“Kerzhakov did the right thing by going to Cyprus. We must take an example from Semak “- Rapoport

The former coach and sports director of Zenit, Boris Rapoport, told RB Sport that he considers Alexander Kerzhakov’s decision to lead the Karmiotissa team to be the right one.

The football club is in 10th place in the Cypriot championship.

“Kerzhakov wants to work as a coach, there was a chance in Cyprus, which means he has to go,” Rapoport believes. — It is better to work in Cyprus than not to work anywhere. It seems to me that his experience as a coach in Tomsk and Nizhny Novgorod was quite successful. Why he did not have new proposals, it is difficult to say. We don’t know anything about this subject.

– They say about Nizhny that he failed to establish contact with the team there. Maybe some ambition that is inherent in the stars?

– They all have ambition. Alexander Mostovoy, look how… We must start not from rumors, but from facts. The facts are that Kerzhakov worked with the teams of the First and Major Leagues, and after that he was not invited anywhere else. He must think of the reasons for himself. They suggested Cyprus – you need to go there, prove yourself. I always cite Sergei Semak as an example. For a long time he worked as an assistant to famous coaches in different teams. As soon as the opportunity arose to lead the club, he left the “warm” place, went to Ufa and brought the team to Europe there. Here is the path of the coach, which should be taken as a basis: he was not afraid to leave, try and returned to Zenit, but in a different capacity.

– Why wait for the weather by the sea, when you can go to the sea and work there?

– Certainly. No matter how financially secure Kerzhakov is, you have to get paid, work somewhere. Money has a way of running out. Alexander is 40 years old, the very age to work, to prove his worth.

In the 2021/22 season, Kerzhakov served as head coach at PARI NN Nizhny Novgorod. Under his leadership, the club took 11th place in the Russian championship.