«Why does a coach become someone who has never played football?» — the words of Alexander Mostovoy. So the former midfielder of the Russian national team was surprised when he was asked about the appointment of Guillermo Abascal to the post of head coach of Spartak Moscow. However, the example of the Spanish specialist is far from the only one in the Russian Premier League.
They didn't play at the highest level
Guillermo Abascal, Spartak
<
Peak of playing career: Danone Nations Cup — 2002
He ended his professional career at the age of 18, as there were no great successes, and Abascal did not find an incentive to train. The Spaniard considers the Danone Nations Cup tournament his main achievement on the field. There he scored seven goals in two matches. It was then that they became interested in the Barcelona academy, but the striker failed to win the competition. But now his «Spartak» shows bright and productive football. br>
Sergey Tashuev, «Akhmat»
Peak of playing career: Rinat Dasaev goal
At the age of 23, Tashuev left professional football and went to work as a rural teacher, so as not to thunder into the army. Then there was no point in catching up with the locomotive and returning to serious training. Tashuev decided to become a coach.
However, he still has a few vivid memories from his playing career. For example, a goal against Rinat Dasaev. Albeit in the semi-final of the USSR Youth Cup, which took place even before the goalkeeper moved to Spartak from Volgar Astrakhan.
strong>Alexander Storozhuk, Krasnodar
The peak of his playing career: reaching the 1/32 finals of the Russian Cup with Krasnodar-2000.
Storozhuk spent his entire career as a defender and midfielder in the clubs of the First and Second Leagues. He even played for amateurs from the village of Afipsky, in the Krasnodar Territory. It was there that he first became a coach in 2015.
Igor Osinkin, «Wings of the Soviets»
Peak of playing career: challenge to the youth national team of the RSFSR
And the army affected Osinkin's football path. He served and trained hard for two years, as he wanted to return to Spartak from Ordzhonikidze. However, already before the demobilization, the attacker was injured and could not heal it. Osinkin played for a few more years in the clubs of the lower leagues, but did not achieve great success. » />
Mikhail Galaktionov, «Nizhny Novgorod»
Peak of playing career: call-up to the youth national team of Russia
Galaktionov's career as a player was hampered by health problems. The future coach graduated from the Dynamo Academy. He was called up to the youth teams of Russia, but at the age of 22 he came to the conclusion that he could not reach a higher level due to injuries. I decided to go into education and did not lose.
Peak of playing career: winner of the Czech Cup in the «Slavia», a goal against the «Rangers» in the UEFA Cup
Without playing in the Prague «Slavia», Lichka for a decade traveled to the middle clubs of the Czech Republic. He also traveled to Poland and got acquainted with the lower leagues of Spain and France. In this greyness stands out the match for «Victoria» from Zizkov in the first round of the play-offs of the UEFA Cup — 2002/03 against the «Rangers».
Lichka came on as a substitute in extra time and scored at 0-3, knocking out a powerful team with Shota Arveladze, Stefan Klos and Ronald de Boer from the tournament. In the following games, the midfielder started in the first team, but «Victoria» lost to «Betis» (0:3, 0:1).
Andrey Fedorov, Lokomotiv
Who knows how Fedorov's career in Russia would have developed if in 1996 the transition to CSKA had not been thwarted by a long disqualification for hitting a judge. Then Alexander Tarkhanov had an interesting team, in which legionnaires quickly became leaders.
In Rubin, Fedorov won the gold of the Russian championship in 2008, but played only one match. The biggest victory, to which the defender directly put his feet, is the championship of Uzbekistan at the Asian Games. Along the way, the team beat Saudi Arabia and South Korea, and Fedorov was an important part of the team. .jpg» />
Alexander Tochilin, Sochi
The peak of his playing career: he became the author of the best goal of the Russian Championship — 2005
Not a person, but a living history of the Moscow «Dynamo» of the newest era. He made his debut under Konstantin Beskov, worked with Valery Gazzaev, Viktor Prokopenko, Oleg Romantsev, Georgy Yartsev and Yuri Semin. Caught Andrei Kobelev as a football player and coach.
I saw how Dynamo became Portuguese, how the next generation of Dynamo players began their careers — the Kombarov brothers, Fedor Smolov, Anton Shunin and Alexander Kokorin. A useful all-rounder that rarely scored, but so beautifully!
strong>Andrey Talalaev, “Torpedo”
Peak of playing career: UEFA Cup — 1992/93, victory in the Cup of Russia — 1993
The skilled striker played in his native Torpedo at the age of 19, and at 20 he became a main team player and showed himself excellently in European competitions. First, the Muscovites knocked out Manchester United from the UEFA Cup — Talalaev was noticeable in both meetings, and then gave the fight to Real Madrid (2:5, 3:2). The future coach scored at the beginning of the second game and immediately missed a good moment.
How the Spaniards would have behaved in the cold November weather, losing in the long run, one can only guess. Due to injuries, Talalaev could not fully realize his talent. But in his career there was even a season abroad. He spent it at Italian Serie B club Treviso.
Viktor Gancharenko, Ural<
Peak of playing career: champion of Belarus in 1999 and 2002
Due to a knee injury, Gancharenko stopped playing in the fall of 2002, when he was only 25 years old. He says that his manner of using tackles is to blame. The defender survived five operations, returned several times, but after another relapse he realized that it was time to finish.
Gancharenko got acquainted with Russian football in the summer of 1999, when BATE in the UEFA Cup played with Moscow Lokomotiv. After the defeat in Borisov with a score of 1:7, the second match for the Belarusian team was already a formality.
Dmitry Pyatibratov, » Torch
The peak of his playing career: the seasons of 2004 and 2005 in Amkar
During his career, the defender changed 12 teams, but in total spent in top division only about 50 matches — for «Alania» and «Amkar». The most important team victories in those years — over Zenit and Spartak — I saw from the bench.
Pyatibratov scored a memorable goal against Dynamo Moscow from the penalty spot. «Amkar» won, and the defender outplayed one of the best penalty shooters Roman Berezovsky. jpg» />
Spartak Gogniev, Khimki
Peak of playing career : champion of Russia — 2003, winner of the Cup of Russia — 2001/02
A sharp and explosive striker who found the ball in the penalty area and played well with his head, which has always been a rarity for Russian forwards. Spartak made himself known in the very first matches for Dynamo, scoring a goal in the seventh minute of his debut game. Perhaps, it was then, in the summer of 2000, that he showed the brightest football in his career. What is worth at least a goal to Filimonov with a kick with scissors through himself! » webkitallowfullscreen=»webkitAllowFullScreen» mozallowfullscreen=»mozallowfullscreen» allowfullscreen=»allowFullScreen» frameborder=»0″>
Then there was a transition to CSKA, where there were titles, but very little playing time. Then went «Alania», «Saturn», «Rostov», First League. Emotional antics of the current head coach of “Khimki” has always been different. What is the episode in 2011, when it was attacked by Grozny police officers after unethical behavior on the field. .jpg» />
Vladimir Fedotov, CSKA
Peak of playing career: Intertoto Cup semi-final — 1996, first 10 rounds of the Russian championship — 2001
«He's tenacious like a dog, if he grabs him, he won't let go.» This is what former partners in Uralmash and Sokol spoke about Fedotov, in which the graduate of Sverdlovsk football spent his best years. With the Ural team, he reached the semi-finals of the Intertoto Cup, where the away goal rule prevented the Danish Silkeborg from winning. And «Sokol» in the spring of 2001 even led the Premier League, which was not previously possible for novice teams.
Fedotov's favorite childhood club is Spartak Moscow, so one of the most memorable matches «red-white» with Fyodor Cherenkov in Yekaterinburg in 1993. True, he also remembered the score. Muscovites won — 8:2. Fedotov has accumulated under 200 games at the highest level. An excellent result for a man who began to play football seriously only at the age of 15.
Stars
Slavisa Jokanovic, Dynamo
Peak of playing career: 2000 Spanish Champion with Deportivo, 1998 World Cup
Slavisa — not the most famous graduate of the Yugoslav football school of the late 80s — early 90s. However, he, like Predrag Mijatović, Darko Panchev, Zvonimir Boban or Dejan Savičević, had something to say after the end of his playing career.
He made 64 caps for the Yugoslav/Serbian national team, played in the World and European Championships, and in 2000 the tall midfielder became an important part of Deportivo's sensational and only Liga title. He also played against the Russian national team and even scored. In 1997, in a friendly match in St. Petersburg, Jokanovic's goal brought the victory to the Yugoslavs. » />
Sergey Semak, «Zenith»
The peak of his playing career: Euro 2008 bronze, a hat-trick against PSG in 2005
Semak became a legend of all the clubs for which he played in Russia. With CSKA, Rubin and Zenit, he won the national championship and beat the giants in European competition, with Moscow he reached the final of the Russian Cup and almost got to the medals.
The future mentor of Zenit could go to any position and score from any position, was a captain and leader, chief adviser to coaches and an example for young people. And he was also bought by the French «PSG», against which Semak played, perhaps, the best match in his career.
Valery Karpin , «Rostov»
Peak of playing career: Goal against world champions at the Stade de France in 1999
Karpin seems to have stayed in the shadows for most of his career for more talented and bright players. In Spartak, these were Alexander Mostovoy, Igor Shalimov and Dmitry Radchenko, in the Russian team they were added by Ilya Tsymbalar, Oleg Salenko, Andrey Kanchelskis and Igor Kolyvanov. In the “Celta” — Bridge, Chaim Revivo, Luboslav Penev or Gustavo Lopez, in the “Sociedad” — the Turks Nihat and the Serbian Darko Kovacevic. none of the above can. He had everything. Titles and high-profile victories, beautiful and very important goals against the strongest teams in the world, the love of fans and the respect of rivals. There are only a few such in the post-Soviet history of Russian football.