Stanislav Cherchesov has been leading the best team in Hungary for a year and a half. The Russian specialist was invited to Ferencvaros hoping to break into the group stage of the Champions League.

Last year, the Hungarians managed to pass two qualifying stages, but stumbled on Qarabag. You can’t exactly call the last European Cup campaign a failure – as a result, Ferencvaros reached the 1/8 finals of the Europa League and earned several million euros in prize money.

A new attempt to get to the autumn stage of the Champions League turned into a huge failure. Cherchesov’s team sensationally flew out from the modest Faroese Klaksvik. There is little doubt that this defeat will cost the Russian coach his resignation.

Defeat in the first half

Due to the country’s low ranking in the UEFA coefficients table, the Hungarian champions start their way in the Champions League from the first round of qualification. Ferencvaros among all participants had the highest rating, which allowed them to be seeded at each subsequent stage. It was expected that the matches against Klaskvik would become a warm-up for more serious opponents.

The class of the two teams is incomparable. Suffice it to say that the total cost of the Faroese squad is 20 times less than that of Ferencváros. Despite this, a goalless draw was recorded in the first match on the underdog field a week ago. The favorite looked better, but the advantage of the Hungarian team was definitely not overwhelming. Even then, the first doubts crept in that there would simply be no Cherchesov team.

Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

The fans who filled the home stadium of Ferencváros expected that Klaskvik would not leave a wet place at home. Things didn’t go according to plan almost immediately. Already at the beginning of the match, the defender of the hosts Eldar Civic brought a penalty into his own net, which was confidently converted by Arnie Frederiksberg.

The conceded goal did not cheer up Ferencvaros, but on the contrary plunged the players into a state of shock. The real disaster came later. Already towards the end of the first half, the cut-off of the Hungarians in their own half of the field led to a quick counterattack of the guests, which was completed by the same Frederiksberg. The favorite in the attack could offer only banal casts, which did not bring any benefit. Finally, Ferencvaros just before the break was finished off by the mistake of goalkeeper Denes Dibus, who could not cope with a simple blow from the Ivorian Cassi.

Cherchesov’s team had 45 minutes left to correct the situation, but they did not manage to get out of their stupor. It is symptomatic that in the end the guests did not even think of playing for time, but went on the attack in search of a fourth goal. Ferencvaros, on the other hand, tried to sluggishly attack, but the Faroese, who caught courage, easily coped with unprincipled attacks.

Resignation almost inevitable

For Ferencváros, the European Cup path does not end there – the team will continue to play in the Conference League qualification. Most likely, already with a new head coach. It is hard to imagine that after such a fiasco, the club’s management will leave Cherchesov in his post.

Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

For the former head coach of the Russian national team, this defeat was, perhaps, the most painful in his career. 15 years ago, Cherchesov’s Spartak also crashed out of the Champions League, but then the offender was the powerful Dynamo Kiev, which twice defeated the Muscovites with a score of 4:1. After that, Fedun immediately fired the coach. It is curious that Cherchesov also left the national team after a major defeat from Denmark with the same score.

With Ferencváros, Cherchesov managed to win two league titles in Hungary, and last year he even scored a golden double. These achievements will hardly help to stay in the coaching chair, because they invited the Russian to perform other tasks. At home, the club dominated before his arrival. Departure from the Champions League already at the first stage, in addition to image losses, means a shortage of several million euros in prize money. A year ago, Ferencváros managed to make good money in the Europa League, but in the Conference League they pay completely different money.

At the end of the nightmarish match against Klaskvik, the fans of the Hungarian club charged chants calling for Cherchesov’s resignation. The coach himself, who was often snatched out by cameras, was darker than a cloud. It seems that Stanislav Salamovich already understands everything perfectly.

However, the Russian coach is unlikely to be sad for a long time. The first resignations in the RPL usually begin a couple of months after the start of the season. The first to be remembered by the club leaders will most likely be the unemployed Cherchesov.