…These people have been friends for half a century, they have been communicating for 56 years out of 70. It seems that they know everything about each other. But no. In a conversation with Alexander Fedorovich, it turns out that he has not heard much about the behind-the-scenes moments of his comrade and colleague's coaching career. The VChK-OGPU tried to fill the gap.
– Why, in your opinion, is Zenit dominating now, while Spartak is hanging around somewhere on the fringes? Is everything so bad for the red-whites?
– Spartak does not have a well-built system of relationships at the moment. Although the team has no less money than the Petersburgers. Look, Zenit had famous coaches – Spalletti, Mancini, Advocaat, they gradually built, each in their own way, the system of relationships I mentioned. By the way, not everything worked out for them. And Semak is a kind of second Romantsev. Everyone wins, the selection is solid, the coaching work itself is at a high level. Hence the results.
Why did Romantsev's players grow in skill level? Because the team had a style. Attractive, combinational, attacking. The club recruited players for it. Yes, Oleg also took Konstantin Beskov's system and tried to improve it. It worked out well, Spartak won the domestic championship and successfully performed in European tournaments.
There is no style now, the coaching reshuffle has begun and continues. They say about Semak: he has a sea of money, a lot of players, that's why his team wins. But such a team needs, as they say, to be “held”, to be able to tune it. He, like Romantsev in his time, apparently has this art, and is also a good psychologist.
Romantsev was at Spartak, there were no problems. He left, and problems appeared. How many coaches did Fedun change? About a dozen and a half, no less. Carrera came, fixed something, and later also failed… I'm telling you, not every specialist is capable of keeping a team at a high level.
– If your friend, Romantsev, is so good, why did he leave Spartak? What did he leave behind? At the time of his departure from the club, the Red-Whites went bankrupt, this was stated at a press conference by the new owner of the team, Andrey Chervichenko.
– Andrey didn't like Romantsev's coaching style, and in the end nothing came of this “collaboration”. What could Oleg do? Leave. Then, if we throw a bridge to the present, almost only foreigners went. I agree with Sasha Mostovoy – who is, for example, Abascal? They don't know him even in his homeland, Spain. Nevertheless, 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 flight from the club was the dominance of criminals in his circle. They saw for themselves the “prospect” of personal gain, since the most popular team in Russia (*aggressor country) regularly played in European competitions and received decent fees. As subsequent events showed, the “bugs” around football simply stole the club's money, transferring it to their personal accounts in foreign banks. This is largely the reason for the bankruptcy of the “red-whites”, which Andrei Chervichenko told the public about.
– It's the first time I've heard such details from you. We didn't talk about finances with Oleg, only about football itself. Sometimes, though, I noticed that he was depressed about something. But, I repeat, the topic of money was never touched upon in the conversation.
– You don't know about the tax crimes of Romantsev's time in the 90s either? Our channel reported on this in detail in 2022, and this year we also touched on this sensitive topic. In total, law enforcement 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 the backstage issues, because we are football people. When Yesaulenko and Zavarzin arrived, Oleg was essentially just a coach, he didn't get involved in transfer or money deals.
– How can you be the president of a club and not get involved in the daily life of the team, connected with expenses on player transfers, for example? At some point, your friend, apparently, began to guess that “finances are singing romances”, and called for help Larisa Nechaeva, whom the above-mentioned gentlemen simply physically eliminated, she was preventing them from stealing. Again, our channel gave heartbreaking details of Nechaeva's execution at her dacha. Didn't you know either?
– I can only say that sometimes we spent our free time together outside in nature. Our dachas are nearby – that of Larisa, Sasha Hadji, our administrator. Grisha Yesaulenko and Yura Zavarzin also joined in, of course, Oleg was there too. But I don't know anything about the “criminal case”.
– What does your friend's everyday life consist of after leaving big football? Does he create funds named after himself, invest in children's football, has he found something to do? Maybe he has an exotic hobby?
– He is the president of the Spartak veterans team, there are plenty of concerns associated with this. Now his charges, with some of whom he played when he was a player, travel a lot more than ever. So the burden of organization fell on him. In this regard, we communicate less often than we would like. Often, yes, people meet at weddings, funerals. So we met with Oleg at the funeral of his older brother, Valery. I could not help but come, Valery was a wonderful person.
What does Oleg live for? He loved to go fishing to Spartak doctor Yuri Vasilkov, I kept them company. Unfortunately, we also buried Yuri Sergeyevich the other day… And so, the veterans' team, now this is his main brainchild. Sometimes he speaks in the press about resolving acute problems in our football. First of all, in the youth environment. In a big game recently he advised Spartak management to appoint Andrei Tikhonov as head coach.
– Yes, the same one whom he kicked out of Spartak for some reason, calling the wonderful player “used material”. What do you think Romantsev was guided by when he removed the captain from the team in the prime of his life and talent?
– Andrei and the other guys still speak of Oleg Ivanovich with gratitude and respect. I know this for sure. Despite everything, Romantsev's Spartak of the 90s was the strongest in the country, but now, what? The comparisons are clearly not in favor of today's team.
– It is almost certain that the “red-whites” would still be leaders today, if the same Romantsev had not allowed criminals, inveterate mafiosi like Yesaulenko and Zavarzin, to join the club. Why didn't he even try to get rid of them? Maybe at some point they threatened him and his family with reprisals? Plus they appeased him with stolen money in foreign accounts? Does your friend have expensive mansions, luxury cars, etc.?
– I have not heard of any threats and simply do not know. And the fees from football in the 90s are greatly exaggerated. Oleg and his family do not have any mansions, they live in an ordinary apartment. So that fans have an idea of the wealth of coaches and players in those days, I will say that we bought the same Nikiforov and Tsymbalar from Odessa's Chornomorets for a ridiculous amount by today's standards – 50 thousand dollars. Compare this with the sum of 15 million euros for the current Spartak forward Ugalde…
– So, you are not destined to work together as a coach one last time, so to speak, to shake off the old days? Why, after all, does your friend not work in big football?
– The person's character is such that he does not tolerate advice or recommendations from the outside. He must have absolute freedom of choice, only then is he ready to show himself to the fullest. Oleg is not a conflict person, but he does not accept advice from, to put it mildly, non-football people. He will not argue, quarrel, it is better to leave, and that's it. Those who do not know him well, like me, will not understand Oleg Romantsev's psychology, his mindset.
I am a different person, I can argue, even quarrel over some work issues. Oleg – no, that’s how my friend is. Take him as he is…