Dan Petrescu: Russia has many rich teams, it is hard to qualify for Europe ahead of them

Kuban Krasnodar head coach Dan Petrescu finds it hard but not impossible for his team to qualify for the European cups. In his interview with Sport-Express he has also explained why he had agreed to take on a job at a relegated club and has spoken about the common traits and the differences between football in Russia and Romania.

«I think in Russia – as well as in Poland, Romania, and other countries of Eastern Europe – some time has to pass before most players become self-rigorous enough. You can’t just bring Petrescu and change everything. The players have to understand that for their own good they have to be 100 percent or even 120 percent professional – both individually and as a team.

It will be very difficult for us to get into the European cups. CSKA, Zenit, Rubin, Spartak, Dynamo, Lokomotiv – there’s a lot of rich teams here. In Romania the clubs like Dynamo, Steaua, and Rapid also have money, but it’s incomparable with the amounts Russian clubs have. However, I would like to emphasize: yes, it will be hard, but not impossible.

When I took charge of Kuban, I knew it had been just relegated from the Premier League. But there is a paradox: maybe I would not agree if it had not been relegated. But in this case I had a concrete task and it meant we would be winning rather than floundering around at the bottom. Moreover, I had the task to build a new team for the future. I was attracted by both of these goals. I like building teams.

What I didn’t like in Russia is stadiums. It is a real problem, as well as the facilities in general. Speaking about what I liked, I would say the vigor and the speed of the local players. In Romania they are not so fast, we play slower and with more emphasis on skills.»