Former Russia midfielder and TV pundit Aleksandr Mostovoi, who has a reputation for being outspoken, has been critical of combining club and national team management—but for different reasons. “How have we, in such a big country with such a long football history, come to the point where one trainer has to combine two posts? As well as Slutsky I could name 15-20 people who could work with our national team.” The figures named seem to be exaggerated, but some fans have been surprised that Rostov coach Kurban Berdyev or Aleksandr Borodyuk were not named. Berdyev is best known for a long stint at Rubin Kazan, which included two championship titles and a famous away victory over Barcelona in the Champions League. He is , however, a manager who seems to shun the limelight and works best when molding sides out of teams not considered likely to win. Borodyuk has plenty of experience as a first team coach with the national side and worked wonders to get Torpedo Moscow promoted to the top flight in 2013-14, but does lack the sustained experience at the top level which Slutsky has.
Was Slutsky the right decision, then? I think he was. A Russian-speaking manager familiar with the league was needed, and one in his prime who happens to manage Russia’s most skilful player was available. The combination of club and national team management should not be a stumbling block given it’s short term and the fact that two of the four games, for which he is in charge, are against Liechtenstein and Moldova. Surely Slutsky will already have a team and tactics in mind for the crunch game against Sweden at the start of September.
If things don’t work out, it will be back to the drawing board for the domestic 2018 World Cup —for which there may be more time to get it right than many seem to believe. Oddly, I feel less certain that my first choice to get Russia to Euro 2016—Berdyev—would be a success come 2018…
Saul Pope has been following Russian football for twenty years. Since 2004 he has been a regular contributor to When Saturday Comes magazine, mainly on the economic, political and social aspects of Russian football. He is a fluent Russian speaker who lived and worked in St. Petersburg for several years. A Zenit St. Petersburg fan who first saw them live in 1998, his all-time favourite Zenit players are Aleksandr Panov and Aleksandr Spivak. He once saw Andrey Arshavin in a supermarket, but was too embarrassed to go and ask for an autograph. Follow Saul on Twitter @SaulPope.