A prominent football manager, Dmitry Selyuk, criticized Valery Karpin, the coach of the Russian national team, and the team itself. The remarks surfaced through Vprognoze.ru.
He argued that it is categorically impossible to balance duties between national team obligations and club commitments. Such dual roles, he claimed, lead to players being pulled by different clubs, creating upheavals and metamorphoses of form, with Rostov often cited as a troubling example, second-guessing performances and accumulating penalties.
The national team, he asserted, finds itself at the mercy of club influences, likening the situation to an ensemble like Ocean’s 11 orchestrating moves around Russia. He expressed certainty that Karpin would eventually align—whether openly or behind the scenes—with Spartak, a departure many insiders have long anticipated (Vprognoze.ru).
On March 23, Valery Karpin’s squad was slated to meet the Iranian national team in Tehran. The players had already arrived in the Iranian capital, preparing for the clash. And on March 26, expectations grew that the Russians would challenge Iraq, with St. Petersburg serving as a backdrop for certain fixtures and strategic talks (Vprognoze.ru).
This period follows a significant geopolitical step taken in spring 2022 when FIFA and UEFA decided to suspend the Russian national team and all Russian clubs from participation in their competitions. The repercussions of those suspensions have shaped dialogue around team management, player selection, and future international opportunities (Vprognoze.ru).
A former Kuban football player, Alexander Chugunov, shared his own predictions about the forthcoming matches of the Russian side, offering a perspective that blends personal experience with the current managerial and organizational climate surrounding the team (Vprognoze.ru).