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Russian Football Union may buy out club contract of new national team coach

That may happen if Leonid Slutsky's work in the national football team is successful
Leonid Slutsky (right) Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS
Leonid Slutsky (right)
© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

RYAZAN, August 11. /TASS/. The Russian Football Union (RFU) will buy out Leonid Slutsky’s coaching contract with CSKA FC, if his work in the national football team is successful, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said at a meeting with the sports public in Ryazan in central Russia on Tuesday.

In this case, Slutsky will prepare the national football team for the 2018 FIFA World Championship, Mutko said.

The Russian Football Union has signed a contract with Slutsky for the national team’s four qualifying games for the 2016 Euro Cup, the sports minister said.

"If his work is successful, we’ll buy out his contract [with CSKA] and he will work with the national team until the World Championship. It seems to me that Slutsky will do well," Mutko said.

The Russian Football Union announced on Friday that it had concluded a contract with Slutsky, who is also the head coach of CSKA Moscow FC, to take charge of the national football squad until the end of the qualifying session for the 2016 UEFA Euro Cup in France.

Slutsky was allowed to combine his coaching positions both in the club and the national squad until the contract expires.

Leonid Slutsky, 44, began career of a coach in 1993 at the age of 22 - he was working with a group of 12 year-old boys in Volgograd and brought the team to the first place in local competitions in 1999. Later on, he worked as the coach of different Russian football clubs.

In October of 2009, he was invited to be the head coach of the CSKA FC taking the club to the leading positions in the national competitions.

The RFU announced on July 14 that it reached a mutual agreement with Italy’s Fabio Capello on the early termination of the contract with the Italian specialist concerning his work in the capacity of the national team’s head coach. The announcement followed Russia’s 0-1 defeat to Austria in the 2016 Euro Cup qualifier in Moscow on June 14.

The qualifier’s defeat in mid-June placed in extreme jeopardy Russia’s chances of travelling to France next year for the Euro Cup. The Russian national team is currently ranked 3rd in its qualifying Group G with 8 points below 2nd ranked Sweden (12 points), while the Austrian team increased its lead over the rest of the five national teams in the group to 16 points.

The national team’s defeat on June 14 raised a storm of criticism not only among the football fans and sports experts, but among Russian politicians as well, as they urged the Russian football authorities to part with the Italian specialist.