For Guillermo Abascal, the current MIR RPL season is turning out to be extremely difficult. After an encouraging start, his team once again found itself in a zone of turbulence. Unstable play and the constant search for the optimal composition have a negative impact on the results. After 11 rounds, Spartak is already 10 points behind the leading Krasnodar.

In such a situation, searching for a replacement head coach seems a logical step on the part of management. Jesus Medina’s saving goal in Sunday’s derby delayed the Spanish specialist’s retirement, but Abascal’s position remains precarious. Spartak doesn’t have many replacement options right now, but one candidate is definitely worth taking a closer look at.

“Coaching Spartak is the dream of any specialist”

Guillermo Abascal / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

Now Sergei Yuran with his PARI NN is level with Spartak in the table: both teams have 17 points. Spartak and Nizhny Novgorod will meet in the next round, so Yuran will have a chance to contribute to Abaskal’s resignation and the realization of his dream. Recently, he has opaquely hinted several times about his desire to lead Spartak:

— Would I like to coach Spartak? Ask any coach, the answer will be: definitely yes! There is a large army of fans not only in Russia, but also in the world. This team has one goal – to become the champion of Russia and win the Cup! Therefore, of course, coaching Spartak is the dream of any specialist! – RB-Sport quotes Yuran.

Since the resignation of Dmitry Alenichev, Spartak has not been led by specialists with a “red-white” background. During the legendary Romantsev era, Yuran managed to shine twice in the team. In 1995, he became an important character in the historic success in the group stage of the Champions League – six wins in six matches. It was his goals against English champion Blackburn (1:0) and Polish Legia (1:0) that laid the foundation for that unique campaign.

Sergey Yuran (right) / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko

True, the striker, who bore the affectionate nickname Barsik, did not stay long in Tarasovka. Six months later, Yuran went to the Championship, and returned to Spartak only three years later. In 1999, he took his only gold at the Russian Championship with the team. In the second part of the season, Sergei did not play due to disagreements with Romantsev and soon left the club.

The story of Yuran and Spartak does not end there. After the scandalous resignation of Romantsev in the summer of 2003, the aspiring coach, who had previously worked in the Spartak double team, joined Andrei Chernyshov’s staff. It was not possible to work for a long time: after disastrous results, young specialists were dismissed. From that moment, 34-year-old Yuran began his independent journey. It was no longer Barsik, but Sergei Nikolaevich who took on any job: he coached in Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Armenia. I responded with pleasure to offers even from the second Russian league.

Now, at 54 years old, Yuran has so far reached the highest point of his coaching journey, but he clearly has no intention of stopping there. Under him, Khimki showed shameless football, but without him they rushed to the First League at cosmic speed. Juran’s arrival helped Paris NN avoid relegation, for which the coach was given a two-year contract by the management.

Will Spartak pay 200 million for Yuran?

Sergey Yuran / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

If Spartak is really interested in inviting Yuran, then they won’t be able to get a coach so easily. The bosses of PARI NN, fully understanding the possible risks, decided to hedge their bets and included in the contract a substantial compensation for early termination. Chairman of the board of directors of the Nizhny Novgorod club Dmitry Kondratov told Match TV about this. Earlier, Juran said that in two years “he will fight for the championship in the Premier League with one of the top clubs.”

— We ourselves will become a top club with Sergei Nikolaevich. He likes everything here, I hope for long-term cooperation. We talked to him about this, and he did not voice any desire to leave. This is the first thing. Second: it is clear that Spartak is a dream for Yuran. No one will put a spoke in the wheels. Sergei Nikolaevich has a termination option – 200 million rubles. This is an option that we cannot refuse in any way,” Kondratov said.

Recently, Yuran has managed to prove that even with limited capabilities he is capable of producing results. This was the case at Khimki, and now it can be seen from the work in Nizhny Novgorod. Yuran certainly cannot be called an innovative coach; his teams have never played sparkling football. But his ideas are simple and understandable, unlike the eternal search of Abaskal, who got confused himself and delayed the team with his experiments. Faith in the Spaniard’s genius is becoming less and less with every match.

The potential invitation of Yuran poses two difficult financial questions for Spartak. First, you will have to pay a penalty to Abascal, to whom the generous management signed a contract last winter for 1.5 million euros per year until 2025. And you will also need to buy Yuran from the far-sighted PARI NN. All the fun will cost a total of 4 million euros, and this does not take into account the money for the contract for the new coach.

Stanislav Cherchesov / Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV

Will Spartak agree to such expenses? Last summer showed that the club has money, as evidenced by the 24 million euros spent on transfers. On the other hand, you can simply leave Abascal and not think about any penalties. Also, one cannot discount the shadow of Stanislav Salamovich Cherchesov hanging over Tushino. Moreover, no one needs to pay for Yuran’s partner in Spartak 1995.