“It was not necessary to remove Semin from Lokomotiv” – Valery Barinov

People’s Artist of Russia and Lokomotiv fan Valery Barinov told Sport Day after Day that the Lokomotiv leadership should not have fired Yuri Semin from the post of head coach of the team.

– The authorities of Lokomotiv, unfortunately, have never been interested in the success of the team. As soon as applications for victories begin, the management starts to change the coach, then they will come up with something else. “Bull-calves” are beginning to be grown, to arrange a farm. We already went through this. Now the boss comes, who says that he doesn’t need fans, then the one who wants to turn the team into a farm for growing crayfish. Lokomotiv bosses do not need to play football normally, as it seems to me.

Here I look, five years, as “Zenith” champion. Five years since Semin left Lokomotiv. And that’s it! There is no competitor to Zenit in our football.

– If Semin returned, would Lokomotiv be able to impose competition on Zenit?

“You shouldn’t have taken it out!” Semin was fired when Lokomotiv constantly reached the Champions League and always achieved results. Championship in 2018, one medal, the second. And then the team almost flew out. I’m afraid that as soon as Lokomotiv starts to achieve serious success next season, and the team is ready for this, the youth is good, the management will not let them win.

Semin worked for Lokomotiv for many years and is the most successful coach in the history of the club. Under his leadership, Loko won the national championship three times, took the Russian Cup six times, won the Russian Super Cup three times and won the Commonwealth Cup once.

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