Ex-midfielder of the Russian national team Alexander Mostovoy told Sport why he still needs a coaching license why Guillermo Abascal is a no-name and pseudo-coach, and Valery Karpin's success is connected with luck, and is it easy to confuse Portuguese girls with men.
«I'm in the VIP group, you understand»
— How is the training for a coach going?
— It hasn't started yet. I'm in the VIP group because, you know, I've been playing football for 25 years. It can be said that at an advanced age he submitted documents. It's not normal if I studied in a group where people didn't play at all. /strong>
— I didn’t go into details, I take it calmly. There are many examples: in Europe, the guys I played with have licenses, but they don't coach. Yes, and in our country as well — there are not so many teams. Someone is unlucky, someone has no contacts, someone does not get along with someone — in Russia this especially comes to the fore. If you are friends with someone, then they help you, but if not …
— Are you friends with anyone?
I didn't quarrel with anyone — so I will say. The fact is that I know many people in my career very well and I see who can and who can’t.
— After a year of study, do you need a year of practice?
I think she will be in training. There are many examples when a person, as they say, without coaching experience wins the championship, takes some medals. An illustrative example is hockey, Sergei Fedorov, about whom they just didn’t talk about. He was appointed head coach — and CSKA has won the Gagarin Cup for the past two years. The way he played hockey, no one will dream in a dream, but still people managed to criticize. When Guardiola took over as coach, no one really thought he would win anything with Barcelona. There was an enchanting team — one of the best in the history of football. br>
— All together. I have other examples — when people didn't play football, they don't know how to stop the ball at all, not to mention goals, but then somehow they go into the coaching channel and still manage to train the team.
br>— Are you ready to rise from scratch in coaching?
— I am not ready. I am not 35 or 40 years old. I didn’t play football for 25 years and 15 of them in Europe for this. strong
— If you turn up — yes. If someone wants to see Alexander Mostovoy as a coach of some team, I will agree with pleasure.
— RPL?
— At least.
— Have you regretted that you didn’t start getting a coaching license earlier?
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— There was a moment when I regretted it a little, but many do not know all the circumstances of life. I, like many guys, left in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, and I just finished in 2005, can you imagine? I had a family, small children. Nobody gave me a helping hand at that moment.
— Why did it happen?
— Such is the fate. I have always taken it easy. It is clear that I experience it all inside, I keep it, this property is mine — I don’t like to take it out, scream, yell. — You have always said that a coach is a coach, but the players are the fundamental principle. Then why do you need a coaching license?
— I have always asked myself this question too. For example, consider the times long before us. What were the licenses? Let's take the period before Beskov, they didn't have licenses then. Why is this paper needed? In 1960, when ours won the first European Championship, what kind of licenses are there? Yet now it has gone into commerce.
— Will the head of a top club be able to entrust, in fact, a novice coach who has only recently received a license, a team?
— Yes, of course, but what's wrong with that? It's not about the paper. You simply cannot legally work if there is no document. How many years have I finished my career as a football player, and no one takes me to any teams, because there is no paperwork.
— Let's say the players are the fundamental principle, what role does, for example, Sergei Semak play in Zenit with such a line-up? >- There is no such thing in professional football that a coach, the same Semak, could lead any team to the championship. You ask him a question: «Sergey, if you leave Zenit for Ural tomorrow, will you become champions?» Of course, Semak will say no. Put Guardiola in Osasuna now, will he become a champion? No. But there are exceptions. You can win with a good selection of players, with a streamlined process, with excellent fitness assistants who basically conduct training. I saw coaches who didn't know how to hit the ball. In football, everything has been invented for a long time, just somewhere different training, physical activity, so the teams stand out. The goal, the ball and the field remained the same.
«Karpin never wanted to be a coach»
— Let's remember the story with Pisarev, you called him a swindler.
— We have known each other for a long time, believe me, we have never called each other names in our lives. The conflict was invented by journalists. br>
“Of course, trust me, there’s nothing to worry about. And if I now begin to remember what Pisarev said about me? We used to be friends, now we don't talk. Life is like that, I’m like nobody now, in any position, I don’t have a license, as you say. Recently, five people have congratulated me on my birthday, before 150 congratulated me. And tomorrow I will become a coach and win something, 250 will congratulate. And they are the coaching staff of the national team.
— In our country, a lot is built like this: if you are in some position, it means that everyone is already running to you, you are interesting, it seems that you have become better versed in football. This is what kills me the most.
— What is Valery Karpin's coaching strength? br>
— Firstly, let's not forget that I have known Valera for a long time, he never really wanted to become a coach. He wanted to live in Spain, he liked it there, he was not going to return at all. Then everything turned upside down, they invited him to Spartak. What power are we talking about? In «Rostov» now — yes, it's normal, do not forget that the team was in 15th place three years ago. Prior to that, Berdyev was in Rostov, by the way, the most takeoff was with him — they played in European competitions, and won Bayern. I must admit that “Rostov” – well done. Before the start of the championship, few believed that they would be in the top five. Again, do not forget that there are two or three Spaniards in the coaching staff. That's right, because they are experienced. They also have a set of players, yes, let them be young, inexperienced, but they strive to show themselves. ?
— I have my own vision, I don’t think that it differs much from the opinions of others. There is no such coach to come to every team and become a champion. It worked out — great, it didn't work out — he left for another team.
— Why are you unkind to Guillermo Abascal?
— For me, this is not a coach, but just a person who is in football been somewhere and doing something. «Spartacus» is, one might say …
— The property of the country.- Well, of course! I remember Beskov, then Romantsev — people who went through this football life from A to Z. A club with such traditions, there were so many outstanding players, so many victories, and suddenly they take a name, he is more than 30 years old, he did not play football. It’s bad for us that some analysts, cooks and accountants are taken to football.
— Yes, he does not put anything. The training process is the same everywhere. What to put there, they play and play. Is it true that in Portugal you had a fictitious marriage with a local girl?
— They give you a passport here (in Russia), so I submitted the documents. Yes, we were friends with a girl there alone, well, we decided to formalize an ordinary marriage. Just submitted documents to the registry office, signed.
— Just a friend? Where did you find it?
We are young, I was 21 at the time. Where did you find it? In Portugal, it was not easy to find a girl — there, in those days, sometimes you can look at a man. As for the beauty of the girls, the trouble was a disaster. Nightmare. Well, somewhere we managed to find, it turned out for us.
— It was your friend …
— Of course, with whom I am Was in a relationship for a while. And what else, I'm 21 years old, I had to be in a relationship with someone. Then they just told me that you can get married and get a passport.
— Did she immediately agree?
Well, she wouldn't agree with me. Wow. At that time I was young, handsome, fit, and there was some money at that time. So everything is fine.
—But you were not going to build a life, a family with this person?
— Well, who was going then? Now you will take a person from us — he married five times, divorced the same number. Then they brag — this is surprising. They sit, tell that they love each other, then get divorced a year later. You look, and in two months already with another. Well, how? If you live with someone, well, get a divorce calmly, don't advertise, don't talk, it still hurts, but if you didn't love, that's another question. strong>— It's just that there was information on the Web that you supposedly hadn't even seen this girl?
— Oh, well, some kind of stupidity. How did you not see it?
— How long have you been in this marriage?
— Officially a bit long.
—A year, two, three?
I don't remember, it's been so long. We were just from the Soviet Union and faced various difficulties. For two and a half years I endured and suffered in Lisbon in terms of sports — they will let me play or not, in France everything changed immediately. you met a new wife. Tell us how you met?
— In some club, maybe, or somewhere else.
— The players have the same not much time.
-Come on. It doesn't seem like much. Football players find this time very easily, believe me. When you have everything: honor, money, fame, and a good car, it works in any city and in any country, especially when you are 24-25 years old and you still have abs and muscles. We met and started living together.
— Right away?
Yes, it happened right away. It happens. Then Sasha was born in Strasbourg, and at that moment we left for Spain. For the first two or three months they suffered, because they lived in a hotel, their son was small, they were looking for a suitable place where to settle, then they found a good house and moved there. Of course, the difficulties were enormous, I did not expect that everything would be so sad in Spain. strong>
— There are almost cows walking on the training fields. We finish the workout and rush to wash ourselves, because there was a boiler in the shower, where the water ended. I was just shocked after France. In Spartak I had my own room at the base in Tarasovka with a TV.
— French wife. French. Were there barriers in the interaction?
— I quickly mastered the language. The team was all mostly French. Like it or not, but you start talking, you grasp. This period was easy for me. There is the language of football, and then the language of love, probably.
— Did you get married right away?
— No, we did nothing officially. They began to live in Spain, then Emma was born. I have my own opinion about this.
— What?
— I have never had such that I have to run to the registry office for sure, I have seen enough in everyone's life. They sit kissing, hugging, they say, I love you, and then you look, in a day he is with another. I don't mind it, but then you don't have to get married. If you have legalized the relationship, be kind neither to the left nor to the right.
— You had a rather long period of relationship — seven years.
— We were all right. It's just a problem, like everyone else. Show me a football player or hockey player who during his career from 20 to 30 years old lived with one — you can count on the fingers. Moreover, life is such now that both girls and boys can be understood, there are many temptations and beauty.
— By the way, are Portuguese girls different from French ones?— Of course, there is nothing to compare there at all. What Portuguese!? Sometimes it was possible to confuse a girl with a man. You won't understand there. True, it was a long time ago, but still a shock. France is much more beautiful. But I have always said that Russia is the most beautiful. There was a lot of controversy on this topic in Spain. The Argentines have always offended us, they said that they have the most beautiful ones, they showed us photos, and I say: «You will come to Moscow and see what it is. You can have one for a hundred, but we have ninety out of a hundred.»
— Hard to say. It seems to me that when you love, everything is erased. When everything is good, you don't seem to pay attention to anything. You play football, children grow up, you have money, a car, a house, fame. Everything seems to adjust, but as soon as something starts to go wrong, you suddenly become the wrong one. I always blame two people for quarrels.
— On what note did they part, what was the reason?
— It happened, I don’t want to talk about it speak. A lot of time has passed.
—Have you let go of this situation already?
— No, well, how will you let her go, you will never let her go, we have children. I don’t understand, maybe I’m a different person, but it has always been strange for me when, after parting, they say, they say, we don’t see each other at all, we don’t communicate, or, on the contrary, we are so friends. I think how are you friends? He lives with another, she lives with another, and are you friends? I haven't experienced this so it's hard for me to explain. If I see my girlfriend the next day with someone else, not to mention my wife, I will be shocked. But many are different, we are all different.
— After the divorce, did you communicate? >— Yes, of course, I lived in Spain for many years. Everything is fine.
— Someone disagrees with scandals.
— Everything is like everyone else. Let's not talk about this topic. I'm no longer 35 years old, I need to think about the future.
«Nothing is modest»
— Maybe you can tell us what children do? The son played football, as far as is known.
Yes, Sasha did. Here and my fault is that he finished. When you live in another country, everything is superimposed, of course, hard. You look at the parents, they don't take their children anywhere. This period was different for me. I had to do it, but, unfortunately, I could not because I returned to Russia. Sasha was engaged and could play calmly, but then he decided to finish.
— What is Alexander doing now?
— Lives in Spain. He has a wife.
— And professionally?
— It's not interesting. The main thing is that he lives, everything is fine with health.
— Does Emma also already have a family?
— She is in a relationship with a guy, by the way, he is with Russian roots. More often they live in Barcelona, because he has a business there, a job.
— Thanks to the phone, video calls, yes.
— When did you see each other?
— The last time was four years, probably ago .
— Have they ever come to Russia?
— Never.
— There was information about your restaurant business on the web, is it still operating?
— Yes, he was.
— Is he gone now?
— There seems to be something left.
—Abroad or in Russia?
—Here in Russia, in Moscow.
br>— Why did you decide to go into the restaurant business?
“I didn’t decide to do it, it’s just that people always want to use those who have a lot of money. Offered — and invested.
— Successful?
— In the 2000s it was very successful, now, of course, not so.< — But remains afloat?
— Remains, but not like before. Was I ready for this? 50 percent did not expect that everything would be like this, who could have known that a pandemic or something else would begin.
— Yes, it did.
— Are you directing this process yourself?
— No, of course not. This is what people do, you don't want to worry about it, if you wind yourself up all the time, you can go crazy. I have a difficult character, athletic, fighting, tough. I always say what I think, I never hide behind someone's back. Although I am shy in life. » Really?
— Well, yes, I have always been like that.
— Wouldn't you say that?
— It's like that now, because the time is different, and I began to change. Blogging has appeared and so on, it is not clear who becomes popular, earns. Someone has five classes of education, and he is popular. I’m jokingly saying, maybe I’ll run naked along Tverskaya and there will also be subscribers. A few years ago, before the pandemic, I only connected to Instagram* (the social network is banned in Russia as an extremist one).
— You run a Telegram channel.
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— Well, I'm not running with the phone. Sometimes you think, maybe it’s true to become some kind of boor, to behave differently. But I have always been negative about this and am. I don't like to run out like that, yell, scream. Why?
—But nevertheless you openly talk about football.
About football, of course. What else can I talk about? Many begin to criticize when I say that, for example, I see how someone played badly. I understand football, probably much better than others. Many people don't like it. They scored three goals in their career and they go around saying that they won the Champions League five times. Modesty has always seemed to adorn, but then you realize that it’s not a damn thing. br>
— When he was young, yes, but he was always successful. Probably, that's why he took advantage of the fact that there were no such temptations before: everything is modest, civilized and polite.
— After completing your career in the mid-2000s, you were associated with the Rublev lifestyle. How long did this period last?
— Not long. When I returned after all this European life in 2012, I wanted something new, plus my age allowed me and I had money. But he was always indifferent to alcohol, he first tried beer in France at the age of 25. It's just that these were the golden times of Moscow: clubs, discos, restaurants. Such a period was about five years, I visited everything I could.
— What was Rublyovka before?
— I just lived in New Riga, and my whole life was in full swing in Moscow. French wife marriage was no more?
— One time no. Just in these golden times. What, you couldn't have a relationship there. Now I can say that yes, I'm in a relationship.
— But without official marriage?
— Again, I'm not a supporter of this And even more so now, when I am no longer 40 years old. Well, there will be a stamp in the passport, and what will it give? >— Yes, already about 2.5 years somewhere.
— Have you found your man?
— Well, who knows. I haven't gotten bored yet. I seem to fit in and like me, but the moment may come when I don’t like it.
* The activities of Meta* (social networks Facebook* and Instagram*) are banned in Russia as extremist.
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