In less than five months at the head of the Hungarian Ferencváros, the former coach of the Russian national team Stanislav Cherchesov managed to achieve a golden double: he confidently took the championship and beat Paxi in the final of the country’s Cup.

Is the winner twice the success of the Russian coach or a prerequisite for the richest club in the country?

What kind of football does Cherchesov’s team play?

How does he communicate with actors and especially journalists?

Also, what awaits Stanislav Salamovich next, and what will be the measure of his success?

Sport24 special correspondent Alexander Petrov met with Hungarian journalists and learned the details of Cherchesov’s stay at the European club.

When Cherchesov took over Ferencvaros, it hadn’t even been six months since the Russian national team left Euro 2020, so domestic reactions to joining the most status club in Hungary were ambiguous. “Everyone remembered his success at the 2018 World Cup, but it’s unlikely that Cherchesov would look like an interesting or progressive option,” says Gergely Marosi, author of Hungarian media Sport24 and editor of the English-language website Hungurian Football. “On the other hand, the Ferencváros fans felt that some sort of order was needed after a short and unsuccessful period led by Austrian coach Peter Steger.”

“The club was looking for a coach to coach the players – Cherchesov’s predecessor was very soft,” Bens Borbola, journalist for the leading Hungarian sports publication Nemzeti Sport, told a colleague.

Marosi: “Steger really lost the dressing room – fans were reminded of how Sergei Rebrov once disciplined after Thomas Doll, hoping Cherchesov would fix that.”

According to Bens Borbola, the players were afraid of Cherchesov at first: “It was only after the first training sessions that they realized that he is a person with a good sense of humor, although a little specific. And they are not as harsh as they are presented. Cherchesov talks and jokes a lot with the actors.

For example, after winning the Cup, the players immediately went to the dressing room to celebrate, and Cherchesov had to go to a press conference. It was obvious that it was taking too long for him and he wanted to go to the players as soon as possible. We talked with the actor (Boli) first, and at the end of the conversation, when he ran to the dressing room, Cherchesov shouted after him: “At least leave me some champagne!” Overall the atmosphere in the team is good.”

Another video with Cherchesov and Pain after winning the trophy

Oddly enough, Cherchesov also maintained good relations with the local press: “We heard that it was not easy to communicate with Cherchesov, our Russian colleagues were preparing us for strange press conferences, but so far I can only say good things. Stanislav was never rude, sometimes getting into arguments if he disagrees with something, but that’s perfectly normal.

“As long as the results are good, Cherchesov has no problem with the media – we’ll see what happens if things don’t go that smoothly,” says journalist Gergeli Marosi. – Sometimes he creates the image of a tough guy making jokes. And yes, “problem” is definitely a forbidden word in Ferencváros as well. So far, it’s just him.

There were also funny moments: the club translator knows better English, and Cherchesov gives interviews mostly in German. Their misunderstandings often resulted in meme flash interviews after matches. My favorite is the post game with Paxi.

The first matches, led by Cherchesov, did not work out for Ferencvaros – two defeats in the first three matches. True, there were objective reasons for this, Marosi recalls: “Ferencváros had a chaotic preparation for the season, if you can call it preparation, because covid was severe in the country at that time.”

There were many cases among the players, adds Bens Borbola. One of the team’s new players managed to meet new teammates for the first time just weeks after the transfer. “Everyone understood that the team was not prepared enough for the summer – so Cherchesov did not worry about the failures in the first games – he was confident.”

Marosi: “As expected, the first matches can be erased from memory. However, as the players recovered and got in shape, the team passed the league like an ice rink, as expected. At first, there was some dissatisfaction with the Cherchesovs: especially after the 0:3 home defeat from Paxi, a team with a small budget that only Hungarians play, namely the hulk opposite of Ferencváros. But that dissatisfaction lessened as results improved.”

Ferencváros secured the championship title four laps before the end of the championship. As Borbola points out, Cherchesov’s team played a few relatively weak matches in the spring, but the opponents also drew and lost in the series. Ferencváros had no worthy rivals this year.

Cherchesov did not limit himself to victory in the league, signing a golden double in the Cup final. Ferencvaros defeated Paxi, the same club that beat the champions at home, in one of their first matches.

“Traditionally, the double is not considered a special achievement for a Ferencváros, due to the relatively low prestige of the trophy,” says Marosi. — Frodi (Ferencváros’ nickname — Sport24) has the best squad and the best squad depth by a wide margin. That’s why it’s essential to win the league. Despite the rather unfortunate autumn part of the season, that was all about the arrival of Cherchesov. Ferencváros also played very well in the Cup final. The crew looked like the well-oiled machine they had been during Rebrov’s lead. They played as one. For fans, the couple is a demonstration of the team’s dominance. This is also important.

On the one hand, in the Cup, Frodi had a fairly easy draw: they beat the teams of the second division in 1/8 and in the semi-finals. In the final, however, the game with Pax was one-sided, but despite a modest budget, this is an extremely dangerous team. They play offense, I’d even say crazy football – a 6:5 win would suit them well. That’s why it’s a great achievement to come clean against them.”

In Ferencváros, Cherchesov does not form a particular style of play. But under him, the actors work harder than under Steger.

“It looks more like the Rebrov era,” says Marosi. — It is difficult to adequately assess the progress of the team’s play in league matches, as Ferencváros significantly outperforms almost all competitors in terms of quality. They began to score more goals, create chances – a little better (there were problems with this in late autumn and December). In terms of the scheme, Cherchesov is quite flexible: depending on who was at his disposal, he changed the composition quite often. In the summer, Ferencváros is looking to sign faster players, which could be an indication of the style Cherches want to see.”

Borbola: “In the beginning, under Cherchesov, Ferencváros played with four defenders, but by the end of the championship they switched to a three-center and two-sided plan.

Big plus: the ability to successfully integrate new players into the game model. For example, Lorand Paska came from a minor league club in the winter and was already the main player of the champion team at the end of the season.”

Marosi: “Cherchesov coped with the season. He managed to restore order in the locker room, upgraded the combat team. He played some actors. Especially Frank Boli, who was excluded from the LE application in the fall and is more likely to be a substitute overall due to disciplinary issues with the previous coach. Now Boli has scored two goals in the semi-finals and the Cup final, and has also scored or assisted in the last three rounds of the championship. Looks like the coach found the right approach for him.”

Cherchesov’s success in the new season will largely depend on Ferencváros’ ability to retain the championship roster: According to Bens Borbola, six players could leave at the same time in the summer, including key players Mih Blazic and Tokmak Nguyen. Therefore, perhaps Cherchesov will have to wait for the need for a global restructuring of the team.

In any case, according to Gergeli Marosi, the fans of the club are very happy with Cherchesov at the moment: “He definitely has a high degree of confidence. Cherchesov balanced the team and brought a sense of calm that was missing in the fall episode of the season. However, he still had to win the league with this squad. Yes, the Cup is a nice bonus. But the real test for Cherchesov – how will people judge him – will be European competition. The group stage is the minimum goal. It is clear that you want to enter the Champions League, but the threshold is the Europa League group or the edge of the Conference League. Any other result will be seen as a failure.”