Leonid Slutsky is a coach and, for a very short period, a football player who represented first the USSR and then Russia. He is still quite young for a coach - he was only 45 years old. When Slutsky was a football player, he played as a goalkeeper. Slutsky is a coach who is one of the most famous in Russia.

Brief career as a football player

Slutsky is a coach known to every person in Russia, but how many people remember him as a player? Most likely, practically no one, and there are reasons for this. The fact is that Leonid’s career did not work out at all due to a domestic injury. He was born on May 4, 1971 in the city of Volgograd in the Soviet Union and began playing sports while still in school. As a result, he ended up in the sports academy of the newly formed Zvezda club from Gorodishche. He worked there until 1989, when he was offered a professional contract - after all, Slutsky was already eighteen years old. He quickly began to get into shape, got into the starting lineup and even played 13 matches at the professional level when a career-fatal incident occurred. Leonid's neighbor asked him to remove a scared cat from a tree, and the boy could not refuse. However, it all ended disastrously - a branch broke off near Slutsky, he tried to grab another, which also broke off. As a result, he landed on his knee, falling from the height of the third floor. At that time, medicine could not do much about it, and Leonid’s career came to an end. Doctors said he would not be able to bend his leg at all, but the young man's persistence allowed him to slowly and painfully develop his leg so that it could be used in the future. Naturally, he could no longer be a player, but he set himself a goal - to become a coach. It is in this role that Slutsky is known to everyone - he turned out to be a very good coach.

Beginning a coaching career

How was Coach Slutsky born? The biography of a football player fits in one paragraph, but the biography of a coach is much more impressive. When Leonid was 29 years old, he began to practice coaching. His first place of work was the modest Olimpia from his native Volgograd, where he got a job as a youth coach, but it quickly became clear that Slutsky was capable of more. Therefore, he worked there for the entire year 2000, and then began to obtain a professional license. As a result, by January 2002, he was eligible to coach professional clubs - and thus began his road to the top.

"Uralan"

The first club that Slutsky coached was Uralan, but even there he did not immediately begin full-fledged activities. First, he was appointed coach of the club's youth team, and he worked in this position for almost two years - in October 2003, the current coach of the club was fired, and Slutsky was given a chance. He took over the team and coached it until the summer of 2004 - during this time, Uralan, unfortunately, did not improve much. In 25 matches under the leadership of Slutsky, the club played 24 matches, of which only six were won. 23 points in 24 games was far from the most impressive figure, so Leonid moved to another club, namely Moscow.

Transfer to Moscow

Naturally, Slutsky did not immediately receive the position of head coach: during his first season at the club, he coached the Moscow reserve team, but in the summer of 2005 he was promoted to the position of head coach. He has been at the helm of this club longer - a little more than two years. During this time, he managed to achieve impressive results: out of 95 matches, he managed to win 44, which was the beginning of his ascent to the top. This result was the best not only for Slutsky, but also for Moscow, which qualified for the Eurocups for the first time in history. However, long before the end of the season, the club's management decided to terminate the contract with the coach for unknown reasons. Therefore, in the winter of 2007, Slutsky was forced to look for a new place of work.

The new club with which Leonid Slutsky signed a contract in December 2007 was Krylya Sovetov - this is the first team that the coach led immediately, without starting with a double. Slutsky's results here were not as impressive as in Moscow, but still quite impressive - in 22 of 59 matches they won, and the club managed to qualify for the Europa League. After two years at the club, Slutsky wrote a letter of resignation in October 2009. It was then that information began to appear in the press that Leonid Slutsky was the coach of CSKA. Within a couple of weeks it became clear that this was true.

Top career

So, in October 2009, Leonid Slutsky once again changed his club registration. The CSKA coach, as soon as he was appointed to his position, immediately set the highest goals for himself and his players. In his first season, he took second place in the Russian Championship, in the second he won the Russian Cup, in the third he took third place in the championship, and only in his fourth year at the helm of the club was he able to win the Russian Championship. In the same year, the club won the Cup, and in 2014 and 2016 it repeated its achievements, winning two more national championships. However, the 2016/17 season did not start very well for the coach, and in December 2016 he voluntarily left his post. But it is worth paying attention to the fact that for some period of time he coached not only CSKA. Who else was Slutsky? Coach of the Russian national team!

Coaching activities in the national team

In the summer of 2015, the Russian Football Union invited the current CSKA coach to the position of head coach of the national team. Slutsky is the coach of the Russian national team! This was sensational news. He managed to achieve a lot with CSKA, so there were high hopes for the team’s performances. The goal was a trip to the European Championship 2016, and Slutsky was able to take the team there. The national team coach structured the game well. However, at the tournament itself everything went downhill. And Leonid Slutsky could not control this. The Russian coach made every effort to somehow force his players to show at least some class, but all attempts ended in failure. The team drew the first match with the British, which was a very good result, but this was followed by a defeat from the Slovak team with a score of 1:2. The match with Wales was decisive, and the Russians could have clinched their way out of the group if they had won. But the result was the opposite - they lost, devastatingly, with a score of 0:3. As a result, the team scored only one point in three matches and was eliminated from the tournament, and Slutsky immediately resigned. As a result, he played only 13 matches with the national team: 4 qualifying matches for the European Championship, 6 friendlies in preparation for the tournament, as well as three directly at the 2016 European Championship. At the moment, Leonid Slutsky does not have a contract with any of the clubs.

Personal life

As for his personal life, Slutsky has a half-brother Dmitry. He also has a wife, Irina, with whom they had a son in 2008.

Former Main coach Russian national team and CSKA Moscow Leonid Slutsky got his dream job: - English “Hull City” announced on June 9 the appointment of a Russian specialist as the new coach of the team. What Slutsky did during the forced holidays and how he ended up in Foggy Albion - in the material.

New project Abramovich

In December 2016, CSKA and Slutsky broke up after seven years of living and working together. During this time, the army club became firmly associated with the name of the coach and vice versa. The specialist brought a lot of positivity to the red-blue game, but in Lately he was increasingly criticized, and CSKA's football became increasingly insipid. After an unsuccessful performance in the Champions League, it was decided to stop cooperation.

Slutsky did not sit idly by and began to make his “civilian” dreams come true (during his “army” service, the executive coach did not have the opportunity to do anything other than football): he visited Antarctica, gained fame in a short but bright commentary career (worked at the Champions League match between Barcelona and Juventus), began to learn English.

According to his admission, a few months ago he did not know a word of English, but once again proved his readiness for new challenges: he learned the language at such a level that he calmly gave interviews to the British media, causing genuine admiration among journalists for his determination.

In this regard, there was active talk that Slutsky could lead Chelsea in London - fortunately, the coach has excellent relations with the Russian owner of the “aristocrats”. But the Londoners got on the winning track (which ultimately led them to the coveted championship), and rumors about Slutsky joining the club faded away.

Photo: Vitaly Belousov / RIA Novosti

But Slutsky still hoped to continue his career in Foggy Albion: information appeared that even if he did not manage to win a club in the English Premier League (EPL), he would definitely get a job in the championship (the second strongest football division in the country) and would not spoil the picture.

Slutsky himself openly admitted that his main priority now is employment in the UK. In one interview, he stated that he was Abramovich's new football project. Without underestimating Slutsky’s coaching talent, it is worth noting that with such a patron, the Russian specialist was practically guaranteed a place in one of the British clubs.

And here is the long-awaited news: Slutsky has been appointed head coach of Hull City. Although the team left the Premier League at the end of last season, it is certainly not unknown - the “tigers” have spent more than one year in the top division and have everything to return there again soon. The details of the Russian specialist’s contract with the new club have not been specified, but he will certainly be given the task of rising to the Premier League next season, and the future of the coach in England, in turn, depends on this.

Slutsky himself understands the importance of the task of reaching the Premier League: “I really hope that we will return to the Premier League. I know that Hull City are a famous club with loyal fans. I can’t wait to get to work - it will happen next week.”

Hull City managers explained the invitation of Slutsky by saying that they like his way of thinking and ambitions. “After careful selection, seeing Leonid's attention to detail, his ideas about the style of play and his ambition, we selected him from all the candidates. The club already has pre-season plans in place with some exciting friendlies planned and these will be announced next week. Planning preparations for the season together with Leonid is in full swing. Slutsky has enjoyed success at both club and international level and I am delighted with his commitment to returning the club to the Premier League,” explained Hull deputy chairman Ehab Allam.

Time of the first

Slutsky is the first Russian coach in Foggy Albion, but far from the first abroad. The window to Europe was cut long before him.

At one time, the current coach of the Russian national team worked in Europe. Six years of it football career took place in Austria - the goalkeeper defended the colors of Tyrol. He hung up his boots in Moscow, but soon decided to become a coach. It is logical that he went to his almost native Austria to gain experience and take the first steps in a new field: Cherchesov managed to work with Kufstein and Wacker-Tirol.

Photo: Alexey Vitvitsky / RIA Novosti

After a long Russian stage of his coaching career, Cherchesov again set out to conquer Europe: this time the colorful specialist led Legia Warsaw. The Russian mentor was remembered not only for his eccentric communication with journalists, but also for his “golden double” - in his first and last season in Poland, he won the national championship and the Cup with the team.

A true legend of the Spanish Celta, he chose to start coaching in his homeland. After several years at the head of Spartak Moscow, the young specialist left his position and went to Spain - he was appointed to Mallorca, which was languishing in the second division.

The team led by the Russian was in a fever: the disastrous start to the championship was replaced by a series of victories, which allowed the fans to hope for participation in the play-offs for the right to enter the top division. But Mallorca went downhill again, and after another defeat the agreement with Karpin was terminated.

In addition to Cherchesov and Karpin, (AEK, Cyprus), (Yaro, Finland) and Dmitry Galyamin (Palamos, Spain) worked in Europe with varying degrees of success. Well, if you go beyond the Old World, then the main star of foreign championships will definitely be: the experienced coach has made a name for himself in South Korea, Japan, China, Turkey and even coached the main team of Cameroon.

He has something to tell those who are just beginning to comprehend the basics of their profession - students. “AiF” visited Moscow State University and listened to “coaching instructions” Slutsky for young people.

About funny plans and football friendship

There is a famous phrase: if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. But, if we talk about the coaching profession, it’s even three times funnier. In an instant you can turn into anyone, go both up and down. The coach is always a hostage to the situation. Let me give you an example. Remember, that year in the Champions League there was a confrontation between Barcelona and PSG. In the first match - a major victory for PSG (4:0), in the return match PSG conceded a large number of goals 6 minutes before the end of the match (loss 1:6). I was looking at PSG coach Emery. It was the same Emery as yesterday - the same level of skill, ambition, ability. But the score changed - and the attitude towards this man, who simply stood in the technical area and did not have the opportunity to control the game, changed; he had already made all the substitutions. 6 minutes turned everything upside down: here he is - a hero, basking in the rays of glory, who beats Barcelona and can win the Champions League, and here he is - an outcast whom everyone hates... That's why I never think about tomorrow, the next day step, long career. I just try to give the maximum amount of energy to the place where I work today.

The main goal of a coach is results. What kind of atmosphere there will be in the team is sometimes not so important. There are great teams where the players didn’t even greet each other, but that didn’t stop them from achieving victories. When it comes to truly professional people, they will be killed on the field in any case. Maybe not so much for my teammates, but for myself.

The higher the level of ambition of the team, the more difficult it is to manage the team outside of professional activities. So, in 7 years of working at CSKA, we have never gathered in full force - be it a wedding, a birthday, or even a banquet on the occasion of the championship. The situation is similar in England. Everything about the work is super, there is not a single complaint. But to get together outside of work... Although I'm not sure that's necessary. There is no need to unite what cannot be united, to force people of different generations, different countries, different religions to be friends. They just have to solve joint problems on the field. My task as a coach is to create a microclimate within which football players could realize themselves, grow, and not be afraid to perform any actions, understanding that they have the right to make mistakes.

About England and new work

England is the birthplace of football, and everything connected with it is actually a religion there. Moreover, if the British can make cynical jokes on a religious topic, I have never heard such jokes on the topic of football.

One day we decided to play with the Hull City support staff, and an amazing thing was discovered: the doctors, physiotherapists, and media representatives - they all know how to play football. It is a compulsory subject at school and every English boy dreams of becoming a footballer. And those who didn’t succeed have great respect for those who succeeded, who turned out to have more abilities, desire, hard work, etc., that is, those who play football professionally - players, coaches. That is why they even go to support fourth division teams. And I really hope that we will get to this point.

Vitesse has a historical relationship with Chelsea. (Slutsky will start working at Vitesse in the summer of 2018; the coach has repeatedly emphasized that the owner of Chelsea Roman Abramovich I've been helping him lately. - Ed.) But Vitesse is an independent club that has its own owner (in 2013, shares of the Dutch club were bought by a businessman Chigirinsky- an old acquaintance of Abramovich. - Ed.). Yes, the current Vitesse has 3 players in the starting lineup, loaned from Chelsea. However, Chelsea has more than 40 players playing on loan - both in England and in other European championships. Because these players simply cannot get into the main squad. This only says that Chelsea is a huge football machine that works productively. I think it’s unlikely that Roman Arkadyevich will call me and insist that Vitesse take a player.

About your own school and lost talents

More than a year ago I opened a football school in Volgograd, which I finance entirely at my own expense. 250 boys have excellent conditions for playing football, and qualified coaches work there. By the way, they are all my students from the Volgograd Olympia. I think in this way I give back to the city that raised me as a coach.

There are very few children's football schools in the country. Previously, we moved from mass production to quality, but this has been lost. And the main task of our football leaders is to ensure that as many children as possible have conditions for training - fields, arenas, etc. It’s not even about raising professional players. It is important that any of our children have the opportunity to play sports - no matter what: football, skiing, figure skating.

Another serious topic is a very big loss talented youth. The youth team (under 17 years old) twice became European champion (under the leadership of Kolyvanova- in 2006 and under the leadership Khomukhi- in 2013). Only a few of these players were able to achieve something later, in particular - Alexander-Golovin. Cause? Look, in many European countries, regular competitions for young men continue until the age of 23, but in our country they essentially end at the age of 17, when the guys graduate from football schools. That is, 17-year-olds must either compete in teams with adult football players or be sent to the reserve squads of Premier League clubs. This is where a lot of talented guys disappear.

Whether it’s CSKA, whether it’s the national team - unfortunately or fortunately, there are people who today are much deeper into this topic. There are active coaches there who make decisions and are responsible for them. We all, of course, can have our own thoughts on any issue - who should be included in the team, who should not, etc. But you know, it’s very easy to have your own point of view when you’re not responsible for anything. Therefore, I will refrain from commenting. I’ll just say that the national team must be supported regardless of whether they play in defense brothers Berezutsky and Ignashevich or Kutepov and Kudryashov.

Head coach of CSKA Moscow

Russian football coach, head coach of Moscow football club CSKA since October 2009. Previously, head coach of FC Krylya Sovetov (2007-2009), head coach of FC Moscow (2005-2007).

His father, a master of sports in boxing, died when Leonid was six years old. According to Slutsky himself, he was raised by his mother, a teacher, and later by the head of a kindergarten, an honored worker of public education. “Mom put into me everything that made me work so well with young people,” the coach later noted.

Since childhood, Slutsky was interested in sports, in particular football, and in the third grade he enrolled in a football school at the Spartak stadium in Volgograd. High school he graduated with a gold medal, after which he entered the Volgograd State Institute physical culture. At the same time, the athlete became a goalkeeper in the Zvezda team (city of Gorodishche, Volgograd region). However, his career as a football player was quickly interrupted as a result of a domestic injury: when he fell from a tree (“he went to pick up the neighbor’s cat”), Slutsky crushed knee-joint. He played only 13 matches as part of the team.

The athlete graduated from the institute with honors in 1993. At the same time, he entered graduate school and was invited to the position of children's coach of the Volgograd football club "Olympia". Subsequently, among the students of Slutsky, the press named Roman Adamov, Denis Kolodin, Andrey Bochkov and Maxim Burchenko - football players who played in the teams of the Russian football premier league. "Olympia" under the leadership of Slutsky has repeatedly become the winner of tournaments at various levels, including the winner of the Russian Cup among non-professional physical culture groups (1999). The media talked about the KVN team “Third Son” created by Slutsky at Olympia: the coach, who “was always outraged that many consider athletes limited,” not only took part in creating the first productions for the team’s performances, but also sang and danced on stage. . . .

In 2001, Slutsky headed the reserve team of the Uralan club (Elista, Republic of Kalmykia). In the reserves tournament in 2001, his players took fourth place, and a year later they took second. After Uralan dropped out of the Premier League in 2003 and returned to the first division, Slutsky received an offer to take the position of head coach of the main team. However, as a result of the financial crisis, the team broke up.

In 2004, Slutsky headed the reserve team of the Moscow football club. After the team's victory in the Premier League reserves tournament, Slutsky became the head coach of FC Moscow in July 2005. Under his leadership, the club took fifth place in the Russian Championship that same year and sixth in 2006. In 2007, FC Moscow reached the final of the Russian Cup, but lost to Lokomotiv in extra time; the club took fourth place in the Premier League. At the end of the season, the management of the football club decided to dismiss Slutsky from the post of head coach. The media wrote that the owner of Moscow, businessman Mikhail Prokhorov, was dissatisfied with the team’s performance.

In the same year, Slutsky signed a contract with the Krylya Sovetov club (Samara). Under his leadership, the club took sixth place in the Russian Premier League at the end of 2008, but by the beginning of October 2009 dropped to standings to tenth place. In the same month, the head coach of Krylia Sovetov submitted his resignation at his own request. A few days later, on October 26, 2009, Slutsky was appointed head coach of the CSKA football club.

In 2010, CSKA, under the leadership of Slutsky, reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League, but dropped out of the tournament, losing on aggregate to the Italian Inter. The club took second place in the 2010 Russian Championship. In May 2011, CSKA, under the leadership of Slutsky, won the Russian Football Cup for the sixth time, beating Alania Vladikavkaz with a score of 2:1.

According to Slutsky’s colleagues, the coach is fanatically in love with football. It was noted that he is a “very simple and sociable” person, gentle in life, and yet, he can be strict and demanding on the field and “knows how to keep his distance from the players.” IN free time he loves to read (Slutsky himself named Rudyard Kipling, Paolo Coelho and Sidney Sheldon among his favorite writers) and watch theatrical performances.

Leonid Slutsky is married, he and his wife Irina, a philosopher by training, have a son, Dmitry, born in 2005 [

Leonid Viktorovich Slutsky. Born on May 4, 1971 in Volgograd. Russian football coach. Honored Trainer of the Russian Federation (2013).

Grew up without a father. When he was six years old, his father, a master of sports in boxing, died. The boy grew up with his mother, who worked as a teacher in kindergarten, and then began to manage this preschool institution.

He has a half-brother Dmitry.

After school, he entered the State Institute of Physical Culture in Volgograd. Simultaneously with his studies, he was a player (goalkeeper) in the youth team. football team"Star" from Gorodishchi.

The young football player showed promise, but a tragic incident changed his plans. Having decided to help a neighbor get a pet cat from a poplar tree, Slutsky put an end to his playing career. The branches of the tree could not bear the young football player, and instead of training, he ended up in a hospital bed with fractures and a concussion. The treatment lasted a whole year. He was able to develop a knee joint, but his goalkeeper career was over.

He told about this story: "I was getting ready for training. A neighbor came in. She had a pet cat, she accidentally let him out, he immediately climbed a poplar tree. She asked me to climb a tree after him. I had never climbed a tree in my life, but I couldn’t refuse anyone... And now , by the way, this is one of the disadvantages - it is very difficult to say “no”, and it is generally impossible for loved ones... So I climbed with bated breath. Then they told me that the poplar had very fragile branches in the fall. Although I was thin then, it’s not like that. what now... the wild boar broke off, grabbed the top one - it also broke off, and flew onto the asphalt from a height of the third floor. He landed on his knee and then hit his face: an open multi-fragmented fracture of the left patella, a broken nose, a concussion. The injury was incompatible with football at that time. I spent a year in the hospital. I was told that my leg would not bend at all. I began to develop the joint for a long time and painfully..

At the age of 22, he recruited to his team "Olympia" twelve-year-old boys who dream of becoming famous football players. His coaching career began in 1993. Under the leadership of Slutsky, Olimpia Volgograd won the Russian Cup by 1999, gaining the opportunity to play in the second division.

Since 2001, he began to coach football players playing in the reserve team "Uralana" from Elista.

After the collapse of the Elista club, Leonid Viktorovich took a coaching position in the second team of the football club "Moscow". He didn't have to train the double team for long. Already in 2005, Leonid Viktorovich became the mentor of the main team. Such cooperation with the Moscow club lasted only two years, although the players could get a prize-winning place in the Russian Cup. At that time, FC Moscow remained in fourth place and received the opportunity to compete in the UEFA Cup. Despite all the team’s achievements, Leonid Viktorovich Slutsky was fired from his position, prematurely terminating the contract that was signed before 2010.

He was offered to become the head coach of Samara "Wings of the Soviets". The contract was signed for three years, but even here there were frictions and misunderstandings. Although the club played with good results, Leonid Viktorovich still had to leave two years later, writing a letter of resignation of his own free will.

Became a coach since 2009 CSKA. Under his leadership, the athletes reached the playoffs of the Champions League, and in 2011 they won the championship, taking the Russian Cup for the sixth time. This award became the first trophy for coach Slutsky.

On July 13, 2013, CSKA beat Zenit 3:0 in the Super Cup match. After this victory, Slutsky became the fifth coach in the history of the RPL who managed to win all national trophies (before this, Yuri Semin, Valery Gazzaev, Luciano Spalletti and Kurban Berdyev achieved a similar result).

In August 2015, Slutsky was entrusted with coaching the Russian national team players, while leaving the opportunity to coach CSKA Moscow.

In the first match under the leadership of Slutsky on September 5, 2015, the Russian team beat the Swedish team with a score of 1:0 in the Euro 2016 qualifying tournament. In the second qualifying match on September 8, the Russian team beat the Liechtenstein team with a crushing score of 7:0, repeating the performance record of 1995.

In October, the Russian team won two more victories: over the teams of Moldova with a score of 2:1 and Montenegro with a score of 2:0. Thanks to these results, the team took second place in the group and reached the final part of Euro 2016, and Slutsky continued to combine posts in CSKA and the national team until the end of the final stage of Euro.

In November, the Russian national team played two friendly matches with the national teams of Portugal, which ended in the victory of the Russians with a score of 1:0, and Croatia, in which the first defeat of the team under the leadership of Slutsky took place (the Croats won with a score of 1:3).

On March 26, 2016, the national team won a home victory with a score of 3:0 in a friendly match over the Lithuanian team, and on March 29, Russia lost away to the host of the upcoming European Championship, the French team, with a score of 2:4.

At Euro 2016, the team led by Leonid Slutsky drew with England (1:1), lost to Slovakia (1:2) and Wales (0:3) and failed to leave the group. After a disastrous performance at the championship.

Leonid Slutsky is also known as a humorist. He played for the Volgograd team “Third Sons”, took part in the games of the KVN Major League, acting not only as a coach, but as a dancer and musician.

In 2006, he took part in the humorous show “Good Jokes.”

Leonid Slutsky in KVN

On May 22, 2016, Leonid Slutsky led a team of experts in the game “What? Where? When?”, consisting of members of the Russian national football team: Akinfeev, the Berezutsky brothers, Dzyuba and Ivanov. The game was held on the eve of the 2016 European Football Championship.

Leonid Slutsky's height: 181 centimeters.

Personal life of Leonid Slutsky:

Married. My wife's name is Irina. The couple has a son, Dmitry (born 2008).

Team Achievements Leonid Slutsky:

FC Moscow:

Russian Cup finalist: 2006/07

CSKA:

Russian Champion: 2012/13, 2013/14, 2015/16
Russian Cup winner: 2010/11, 2012/13
Russian Cup finalist: 2015/2016
Winner of the Russian Super Cup: 2013, 2014
Silver medalist of the Russian Championship: 2010, 2014/15
Bronze medalist of the Russian Championship: 2011/12

Russian team:

Exit of the Russian national team to the final part of the European Football Championship 2016, head coach of the Russian national team

Personal achievements of Leonid Slutsky:

Best Coach of the Year according to the RFU: 2012/13, 2013/14