Anzhi Makhachkala sack coach Krasnozhan
Reuters - Monday 13 February 2012, 16:24
Anzhi Makhachkala have sacked
coach Yuri Krasnozhan after just over a month in the job, the
big-spending Russian Premier League club said on Monday.
"Today the club made a decision to part company with the
head coach," the outfit, bankrolled by billionaire Suleiman
Kerimov (pictured), said on their website.
Krasnozhan, 48, joined Anzhi at the end of the year after he
was sacked by Lokomotiv Moscow earlier in the season despite
them being among the league leaders at the time. Lokomotiv said
he was fired for "negligence in his job" following a
controversial defeat by Anzhi.
"I can only say that the main reason for my departure was
the difference in the main principles of directing the team,"
Krasnozhan said in a brief statement, posted on the club's
website.
Local media, however, said the true reason for the sacking
was Krasnozhan's inability to deal with Anzhi's biggest names -
Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o and Brazilian full-back Roberto
Carlos.
Media reports also made Fabio Capello the favourite to take
the hot seat. Reports said the Italian, who quit as England
manager last week, visited Moscow at the weekend to negotiate a
deal with Anzhi.
Krasnozhan's departure had been widely expected since
general director Alan Soziyev, Krasnozhan's former agent, was
fired by Anzhi over the weekend.
Shortly after taking the job in December, Soziyev brought
Krasnozhan to the wealthy club from the volatile North Caucasus
region to replace Andrei Gordeyev and Roberto Carlos.
The duo had been placed in charge in a joint-caretaker
capacity in September when long-serving coach Gadzhi Gadzhiyev
was sacked.
Kerimov's money helped to lure Eto'o from Inter Milan last
year. According to media reports, the four-times African
Footballer of the Year, who signed a three-year deal in August,
is now the highest-paid player in world football with an annual
salary of 20 million euros.