The upcoming derby between Spartak and CSKA, which will take place as part of the 13th round of the RPL, is of particular importance today. According to many, the winner of this match could become Zenit’s main competitor in the title race.

Footballers do not always manage to cope with such a high responsibility. And if the 13th is considered by many to be unlucky, then the players of the upcoming derby should think about it – fourteen years ago, as well as now, in the 13th round of the Russian championship, Spartak could not cope with the pressure. In that historic match, the Red-Whites received as many as five goals from the army team.

The reaction of Stanislav Cherchesov to this defeat shocked even Spartak fans.

Club leaders sent to double

The crushing victory of CSKA over Spartak in July 2008 has long been the subject of discussion among fans. In that match, CSKA forward Wagner Love showed himself in all his glory, scoring a hat-trick before the break. The young Alan Dzagoev also shone in that match, taking part in three goals of his team. The Red-Whites received the most severe slap in the face that day – the club’s fans left the stadium already in the middle of the second half.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko

However, after a while it became clear that the derby would go down in history not because of the score, but because of the harsh decision of the coach of the “red-whites”. And it was worth expecting this, because Stanislav Cherchesov then headed Spartak, and to this day he is known for controversial decisions and a difficult character.

Almost immediately after the devastating defeat from CSKA, it became known that Cherchesov suspended three of the team’s leading players from training with the base and sent them to the reserve team. Captain Yegor Titov, as well as vice-captains Maxim Kalinichenko and Mozart became outcasts. For some time, Stanislav Salamovich refused to comment on the situation, but after rumors about squabbles within the team, he nevertheless explained why he took such an ambiguous step:

– In the matches against Terek and the army team, our team did not show proper motivation and fighting qualities. In this regard, it was I who decided to transfer the team captain and two vice-captains to the double. Not because they played worse than others, but because the captain and his deputies are responsible for ensuring that during the game the team spirit was at the right height. And they are also responsible for the result. This motivated my decision; everything else is absolutely groundless rumors that I see no reason to comment on. While Titov, Kalinichenko and Mozart will continue to work with a backup team, Cherchesov told the club’s press service.

The coach’s decision had dire consequences.

It is difficult to imagine how, in the event of a crushing defeat from CSKA, the current coach of Spartak, Guillermo Abascal, would have sent, for example, Georgy Jikia, Roman Zobnin and Quincy Promes to the double. Just think how much noise such a decision would cause now and what consequences it would have – first of all for the coach. In 2008, only suspended players had problems.

Stanislav Cherchesov / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Maxim Bogodvid

Two weeks after being transferred to the double, Stanislav Salamovich seemed to take pity a little and returned one of the outcasts to the first team – Mozart was the lucky one, who later played for Spartak until April 2009. Titov and Kalinichenko were less fortunate – they had to leave the club. The coach did not discuss anything with the Ukrainian and stated in plain text that he should leave. Titov, in turn, Cherchesov offered options that the legend of the Moscow club did not suit at all.

– Did my attitude to what Cherchesov did change? No. I didn’t understand, so I still don’t understand, but now I don’t even want to understand. If at first it was a shame, now it’s life that goes on,” Kalinichenko later said in an interview with Sport24.

As a result, Maxim returned to his homeland – to Dnipro, with whom he even played in the Europa League. Titov went to Khimki near Moscow, and a year later – to Lokomotiv from Astana. But already in 2010, Yegor decided to end his career – at only 33 years old.

However, Cherchesov did not come out of the water dry. A month after the scandalous events, the “red-whites” devastatingly lost to Dynamo Kyiv (1:4) in the Champions League qualification, and the new general director of Spartak, Valery Karpin, dismissed Stanislav Salamovich.