Leonid Slutsky is a man who has come to symbolise intricate Russian harmony in the country’s Euro 2016 qualification campaign. Incontrovertibly, his presence as head coach of the Russian national side brought a calm to quell the storm created under previous manager Fabio Capello, who left the post under a cloud of unpopularity and stagnation in July 2015.
When Slutsky took over upon the Italian’s departure, Russia languished four points behind leaders Sweden in third in Group G, with a record of two wins, two draws two losses from six qualifying matches played. With Slutsky at the helm, Russia won all of their remaining qualifying games and the amiable head coach has been credited by most with resuscitating the Russian charge to the competition. It is an achievement regarded all the more august given that Slutsky has juggled club management at CSKA Moscow with his national duties.
Slutsky, who became the first Russian manager of the national side in eight years, has so far registered a 75 percent win percentage and will take a confident, relaxed and, most importantly, a seemingly content group of players to the tournament.
However, his managerial career may have not been realised had he not channeled his energy into coaching following a disastrous attempt at a feat of heroism as a teenager in his native Volgograd. At age 19, whilst on the books of local club Zvezda Gorodishche as a goalkeeper, Slutsky fell from a tree while attempting to rescue a neighbour’s cat. His knee was injured so badly he never kept goal again.
Instead, he took up management.
Since then, Slutsky has won back-to-back Russian Premier League titles, two Russian cups, two Russian Super Cups and was named the best manager in Russia in 2014 with CSKA Moscow, whom he has managed since 2009. Highly relevant is his considerable experience of European tactics and competition, as he has been a Champions League regular with The Army Men. However, he has remained pragmatic over his side’s chances in the tournament. “We are not the favourites, but we’re strong as a team,” Slutsky recently conceded. With a deal in place to keep him in the hot seat only until after the tournament, his future as national team boss could very well depend on Russia’s performance in France.
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