Without waiting for the meeting of the club’s board of directors in person, Spartak announced the dismissal of Guillermo Abascal. What will happen next and who will lead the “people’s” team?
We waited for humiliation in SochiThe patience of the Spartak bosses has come to an end. The fact that head coach Guillermo Abascal needs to be kicked out of the club has been talked about almost since the beginning of this season, not only by the haters of the “red and whites”, but also by numerous fans of the team, including among journalists.
For the young Spanish specialist this season, everything went wrong. The conflict with the team captain Georgiy Dzhikiya, who still “holds the locker room”, the story with Quincy Promes, whose goals temporarily smoothed out any conflicts, the lack of clear explanations for the failures. The decision to dismiss Abaskal was long overdue. Only his announcement after the victory in the main capital derby would look illogical. The score is on the scoreboard, a fundamental rival has been defeated — and the fact that Igor Leshchuk gave Spartak the victory could hardly serve as an excuse.
The honor and conscience (many believe also the intelligence) of Spartak — its fan base, while boycotting the championship matches, could not express its attitude to what was happening even through the banners for which it was always famous. It took humiliation in Sochi, which was the last straw. As is customary, the ex-head coach was thanked for his work and wished success.
Today, no one at Spartak takes responsibility for inviting a young specialist who worked either in youth projects, or in administrative positions, or in not the most famous clubs in Italy, Greece and Switzerland. In “Basel”, from where Abaskal came to “Spartak”, he only spent a short time in charge with the status of acting. It is difficult to imagine that in Belgium, the Netherlands or Greece, a 33-year-old coach with experience in Kazakhstan and Moldova would be invited to a team with such a history and such a fan audience (we are not talking about the top 5 European leagues at all). They were able to get to Spartak.
The decision made after six months of Abascal’s work at the capital’s club looked even stranger. Impressed by the first victories (no one thought that Promes’ contribution was much more significant), the contract with the Spanish specialist was extended until the summer of 2025. Initially it was calculated until the end of this season. The then general director of Spartak, Evgeny Melezhikov, who has now been promoted to the RPL, stated on the club website: “This is what both sides were striving for.”
According to a source familiar with the situation, the contract also stipulates a penalty in the amount of half the annual salary. This, according to the same source, is 850 thousand euros. Is it any wonder that Abaskal, even after defeats, criticism in the press and the appearance of information about internal conflicts, did not even think about resigning voluntarily!
Who's next? It has already been announced that Vladimir Sliskovich, who led the game from the bench and answered at a press conference in March at the championship match, will prepare Spartak for the semi-final return match of the «RPL Path» of the Russian Cup in St. Petersburg. Abascal was then disqualified and flew away to watch the game in Moscow. Sliskovic, one might say, will take the “red-whites” to his home. The Bosnian specialist has a Russian wife and son who live in the northern capital. Unlike Abaskal, Sliskovic has experience playing in professional teams in Bosnia and Herzegovina — Zrinjski from Mostar and Zeljezničar from Sarajevo.
Sliskovich speaks Russian, but it remains to be seen whether this is a plus or a minus for the Spartak coach. According to information from sources close to the club, Vladimir’s appointment as head coach is not being considered in the event of a successful end to the season. Although you can expect anything at Spartak. Even after the resignation of Paul Ashworth, whose functions in the club have recently been a mystery.
The club now has not only clarity on the candidacy of a new head coach, but not even a developed algorithm for finding him. Various groups of comrades lobby for their candidates. A source familiar with the situation confirms the arrival of Dutch specialist Pascal Jansen to the show, but for now we are only talking about the show.
The names most often mentioned are Valery Karpin and Stanislav Cherchesov, but they have already worked at Spartak not only as head coaches, but also in the club’s management. They know all the undercurrents and will demand not just guarantees, but also authority. The club's leaders are most likely not ready for this. Even Kurban Berdyev, who did not stay more than a few months in either Sochi or Makhachkala, is being tried to lobby. Considering that neither the championship nor the cup are at stake in the European competition, the Spartak management will not rush to choose a head coach.
It is surprising that Sergei Semak is not named as a candidate for the vacant post. However, even if “Spartak” tries to beat the conditions that the coach has at Zenit, who led the team to the championship five times, and is ready to do this for the sixth time, Sergei Bogdanovich himself has repeatedly stated that there is one team that he will not join will work under any circumstances. And Semak’s word is like a boy’s word, sealed with blood on the asphalt.
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