Terek Grozny openly criticize Gullit, threaten to sack him after next RPL game
Terek head coach Ruud Gullit has come under harsh criticism from the club’s directors and president of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. Today’s official statement on Terek’s official website (see below) gives a detailed list of Gullit’s mistakes, among which are not only the team’s poor performances, but also improper statements about the club and the republic in the European media and even excessive liking for nightlife.
Gullit has been given an ultimatum to win the next Russian Premier League match away at Amkar Perm – otherwise the Dutchman will be sacked.
«This January Ruud Gullit was invited to Terek as head coach. Having considered a number of candidates, we have set our choice on the Dutchman, hoping that the former eminent player will be able to bring the Grozny-based club to a new level.
«Today we have to admit that Gullit fell short of the club management’s expectations, while the count of mistakes he committed has been dragging on since the pre-season period. As a consequence, ahead of Matchday 13 the team, whose objective for this season was set as high as a Europa League berth, lies in 14th place. In his interviews with foreign media Gullit has been stating that the club has not brought in players this winter. We have been closing our eyes to these untruthful statements so that, unlike the head coach, not to bring the club’s internal affairs into public.
«Since Gullit’s appointment both Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the republic and president of club, and Khaidar Alkhanov, vice-president of the club, have repeatedly told him about the necessity to strengthen the squad, asking him just to choose the players he considered necessary without any financial restrictions. The Dutchman flatly refused to buy any players – as we now understand, for some hidden reasons. At the same time, he hasn’t been fielding the two players whom he had brought himself – Polczak and Mguni, as well as Alexander Pavlenko, who was one of the Premier League’s valuable halfbacks, but whom Gullit for some reasons doesn’t see as a player of good level. Three days prior to the closing of the transfer window Gullit began talking about Boussoufa and one day prior to the start of the championship he began talking about Forlan. Naturally, it’s hard to perform transfers like these in tight deadlines. Boussoufa eventually joined Anzhi, because he had been holding negotiations with them for some weeks.
«Gullit’s actions at the helm of the team during this half a year show that he has no basic understanding of his players or his line-up. The team still does not have any recognizable style of play. Never before Terek looked so hopeless. However, Ruud Gullit blames anything but himself for the team’s poor performances. No one of his predecessors at Terek ever said that the club has bad working conditions – because the truth is that the conditions have always been magnificent here. The club has two stadiums and Akhmat Arena, one of the best venues in Russia. The club has the best football academy. Very few can boast such relationship and attention from the head of the republic as in Terek. We have never had any problems with debts in payments of salaries or bonuses. Most of its time the team is training in Kislovodsk, where it also has a recreation center rented for it, as well as the training pitches. The team always flies from Kislovodsk for home games with a charter flight, though it’s only a 340 km distance. What absence of infrastructure did Gullit mean in his interview, if even the world football legends, like Maradona, Kafu, Dida, McManaman, Figo, etc., have admired the stadium and the conditions created for football in Grozny?
«Head of the Chechen Republic and the club’s president Ramzan Kadyrov is extremely disappointed by team’s place in the table, as well as the head coach’s reluctance to use his best efforts and normalize the situation. Instead, after the league’s pause for the national teams’ games, Ruud Gullit returned to the club two days later than the team and then went to a night club for a disco party with his players. In case of a fortnight break in the championship it would be better to hold at least a test game with a second division team. There were a lot of offers for that.
«Gullit’ s statement in the media alleging that in the Chechen Republic you are prohibited from drinking alcohol and therefore he can’t invite his friends here, or about some walls for a gym, are irritating. Firstly, because there are gyms both at Kislovodsk stadium and at Bilimkhanov stadium in Grozny – and they never caused us any problems. Secondly, because the team’s head coach fails to respect corporate ethics, which is a nonsense in general.
«Making inappropriate statements about the republic, in which he is working, Gullit outrages the human decency. The Chechen Republic has its own traditions that have been taking shape for centuries. Gullit has to know he has not been invited to spend his time at night clubs, but rather to work at the football club and, moreover, to get a result. Yes, we do not have drug abuse or indecent nightlife institutions, which are aplenty in Holland and Europe. As for the alcohol, Ruud has forgotten that the Chechen Republic is a subject of the Russian Federation and the alcohol is on sale here in specially licensed shops. But in Grozny there are all conditions for the people with a healthy lifestyle. We have modern cinemas, we have ice palaces and parks. Head of the republic Ramzan Kadyrov creates all the conditions for the coaching staff and players. In addition to good bonuses and salaries, president of the club makes personal gifts and pays double and triple bonuses for good games. The everyday life of the coaches and players is well-organized – each member of the team is offered hotels, apartments, cottages… In case of good results additional encouragements will also come in due time.
«For today head of the republic Ramzan Kadyrov is extremely disappointed with Ruud Gullit’s approach to his duties, as instead of working with sleeves rolled up, considering the team’s tournament position, he has bars and discos on his mind. Considering the above, Ramzan Kadyrov sets the task for Ruud Gullit to get three points from the next away game in Perm. Otherwise, Gullit will be dismissed from the head coach position.»
