The new head coach of Spartak, Dejan Stankovic, will arrive in Moscow on June 21. We are well acquainted with the Serb as a player – a chic career at Inter and a scattering of trophies have ensured his worldwide fame. But almost no one in Russia knows what kind of coach he is. Sport, with the help of foreign colleagues, is figuring out what to expect from the “red-whites” – pragmatic football for results or a revival of the Spartak style?
Stankovic came to Spartak without having much coaching experience behind him. After finishing his career, he managed to work a little at the headquarters of Udinese and Inter, and got his first independent job at Crvena Zvezda. Then there was an unsuccessful trip to Sampdoria and a good year at Ferencvaros. In this regard, it was logical to talk about the new coach of Spartak with colleagues from Serbia and Hungary, where they know firsthand about his coaching capabilities.
And Stankovic had his own “Alenichev baggage”< br>“Crvena Zvezda” became the first club in Stankovic’s career. Before returning to his home team, he managed to work at the headquarters of Andrea Stramaccioni's Udinese and Roberto Mancini's Inter. The Serbian also worked for some time at UEFA, where he oversaw several projects for the development of football. And in 2019, Stankovic responded to an offer from Belgrade, and many were surprised by this choice, according to Serbian journalist Ivan Cvetanic.
“The football community was somewhat surprised by the news of Stankovic's appointment. In this post, he replaced the extremely successful Vladan Milojevic, who led the team to the Europa League and twice to the Champions League. Therefore, inviting a coach without experience of independent work seemed a risky idea. Everyone knew what a great player there was Stankovic, but this is a completely different matter. At Crvena Zvezda, any coach is under enormous pressure, the team is required to win only, which could become a problem. But, as practice has shown, Stankovic avoided this, he actually won the first title on “baggage”. Milojevic and eventually increased it. In the 2020/21 season, he set a record for points scored (114) and finished the Serbian championship without a single defeat. In five years of his career, he won six trophies – a worthy result. On the other hand, he won all the titles. took with the best teams in their countries,” said Tsvetanich.
Stankovic's tactical preferences should appeal to Spartak fans. In this regard, Crvena Zvezda is very similar to the Moscow club – they also demand spectacular football and results. Although, of course, he has natural gaps due to a lack of experience, so Muscovites fans need to prepare for the fact that the team will not fly from the very first matches.
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“Stankovic likes to play attacking football with quick transitions and a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation. I would also note his good work on set pieces, Red Star scored a lot of goals from corners and free kicks. When required, Stankovic's teams play defensively and do it well, but he prefers dominance. He also has a problem with calculating the optimal form of the team. Often his players did not start the season in the best way, so Spartak must be patient. normal for a coach with little experience,” says Tsvetanich.
In terms of human qualities, Stankovic will also be welcome. With such vast gaming experience, he knows how to improve the situation in the team and find an approach to his players. The Serb will definitely have good contact with the players and the public, and the management will not have to worry that he will go beyond his authority. As previous years have shown, for Spartak this is actually half the success.
“Stankovic is an optimist and positive person, temperamental in a good way. He knows how to inspire and motivate players, and his press conferences often attracted attention with bright answers. He is very close to the players, as if he were actually part of the team. As a legendary football player, he is well aware , how to build an atmosphere in the locker room. At the same time, Stankovic can be straightforward when he decides who he does not want in the team. And the fans did not like him at all. He is one of the greatest football players in the country, so he was greeted with euphoria. he always showed sincere emotions, which also captivated the fans. As for the relationship with the management, he had excellent contact with employers in all the clubs so far,” concluded Tsvetanich.
Surpassed Cherchesov in Hungary
Here we give the floor to Bence Borbola, who worked closely with Ferencvaros for several years and knows well what the team was like under Stankovic. The most important impression of him is the last one, namely, leaving the Hungarian club. As a colleague said, most fans and experts still do not know what prompted the Serb to change teams.
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“Frankly speaking, Stankovic’s decision to leave Ferencváros surprised everyone. Everything happened literally in one day – he simply came to the president of the club and said that he accepted Spartak’s offer. His departure was met with mixed feelings as he had often spoken over the previous few months about how proud he was to work for Ferencvaros and how great the club was. That's why everyone was amazed that he left the team so easily. Everyone is still guessing – it’s just the money that was offered to him at Spartak, or there’s something else,” says Borbola.
In terms of results, there were few questions to Stankovic in Hungary. The Serb took one title in a year and performed well in European competitions, although the cumulative results were not extraordinary. But compared to Stanislav Cherchesov, he slightly improved his performance – an average of 2.07 points per match versus 1.84 for his predecessor.
“In a year in Hungary, he won the national championship without much effort, but this will not impress anyone. The title was not a serious achievement – for any Ferencvaros coach, this is a self-evident goal. The team has more finances compared to its competitors and a very strong squad with high-quality legionnaires. Stankovic could have won the “golden” double, which would have had a little more weight, but he lost in the Hungarian Cup final. Nevertheless, the main yardstick for the Ferencvaros coach remains the European Cups. Here, the team showed itself well, reaching the playoffs of the Conference League. The club played consistently, won many victories, so overall, Stankovic's work was assessed positively,” Borbola continues.
Like his Serbian colleague, Borbola confirms that Stankovic's character is more likely to be similar to Tedesco than to Abaskal, who wanted to control everything and was quite closed. Despite his impressive background and stern appearance, the Serb knows how to establish contact with the players and will not keep them at a great distance. It is highly likely that Stankovic will be liked by the fans.
“I’ve been traveling everywhere with Ferencváros for several years now, I often fly on the same plane and live in the same hotels. Therefore, I know quite well what kind of atmosphere prevails in the team. Stankovic was pleasantly surprised by how open and friendly a person he is. Judging by his appearance , he seems stern and uncommunicative, but in reality this is not the case. He not only managed to establish good relationships with the football players, but also with us, journalists. Inside, Stankovic is emotional, this was especially evident in the way he reacted to the smallest fans. , never refusing them a smile and an autograph,” says Borbola.
As for tactical preferences, Stankovic does not like to experiment. Ferencvaros played almost the entire season in the same formation, and also had a clearly defined core. Under the Serb, less than a dozen players played 40 or more matches, and, by the way, one of them is former Krasnodar defender Christian Ramirez. So Spartak fans won’t have to be surprised when the starting lineup is announced, as was often the case with Abascal.
“If we talk about style, then Stankovic is more characteristic of attacking football. Most often he played in a 4-3-3 formation, using the flanks a lot, working for the main central striker. Therefore, the wingers played key roles in Ferencvaros, and the leader Barnabas Varga became the attacker, scoring 29 goals in all tournaments. And, of course, Stankovic has the character of a winner, he knows how to achieve success now not only as a footballer, but also as a coach,” concludes Borbola.
“Stankovic's work in Belgrade was almost perfect. The football the team played was a pleasure to watch, and was most pleasing in the 1/16 finals of the Europa League in the 2020/21 season, when they met Milan. Then Crvena Zvezda drew twice with the Italian giants, and on its field it was even closer to victory. Under the leadership of Stankovic, the club dominated in the domestic arena, but he was remembered precisely for his victories in European cups. His football is, without a doubt, beautiful. Sometimes he is capable of experiments and with “Crvena” he played both with five defenders and with four. Sometimes the team switched from one formation to another during the match. At the same time, there was a shift to the left flank, where he played brilliantly Aleksandar Katai and Mirko Ivanic,” – said Maric.
According to Maric, journalists will not be bored with Stankovic. In the event of criticism of his players, the coach will fiercely defend them, without fear of reaction from the press. In addition, the Serb will need leaders in the team through whom he will convey his vision of the game. It is curious who will become the leader in Spartak under him.
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“At press conferences, you can expect everything from Stankovic except boredom. Rest assured, you will enjoy communicating with him. He does not shy away from direct answers, he can enter into controversy with journalists or criticize them. Stankovic is explosive and emotional. He will defend with all his heart what he loves. Stankovic got along very well with the management. The whole club was moving in the same direction. Something broke after the failure in the Champions League qualification with Maccabi Haifa (2:3, 2:2). then Stankovic definitely needed a leader on the field, a conductor of his ideas. He had excellent relationships with all the key players, and those who remained in the reserve understood why this was happening. He also showed the Italian school – he asked his players to call themselves “Mr. “- said Maric.
Stankovic's relationship with the fans deserves special mention. If everything is the same as in Crvena Zvezda, Spartak fans will have no less kind thoughts about him memory than about Carrera or Tedesco.
“The fans and Stankovic are a special story, mutual emotions. Don’t be surprised if something similar happens in Russia, especially since we know the relationship between the fans of Crvena Zvezda and Spartak. Stankovic is a product of the club, defended its colors both as a player and as a coach, he loves the team with every part of his body. During the match, at times there was a feeling that he was about to leave the bench, go up to the podium and start rousing the crowd with a megaphone,” concluded Maric.
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