Curious Georgy

RUSSIAN FA president Vyacheslav Koloskov was grim-faced when he spoke to reporters after watching the national team lose 2-1 at home to Israel a fortnight ago.

"Even if God was our coach for that game," he said, "he would not have saved us the way the players performed. I told the players that they have to be ashamed of themselves, but apparently they are not. It's always somebody else's fault mine, the coach but not the players. They are always free from criticism. This is a bad time for Russian football."

Russia face the Republic of Ireland on Saturday in what has become a crucial Euro 2004 qualifier for both sides. Koloskov knew that Irish scouts were present at the Israel match but this was no time for mind games. He meant what he was saying.

Within a few hours, he had accepted the resignation of Russia coach Valery Gazzayev; five days later, former international striker Georgy Yartsev was given the task of transforming a team that are winless in their last four matches and staring at another embarrassing pre-tournament elimination.

Yartsev has not coached for over three years and even he had second thoughts about accepting the challenge.

"It was a tough decision and I thought about it for a while. My family was against it, but in the end I agreed."

The role is only a short-term one: his contract as head coach expires on October 15, when the last of the three remaining qualifiers are over. "We will have a board meeting to decide on his future after that date," said Koloskov. "His contract will only be extended if Russia qualify for Euro 2004." No pressure, then.

His appointment has not been welcomed throughout the country. Russian newspaper Sport Express has long been campaigning for a foreign coach to lead the team while midfielder Yegor Titov said: "The best candidate for the manager, to my mind, is our former boss Oleg Romantsev. He can teach us for the games in the short-term better than anyone else."

The irony is that it was Romantsev who introduced Yartsev to coaching in the first place. Yartsev was working as a commentator for NTV station when his former Spartak Moscow team-mate Romantsev offered him the job as Spartak assistant coach in 1994. The partnership was successful and Spartak won all six Champions League group matches the following season.

Yartsev took over when Romanstev quit to coach Russia but had to contend with the departures of the team's spine: Viktor Onopko, Vasily Kulkov, Sergei Yuran and Stanislav Cherchesov. Spartak were nicknamed 'The Kindergarten Team' and though they were dumped out of Europe by unfancied Nantes, they won the league in 1995 after a play-off match against Alania Vladikavkaz (who were then coached by Gazzayev). The Spartak heroes were Titov and Vadim Yevseyev, two players Yartsev has called into the squad to face Ireland.

It was the last time Yartsev tasted success as a coach. Romantsev returned after Euro 96 and Yartsev was assistant again: he moved to Spartak's rivals Dinamo Moscow in 1998 but only lasted a few months and was sacked after the club's heaviest defeat in the post-Soviet era, a 5-1 loss to Alania. He then went to Rotor Volgograd but a string of poor results ended his reign in 2000.

"I watch a lot of football and have seen every match in the Russian Premier League," Yartsev said. "I have worked on TV during the World Cup and I know how footballers play. I am not coming into this job with no knowledge."

He proved as much when he unexpectedly selected a 28-man squad for the games against Ireland and Switzerland and recalled several players dumped by Gazzayev following Russia's failure in the World Cup: including Celta Vigo captain Aleksandr Mostovoi, Porto's Uefa Cup-winning winger Dmitry Alenichev, defender Viktor Onopko and his old friend Titov.

"All of them are very experienced players and will undoubtedly help us against Ireland. It's a vital game for us, there is just so much at stake," Yartsev explained. "We don't have time to thoroughly prepare for the match, and we don't have time for any experiments. The players will know exactly which position they are expected to play, and in which situations they would go to a certain place on the pitch."

There is method behind his preference for experience, and it comes from his personal story. Yartsev was 29 and plying his trade for second division side Spartak Kostroma when Spartak Moscow coach Konstantin Beskov offered to sign him. "Do you know how old I am?" he asked. "Yes," came the reply, "but it doesn't matter to me."

That was in 1976 and Spartak had just been relegated into the first division. In his first season, Yartsev scored 17 goals to get them back to the Premier League; the next season he bagged 19 goals and the season after that, Spartak won the league title. Yartsev the late developer went on to play five times for Russia.

Yartsev has mixed the experience of that quartet with a few other surprises in his squad: Vladislav Radimov last played for Russia five years ago while Valeri Essipov has not worn the national jersey since 1994. But he did not just go for the old heads: experienced internationals like Krylya Sovetov, midfielder Andrei Tikhonov and Kuban Krasnodar forward Vladimir Beschastnykh, Russia's all-time leading scorer, have been left out.

Yartsev pointedly refused to select some players from CSKA Moscow, the team that Gazzayev also coaches. CSKA defenders and brothers Alexei and Vasily Berezutsky were dropped, as were Denis Yevsikov and midfielder Sergei Semak. A nod to youth was given by the selection of 17-year-old CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

"The young players need to feel the support of their more experienced colleagues. Some of the names in my squad have surprised a lot of people, but I picked the people who I have confidence in."

So what is the plan against Ireland? Is it possible reverse the run of results that has seen them draw to Switzerland and lose to Georgia and Albania? Yartsev thinks it can be done: "We can beat the Irish if we deprive them of the ball," he said.

"I don't want us to start playing long balls, that's what Ireland are great at doing, and therefore great at dealing with.

"If we can just control the ball, we should be able to count on getting a successful result. And I think our players are capable of that, I really do.

"I'm not going to spin you some fairytale about how we will spend the whole game attacking and the Irish will be defending. Let's be realistic and forget about this Imperial mentality."

Whenever there is a big football story in Russia, a conspiracy version is never far behind. In this case, Yartsev has been accused of being a stooge for the pro-Kremlin political party Yedinaya Rossiya (meaning, 'United Russia'). One of their members is sports minister Vyacheslav Fetisov, who ratified Yartsev's appointment.

There are parliamentary elections due in December and reports suggest that Yartsev may be mentioned within party propaganda if Russia qualify for Euro 2004.

Before then, Russia have to clamber up Group Ten again, by avoiding defeat on Saturday and then beating Switzerland and Georgia in Moscow over the next five weeks. "Not qualifying for Euro 2004 is unthinkable at the moment," Yartsev said. "Too many major footballing events have taken place without Russia in recent years."