Spartak beat Legia (1-0) in the final round of the Europa League group stage and took first place in the quartet with Napoli and Leicester. The match in Poland will be remembered for the game of goalkeeper Alexander Selikhov, who saved the victory by taking a penalty kick in extra time. But after the game in Poland, they talked not only about him – the football community doubted the decision of the red-and-white leadership to dismiss the head coach Rui Vitoria.
“Maybe Spartak was an outsider, but he knew what to do. We understand how the European cups work , ”said Rui Vitoria after the red-and-white victory over Legia (1: 0) and the first place in the Europa League group.
It is true that Vitoria knows how to work in the European Cup – it takes a lot of work to take first place in the quartet with Napoli and Leicester. Things are going much worse in the Russian championship – ninth place after 17 rounds: six wins, six defeats and five draws. They want to dismiss Vitoria for a long time, on December 14-15, a final meeting of the board of directors of “Spartak” will take place, at which the approval of the resignation of the Portuguese specialist is expected. In his place, the Italian Paolo Vanoli, who will arrive in Moscow on December 15, has allegedly already been found.
But after the success in the Europa League, experts and fans unanimously announced that Spartak’s management needed to change their minds and give Vitoria a chance to work further.
“Have there been any recent examples of the resignation of a coach after the final first place in such a Eurogroup? And one more thing: will the conditional Vanoli now sign a contract and, as if nothing had happened, will prepare the team for the playoffs? ” – commentator Georgy Cherdantsev is perplexed .
Former midfielder of the Moscow club Maxim Kalinichenko also sees no point in dismissing Vitoria: “I can only say the best about this coach. He has a lot of composure and endurance. He has a phenomenal psyche, during all this time he did not break even once. You have to be a strong person. He showed himself to be the most thick-skinned person, ready for anything. Few could have endured what he suffered at Spartak.
One of those who spoke out against Vitoria, even after Spartak entered the European Spring, was the ex-president of Lokomotiv Olga Smorodskaya:
“I don’t see anything in Spartak’s game, except an ardent desire to rehabilitate himself. No coaching hand. I do not see the merits of Rui Vitoria. They just want to rehabilitate themselves in front of their fans and in front of themselves. Fortune turned in the match against Legia, and in the Russian championship there may be another failure. Should I fire Vitoria? Eurocups are not the answer to the question. He beat Napoli, but lost to everyone in a row with us . “
Commentator Konstantin Genich disagrees with Smorodskaya :
“The fans have already shown that they trust Ruy. Maybe it was in opposition to the decisions of the club and its management. Since the team was almost not strengthened, and many squabbles got out. It seems to me that even despite Vitoria’s poor start, the fans rallied to support him. Because, I suppose, there was not a lot of support from the club. Of course, the fans are still on the side of Rui, not the leadership. Spartak’s success in European competition is a coach’s job. He had to spend a lot of time to find the threads of team management. “
And the fans are unanimous – Vitoria should be left.
I would like to remind you that Rui not only has weak Melkadze, Rasskazov and Lomik enter the field, they still do not understand him, because he was hired an interpreter of the same level as the players mentioned above. It’s surprising that at least the base was given, and not sent to the yard to train.- georgiy_sergeevich (@georgiy_sm)
Rui Vitoria, we are with you. pic.twitter.com/s4IGCf5Quh– Zhora Adalbert. (@FromGenoa)
Nobody is allowed to leave the LE group in the centenary of the great club, so Rui Vitoria will go home- Trequart1sta ™ (@ trequart1sta)
I think that Rui Vitoria deserves to continue working with the team in the Europa League.
In the Russian championship, you can also Vanoli- Trevor Phillips Ink (@Redwhitenotdead)
Together! Forward! Rui Vitoria! pic.twitter.com/kp9mDV7R6T– Spartak Commercial (@spartakcommerce)
Be that as it may, Rui Vitoria inscribed his name in the history of Spartacus. The first after the great Oleg Ivanovich. First place in the Euro Cup group.
And Luciano Spaletti’s shiny bald head is now full of big letters: “Rui was here” @fcsm_official #LEGSP– Atutti Tribe (@SpMRusLife)
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