"Maybe someone will have questions after this interview, too."
Akhmat came tenth to the long international break in the RPL, having won only two victories in nine rounds. But this does not affect Stanislav Cherchesov's mood in any way — in an interview with Sport-Express and Izvestia, the 63-year-old specialist spoke in detail about the results of the transfer campaign, the performance of his club, the attitude towards the VAR and the benefits of Artem Dzyuba for the clubs of the top division.
"I will never keep a football player in my life"
— It's been a month since the transfer window closed. Are you generally satisfied with the recruitment of your team? To what extent did you close the necessary positions and accomplish what you had planned?
— By and large, I am satisfied. Probably, the old school of the Soviet Union is affecting here: everything must be done in advance. We were one of the first to finish the transfer campaign, because we were preparing for it in advance. We must pay tribute to the club, sports director Ruslan Gazzaev and the entire breeding service. It is clear that at some points I also joined in. We don't just live in conditions of numerous sanctions against the whole country — the club itself is under restrictions. It's not easy to plan ahead in such a situation. And not only the purchase of players, but also the sale: sanctions work in both directions. Therefore, we must pay tribute — we worked on time.
Another thing is that football players come from teams where they had certain roles, partners, and requirements. And our league also makes its own demands. We warn you right away: the tournament is not easy, it will take some time. Sidibe missed several matches due to a certain problem. As for Maksuti, he has already scored an important goal for Lokomotiv. It is clear that people are constantly asking why one is playing, and not the second or third. But we have an experienced Konate, we have Melkadze, who showed himself well and got into the national team. This time we decided that we needed a younger player, both for the present and for the future. Moreover, I repeat, we trust our players, in particular Konata. Plus, the sanctions restrictions do not allow us much.
We know what our line-up is. The guys are good. But there is one caveat: whether we like it or not, the team as a whole and individuals made a qualitative leap last season. And now there is a demand for our players. And not just one or two— but at least 75% of the team.
But this is a normal situation for any club. Conditionally, they want to take a football player from Bayern to Real Madrid, from Spartak to Roma. The same applies to us: interest has appeared in one, the second, the third. The only thing I didn't really like was the reaction of some players to this interest, but this is a problem of growth sickness. And here it is necessary, on the one hand, to understand this, and on the other, to solve it so that such things do not affect the results. It's a very long way from interest to a contract, so it's wrong to take every call with a sigh. Perhaps that's why we missed two or three points. Whether we like it or not, the players are starting to get distracted, to think about something else.
The task of the head coach is to grow the players and the team. Look at the last training camp: we have three players in the Russian national team, all Chechens. Ibishev, Adamov returned to the national team, Sadulaev. Melkadze missed several matches due to injury, so he is not invited this time. Tsaka is now constantly called up to the Albanian national team, although this was not the case before.
— Since the players are distracted, maybe we should think about postponing the transfer window? In our country, unlike the leading European championships, it closes when five or six rounds are over.
"Maybe eight or nine."
— Even more so. Conventionally, in Series A, two or three months pass by the end of the application period.
— In general, this is an absolutely correct and competent question. Firstly, the team starts the championship with one squad, and after nine rounds it may be completely different. Secondly, just before the transfer window closed, there were several calls about our players. But this does not happen: in a day or two, even if there is a great desire, it is impossible to do something serious. It's a little frivolous.
I mean, the players are distracted. While the window is open, why shouldn't a football player be interested in the offer? This is an absolutely normal phenomenon. Another thing is that the club can no longer respond promptly, because you won't find a replacement for the lead performer in a day or two.
For example, according to Samorodov, we eventually gave the go-ahead to Spartak. When they say that it is difficult to negotiate with us, it is not true. It's absolutely simple. I said from day one: I will never keep a football player in my life. Especially if a person is going to be promoted.
Naturally, I ask the player certain questions, which he must answer first of all to himself.: what the transition will give him, what he is ready for. Experience allows us to give some advice, and to ask the right things - sometimes those that the footballer himself had not even thought about before.
— Like, "do you realize that you might end up on a bench at first"?
- of course. Where are you going, why, have you talked to the coach, what they told you, how they see you. So, for Samorodov, I said from the first day: please. Another thing is, everything has to happen on time.
When I talked with Francis Cahigao (Spartak sports director. — Ed.), he immediately said: we have excellent relations, but you need to meet with the club's leaders. Not to exchange papers, but just to sit at the same table. As a result, four days before the window closed, such a meeting took place — we signed all the documents, but Maxim did not pass a medical examination. In general, Akhmat is a negotiable club, no matter what anyone says.
— Can you solve the mystery of what happened at the medical check-up? Someone is talking about the nail, someone is talking about a more serious problem.
— I don't know, honestly. I repeat once again: I don't want to invent anything. All I know is that literally on the second day he already played against Makhachkala and was officially recognized as the best player of the match, gave an assist.
— Did you have any internal questions after that?
- no. I've been in football for a long time and I understand that there are different nuances. Two people came to Dynamo just now, and they didn't get a medical checkup either. It happens. On the one hand, I am glad that the player stayed with us. On the other hand, we must give him his due: he understands everything and reacts correctly.
But this time Spartak agreed with both Akhmat and Samorodov. We are well aware that there will be a transfer period again in winter, plus the limit will be tightened in the 2027/28 season. And I don't think the demand for Maxim, who is not considered a legionnaire, will disappear. I don't know yet how the club will act on it. My principle is simple. Therefore, Spartak was a little unlucky here.
— Was there a large group of applicants to leave? As a coach, were you worried that seven people could leave the team at once?
— We are constantly discussing this with the president and the sports director. We must be ready for anything. If we have a man scoring or playing great defense, are we the only ones who see it? Of course not.
— Is the management sympathetic to this situation?
- of course. We also have our own goals and ambitions. But, once again, everything must happen on time. I know from experience that you can't replace anyone in one day. We read that some player did not transfer to Real Madrid because the club simply did not have time to find a replacement for him in a couple of weeks. I would like everything to happen correctly in this regard.
And if we go back to the terms of the transfer period... So we met with Rubin. On the eve of the window closing, Oleynikov, a football player from Krylia Sovetov, was reported to have arrived in the evening to sign a contract with Kazan. And the next day we have a match with them.
And the question arose: yesterday, the guy played for Krylia Sovetov, scored or gave a pass, and if he signs a contract today, will he be able to play against us tomorrow? As part of the same tour? As a result, Ivan did not sign the contract then, but the very fact of such a possibility... The situation is strange.
— Have you discussed with your colleagues at the club the possibility of reaching out to the RFU with an initiative to postpone the window dates?
— We exchange opinions among ourselves. Perhaps, after this interview, someone will also have questions. I emphasize that I am not saying that the current system is good or bad. But it's really strange when a significant part of the season has already passed, and the players continue to move back and forth.
"I enjoyed working with Dzyuba."
— Free agents have two more weeks to find employment compared to everyone else. Did Artyom Dzyuba's candidacy arise during these terms?
— When a player gets a similar status, sometimes different options arise. You call it Juba. Before him, there was Dzhikiya, who joined Lokomotiv, Kuzyaev, who played in France, and now has signed a contract with Makhachkala. Such surnames are always discussed. But it's not even about the names. Football players of Dzyuba's level can't just be invited to join an already assembled team. The structure has been formed. In addition, these players are expensive in terms of salary.
The sports director and I are considering absolutely everyone — there is no other way. But it's one thing to know that a player is available, another thing is to understand if we can include him in our squad. Four strikers is too much. It would be another matter if one of our people left. There are many nuances here.
A player of any level should clearly understand why he is here and what his role is. So that there won't be any questions later. As it is now in the situation with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jesus: the level is, of course, different, but the principle is the same. First, a football player comes, and then the question arises what to do with him.
— You are now a coach, but you were a football player in the past. Which side is on in this situation?
— On the side of professional football. I'm not in the Portuguese national team, I don't know what conversations and agreements they had. But what I agree with my colleague is that a team is a team, and certain rules are the same for everyone. If the training starts at five, it means that everyone starts at five. Theory, the daily routine is the same.
It is clear that it is impossible to compare Ronaldo with anyone else. But there is a specific game, an opponent, tactics, and the need for a particular player. The one who will help today should enter the field.
— Returning to Juba. Wasn't it a revelation to you that, being still far from ancient by football standards, he was left without a team for at least the first part of the championship?
— I'm not aware of the reasons. I know the possibilities and plans of Akhmat, but I don't know the situation in other clubs.
— Have you had any negotiations with Artyom?
- no.
— You have a good relationship. Haven't you talked to each other?
— Not in this regard.
— When was the last time we talked?
"A month ago.
— What were you talking about?
— Apparently, about my birthday, which was on September 2nd.
— Is Dzyuba still capable of being useful at the RPL level?
— We are talking about Dzyuba, who three months ago brought benefits to Akron in the Premier League. If it had been three years ago, it would have been a different matter. And here everything is quite fresh. In my understanding, he is definitely capable. Let's see what happens next. But any career comes to an end sooner or later. He passed it with dignity, rewrote many records and should be proud of it. I enjoyed working with him. And such a player, of course, must be treated with dignity.
— How is Messi with the last match for the national team of Argentina, which was specially arranged as a farewell?
- of course.
"We missed at least four or five points"
— Before the long, almost three-week pause, nine rounds passed — almost a third of the distance, this is a certain watershed. What are you happy with or not? How do you rate the start?
— "Satisfied-dissatisfied" — probably not the right words. It is better to say whether the tasks have been solved or not.
— Okay, have you decided on these nine rounds?
— In terms of the quality of the game, yes, with reservations. In terms of results, no. And the first one who doesn't like it is me. We had a very good summer training camp. And in such opening matches as against Lokomotiv, Spartak and Krasnodar, they showed the quality of football they were aiming for. Another thing is that there were certain miscalculations and mistakes.
— Yes, I remember Ibishev's mistakes against Loko, Shelia against Spartak, and how Melkadze missed an empty goal against Krasnodar...
— This is football, and how to fix it is our internal kitchen. As it was, the only time we didn't look good was against Fakel, especially in the first half. Otherwise, if we talk about the organization and the actions of the team, I was satisfied with a lot of things. But sport is primarily about scoring on the scoreboard. Here we need to add and correct something. I repeat once again: I am not satisfied with the points we have now. At least four or five were missing.
— And then the tournament position would have been completely different.
— To be honest, no matter how trivial it may sound, the place is not crucial right now. We have to look at ourselves.
If you remember, in our last interview I said: my task is to make the team better than last year. The quality of football shows this even in numbers: how much possession we have, how many passes we make, and so on. There is progress in this regard. Another thing is the score on the scoreboard, which I'm not completely satisfied with today.
— What filled the pause in the RPL?
— Now we had a training camp in Turkey — the club and its president supported its holding there. It is clear that there were no football players who joined the national teams. But for this time, we have called up four players from the youth team and two from the academy. One of them, 15—year-old striker Sarkhan Saitov, made his debut for our team, and on Monday scored in a control game against Alania.
— A local pupil?
— Yes, from our academy. We work very closely with her and do everything possible to ensure that the players who show themselves feel the attention and continue to grow. The gathering was well conducted. The only negative is that the Turkish top league team, which was supposed to play, abandoned the match at the last moment. The coach had changed there a day or two before, and the new specialist had decided not to spar. This is a serious disadvantage for us.
— So you didn't have any matches at all?
- no. We planned two and spent one. I just wanted to check out some of the players once again at the level of the Turkish top league team.
— I heard that the new training center in Grozny was completed in a couple of months. Is that really the case?
— Yes, literally.
— And what is he like? Changing rooms, recovery rooms?
— Yes, of course. There's a good level of infrastructure here, not just football. Here is the view of Grozny at night from my room. (He points at the phone.) And this is next to the stadium: here is the arena itself, and a second field is currently being built behind it. In this regard, everything is developing. When we arrived for the first time, my Hungarian assistant, Mate Csaba, was on his way to the airport with me. There are some construction sites around — potholes, potholes. We got there, we flew away. Two months later, we're driving down the same road again, and he asks: "Where are we going?" I reply, "To the airport." He looks — and there's already an avenue. He asks: "In two months?" Like that. I tell him, "Sanctions, sanctions..."
"If I had three hands, I would raise everything for the cancellation of the VAR"
— Let's imagine a fantastic situation: the RFU conducts a survey among the coaches of the RPL clubs and asks one question: "Do you want to cancel the VAR?"
— If I had three hands, I would have raised all of them. But I would have left the technology for determining offside and the moment whether the ball crossed the goal line or not. Everything else... Listen, we constantly see that even after watching, decisions are made that are later recognized as erroneous.
In one match, I see an episode with an Akron player: it feels like someone has been hit in the leg with a crowbar. A natural low kick. I think someone named Justin Geiji (the current UFC lightweight champion. — Ed.) I would envy such a blow. But they don't give penalties. Then the explanations begin: someone put their foot down earlier, someone later... You look and think: how is it?
There was also a reverse example — already in the match between Akhmat and Spartak. Litvinov, in my understanding, was stepped on his foot — even his boot was torn off. I immediately say to the fourth referee, "Isn't that a penalty?" The referee's eyes widened a little.…
— Did you point to a penalty kick against your team during the match?!
- of course. Before that, I was indignant for five minutes that they had missed a violation against us. And then I say, "Why didn't they let us in now? In my opinion, this is the point. A man's boot is being removed."
I don't want decisions to be made only in our favor. There are rules of football, and they should work equally for everyone. However, I did not get an answer from the judge.
— Was the referee not surprised when the coach demands a penalty against his own team?
— I am in favor of a single law for everyone. Judges have their own supervisors who are responsible for their work. That's why I try not to discuss anyone personally. We're just talking about the situations I'm facing right now.
It's the same with my players. I don't like it when people start publicly criticizing them who don't know what task the player has received. Conditionally, the football player was told not to go on the attack, and then someone says: How do you know what the coach demanded of him?
It's the same with judges — questions should be addressed primarily to their supervisors. And he gave an example from Turkey only because it was the same referee in the same match. There was one picture before the break, and then a completely different one. There were still some mistakes, of course, but these were common football mistakes, not a sense of bias.
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