The coach fails at Rubin, but you shouldn’t poison him. There is simply no alternative in Russia.
If any symbol of complete failure was needed Leonid Slutsky in Ruby, then the match with CSKA is perfect. 0:4 by the 26th minute, two stupid red cards, 1:6 in the end and the sixth defeat in the last seven matches … And if we add that Slutsky was defeated by his former players, assistants, friends and students, the Berezutsky brothers, then the position of a cheerful RPL coach is portrayed as a nightmare.
It is so easy to throw dirt at Slutsky today that no one will stand up for him. Let’s try:
1. He acted in videos, went to shows and sang songs instead of working.
2. Matter as a judge instead of working.
3. Lived on past successes instead of working.
Such conclusions are indeed very easy to draw. Especially when you consider that after leaving CSKA, coach Slutsky achieved absolutely nothing. “Hull”, “Vitesse”, “Rubin” – everywhere unconvincing results and unjustified expectations.
Moreover, Slutsky did not achieve results in Rubin, but he got a lot. Did he need a unique player for the RPL? There is one, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Was the main talent of the generation needed at that time for many millions? Here he is, Vanya Ignatiev. Need a strong Russian youth? Yes, they took a whole scattering of gold talents. Do you need the best specialists in various fields – from medicine to scouting? Pick it yourself – there will be money.
Well, what happened in the end? Khvicha passed, Ignatiev deteriorated, and the project of the new Rubin, with an eye on the progress of youth, fell apart. And whose fault is it, if not the coach, for 2.5 years of work of which the team only degraded? A coach whose most striking actions are speaking on camera and attacking judges?
Yes, we all have the right to poison Slutsky, but first we need to cut a few logical things on our noses.
1. The construction project of the new “Rubin” was designed for several years, and Slutsky quite clearly followed the plan, not requiring the purchase of super-expensive foreigners or age, but skilled Russians. Yes, in this case it would be easier to achieve a momentary result, but the whole mechanism would break down.
2. Slutsky’s trips to Sobchak, his shooting for club videos, jokes and songs – just what all RPL coaches should do, otherwise our league will simply die in obscurity, even in the domestic market. After all, it makes no sense to look at how 22 people are pushing and floundering rather averagely, keeping the score 0:0.
3. Slutsky is a multiple champion of Russia with European experience. And if today Rubin loses with a score of 1:6, then this is not necessarily a degradation of the coach, but also a natural result when your legionnaires leave, leaving an inexperienced team face to face with CSKA, which not only retained the team, but also held arguably the best transfer campaign in history.
And all these details must be taken into account. Although, however, no. There is nothing to take into account here. Slutsky should definitely work, because if not him, then who will remain in our RPL at all ?!