We analyze the flow of potential, but unexpected appointments.
In Russian football there is a simple health indicator. When clubs look for coaches with an idea, a future and logic, the league moves forward. When appointments begin to resemble a set of random decisions from the “who is free” folder, it becomes alarming.
And now is just such a moment. The appointments of coaches in the RPL in winter are not just surprising. They are frightening – and not because of their eccentricity or courage, but because of their outright lack of system.
Kafanov in Rubin. Experiment without experience
The potential appointment of Vitaly Kafanov to Rubin looks like a step into the unknown. The man is 65 years old, a respected specialist, but for many years he worked as a goalkeeper coach. Of course, he was in the right place. But there is one important detail: Kafanov never worked seriously as a head coach.
On October 26, 2021, the Rostov club announced the appointment of Kafanov as the head coach of the team, but in fact, senior coach Zaur Tedeev continued to lead there. It was just a formality related to the license.
Rubin is a club that is trying to gain a foothold at the top of the table and needs systematic work and clear management. And at this moment, Kazan residents are betting on a person without such experience. This is not the future. This is the hope that “somehow it will work out.”
Evseev to Makhachkala. They don’t score there anyway
Dynamo is already a team that has problems with goals, attack and creativity. And Vadim Evseev may be placed in this structure. The author of the legendary quote “Football is about scoring goals or what?”
Photo source: FC Chernomorets
Evseev is known for his toughness, pressure, and conflicts. But his teams rarely pleased with their results. The highest figure was recorded in Shinnik (about 1.38 goals per match), and the lowest in Ufa (about 0.85 goals per match). The question is simple: if a team doesn’t score, then why call a coach under whom almost no one scores?
“Spartak” and Carcedo. Another foreigner without weight
Spartak is again looking for salvation abroad. Juan Carlos Carcedo. Not a star. Not a coach with big victories. Sacked from Zaragoza after 15 matches. A man with a controversial reputation since his time at PSG.
This is again a choice not of an idea, but of a summary. Again, the bet is on the last name instead of understanding where the club is going. “Spartak” once again risks stepping on the same rake, only now it is Spanish.
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Dynamo and Gusev: when there is no hope anymore
The saddest appointment is at Dynamo. Perhaps the club is simply tired of the endless search for “their” coach, inflated expectations, and constant pressure from fans and the media. At some point, the club’s management apparently made a bitter decision: stop experimenting, let’s act more simply. And they gave the command to Rolan Gusev.
Photo source: FC Dynamo (Moscow)
This is not an indictment of the football player turned coach. This is a sober diagnosis of the state of the club. When an organization with ambitions and history hires a specialist candidate without serious independent experience, this almost always means one thing: the system has run out of fresh ideas, the resources to find an alternative have dried up, and the vision for long-term development has disappeared.
Gusev’s appointment is not a strategy, but a survival tactic. This is not a step towards a championship or even an attempt to build a new gaming philosophy. This is a pause. Silent admission: “Right now it’s more important for us not to progress, but to survive until the summer.”
The big picture is anxiety
If you put all these appointments together, a fragile mosaic emerges. An elderly specialist with no head coaching experience, a tough coach with no attack for a team without goals, another foreigner without serious achievements, and a club that simply gives up and follows the path of least resistance.
This is not a strategy. This is a reaction. But this is not just one example – this is 25% of the championship.
While the RPL chooses compromises rather than ideas, the league will mark time, no matter how many new names we enter into the protocols.
