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Valery Karpin's men are within sight of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League, something achieved by only one Russian side in the last eight seasons
For Valery Karpin, the storm has passed. Back at the beginning of August, when Spartak Moscow lost at home to CSKA, his side had won just five of 14 league matches this season, and the positive signs of the end of last season seemed illusory. Karpin, the sporting director, admitted he was considering whether he might have to replace himself as coach. Karpin the coach, meanwhile, expressed bewilderment as to what was going wrong.
That derby defeat was typical. Spartak played reasonably well, or at least as well as a disappointing CSKA, took the lead through a freakish own goal, and then capitulated in the face of the mildest of rallies from CSKA, conceding twice in the last eight minutes to win 2-1. They seemed insipid, lacking drive and self-belief, and it was hard to imagine how they could make any sort of impression in the Champions League.
Since then, though, Spartak have lost just once, with first Welliton and then, after he damaged a hamstring, Ari hitting rich veins of goal-scoring form and Aiden McGeady settling in as well as could realistically have been hoped. Spartak are up to fourth (although with CSKA also seemingly galvanised by that derby, they'll find it tough to climb any higher), while a slightly fortuitous win away to Marseille and an emphatic dismissal of MSKA Zilina have left them within sight of reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League, something achieved by only one Russian side in the last eight seasons.
The visit of Chelsea today, of course, represents a stiffer challenge than either they've faced so far, but Karpin is sanguine. "The most important thing about playing in Champions League is psychology," he said. "Most of our players never performed at this level so we have to boost up their morale. Believe me, it's practically the same to manage the team in Champions League compared to the Russian championship – all you have to do is kick the ball properly – but the concentration has to be much, much higher."
He accepts, though, that his side will have to modify their approach. "I'd like my team to play with a high percentage of ball possession, just like Barcelona," he said. "I'd like them to occupy the opponents' half of a pitch. I'm not a big fan of the permanent pressing and counter-attacks. But sometimes you just have to give the ball away and wait for your chance to score, just like we did in Marseille. And I think that we should try it with Chelsea as well. It would be very strange to play like Barcelona against Chelsea, and strange is really a polite word for it."
There is a disarming candour about Karpin, a charm and a sense of purpose that perhaps explains why Spartak allowed him to take on the roles of both sporting director and coach. His set-up may change for Chelsea but even in Marseille Spartak operated with their familiar 4-2-3-1. With Welliton managing 63 minutes in the 3-0 win over Alania on Friday, Karpin has a wealth of attacking options. Although both started in a 4-3-1-2 in that game, presumably one will step down on Tuesday, although with Alex injured, one could perhaps play off the other. Assuming Aiden McGeady recovers from a leg injury, he will presumably be on the right, with Dmitri Kombarov left and Ibson creating from deep. And that's without even mentioning the brilliant 18-year-old Georgian Zhano Ananidze, who is likely to start on the bench; Karpin's idea of caution still shimmers with attacking potential. "I remember from my playing career that everything is possible," Karpin said. "If you keep your head free of all that stuff about who-ought-to-win-tonight, you could beat any team, even Chelsea. Though I'm thinking about wearing that same suit with a tie again, as it worked against Marseille."
Spartak's is a young squad, and it's entirely possible that they could start against Chelsea with no players over the age of 25 which is, of course, why there was such a sense of excitement and expectation about them as they swept to second last season. Sergei Parshivlyuk, the 21-year-old right-back, admits that he struggles to comprehend how far he has come so quickly.
"When I first heard the Champions League anthem," he said, "I got goosebumps. I stood there thinking 'Now that's the real football!' And then I thought, 'Boy, you still have to play Chelsea.' Wow. You don't have to think about chances to win, you'll just have to play. I know that in the Chelsea game I would possibly be up against Florent Malouda – and he's one of the best players in the world – but I'm going to do what I always do: play football. Besides, when I was with the national team, Yuri Zhirkov told me not to be afraid of Malouda."
Quite what that means is far from obvious, but Parshivlyuk is clear about Spartak's aims. "We want to reach the Champions League knock-outs. I mean, why are we here, if not to? The Russian newspapers were doubtful about Spartak's defence, but we've proved that our defence is not weak. And neither is our team."
It remains, though, a side of potential; for a group of players this young even to be contemplating the last 16 of the Champions League is a remarkable achievement.
Jonathan Wilson
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