On Tuesday, June 14, one of the most remarkable events in Russian football was the big press conference of Spartak's sports director Luca Cattani, who answered journalists' questions for almost an hour and a half.
The Italian spoke in detail about the resignation of Paolo Vanoli from the post of head coach, explained the decision to appoint 33-year-old Spaniard Guillermo Abascal to this position, and also shared his opinion on the departure of midfielder Zelimkhan Bakaev, the situation in the transfer market and the closure of Spartak-2.
RT singled out the main thing from his speech.
On Vanoli's resignation
“On May 29, the final of the Russian Cup took place, the next morning there was still no talk of resignation, but on the day Paolo flew to Italy, I had the first doubts about his future.
As a result, the situation turned upside down in just three or four days.
Why was the media aware of Vanoli's departure, but not the club?
I don't know, maybe he informed the journalists before us.
You need to ask him.
I voiced my version, and it's up to you to believe me or not.
I don’t think it’s worth talking about betrayal here, this is not the case.
You know perfectly well what happened in other clubs.
Nevertheless, Vanoli remained until the end of the season and until the last day at Spartak, he thought exclusively about the team.
We were in constant contact with him.
We talked five, six, seven, eight times a day and almost all the time discussed directly the affairs of the team: transfers, players, fees.
In terms of professionalism, there are no questions for him.
The coach did not make a decision at once.
It took time for it to mature.
Over the course of five months of working together, we told each other everything, shared our thoughts and doubts, both he was with me, and I was with him.
I don't want to judge people.
My job does not allow me to express emotions, and the task is to respond to any situation in the most correct way.
I don't want Paolo to be thought of as a runaway coach.
In Moscow, he was my best friend and fully fulfilled his duty.
Vanoli achieved the result and, as a human being, I have no complaints against him.”
About the appointment of Abaskal
“The contract with Guillermo is for two years.
Two assistants will come with him - an analyst and a physical training coach.
But there will remain wonderful specialists from the previous headquarters - Alexander Zaichenko and Vasily Kuznetsov.
I can’t say exactly when the Spaniard will arrive in Moscow, but I should in a few days.
When we realized that we needed to change the mentor, I had eight names on the shortlist.
Three immediately refused to fly to Russia, the fourth was not allowed by his wife, the fifth had a valid contract, and three more candidates simply wanted money and cashed in on the club.
They asked for three times more than they received in previous teams.
If someone wants to come to Moscow and think only about playing golf, we will not deal with him.
The Russians were also considered, but I can’t name them.
Abascal was the only person who convinced me.
I called him literally for ten minutes, but the conversation dragged on for an hour and a half.
It seemed that he already understands everything and knows about the work.
How did the political situation affect the negotiations?
Guillermo didn't ask me about it.
But one of the coaches with whom he spoke tried to fill his own worth due to this.
To train Spartak, you need certain characteristics.
I'm not saying this, but the history of the club.
Oleg Romantsev achieved great success, and after him there were 22 people, but only Massimo Carrera and Paolo Vanoli brought trophies.
To work in such a club, you need extreme motivation and desire.
Paolo and his entire staff demonstrated this throughout the entire five months.
You think I'm choosing the wrong mentor, but I do it precisely for the requirements of this team.
Many say that Abascal achieved nothing, but in six months at Basel he improved almost all indicators.
When he took over the Swiss team in January, it didn't come out on top.
It is not the name of the person that decides, but his motivation.
In my opinion, Guillermo is a promising specialist.
Of course, I would like to see Jurgen Klopp here, but for objective reasons, he will not work at Spartak.
I also immediately dismissed options with coaches who do not rely on intense football, since a slow game is not for us.
I may be wrong, but when I talked with Abaskal, I heard a ready-made person.
We started talking about money only on the third day, at first we discussed only football and the philosophy of the game.
On whether Abascal will leave the club if he fails
“From the first day in Moscow, everyone says that I will leave.
This happened even after winning the Russian Cup.
I already understood: any decision I make is risky.
On the end of Bakaev's contract
“I have excellent human relations with Zelimkhan, but this is not enough to extend the contract.
Here you need a mutual desire, all parameters must converge.
The question turned out to be delayed, at some point, and I postponed it until the Cup final.
In my opinion, the story ended naturally.
It was not a technical or financial issue, but the problem of alchemy with Spartak in general.
It is not quite normal when after each match they ask how many minutes Bakaev played.
Zarema Salikhova had absolutely no influence on this situation.
The only person with whom I spoke on this topic is Vanoli.
The decision has already been made, you may not be happy with it.
Responsible - me.
The situation created around Bakaev did not go well for Spartak.
The same talk about his minutes on the field.
As if you come with a stopwatch and note how much he will play.
Long before my appointment, Zelimkhan became the center of some controversy and problems.
I respect Bakaev, he doesn't deserve what happened.
But there were two camps - for him and against.
There are people who are only interested in Bakaev, conditionally "Reds", as well as those who are not interested in him - "Whites".
I want us all to be red and white.”
On the departure of Yeshchenko from the club
Andrey leaves Spartak.
I offered him an alternative, as I saw that he wanted a new challenge.
We told him about the possibility of working at the academy, but did not come to an agreement.”
About the scandal over the holding of the Russian Super Cup in St. Petersburg
“Last year there was a gap of eight weeks between the Cup final and the Super Bowl, now it's six and a half.
Because of this, we will miss four very important players on the field: Christopher Martins Pereira, Shamar Nicholson, Gus Thiel and Alex Kral.
They have not completed the season yet and are involved in national team matches.
And don't tell me that the last two will leave.
They'll come back first, and then we'll see.
Therefore, I do not see anything strange in the requests of the club.
Will Spartak play in this match?
The question is not for me, but for the owners.”
On the possible departure of foreign players and difficulties in the transfer market
“The situation is very complicated and can create problems not only for Spartak, but for all RPL teams.
We saw it happen in April.
I remember the departure of Ayrton, when we managed to rent him out with the subsequent redemption.
I can tell you for sure that Til and Kral will not go on loan.
Are we considering Anton Zinkovsky to replace Bakaev?
This is a great player, but at the moment there are no negotiations on him.
In the summer transfer window, we all need to be patient and wait.
As for Jordan Larsson, anything can happen in life.
The lease is valid until June 30th.
If an offer comes from AIK, we will study it, if not, he will return to Moscow.”
About signing Rybus
“When I arrived in January, there were a lot of young players in the team.
They have shown themselves very well and progressed.
We can continue to stick to this line and bet on young people, but we need to stabilize the situation.
In the summer I would like to concentrate on experienced performers.
It is necessary to strengthen the team with ready-made players, such as Rybus.
Recently selected the best players in the RPL.
And I put Christian Noboa from Sochi in second place.
If a person at the age of 37 achieves such success, what problems can a 32-year-old Rybus have?
He has a contract for two years, but the agreement may not be limited to this period.
About the sale of Pedro Roshi
“The Brazilian transfer window closes on other dates.
A day before its completion, I received a letter saying that Atlético Paranaense was ready to start negotiations.
But we have not received a specific offer.
A few hours later, the window closed.
After that I spoke with the director of the Brazilian club.
He said there would be no offer from them.
I regret this situation because I spent a lot of time on it.
I have all supporting documents.
Until July 30, Rocha will remain at Atlético, they have the right to buy, but we already understand that they do not want to use it.
On the abolition of "Spartak-2"
“The cost of maintaining a farm club is much higher than the amount mentioned in the press.
It's not just a financial issue, although it would be convenient for them to hide behind.
Any second team, when a football player from the academy comes to it, starts to play better, and then he has a recession, which subsequently has an extremely negative effect on any further actions.
As with Bakaev, this is a combination of factors.
For some, having a farm is useful, but in the case of Spartak, this is not the case.
Not everyone has second teams in the FNL, but the clubs somehow manage to go further and perform successfully.
I understand that it is better for young football players to have practice than vice versa.
The decision to close the project created a lot of problems.
There was a long list of performers on which to make a decision.
If we talk about my personal interests, it would be easier for me to continue working with Spartak-2.
Our situation is not similar to Krasnodar, where almost all legionnaires left.
For them, the second team at this time can be an excellent source of resources.
Moreover, the requirements within the clubs themselves are incomparable.
We can conduct an experiment: send all the Spartak-2 players to the main team and see how it all ends in a season.
I agree, "Spartak-2" has brought its results, but do not exaggerate them.
Even in the case of Mikhail Ignatov.
It cannot be said that it was the farm club that gave us the player.
Before that, he was at the academy.
We have the present Ignatov thanks to him."