Alexander Tarkhanov, a striking army striker of the 1970s, spent a significant part of his coaching career at Spartak, helping his fellow countryman Oleg Romantsev from Krasnoyarsk. However, Tarkhanov did not become a Spartak man, but he learned a lot from the most successful Russian coach. Tarkhanov worked as a coach in his native CSKA, as well as in “Wings of the Soviets”, “Saturn” and “Terek”. NTV Plus commentator Alexei Andronov and Gazeta observer, NTV Plus commentator Alexander Shmurnov are talking with a famous Russian football coach currently working in Lithuania.
- Which of the European championships is closer to you from the gaming point of view? Is it true that Russia has the most fans of the English Premier League?
- In England there are a lot of strong clubs, and most games can be watched with pleasure. But still, not all games are interesting. From this point of view, Spain is nevertheless closer to me, where almost every match is a sight for sore eyes. They play more open football, and it captivates. Compared to other European club championships, it is in the Spanish example that they play the most attacking football.
- What is your attitude to the Italian championship, where games often end in a goalless draw?
- Italian football is by far the most defensive in Europe. More wrestling, martial arts, more gaming density. But despite this, I enjoy watching some games, for example, the recent Inter match - Palermo. In addition, do not forget that even with zeros on the scoreboard, teams can be charged to fight, tuned in battle, and can create a lot of moments.
- The majority of the public perceives defensive football much worse than an attacker. How do you look at it from the coaching point of view and how do you feel about defensive football in Russia?
- They don’t perceive the game as “second number,” say, in Spain, but practically no one plays there from defense. In Russia, where the majority of teams play precisely from the defense, accordingly, the attitude to such football among specialists and fans is absolutely normal.
- Which of the domestic clubs, in your opinion, play purely defensive football?
- Basically, these are clubs in the middle of the standings, although Rubin, who finished the championship in fifth place, also plays on defense. The best option, in my opinion, was chosen by Valery Petrakov in Tom. It turned out to be a kind of golden mean of defense and attack, that is, the team defends itself well, and it's nice to look at the actions in the attack. The most defensive championship team is Saturn near Moscow. The club plays defensive football in its purest form: it was the least missed, but at the end of the season it could not rise above 11th place. That is, there is good defensive action to the detriment of the line of attack. Samara "Wings of the Soviets" also focus on defense. As for the leaders of our championship, they prefer to play balanced football. For example, the champion - CSKA - plays well both in defense and in attack. Spartak pays more attention to actions ahead, and often this goes in the negative of their defense, which in recent times often looks extremely disorganized. St. Petersburg “Zenith” under Petrzhel played attacking, somewhat reckless football, so when he was opposed by a strong disciplined team, he began to crumble and make mistakes. So it was in the game with Ruby. Lokomotiv is also trying to combine defense and attack as productively as possible. This is the difference between leaders.
- By role you are a striker. Have you paid enough attention to the defense of the teams with which you worked as a coach?
- At the beginning of my coaching activity, I certainly focused on the attack. Now I take this issue more seriously and make sure that the attacking actions of the team in no way go to the detriment of the defense. In my memory, Spartak under Beskov and Romantsev played openly attacking football. However, the team acted in such a way that its rivals simply did not have the opportunity to often attack the gates of red and white.
- In Russian football, enough funds are now involved to buy almost any player, but we often face the fact that multi-million transfers do not justify themselves. What qualities should a coach have in order to understand - is this player a team needs?
- Everyone in his head has ideas on how to properly build a team game. These are the ideas that should be guided by the purchase of players. At one time I was engaged in selection at Spartak. Then we recruited players from all over the former Union. And all the footballers whom we invited clearly fit into the game of the then Spartak. They saw that Nikiforov and Tsymbalar were suitable for the team - they invited them. Another thing is that a person engaged in the selection of players must be sure that the players invited by him will not only fit into the game scheme, but will also be able to play at the same high level as the whole team.
- What can you teach a football player and what can you not teach him?
- I’m sure that a football player can be taught absolutely everything if he has abilities and game thinking. You can improve the player’s technique, teach him to act, one way or another, tactically. But for all this, it is necessary first of all to reveal its potential and, if possible, correctly place it in the game scheme that is in the team. If we take the giants, then Real Madrid, for example, will never invite a football player who will not play at the same level as the other stars, even if he fits into the scheme. Or, for example, the Dutch Ajax will never invite a coach who is not familiar with the structure of the team. There, all the players, from the boys in the sports school to the club’s main staff, train in the same system, which allows not only to make a good strong team, but above all it makes it possible to educate the players. Guus Hiddink recently said that in Russia there are not enough coaches capable of raising a football player. That is, almost from a football diaper, a player must, under the guidance of a coach, hone his skills, comprehend the basics of technology and tactics. Only in this case will the footballer be gradually revealed. The main thing is to see the player’s potential. I remember the case when five football players from Ukraine were brought to our show. Four I sent home a week later, but I left Andrei Karjaku because I saw that the guy had potential, although he was still not ready physically and technically. After that, I watched him for a month and a half, studied his playing qualities. When I realized that the player could be useful, we bought it. After that there was a period of three months, when Andrei played good or bad. But gradually he adapted and already in the next season, having passed all the training with the team, he became a full member of the team.
- In today's Spartak there are some problems with selection. What, in your opinion, is the reason?
- I think that the main reason lies in some haste of purchases. Why has CSKA recently been not mistaken when conducting a selection? Because the player must be thoroughly studied before the purchase, and this process has been established for the army team. For example, I know that one of CSKA’s specialists is now sitting in Brazil, studying one player. And it is right.
- The financial level of Russian football is getting higher every year. Is it possible to say that money is a fundamental factor in modern football?
- Of course, a lot depends on financing, but the system of working with the team decides everything first of all. As there is a game system on the field, the club system should be exactly the same. Optimally now it is built at CSKA. Zenit is also striving for this, but the Lokomotiv system, in my opinion, has now given a small crack. Nevertheless, I believe that the circle of applicants for victory in the next championship will remain the same. All our four leading teams have accumulated huge luggage, are firmly on their feet in economic terms, and the only thing is the advantage of this or that club in management and the ability to calculate their strength during the season.
Alexey ANDRONOV, Alexander SHMURNOV