Berdyev had a conflict with the main sponsor in Rostov. Due to Berdyev’s meeting with the governor of the Don region in Kazan, a meeting of the board of trustees of FC Rubin was postponed. Berdyev’s departure is the end of an era.

Football club "Rostov" officially announced the resignation of the head coach Kurbana Berdyeva. The coach said goodbye to the team and announced his retirement.

Rostovites were left without a Shaman

As you know, rumors about the imminent dismissal of Kurban Berdyev from the post of head coach of the Rostov club have been circulating for a very long time. And every time they were refuted. Kurban Berdyev is an iconic figure for Rostov. He came to the club relatively recently - in December 2014 and was its head coach for less than two years. But this period of time can well be called the “era of Berdyev.” After all, all the club’s recent victories are associated with this person.

Already in the 2014/2015 season, he saved Rostov from relegation from the Premier League, and then, under his leadership, the team won silver medals in the championship and a ticket to the third qualifying round of the Champions League. This has never happened before in the history of Rostov. For this, football players and fans are grateful to Kurban Berdyev. In Rostov, Berdyev was called respectfully - shaman. After all, what he was able to do with the team cannot be called anything other than a miracle. Just recently, the players and coach were enthusiastically greeted at the airport - and now the Rostovites learned such sad news.

Won everything possible

Let us remind you that a native of sunny Turkmenistan, 63-year-old Kurban Bekievich Berdyev, is one of the most experienced and most qualified football coaches throughout the post-Soviet space. He is compared to Alex Ferguson, former head coach of Manchester United for 27 years. This is not an exaggeration. Just look at the results of the coaching work of Kurban Bekievich. And not only for the Rostov club, which Berdyev was able to truly raise in less than two years. Twelve years before Rostov - from 2001 to 2013. — Kurban Berdyev was the head coach of the Kazan team “Rubin”. Already in 2003, Rubin took a place in the Russian Football Premier League, becoming one of the strongest teams in the country. And this is the direct merit of his head coach.

— He won everything possible in the country - the Russian Championship twice, the National Cup and the Super Cup, and was a prize-winner several times. Which coach in Russia has better results than Berdyev over the last 10 years..., asks a famous coach and football player Mikhail Gershkovich, Chairman of the Board of the regional public organization “Association of Domestic Football Coaches”, in an interview with the R-Sport agency.

What made Berdyev leave?

Until the last moment, Rostovites had hope that Kurban Bekievich would still remain the head coach of Rostov. However, as it turns out, he is now truly leaving. More recently, the governor of the Rostov region Vasily Golubev reported that Berdyev will remain in Rostov for two more seasons. But after a recent meeting with the governor, it became known that Berdyev will leave Rostov regardless of the result return match 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League. It is possible that the reason for Berdyev’s decision to leave was disagreements regarding the club’s personnel and infrastructure policies.

Thus, the ticket policy raised many questions. Rostovites began to complain that it was very difficult to purchase tickets for the matches of their favorite team. In addition, they have become much more expensive. As a result, there were only six thousand people in the stands of the stadium during the match with Orenburg. This is one of worst results.

In July, information appeared that one of the reasons for Berdyev’s possible resignation could be his disagreements with a famous entrepreneur Ivan Savvidi- the main sponsor of the team, as well as the club’s debts, the departure of a number of important players. The coach was reportedly unhappy that the regional authorities and the club's sponsors were not fulfilling their obligations. However, a day later it was reported that Governor Vasily Golubev, presenting regional awards to the coach and football players, promised Kurban Berdyev his support and assistance. But, judging by Berdyev’s departure from the post of the team’s main coach, the coach and the authorities never came to an understanding.

Is Spartak or the National Team waiting for the ex-Rostov coach?

According to some reports, after leaving Rostov, Kurban Berdyev may become the head coach of Spartak. Let us remind you that Main coach"Spartak" Dmitry Alenichev left his post after the team lost to Cypriot AEK. It is possible that they will leave Rostov together with Berdyev Azmun And Bastos- team players. In addition, it is known that successful professional Kurban Berdyev is one of the very real candidates for the position of head coach of the Russian national football team.

Kurban Berdyev himself, in an interview with Sport Express, denied rumors about signing a contract with Spartak and emphasized that he has no contracts with either this or any other football club. When asked what he plans to do in the future, Kurban Bekievich replied: “time will tell.” One thing can be said with certainty: without work, a specialist is so high class just can't stay.

We understand the most confusing story of the football off-season

Kurban Berdyev did not confirm in an interview with the site whether he will remain in FC Rostov for the next season, and rumors have already sent the vice-president of the yellow-blues to half of the RFPL clubs. We tried to find the truth in the sea of ​​rumors about the future of “Shaman”.

New episode of the Rostov saga

The saga with the departure of Kurban Berdyev and his coaching staff from FC Rostov has been an integral and most discussed part of the Russian football off-season for the third year now.

The coolest coach in Russian football was sent to all Russian top clubs and even the national team for two years in a row, but in the end he remained on the banks of the Don.

In the summer of 2016, Berdyev even resigned and allegedly already agreed to work with Spartak, but a couple of weeks later he took up the post of vice-president-coach of the team.

At the end of April 2017, rumors about the coach’s departure became more frequent again, and after the loss to Orenburg and failure to qualify for the Europa League, many fans began to say goodbye to the man who symbolizes the brightest era in the club’s history.

Kazan, Moscow or St. Petersburg?

According to the site's source, Berdyev at the end of April held meetings with the management of two teams that will play in the Europa League next season - Krasnodar and Zenit. The fate of their mentors, Igor Shalimov and Mircea Lucescu, respectively, hangs in the balance and Berdyev could really be the man who will lead these teams to the Champions League.

— The question is that Berdyev has his own coaching staff, who has been working with him since the days of Rubin Kazan. Such clubs are unlikely to agree to give work to the entire headquarters; this is not accepted there. The issue with assistants also came up during negotiations with Spartak and Lokomotiv last season,” the source noted.

On May 22, the Krasnodar press service did not comment on the possibility of Berdyev’s transfer, calling it rumors. An hour after the call to the club, Sport Express reported that Shalimov would remain at the helm of the Bulls. The St. Petersburg club also declined to comment.

Among other contenders for “Shaman” are the same “Lokomotiv” and “Rubin”. The issue with the Moscow club is complicated by the current coach Yuri Semin's task for the season - qualifying for the Europa League.

— The contract was signed according to the “1+1” scheme. “I have fully fulfilled my obligations under the contract, so it will be automatically extended,” Semin said in an interview with SE the other day.

In addition, the Ukrainian Vadim Skripnik is expected to be the mentor of the “railroad workers”, who, after being fired from Werder, is looking for new employment options.

Rubin, which under Berdyev beat Barcelona and won the Premier League, even after expensive transfers and the invitation of Spaniard Javier Gracia, remains average.

Kurban Berdyev celebrates the championship with Rubin. Photo from the Rubin press service

After the victory a week ago at Olimp-2 (the match “Rostov” - “Rubin” ended with a score of 4:2 - website), talk about the specialist’s return to Kazan flared up with renewed vigor.

The option with Rubin is preferable only in the sense that Berdyev will certainly be able to transfer the entire headquarters there, but will he forgive the President of Tatarstan Mininkhanov and others for the persecution started in 2013?

Don't forget about the Russian team. But for now, the RFU and Vitaly Mutko continue to say that Stanislav Cherchesov has a credit of trust that does not depend on his performances at the upcoming Confederations Cup.

Promises were never fulfilled in Rostov

One of the reasons for Berdyev’s departure may be the protracted issue with solving financial problems at the club. At the same time, at the end of April, he denied information about any negotiations with other teams.

- I didn’t even drive this moment I do not conduct any negotiations with other clubs. “All my thoughts are connected with Rostov,” the specialist told the yellow-blue press service.

According to the source, despite multiple assurances from the club’s management about the stabilization of the financial situation, there has not been much progress in this matter.

— The team must have a certain amount for transfers, which the club does not yet have. We need a long bench, without it there is nothing to do in European competitions. The regional authorities were unable to find a philanthropist for the year, and allocating over $40 million annually is a big waste for the region’s budget,” the source said.

In addition, when at the end of 2014 Berdyev headed Rostov, he immediately raised the issue of improving the club’s infrastructure and the need to work for the future, including developing youth football. This issue was also not resolved. Although Berdyev, with the de jure head coach of the team Ivan Danilyants, even held meetings with the coaches of the yellow-blue academy.

— Kurban Bekievich explained to management that he wants to work for the future. In Kazan, he left behind an excellent children's and youth school and good infrastructure, which was not in the club before. But in Rostov no one took up this issue; little has changed since the arrival of the coach,” the source noted.

Berdyev's departure - the end of an era

In Berdyev's departure lies another, no less important question - what will happen to the team players? Most of the leaders either started playing (Poloz, Dzhanaev, Bukharov) or came to the club (Azmun, Noboa, Kudryashov, Navas) following their mentor.

After the coach leaves, the players will probably be sorted out by European and Russian clubs, and in “Rostov” the painfully familiar personnel shortage will again be felt.

“I haven’t made a decision yet whether I’m staying or not.” So far there is no certainty in the club regarding organizational issues. Financial affairs are returning to normal, and the club’s management understands that it needs to be stabilized. A meeting with Governor Vasily Golubev is scheduled in the near future, where details of cooperation will be discussed, he said.

Will Golubev be able to hold Berdyev again? Photo by the press service of FC Rostov

We can already say with confidence that Berdyev’s departure will mean the end of the coolest era in the history of Rostov football, which included silver in the Premier League, victories over Bayern and Ajax, and a battle on equal terms with Manchester United.

Should I leave or stay?

Solving financial problems and paying off debts to players could be the first step of the club’s management to retain Berdyev. But given the ambitions of the coaching staff, who want to fight for the most high places and play in European competitions every year, the team needs a transfer budget (minimum 5-10 million euros) to acquire new players. In the absence of a fight on two fronts, the yellow-blues are quite capable of aiming for the championship next season.

In addition, local functionaries need to resolve the issue of developing a children's and youth school. And this is not only a matter of retaining the coach, but also of concern for the future of football in the region.

It is possible that one of the above teams will still decide to give Berdyev carte blanche to work at the club, and then he will most likely change Rostov to a place where people are accustomed to keeping their promises.

Last year, the specialist’s short-term departure led to calls for the resignation and booing of Governor Golubev at Olympus-2. Therefore, only one question remains - will the regional authorities be able to solve all the problems in order to keep the creator of the Rostov miracle on the Don and not provoke the anger of the team’s fans?

The meeting of the board of trustees of FC Rubin was postponed indefinitely. Earlier it was reported that on May 27, Berdyev would be announced as the head coach of the Kazan club. However, Kurban Bekievich, who was in the capital of Tatarstan yesterday, went to Rostov-on-Don to meet with the regional governor Vasily Golubev.

According to Vechernyaya Kazan, Berdyev is also considering employment options from Lokomotiv and Krasnodar. Nevertheless, the likelihood of the specialist returning to Rubin remains high. The appointment will become known after the meeting of the Kazan club’s board of trustees. The contract with the staff of the team's former coach, Javi Gracia, will be terminated.

According to experts, the eminent coach could definitely stay with Rostov for another season if the Don club got into the Europa League. Layout before last game season was extremely simple: FC Rostov had to play at least a draw in order to get the opportunity to compete in European cups next season. But the “yellow-blues” lost to “Orenburg” and finished the season in 6th place standings.

Kurban Bekievich's contract with the Don club expires on May 31, 2017. It was previously reported that the Rostov management will make every effort to ensure that the 64-year-old specialist remains on the team next season.

“After the last meeting with him, this person does not exist for me,” the specialist told Sport Express. It is known that serious tension in the relationship between the two key figures for today’s Rostov existed before. However, disagreement with the former president of the club Savvidi on a number of important issues did not prevent Berdyev from signing a new two-year contract with the team in June.

Let us remind you that in terms of salaries the players, coaches and staff. In addition, Berdyev did not like Rostov’s passivity in the transfer market.

At the same time, according to information “ Soviet sports", the reason for his voluntary resignation was fundamental disagreements with the governor of the Rostov region Vasily Golubev. According to the publication, the turning point in Berdyev’s career was a meeting with an official on Thursday, when the coach asked to strengthen the squad, but received an evasive answer.

Let us add that last season the mentor for the first time led a modest team from the capital of the Don Territory to silver medals in the Russian Championship, and last Wednesday brought it to the playoff round of the Champions League qualification, where the southerners will soon play with Amsterdam Ajax.

The main contenders for Berdyev are the Russian national team, which were left without head coaches due to recent unsuccessful performances. However, he himself emphasized that he does not yet have an agreement with any club.

On Sunday home game“Rostov” and Ekaterinburg “Ural” players will be led by assistant head coach Dmitry Kirichenko. After the meeting, Berdyev intends to say goodbye to the fans.

FOOTBALL

ROSGOSSTRAKH - RUSSIAN CHAMPIONSHIP. PREMIER LEAGUE

“SE” columnist - about the recent past and near future of one of best trainers Russia.

BERDIEV'S CHOICE

Igor RABINER

“THANK YOU” FROM THE PLAYERS. ACCUSATION FROM SAVVIDI

It was a very strange tour - the first second round of the championship in the history of Russian football, when two teams were left without head coaches. At the same time, one of them watched the game from a box in a club uniform, and during the break he went into the locker room to give instructions. And everyone there, without exception, was happy to see him.

It was a very strange tour - when the unconditional main event was not someone’s victories and goals, but the appearance of all the Rostov players at the match wearing T-shirts with the inscription “Bekievich, thank you for everything!” and the post-match general declaration of love to Kurban Berdyev - both the Rostov stadium and the players who even intended to pump him up. “To the point of tears,” the players admitted on social networks, in interviews, and on the sidelines...

To be honest, before the game with Ural and everything that happened after it, I had a different attitude towards Berdyev’s decision to leave Rostov. I thought the timing was extremely bad for this. I was convinced that, having led the team to the last qualifying stage Champions League and having received a completely passable “Ajax” there, to take it and leave it for another that has been eliminated from the European Cups (yes, for the sake of anything!) - strange, unsportsmanlike and somewhere even dishonest. No matter what happens in the club. No matter how the promises of its leaders are broken.

With their gratitude to Berdyev, the Rostov players clearly showed: they do not at all believe that the coach abandoned them on the eve of the main matches in the club’s history. This has already broken the previously built concept within me. And what I found out on Monday morning from a number of my sources who know the situation from the inside made me grab my head. Although, it would seem, over a quarter of a century in journalism, I have seen a lot in Russian football. And, although Berdyev should not be presented as an angel in the flesh, after this I had no questions left for him regarding the reasons for his decision. But all that was left was surprise and sometimes even admiration that he had not taken this step much earlier. In this case, by the way, many would understand him better than they do now.

“I don't know what he means. The East is a delicate matter,” one of the club’s investors, businessman Ivan Savvidi, quipped in response to Berdyev’s statement that this person no longer exists for him.

But for this coach, who is extremely careful in his statements, to publicly say something like this, there must be a very serious reason. And he is. According to information from several sources at once, some of which are within the team, at a meeting at the end of the season, Mr. Savvidi accused Berdyev of surrendering the match to “Mordovia”. Adding that if not for this, “Rostov” would have become the champion. The dumbfounded coach demanded that the person who said this be brought in so that he could repeat these words to Berdyev himself. But the businessman refused to call anyone. After this, Berdyev got up and left. They never met again, and that is why the coach said in an interview with SE that such a person as Savvidi does not exist for him.

So is the East a delicate matter? Considering that Savvidi continues to be directly related to Rostov, even though on Sunday he publicly doubted that he would continue to finance it, one can only envy Berdyev’s resilience. He repeatedly told his acquaintances: “They wipe their feet on me.” But until the last moment I didn’t want to leave. He dreamed of not just reaching the group stage of the Champions League with Rostov, but getting into the playoffs from there. He literally called the last season “divine” and, although he thinks rationally, he dreamed of continuing it. But there is a limit to any patience.

BERDIYEV FOUND MONEY FOR BASHTUSH

The shocking meeting with Savvidi was only one point among many in the history of the breakup between Berdyev and Rostov. For example, people close to the club also tell us the following fact: when last season ended, the coach refused to Spartak and, after much persuasion and promises from Governor Vasily Golubev, he signed a new two-year contract with the club. On the conditions that if the promises are not fulfilled, he and his staff are free from obligations.

And then came workdays. And the attitude changed. According to some reports, the next time Berdyev came to see the governor, he sat in his waiting room for many hours. He was never accepted - under the pretext that he was “not there.” By the way, being the president of the club, Golubev never entered the locker room after matches and did not congratulate anyone on anything. Although last season there was definitely something. However, these are little things that, compared to everything else, no one paid attention to.

The main problem was different - most of the promises were not fulfilled. The magnificent Bastos, a defender in whom (and British journalists told me about this last fall) several English Premier League clubs were interested in at once, according to the information I have, was re-signed from money found personally by Berdyev! Yes, then Boris Rotenberg compensated for these expenses. But initially it was the head coach who found the people who allocated the funds and took responsibility for them.

Berdyev and his team understood perfectly well: second place at the last championship was a miracle. Taking into account the objective Rostov realities, this silver was in principle impossible. And in order for it not to remain a one-time take-off, many things need to be radically changed at the club. Otherwise, this, from an organizational point of view, soap bubble, the level of the “South” zone of the second division, will inevitably burst.

Based on a number of facts, we can conclude that many leaders of the Rostov region and high-ranking club bosses did not really need the changes, and they themselves secretly wanted Berdyev to accept Spartak’s offer at the end of May. For him to do this, there was also half of his coaching staff and all the people from the outside (in particular, agents) collaborating with him.

But he extended his contract with Rostov. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, Berdyev stayed because of the players and debts to them. This is not least why they finally gave him such a farewell. The head coach understood that if he left, there was a high probability that the players would not receive the promised money. At the same time, the players were told: “Nothing is clear. Now I am with you, and my task is to prepare you. But from today I am not responsible to you for finances. Think for yourself.” Almost everyone stayed. Because an amazing team was formed, in which money for the players was far from being in the foreground. They wanted to continue making history.

Secondly, he wanted to repeat the history of Rubin. In the sense where, through crazy and many years of patience, he was still able to melt the hearts of the then leaders of Tatarstan, to draw their serious attention to football club and implement a big project with their help. Not only in terms of the first team - even more so for the academy. But it quickly became clear that neither second place nor the prospect of the Champions League had changed anything. The Rostov authorities did not keep their promises. Yes, they probably couldn’t contain them. They initially signed up for a project for which they did not have funds or investors.

Gloomy everyday life in Rostov

I will give a few more details, which were told by several sources at once.

Last season, some medicines were bought with Berdyev’s personal money.

While the players were not paid, training camps were held in five-star hotels abroad. Then Berdyev took everything into his own hands - and began to organize everything directly, and not through intermediary companies. It turned out to be half the price.

“Rostov” did not pay salaries not only to the football players, but also to the club’s employees, whose salaries were pitiful - security guards, cooks. Thanks to Berdyev, they began to receive everything first and on time.

Some foreigners who lived in rented apartments were asked by their owners to vacate their living space - the club did not pay rent for several months.

In September, after a defeat in Moscow from Spartak - 0:1, coach Vitaly Kafanov left the Otkritie Arena in a car with a good friend of mine. We were discussing the game - and suddenly Kafanov started talking about the mood of the players and coaches: they say, they haven’t paid salaries for three months, but yesterday they gave an advance of 5 thousand rubles. The same Kafanov and another coach Urazsakhatov lived at the base for a year and a half in one room with terrible conditions, where they could only get out of bed one at a time - since they did not fit in the aisle. At the same time, Kafanov, one of the strongest goalkeeper coaches in the country, said: “This is the best season of my life!”

In general, Berdyev’s entire coaching staff (excluding, according to some sources, Dmitry Kirichenko, who is not from his team), according to available information, worked without official contracts with the club. And the head coach couldn't do anything about it. Same with the situation with fields. Last season it rained, and the Rostov youth team trained and played at Olimp-2, while the main team was driven to train on an artificial field of a far from fresh generation outside the city. Berdyev was furious that he could not influence this.

After a major home victory over Zenit, the famous director Murad Aliyev, who several years ago shot a full-length documentary film “Team” about the golden “Ruby” (your correspondent also took an active part in working on its script), early morning I was driving to the airport with my coach. And I told him: “I have an idea to make an excellent documentary about the “Rostov fairy tale”!” Berdyev looked at Aliyev with a very sad look, as if he were crazy, and said gloomily: “What kind of movie are you?!”

He already understood everything. And it’s amazing how, with all this heap of problems, he fought for the championship until the last minute of the last match.

THE PLAYERS GAVE BERDIYEV'S WORD TO FIGHT AJAX AS IF HE WAS NEAR

The first pre-season training camp of “Rostov” this summer was held with 13 - 14 players. In one of the test matches they wanted to send goalkeeper Nikita Medvedev into the field. At the second training camp, Berdyev was absent for 6-7 days, trying to bang his head against the wall, but it did not break through. However, during these days he managed to solve one problem with his personal efforts - with Bashtush.

Then, according to our information, there was a disaster with tickets for the home match with Anderlecht. The team was barely able to buy them for their loved ones.

Seeing all this, Berdyev was going to leave even before the first game with Anderlecht - that’s why his name was not included in the application until the last minute. Almost everything has already been decided. In this case, his assistants would lead the team to the Belgians. And here - again requests from above, again “firm” promises. And the coach, although he no longer believed anything, again could not say “no.” But then he firmly stated his departure after the return match with Anderlecht.

Rostov, with all its debts, was banned from applying for new players, and Berdyev managed to squeeze the maximum out of even those who seemed incapable of it. Said Ezzatollahi was taken to the team, in fact, as a friend of Azmun, who could keep him in a normal psychological state. And in the home match with Anderlecht he equalized the score and, towards the end, almost brought the team victory, hitting the crossbar. Berdyev understood that for progress he needed football players of a different level, but the cart did not move. With the victory over Anderlecht, Berdyev brought the club a lot of money - after all, at least Rostov secured participation in the Europa League group. At this point, the coach, having had his fill of problems, considered his obligations to the club fulfilled. And on Tuesday, according to my information, he invited all the Rostov players to a farewell dinner, where he would tell them the right words already without extra eyes and ears. And “Ajax”... The Rostov players gave their word to Berdyev that they would fight as if he were nearby. It is very possible that he will be nearby. Unofficially. Although the match with “Ural” and the removal of Azmun, one of Berdyev’s brightest protégés, showed how tense and nervous the team was in the current situation.

At the same time, Berdyev has an offer from Leonid Fedun, which, they say, is impossible to refuse. Therefore, a number of knowledgeable people convince me that the suddenly emerging - and very tempting - alternative in the form of Vitaly Mutko’s proposal to lead the Russian national team will most likely still give in to Spartak’s option.

The return match of “Rostov” with “Ajax” is on August 24. According to some reports, this is too long for both Fedun and Mutko to be willing to wait (although if the chairman of the board of directors of Spartak waited for more than a year, then why not take a break for another two weeks, and the president of the RFU is in no hurry at all ). And taking into account everything that was said above, I am now not ready to criticize Berdyev for decision. And since the players and fans of “Rostov”, as the match with “Ural” showed, are not only not offended by him, but are still ready to pray for the coach, there can be no questions for him.

By the way, if we talk about the national team, it is very strange and, alas, very much in our opinion that the decision on its head coach will be made before the September elections of the RFU President. Despite the fact that the Russian team now has no need to rush, qualifying tournament The 2018 World Cup is not waiting for her. And if he comes new manager and say: I supposedly wanted another coach and am not responsible for the work of the current one, since I wasn’t the one who approved him?

But we haven’t been surprised by anything for a long time.

CAN HE WORK WITH FEDUN?

Berdyev did an outstanding job in “Rostov”, as before in “Rubin”. coaching work. At the same time, I am still absolutely not convinced that in Fedun’s Spartak he will be able to realize himself in such a way.

Because Bolivar can't handle two.

The owner of “Spartak” is one of those autocrats who prefer to see under them not a clear club vertical, but a bundle of palace intrigues, where courtiers eat each other. And he doesn’t allow any of them, including the head coach, to truly command the parade. In the case of not a single Spartak coach, Fedun’s initial thesis that the coach for him is only 10% of the overall success has not yet been refuted.

Berdyev works based on the postulate that there are more than 50. And that all personnel issues in the sports component of the club should be in his hands.

How can they find a common language with such global ideological and philosophical differences? I only have one option. If Fedun, disappointed in the complete lack of “exhaust” for all the years spent at Spartak, clearly admitted to himself: “I pursued the wrong policy. Everything has to be different.”

Only in this case will he give Berdyev the carte blanche he needs. Only then will the coach have a free hand, and he will be able to be 50, not 10 percent. Only in such situations will a stranger to the native Spartacists have the opportunity to repeat the story of another once stranger, Dynamo player Konstantin Beskov. The task of which was more difficult - Spartak hosted Beskov not after 5th place in the RFPL, but in the first union league.

Fedun must be aware: by hiring Berdyev, he will lose the right to leave the stadium during the Spartak match (by the way, ironically, it was with Rostov) with the words that this is non-Spartak football. Despite the fact that the red-whites won that match - 1:0. By inviting Berdyev, Fedun must give a clear message to the Spartak public: don’t even try to put pressure on me with your claims to style, thirst for “walls” and other openwork football. We have a head coach, and he alone determines the style and tactics. And there is only one measure - result.

Personally, as a person who, from the age of 6, grew up with a completely different understanding of what football and the philosophy of “Spartak” are, I still will never fully agree with this approach. But Fedun, as the person who calls the tune, has the right to it. And even more so, no one can retrain 63-year-old Berdyev, who has already proven everywhere what he can achieve.

But having hired Berdyev, Fedun will not have the right to make demands on him that never had anything to do with Berdyev’s work. In this case, Leonid Arnoldovich's expectations will become his problems. But if Fedun can overcome himself and do whatever is required, this will undoubtedly earn him respect. Because not everyone is capable of this.

By the way, what gives additional piquancy to Berdyev’s possible arrival at Spartak is that even within the team, according to my information, Valery Karpin is called the main candidate for his place in Rostov. Who was Fedun’s only long-term favorite, and then suddenly turned into a “downed pilot.” Berdyev himself, according to my information, wants to see Kirichenko as the new head coach of “Rostov”.

Well, what if Berdyev nevertheless follows the path of least resistance and prefers a national team that has only the Confederations Cup and the home World Cup for the next two years... Considering that he has never worked in national teams at a serious level, and the specifics there are completely another, there can be no guarantees there. On the other hand, he has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to achieve maximum results with minimal resources. But - with clubs.

And Fedun will then have to start a new painful search. The search for a person who someday, when he wants to leave, the stands will begin to chant: “Thank you!”, and the players will come out to last match wearing T-shirts saying thank you for everything...