"Let Stankovich work at Spartak, and at the end of the season we'll see"

In 2022, former defender of the Russian national team Andrei Yeshchenko ended his career as a football player. At the club level, he played in the top leagues of the national championships for Dynamo Kyiv and Moscow, Volga Nizhny Novgorod, Lokomotiv Moscow, Anzhi Makhachkala and Kuban Krasnodar, and achieved major success in Spartak Moscow, with which he became the champion of Russia in 2017. After completing his career, he worked at the Spartak Academy, in 2023 he moved to Kuban as the head of the youth football development program, a year later he became the assistant coach of the main team, and since the summer of 2025 he has been working as the head coach of Kuban in the second league.

In an interview with Izvestia, Yeshchenko spoke about his current activities, appreciated the performance of Spartak, which is in sixth place in the RPL, called for Deyan Stankovich to be retained as head coach of the red and white, discussed the future of Denis Glushakov, who recently retired from football, shared his impressions of attending the all-Russian coaching conference in Moscow and recalled the most Pavel Yakovenko, the former coach of Khimki, has tough training camps, under whose guidance he played in the first league in 2005.

— What did you learn from the coaching conference?

— This was the first time I attended such an event, as I had only recently started coaching. When the invitation letter arrived, I immediately replied that I would come because I wanted to talk with colleagues, discuss our work, and hear something new about trends in coaching. Plus, to see those who once coached me at different times. It was informative and interesting. I've heard a lot of interesting thoughts from my colleagues, and I'm trying to learn something. Such events can be held at least twice a year.

— What are the most interesting thoughts you've heard?

— That we need to work more, I agree with that. That we need to pay a lot of attention to children's sports. Otherwise, it happens that players come to adult teams who do not understand the basic requirements of football.

— Does "work more" mean to train more?

— Not only that. First of all, of course, we are talking about physics and technology. But the mental point is also important. Because our football players must not only run fast on the football field, but also think fast.

— Vyacheslav Koloskov, Honorary President of the Russian Football Federation, said in his speech at the conference that many modern football players arrive by car for training in 15 minutes, practice for an hour, take a shower and leave immediately. He thinks it's not enough. What do you think?

— It depends on the training process. In an hour, you can do as much work and perform as many actions as another person will do in three hours. It all depends on each player individually, on what he wants and how he wants it. We must help him in this and develop him.

— Which of your former coaches influenced the way you work now?

— Yes, everyone does it differently. Yuri Palych Semin, for example, showed how to build a team and keep it together. I saw a lot from Fabio Capello in terms of discipline. "Physics" is Pavel Alexandrovich Yakovenko, who did four training sessions a day at Khimki. I took a little bit from each of them. Plus your thoughts. As Rashid Mamatkulovich Rakhimov (Rubin's head coach) told me at the same conference. — Izvestia): "You must build and direct your every action and thought correctly."

— Yakovenko's tough training is still legendary. Can you imagine that someone in modern football would give you such hellish training camps as he gave you at Khimki 20 years ago?

— I would also like to do such trainings. But there are different nuances and problems here. For example, having arrived from Vladivostok, you can't even arrange two training sessions a day for your team. Recovery is needed. If you do it at the training camp, then why not. The main thing is that there are conditions for this.

"Which ones?"

— First of all, the budget is to go to Turkey for the winter training camp. And there should be a gym, a swimming pool, sand and football fields of good quality. When you have all this, you can do at least five workouts a day.

— Will modern football players, accustomed to a more lenient regime, perceive this adequately?

— A modern football player must adapt to all the realities and the vision of the coach he has today. If he wants to give five workouts a day, then there should be five workouts. It is clear that the players themselves are not as healthy as they used to be. But I think that by repeating such exercises, you can develop the necessary endurance and physical readiness. Especially if there is a desire. If a football player wants to achieve something in his career, it means that he has to sacrifice something. And usually we have to sacrifice our health and time to communicate with our loved ones.

— Could any of your players in the current Kuban have survived Yakovenko's training camp?

— Not all the guys. And not all workouts. But a couple of such classes would definitely have been able to withstand.

— When Mikhail Gershkovich, chairman of the Association of Russian Coaches, remembered that Kuban had replaced 47 head coaches since 2000, did you feel any fear for your future?

— It didn't get scary, but I want to take a picture of this list and then show it to the club (smiles).

"Why?"

— So that they know that they remember and talk about Kuban.

— Do you know and remember at least half of these dismissed coaches?

— I remember a little bit. I played for Kuban for a year and a half.

— All these coach changes were under completely different managers and owners. Under the current circumstances, do you feel that they will give you time to work?

— Well, we have now had a change in the vector of the club's development. We are trying to change certain approaches so that the Kuban starts to rise over a long distance.

— How has the vector of development changed?

— There were a lot of players from the first league left in Kuban, from where the team was relegated from last place the season before last. Now they have sunk to the point where they are in the "silver" (the "silver" group of the second league is actually the fourth most important division in the Russian championship after the RPL, the first league and the "gold" group of the second league. — Izvestia). It was necessary to change something, because it is impossible to solve problems with a team that has come all the way down in two seasons. Plus, don't forget that there should be "limiters" (young football players who, according to the regulations, each team must involve in the match. — Izvestia). Initially, we have now taken on "limiters" — this is an investment for the future. And these guys can close the issue of the limit for Kuban for the next two or three years.

— In September, an airport opened in Krasnodar for the first time since February 2022. Has it become easier to prepare for matches given that Kuban can travel to away games by plane again?

— It became easier for our rivals who came to us. But we haven't yet, because we haven't flown directly yet. Torpedo Miass recently came to us from the Chelyabinsk region. They arrived on a direct flight to Krasnodar and flew back on a direct flight. And after the opening of the airport, we had a trip only to Kaluga — but we went there by bus. 17 hours on the road.

- why? Was there no money for the plane?

— It was originally just planned that way. And it's not so easy to buy tickets at the last moment. We looked at our budget, how much it would cost us, and how to get there. And we decided to optimize costs without changing the original plan. Hopefully, it will be easier when we start flying.

— How do you like the format of the second league with the division of the tournament into several divisions and groups?

— I like it. There is constant intrigue in the tournament, everything can change in the table after each round. And the teams are generally equal. Yes, someone has better players, but even such clubs can be beaten. Plus, you can play four to five months in silver, take first place, go to gold, prepare for this tournament over the winter, play three to four months in gold in the spring and reach the first league. It's a good format and interesting.

— Did the management of Kuban set you the task of returning to the first league within a certain period of time?

— Yes, but first we need to get back to the gold as soon as possible.

— Is there a potential for this?

— There is and there was. But the players come out on the field — everything depends on them. And we can say anything in words.

— What is the attitude towards Kuban in the city now? For many years it was the main team of the region, but now, when it has long been absent from the RPL, has Krasnodar finally taken people's attention?

— It is clear that Krasnodar has achieved fantastic results. And if you don't get a result, the fans won't come to your matches. But still, when we played in the first league the season before last, a lot of people gathered there. And when I played for Kuban, we had a full stadium.

— You played at a time when Krasnodar did not have its own new stadium, it did not play much in the RPL and was not particularly superior to Kuban in terms of results.

— Well, yes, comparisons with those times are probably not very appropriate. But I'm sure that Kuban can regain its popularity. To do this, you just need to build an effective club, an effective vertical. We need people here who want to work and develop the club, raise it as high as possible. The current management of Kuban is interested in this, as is the coaching staff. We need to do everything together, then we will achieve our goals.

— Denis Glushakov's farewell match was recently held in Khimki. You were missed among the participants, taking into account your friendship and many years of playing together.

— Yes, I couldn't be there because we were playing against Kaluga that day. But I congratulated Denis anyway. I said thank you for the invitation, even though it didn't work out for me.

— What do you think he'll do now?

"I don't think he's going anywhere yet." He will continue to travel to various RFU events in the regions where he often visits as a celebrity. Maybe he'll go into the media again, as he has already played in the Media League for SKA at Basta. And then, perhaps, he will join some team - as a coach or sports director. I think the role of sports director is more suitable for him.

— He has said more than once that he wants to return to Spartak. Can he get a job there, given how the fans turned against him at the end of his career at the club because of the conflict with Massimo Carrera?

"Why not?" Sooner or later, maybe he'll come back.

— How do you like the current Spartak?

—Interesting."

— Can you decipher it?

—Interesting." He can win. But he can also lose. There is no stability or specifics.

— Does it look like what you've had in recent seasons? For example, under Carrera after the championship?

— The coach has already started playing tricks there.

— Are you talking about how, shortly before his resignation, he sent you and Glushakov to double for likes on social networks under critical posts addressed to him?

— Yes, yes, yes. And from that, everything went like a snowball. One thing after another. There is no result, and it all started. Spartak is always under pressure. Everything was fine with us during the championship season, but someone wanted to improve even more. But it only got worse.

— Have you seen him at least once since Carrera left Spartak?

— Only at the hotel, when he came to an event. We said hello, but we didn't talk much. They didn't treat me like a human being. There is still some kind of negative imprint. Although I can chat and say hello to him.

— Should Dejan Stankovic be dismissed from the post of Spartak head coach?

— Let Stankovich work, and at the end of the season we'll see. I'm telling you, Spartak is winning and losing now. Time will tell what this will result in.

— Are you surprised by how Spartak has started spending tens of millions of euros on transfers over the past year, as it has never been spent in its history?

— A lot of money, yes. The big money came. Because now Lukoil stands behind the club, and before that there was only Fedun. Maybe that's the whole answer.

— In your experience, if a newcomer comes to an established team for a lot of money, does this create an imbalance in the team?

— If a good strong player comes in, then everyone will take it calmly.

— And if someone like Marko Petkovic, who joined Spartak immediately after the championship season, did not play, and Carrera, as well as the intermediaries Marco Trabucchi and Timur Gurtskaya, who were friends with him, were criticized for this transfer?

— It depends on the specific players. If you are stronger than the newcomer, you will play. It's just that sometimes it's not clear why people should be amused by such transfers. But in general, everyone has their ups and downs.

— Do you dream of returning to Spartak?

— First, Kuban needs to be brought to a certain level, so that a certain vertical can be built there and everything is stable. And so, of course, anyone dreams of returning to Spartak.