Alexander Tarkhanov about working with Oleg Romantsev at Spartak - especially for the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info
...These people are connected by half a century of friendship, 56 out of 70 years of communication. They seem to know everything about each other. But no. In a conversation with Alexander Fedorovich, it turns out that he hasn’t heard much about the behind-the-scenes moments of his friend and colleague’s coaching career. The Cheka-OGPU tried to fill the gap.
- Why, in your opinion, does Zenit dominate now, while Spartak hangs out somewhere in the background? Is everything so bad for the “red-whites”?
- In Spartak now there is no general, well-built system of relations. Although the team has no less money than the St. Petersburg team. Look, eminent coaches worked at Zenit - Spalletti, Mancini, Advocaat, they gradually built, each in their own way, the system of relationships that I mentioned. By the way, not everything worked out for them. And Semak is a kind of second Romantsev. Everyone wins, the selection is good, the coaching itself is at the level. Hence the results.
Why did Romantsev’s players grow in skill level? Because the team had style. Attractive, combinational, attacking. Football players were also recruited into the club under him. Yes, Oleg also took Konstantin Beskov’s system and tried to improve it. It turned out well, the Spartak team won the domestic championship and performed successfully in European tournaments.
Now there is no style, the coaching leapfrog has begun and continues. They say about Semak: they say, he has a lot of money, there are plenty of players, and therefore, they say, his team wins. But such a team must, as they say, be “kept” and be able to set it up. He, like Romantsev in his time, apparently possesses such art, and is also a good psychologist.
Romantsev was at Spartak, there were no problems. He left and problems appeared. How many coaches has Fedun changed? Ten and a half, no less. Carrera came, set something up, and later also failed... I’m telling you, not every specialist can keep a team at the same level.
- If your friend, Romantsev, is so good, why did he leave Spartak? What did you leave behind? At the time of his departure from the club, the “red-whites” became bankrupt, the new team owner Andrei Chervichenko stated at a press conference.
- Andrey just didn’t like Romantsev’s coaching style, and in the end nothing came of this “cooperation”. What could Oleg do? Leave. Further, if we bridge the gap at the present time, almost only foreigners went. I agree with Sasha Mostov - who, for example, is Abaskal? They don’t even know him in his homeland, Spain. However, he recently worked at Spartak. By the way, the average age of coaches in Brazil is 68 years old, and it is unlikely that Brazilian football is in decline because of this; in my opinion, on the contrary, there is plenty of talent.
- In our opinion, one of the most compelling reasons for Romantsev’s escape from the club is the dominance of criminals in his environment. They saw for themselves a “prospect” for personal gain, because the most popular team in Russia regularly played in European competitions and received decent fees. As subsequent events showed, football bugs simply stole club money, transferring it to their personal accounts in foreign banks. This is largely due to the bankruptcy of the “red-whites”, which Andrei Chervichenko told the public about.
- This is the first time I’ve heard such details from you. We didn’t talk about finances with Oleg, only about football itself. Sometimes, however, I noticed that he was depressed about something. But, I repeat, the conversation did not touch on the topic of money at all.
- Don’t you also know about the tax crimes of Romantsev’s time in the 90s? Our channel reported on this in detail in 2022, and this year it also touched on a sensitive topic. In total, law enforcement officers opened four criminal cases against the management of the most popular club in the country, when Romantsev combined the positions of president and head coach...
- No, I didn’t know until you told me. I repeat, we didn’t touch on behind-the-scenes topics, because he and I are football people. When Esaulenko and Zavarzin arrived, Oleg, in fact, was only a coach and did not delve into transfer or financial transactions.
- How can you be the president of a club and not delve into the daily life of the team related to the costs of player transfers, for example? At some point, your friend, apparently, began to guess that “finance sings romances,” and called Larisa Nechaeva for help, whom the above-mentioned gentlemen simply physically eliminated, she prevented them from stealing. Again, our channel provided heartbreaking details of the execution of Nechaeva at her dacha. Didn't you know either?
- I can only say that sometimes we spent time together in nature, free from games and training. Our dachas are nearby - the same Larisa, Sasha Khadzhi, our administrator. Grisha Esaulenko and Yura Zavarzin also joined, of course, Oleg was there too. But I don’t know anything about the “crime”.
- What is your friend’s everyday life filled with after leaving big-time football? Creates foundations named after himself, invests in children's football, has he found something to do? Maybe you have an exotic hobby?
- He is the president of the Spartak veterans team, concerns related with this, that's enough. Now his players, some of whom he played with when he was a player, are traveling a lot more than ever. So the burden of organization fell on him. Because of this, we communicate less often than we would like. Often, yes, people meet at weddings and funerals. So we met Oleg at the funeral of his older brother, Valery. I couldn’t help but come, Valera was a wonderful person.
How does Oleg live? He loved to go fishing with Spartak doctor Yuri Vasilkov, and I kept them company. Unfortunately, we also buried Yuri Sergeevich the other day... And so, a team of veterans, now this is his main brainchild. Sometimes he speaks in the press to resolve pressing problems in our football. First of all, in the children's and youth environment. In a big game, I recently advised the Spartak management to appoint Andrei Tikhonov as head coach.
- Yes, the same one whom he for some reason kicked out of Spartak at one time, calling the wonderful player “waste material.” What do you think Romantsev was motivated by when he removed the captain from the team in the prime of his strength and talent?
- Both Andrei and the other guys still speak of Oleg Ivanovich with gratitude and respect. I know this for sure. No matter what, Romantsev’s Spartak in the 90s was the strongest in the country, but now, what? Comparisons are clearly not in favor of today's team.
- Almost certainly, the “red-whites” would have remained leaders to this day if Romantsev had not allowed criminals, inveterate mafiosi in the person of all sorts of Esaulenko and Zavarzin, and the like, to join the club. Why didn't you even try to get rid of them? Maybe at some point they threatened him and his family with death? Plus they appeased them with stolen money in foreign accounts? Does your friend have expensive mansions, luxury cars, etc.?
“I haven’t heard about any threats and I just don’t know.” And the royalties from football in the 90s are greatly exaggerated. Oleg and his family do not have any mansions; they live in an ordinary apartment. To give fans an idea of the wealth of coaches and players in those days, I will say that we bought the same Nikiforov and Tsymbalar from the Odessa Chernomorets for money that is ridiculous in these days - 50 thousand dollars. Compare with the amount of 15 million euros for the current Spartak forward Ugalde...
- So, you are not destined to work for the last time in the coaching team, so to speak, to shake off the old days? Why, after all, doesn’t your friend work in big football?
- A person’s character is such that he does not tolerate advice or recommendations from outside. Must have absolute freedom of choice, only then is he ready to express himself fully. Oleg is not a conflicted person, but he does not take advice from, to put it mildly, non-football people. He won’t argue or swear, he’d rather leave, that’s all. Anyone who doesn’t know him well, like me, will not understand Oleg Romantsev’s psychology and mentality.
I’m a different person, I can argue, even quarrel over some work issues. Oleg - no, that’s how my friend works. Take it as it is...
Interviewed by Alexey Matveev
Source: www.rucriminal.info
