Experience will be put on the Torpedo – Newspaper Kommersant No. 53 (7498) dated 03/29/2023

The outsider of the Russian Premier League (RPL) Torpedo, which occupies the last place in the current national championship, has appointed Spaniard Josep Clotet as the new head coach. Previously, the 45-year-old specialist worked not only at home, but also in Sweden, Norway, England and Italy, although he did not achieve any noticeable success. Now he has to save the Moscow club from falling into the first league, which, according to the black and white leadership, Andrei Talalaev, who was recently dismissed, could not cope with.

Before the match of the 21st round of the Russian Championship with the second-placed Rostov, Torpedo, still in a critical situation and standing on the relegation from the RPL, announced the appointment of Josep Clotet as their new head coach and lifeguard. Since the start of the season, this is the fourth coach who will lead, perhaps, the weakest team in the Premier League.

In any case, so far none of the predecessors of the Spanish specialist has managed to refute this statement. So Andrey Talalaev, despite all the efforts to rebuild the squad and long preparatory training camps in the winter off-season, by and large failed to move Torpedo off the ground. Yes, immediately after the resumption of the championship, black and white caught one point in Krasnodar (2:2), but then suffered a home defeat from Ural (0:1). And in the last round they played a draw with “Paris Nizhny Novgorod” away (1:1). True, they were lucky that a football player who was supposed to serve a suspension entered the opponent’s field, and, according to the tournament regulations, Nizhny Novgorod was awarded a forfeit defeat (0:3). Only in this way “Torpedo” won his second victory in the championship, after which he had ten points. Muscovites are only three points ahead of Khimki, but the Moscow Region club is also in the relegation zone, but they are seven and nine points behind Fakel and Nizhny Novgorod, respectively.

Whether Clotet will be able to bring the torpedoes at least into the zone of play-offs with representatives of the first league is a big question.

At least his resume does not give such confidence. By the age of 45, he had already changed jobs more than 15 times, never staying anywhere for a long time.

The Barcelona native did not play football professionally, and began his coaching career at the age of 24. As a rule, he held secondary assistant positions. After several years in Spain, including cooperation with the Espanyol youth team, he moved to Sweden (Malmö, Halmstad), and from there to Norway (Viking). From 2013 to 2020 he worked as an assistant manager at various English clubs, mainly from the lower divisions (Swansea, Leeds, Oxford, Birmingham). In “Oxford” and “Birmingham” he even was in charge. And then Clotet had an Italian period when he was offered to lead Brescia. There he did not work out, as well as later in SPAL. The subsequent return to Brescia was also unsuccessful. It is also known that the new Torpedo mentor worked as an expert and commentator in the Spanish branch of the Sky Sports channel, as well as a full-time columnist in the Marca publication.

Apparently, Klotet is the creation of the new president of the Moscow club, Yaroslav Savin, who himself recently took up his post.

With Talalaev, who was invited by the former head of “Torpedo” Ilya Gerkus, Savin broke up very quickly by mutual agreement of the parties. With Clotet, according to “Sport-Express”he signed a contract for two and a half years.

“We are inspired by Josep’s agreement to accept our offer,” the club’s press service quoted the president of Torpedo as saying. “The new coach has extensive experience in England, Italy and Spain. He knows how to successfully develop players, build spectacular and effective football, has deep comprehensive knowledge. This is the kind of coach we need for the progress of the club and the team.”

Who knows, perhaps Torpedo was also inspired by the example of another Spanish specialist – Guillermo Abascal, who, having also arrived at the RPL as a noname, unexpectedly fired with Spartak. However, unlike Clotet, he still has much better conditions and tools for achieving success.

Alexander Ilyin