SLUTSKY: CHANGES ARE INEVITABLE

CSKA head coach Leonid Slutsky talks about ongoing World Cup in South Africa and about his club’s preparations in Austria.


"To my mind the time has come for FIFA to change something, because the World Cup is not so entertaining and favourites don’t impress very much because they look tired", Slutsky said to sport press. "Changes are necessary to make the World Cup not worse than the Champions League for instance".

"Players get exhausted in their clubs and as the result they are tired at the World Championship. FIFA obliged everyone to finish the season one month before the tournament, but it’s not enough. In this case players have only one week of vacations and they have to resume hard work again".

"I have no ready solution, but they can change system of the Champions League when the World Cup is held. In any case decision is to be made by FIFA, and they definitely should do something".

"I watch World Cup matches attentively, and I support teams and players emotionally more than analyze their games, especially when CSKA players are on the pitch".

"Doumbia appeared in the field only for twelve minutes on the day when CSKA played trial match against Metallurg Donetsk. I read that he scored a goal from off-side position".

"I saw Tosic playing and he produced very good impression on me, but again he had little playing practice. Odia looked not well in the first match, and he improved his play after that".

"I am not surprised that people are impressed by Honda’s display. The only thing which worries me is that position of a striker is not the best one for him. I think that he would play much better if he plays closer to midfield line".

"CSKA is in very difficult situation now, since we lack four key players and we cannot introduce our two newcomers Doumbia and Tosic to our playing scheme".

"I understand that we will play the first match after summer break with those players, who train with us now. IF Gonzalez and Honda don’t advance to the World Cup final match, they will return to us, but they will need to get rest from this tough competition. Moreover Guilherme is injures and it will keep him sidelined from action too".

"On 3 July we will play one more trial match in Moscow against team from Naro-Fominsk. And after that we will begin one-week preparations for Premier League match against Saturn".