Star players to blame for Anzhi intrigue

Anzhi Makhachkala’s former vice-president Zaidin Dzhambulatov says player power was behind Yuri Krasnozhan’s resignation as coach.

Former Lokomotiv Moscow boss Krasnozhan quit Anzhi in February, just two months after joining the Dagestani outfit, to be replaced by experienced Dutchman Guus Hiddink.

Dzhambulatov has claimed an unstable working relationship with star players such as Samuel Eto’o and Roberto Carlos led to Krasnozhan’s departure.

“The situation with Krasnozhan was simple – Eto’o did not want to work with him,” Dzhambulatov claimed in an interview with Sovetsky Sport.

“He (Eto’o) is a great footballer but he would not accept the Russian coach’s authority. Roberto Carlos reacted in the same vein, and then other foreigners followed.”

“They did not argue or sabotage training sessions, but merely let him know how they felt.”

Anzhi are seventh in the Russian Premier League standings and travel to face Krasnozhan’s former club, Lokomotiv Moscow, on Sunday.