“It’s time to retire for seven years. I already sympathize with Nikolic, it will be very difficult for him, ”says Vasily Utkin – Football

Journalist Vasily Utkin shared his opinion on the departure of Yuri Semin from the post of head coach of Lokomotiv.

– This is the most important event of the day, but only of today, because if tomorrow the Executive Committee of the RFU decides to replay or underplay the Russian championship, this decision will block the situation.

It is most correct to recall the proverb that the last wife had a priest (“One wife has a priest, and that last one” – a hint of a ban on a priest from entering into a second marriage – Sports.ru comment). Yuri Pavlovich, of course, will not go far, will wait and hope for the failure of his successor, that he will be called again. Maybe they’ll call. Maybe sooner or later such a situation will arise.

They like to talk about Semin – Russian Ferguson. But this is a deeply erroneous comparison, because everything Ferguson did was subordinate to the success and prosperity of the club. And we know from his memoirs that Ferguson was preparing for his departure from the club for a very long time and for a long time he chose the moment so that the club would not have any problems.

The departure of Yuri Semin from Lokomotiv is always a problem, tension, and so on. Semin, unlike Ferguson, thinks mainly of himself. I do not want to say that this is bad, I, in general, am a rather selfish person. But there is no need to compare Semin with Ferguson. Ferguson was very concerned about finding a successor. Semin is concerned about maintaining his place. He never had an assistant at headquarters capable of taking his place after he left. It showed life.

These are just facts, not condemnation on my part. You know very well that I am skeptical about the prospects of Yuri Semin as a coach. I can only explain my position. Of course, admirers of Semin’s talent and success speak of his greatness, legend, that almost all significant victories were achieved with his direct participation. All this is correct, but it is not subject to revision. It’s about who will be the coach of Lokomotiv in the next three years.

Now it’s time for the club to upgrade. In the last season, in the Champions League in particular, a couple of injuries – and the club stopped grabbing players purely physically. Most likely, the club is now parting with several expensive football players. Interesting reports were published, why João Mariou would not remain, the contract with Farfan, who received 2.4 million euros per year, would not be extended. The same goes for Mariou, who is leaving. All these are opportunities to invite new players.

The player cage in Lokomotiv is being updated. There are good opportunities for this in Lokomotiv, even without huge investments. In general, the time to create a new team, relying in many respects on the old one. Semin turned 73 years old, and the next three-year contract will probably make him a completely elderly person, not to mention the freshness of his views on the football process.

In my opinion, Semin, as a coach, conducted the Champions League very unsuccessfully and ended up in fourth place in the group. Yes, access to the Champions League is also the result of Lokomotiv’s activity, but five teams claim strength in our place in the Champions League. And the fact that Lokomotiv received the right to play in the Champions League in the season after the championship is normal, this is not a feat. This is a workflow.

I don’t know anything about Marco Nikolic. Fans of Semin pay tribute to the huge figure of Yuri Pavlovich, also watering the people around him with feces. Always the wrong managers. Today, for some reason, even Valery Filatov’s camp is fired, who once made no less than Semin for Lokomotiv as president (Filatov did not support Semin’s candidacy on the board of directors – approx. Sports.ru). Filatov has long been not an associate of Semin. When Semin left for the national team and wanted to return later, he did not return, and that was Filatov’s position.

It does not seem to me that in order to consider that the Semin’s century in Lokomotiv is nearing completion, you need to be a Semin hater. This is a sober assessment of the situation. I am very sympathetic to Semin personally, but I am skeptical about his prospects as a coach. I have the right to make a mistake, I’m just a journalist.

– Do you smell a bottle of wine for leaving Semin? What a holiday for you. But now there’s no one to hype.

– Yes, I will find someone to hype. Soloviev is still alive, as a last resort. I don’t give a bottle because I don’t drink. As for emotions, I think that there are still two or three tough, serious scandals ahead. Supporters and admirers of Semin are engaged in such work. They collect sour cream on shit, as I call it. This is surprising, but Semin did not have a good relationship with any manager who was the president of the club, if you do not take a very long time.

I know Vasily Kiknadze very well, although not closely. This is a person who uses authoritarian methods of leadership, he makes decisions, being completely confident in his innocence. And after the decision is made, he, as a rule, is not ready to return and rethink it. It is very naive to believe that the “dismissal” of Semin may be Kiknadze’s personal position. This is the position of the board of directors. But we must understand that if Semin doesn’t work for the successor in the next six months, Kiknadze’s head will lie on the block. If there is a person who is interested in the success of Lokomotiv, then Kiknadze is the first, because if something happens, he will be easily replaced. So he is extremely interested in success.

Not knowing anything about Nikolic, I already sympathize with him. He faces a very serious test. It will be very difficult. Our football did not bring anything special, except for a few highlights, the appearance of the Hulk and Witzel for 100 million, Paredes. We need people for whom the Russian championship is a training ground for the start, the next step. If you want, call such people nouns. I call – capable, moving up in a career. Nikolic is definitely a successful coach where he worked.

Do not forget that we are in a tremendous crisis. Oil prices fell, players at the Hulk level long ago stopped looking in the direction of Russia. Figures like Nikolic can enrich our football.

Yes, I believe that it’s time for Semin to retire, ”Utkin said during the stream.

“We would like to live in a world where bread rolls grow on trees, and people feed on the holy spirit, but this will not happen.” Loko tries to explain Semin’s departure

The first season of the Semin-trainer at Loko: he believed in white T-shirts, opened Gorlukovich, drove Petrakov for a glass of champagne

Semin always fought with the presidents of Loko. They climbed into tactics, feints with transfers and did not let them into the locker room

With Semin, Loko won 12 trophies. Without Semin – only 2

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