Head coach of the Russian national team, Valery Karpin, has shared his thoughts on criticism directed at the team and its current results.
“There’s a certain attitude toward criticizing the team right now. Some even say it’s low to criticize our national team—let them take part in international competitions, make mistakes, then you can criticize. But now, when things are tough for them, you shouldn’t do that.”
“When the result becomes clear, then yes, then you can do it again. You can and you should.”
When asked about the main component at the moment—maintaining motivation when everyone is tired—Karpin addressed the choice of opponents: “Well, because we are suspended, because we are under sanctions. What do you mean ‘why’?”
“Why did we play that way against such opponents?”
“Why we played that way. Criticism will always be there. But when criticism is constructive in terms of results—when it’s official matches, and it’s clear the team lost, maybe didn’t qualify for the World Cup or European Championship—then it’s understandable: everything is bad, everyone is bad, the coach, the players, someone else. You find someone to blame: change the player, the coach—it doesn’t matter. But when these things are happening now, it’s not constructive because it leads nowhere,” Karpin said in an interview on Nadezhda Strelets’ YouTube channel.
