Italian, Vasily has already managed to try himself as an assistant to Leonid Slutsky.

Moreover, he helped the mentor not in the team of his own championship, but in the Dutch Vitesse, as a result of which he gained excellent experience.

At the same time, it should not be ruled out that Berezutsky will take over as head coach, regardless of CSKA's performance in the second part of the season.

It is possible that the club has already firmly decided to change the course of development, but did not do it in the middle of the season.

Yevgeny Lovchev, a well-known footballer of Spartak in the past, adheres to the same opinion.

“The decision is obvious - Vasily Berezutsky has come, brother Alexei is working somewhere nearby in the club system.

I think he will be pulled into the main team ... I do not know how long Goncharenko's contract is still valid, but I think he will leave in the summer.

And Vasya will become the main one, they will clear a clearing for him.

And he himself will recruit assistants, "- said Lovchev" Soviet Sport ".

However, one should not exclude the option in which Goncharenko will still leave CSKA, but Berezutsky will not lead the team in the summer.

The failures in the Europa League demonstrated that the root of the failures of the red and blues is not the performer class, and not the most modern football.

The same "Wolfsberg" played much more intensively, surpassed the opponent in movement and immediately covered him with pressure.

Therefore, it will not be a surprise if Evgeny Giner decides to use the services of a foreign specialist.

The only question is whether the boss of the army team will once again take a risk, because in the past, such experiments did not bring results.

Throughout its history, CSKA's coaching staff has been headed by three specialists from far abroad, but none of them has achieved great success.

Portuguese Artur Jorge replaced Valery Gazzaev in November 2003, but in July he was dismissed.

And the Brazilian Zico and the Spaniard Juande Ramos did not work in total for a year.