Stanislav Cherchesov was on Russia 2 TV’s “Futbol Rossii: Before Gameweek 22” show hosted by Vladimir Stognienko on Friday August 26. The official website of Stanislav Cherchesov exclusively offers the full transcript of the show.
- PRESENTER: Our guest today is the famous coach Stanislav Cherchesov who very recently was coaching now defunct Zhemchuzhina-Sochi. Stanislav Salamovich, we are very happy to see you! Before we start on a more detailed discussion, my first question is – do you not regret that you took on a First League club?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: No.
- PRESENTER: Was there something new for you?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Yes, naturally. That is a new league, with more teams, longer flights and coupled gameweeks. It is quite special and something you have to get used to. I have managed well on it.
- PRESENTER: Did you get used to it quickly?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Yes, rather quickly.
- PRESENTER: Will you consider any offers from the First League clubs now?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Well, the League does indeed matter, but the key factor is about objectives that the team has. It is not sufficient for me to occupy the coaching position. I need the team to have certain goals and ambitions.
- PRESENTER: Well, Anzhi Makhachkala has very serious ambitions backed up by serious deeds. Samuel Eto’o is already training with Anzhi. Stanislav Salamovich, what do you think about the recent transfer of Cameroon player to Anzhi? Of course, it is a great promotion, but when such a megastar with his mega-salary joins a team, he might expect to have certain privileges.
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Yes, I can agree with that, but everything will depend on how Eto’o himself approaches his transfer to the Russian League and Anzhi. If his self-motivation is high, then that would definitely be a great advantage to both the Russian Premier League spectators, and Anzhi Makhachkala.
- PRESENTER: Have you ever worked with a team where one of the players enjoyed certain privileges or was more important than others?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Well, there are one, two or more players who enjoy certain privileges in every team. This might apply to salaries, bonuses and so on. But if our workout is set for 10 in the morning, then it is starting at 10 for both reserve players and mega stars. When the workout begins you are expected to be fully devoted and it does not matter if you are a beginner or mega star. I never gave an easy time to anybody in this respect, although I would like to stress that different situations can occur.
- PRESENTER: How long do you think it will take Eto’o to get used to the Russian championship?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: That won’t take long. He can also get assistance from Roberto Carlos, who is already well familiar with the Russian realities. And again, it strongly depends on the level of motivation the newcomer has.
- PRESENTER: Well, there is a chance that Eto’o can make his first appearance in the coming game against Rostov. What is for sure is that the derby fixture Spartak Moscow vs CSKA is played this weekend and Valery Karpin will have to lead his team on field after a painful defeat against Legia. This might not be the greatest pleasure for all to remember, but I am afraid that Futbol Rossii cannot ignore an event like this. Stanislav Salamovich, I understand that you used to work with Spartak Moscow and will behave correctly, but let me ask another question – is there anything that you liked about Spartak’s performance in yesterday’s game against Legia? And what exactly, if so?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Well, to begin with, one has to behave correctly at any time, no matter what team you worked with. As for Spartak, I liked the opening minutes when the team took the reins in their hands – which is something they failed at in Poland, where Legia was pressing hard from the kick off. Spartak scored an early goal but then something happened. In general, I must say that you can see gaps in their performance even within any individual game.
- PRESENTER: Were there serious gaps in defense in the game yesterday?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: The defense is made of at least two components – individual qualities of defending players, particularly defenders and midfielders, and team defense actions. Spartak oftentimes do not display neither of these two and the game yesterday was no exception. The goals in Poland were scored from just five meters and this time they performed awkward again. It should be noted in this respect that European club competitions have absolutely different physical, psychological and other requirements.
- PRESENTER: But defeat to Legia is a little too much. This team is not like Internazzionale Milan or Porto, as it was last year.
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Each team which appears in such competitions has several players that never lose the ball themselves and you have to fight to take it away. And their crosses never go to nowhere so you have to block free zones. Legia also have such players and they performed firm of purpose both in Poland and yesterday in Moscow. What we saw was a kind of vertical performance when they tried to find the shortest way to the goal immediately after they got possession. The football philosophy is about scoring when you have possession. Their tactics were quite simple – getting the ball to Ljuboja and make themselves available in free zones. And these tactics worked.
- PRESENTER: So it was simple and effective and too complicated for Spartak.
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: This is how it was in these two games for reasons that I do not know about. It is just too much seeing five such goals scored.
- PRESENTER: Let us see what Spartak coach said after the game.
FOOTAGE WITH VLADIMIR KARPIN
- PRESENTER: If the team performs well for thirty minutes and then quits, the coach perhaps should have an idea why this happens? I mean shall this question be addressed to the coach?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: You know, this question is not easy to answer. The coach naturally determines the lineup, the tactics, substitutions and has a feeling of the game. I personally had games which required the coach to interfere. Sometimes you interfere and it works and sometimes it is not quite as you want it. But in any case, the coach is responsible for what happens on the pitch.
- PRESENTER: If your team lets through five goals in two games, would you have claims to your own self?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: You have put it correctly – I would have claims to myself. And I would have requirements to players that are dictated by their profession – football.
- PRESENTER: What do you think about Spartak’s newcomers?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: It is too little time. Of course, if they are with the club like Spartak Moscow, they have a certain potential. Another thing is that few can join a new team with immediate results. As far as I can remember only Welliton and McGeady got quickly accustomed over the recent years. MaybeAlexaswell. Butmostnewcomersneedtime. I noticed yesterday night that de Zeeuw came vaguely into the game and was probably disappointed that he was not on the starting lineup. But in general if a person played for Ajax he necessarily has some potential. We shall just wait a bit and not expect miracles immediately.
- PRESENTER: What will be happen to Spartak next? Dynamo Moscow have appointed Silkin as their coach. Spartak have Sergey Rodionov, who works with the football academy. Maybe it’s time to look for internal resources?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Well, I can only tell what I saw during the game yesterday. It s very hard for me to judge who shall take which decisions.
- PRESENTER: Thus, we conclude our conversation about the team which Stanislav Salamovich has had direct relation to, but are switching to another team that Stanislav Cherchesov is well familiar with. Our next topic is Alania Vladikavkaz, which appeared against Besiktas Istanbul. The game was delayed and we can now watch the goals. Alania was close to a miracle that night. Perhaps miracle is not exactly the right word because Besiktas is not a megaclub of any kind, but still Alania nearly recovered from 0-3 defeat in Istanbul and scored twice. And if it was not for brilliant saves from Besiktas goalkeeper Rustu, the third could also have come. I personally believe that Alania was not quite lucky to win. Because the team enjoyed dominance and could have scored more.
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Yes, I do agree. But the 0-3 goal difference was too big. Another thing is that Besiktas did not quite deserve a 3-0 win at home. But you can see that the third goal which was not crucial in that particular game has decided who gets through. In any case, Alania deserves any respect for fighting until the end. These two games were a great experience for young players and the young coach.
- PRESENTER: What do you personally think – who is behind everything in Alania – Vladimir Gazzaev or Valery Gazzaev?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: This question is hard to answer. Vladimir Gazzaev is Alania coach and Valery Georgievich helps him where necessary. I think that this is normal.
FOOTAGE OF ALANIA GAME
- PRESENTER: I think that the coach is happy about the game despite the results.
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Quite unfortunately, I did not watch the game. It was delayed and I had a certain time schedule for the day. But if Alania indeed performed a fine football as the coach says, then moral satisfaction is indeed achieved and this can be felt in the interview. I would like to emphasize again that not a single mistake can be committed at that level. The mistakes that we see were committed by Spartak Moscow and Rubin Kazan are not forgiven. You can be beaten by a stronger team, but if you do everything for the opponent to get closer to victory, then your mistakes will not be forgiven.
- PRESENTER: Let us take a look at what Rubin Kazan did to win or let Lyon win. The footage from Rubin Kazan vs Lyon game. Rubin players were hoping to recover from a 1-3 away defeat. Just as in the case with Alania vs Besiktas, it looked for a moment that there is a chance. Stanislav Salamovich, do you think that Rubin is off merely at the expense of their own mistakes?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Rubin is normally not easy to let goals through, but they went down to three unnecessary goals in Lyon. Olympique Lyon is a rather strong team and I would say that Rubin did everything possible at home to qualify to the next round, but did not manage at that.
- PRESENTER: Do you think they have lineup problems? Perhaps it might have been a good idea to strengthen their lineup in advance?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: The thing is that you cannot strengthen your lineup all the time. They purchased Carlos, who is injured. Then Navos had to sit out, Kuzmin is injured, Ansaldi… Some other factors are important as well. Rubin was trying to improve the situation by means of existing resources and players who were not injured, but it did not work. And then Valdez did not appear on the field. Based on my observations from Bundesliga, he is a very good and skillful player.
FOOTAGE WITH KURBAN BERDIYEV INTERVIEW
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: I must also add that Lyon goalkeeper made several important saves and added further confidence to his partners.
- PRESENTER: Stanislav Salamovich, what do you think about the draw results? Whohasthetoughestopponents?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Thedrawhasturnedoutquiteinteresting. Internazzionale is the team that we all know well and then we are in the same group with French champions again. In another group we can see that there are UEFA cup winners of the last few years all gathered together. Shakhtar vs Zenit pair is particularly interesting. Rubin won against Dynamo Kiev last year. So we will see what is going to happen this time. These are interesting groups in any case.
- PRESENTER: Now let’s take a look at the Europe League draw results… You must have numerously played against Sturm Graz?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Yes, indeed. They are now somewhat inferior to the team that won Austrian Bundesliga for several years. But it is a young, ambitious and competitive team. Still I think Sturm might be the group’s outsider.
- INTERVIEW WITH GERSHKOVICH
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: When it comes to team staffing, we all know that players do not come to team by themselves. They are watched over, screened and acquired. And team staffing shall correspond to the team’s mission and objectives. In Spartak Moscow, many players come and go, the lineup changes every year but there is little result so far.
- PRESENTER: Stanislav Salamovich, Spartak suffered a very painful defeat. CSKA defeated Tomsk confidently last week, but do not look as steady as they were before the summer break. Who do you think have greater chances to win?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: I think it is impossible to name the winner in such fixtures in advance, but you have correctly noticed that CSKA may have certain advantages in terms of psychological and physical preparedness, because Spartak had to play several games in a row. That would be a test for Spartak’s firmness and ability to get over defeat and rehabilitate. I am going to attend the game and I wish every luck to Spartak.
- PRESENTER: Why do you think CSKA have been losing points the last few months and were beaten by Zenit?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: That was a game of equal opponents, but certain details prevailed. Spalletti chose the right tactics and CSKA failed to get advantage of Dumbia and Vagner Love, who were blocked by central defenders. And I really liked Krisito that game. He was solid in defense and contributed well to attacks. Zenit used those chances they had and won.
FOOTAGE ON TOM TOMSK
- PRESENTER: Stanislav Salamovich, you had similar problems in Zhemchuzhina. For how long was your optimism lasting when these problems began?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: Your optimism as a coach depends on how players perform. My players performed very well and this helped me in my work. If players perform poorly you can get no satisfaction and your optimism leaves you no matter if you have the money or not. Valery Nepomnaschiy is in a tough situation and it is no occasion that he is suffering from health problems at the moment. I would say that the current trend is quite unpleasant. Professional football clubs shall be checked thoroughly at the stage of application for participation in the league championship. Their annual budgets shall be audited to prevent further problems for players, coaches and the League. What kind of championship is that going to be if several teams withdraw at once?
- PRESENTER: If it were not for financial problems in Zhemchuzhina, are you sure you would be striving for promotion?
- STANISLAV CHERCHESOV: We have proved in the opening game weeks that we are going to promote. But when problems arise, it affects your performance sooner or later. And this does not motivate players at all. You cannot guarantee anything in football and we could see yesterday how a team with a better budget and lineup was beaten by Legia. But we were doing our best and I am confident that we would be striving for promotion. We strongly wished to be number one and were proving our abilities. But to get where we wanted we also needed an appropriate infrastructure that we lacked. And of course, the financial problems which are still lasting also had their impact. We signed the papers that outstanding balance would be repaid by October 31. I hope that this is how it is going to be.
PRESENTER: Our guest today was Stanislav Cherchesov. Stanislav Salamovich, thank you very much for sharing your time in the studio and best of luck!
