Imagine a Real Madrid fan being voted as Barcelona president. Imagine a Liverpool supporter taking over at Manchester United. Those situations might seem unthinkable, but a similar scenario became reality in Russia back in 2003, when Kiev-born Dynamo Kiev admirer Leonid Fedun bought Spartak Moscow.
The rivalry between Spartak and Dynamo was the most intense of the former Soviet Union. It was not only about the Russian capital versus the Ukrainian capital, but also about different footballing philosophies: Spartak's short-passing, silky style against Kiev's emphasis on physical domination. In a sense, it was about speed of thought against speed of running.
Spartak fans have always been very proud of their traditions, too. That is why legendary coaches Konstantin Beskov and Oleg Romantsev were worshipped and adored. Ever since Fedun took over, though, that classical style became irrelevant to the management, and Russia's most popular team has gradually lost its identity. Equally significantly, they failed to win a single trophy during those 12 years. That is unacceptable for such a huge club, especially taking into account that Spartak were champions in nine seasons out of 10 following the Soviet Union breakup and even reached the European Cup semifinals in 1991.
Naturally, Fedun is widely blamed for turning Russia's most successful club team into a laughing stock. The man who once promised to make Spartak "one of the top 10 clubs in the world by 2009" has instead seen his project fall apart spectacularly every season. There is no stability at Spartak, as their strategy keeps changing wildly. They haven't even qualified for the Europa League over the past two seasons.
"Spartak are fast turning into a midtable team. It is clear that the traditional Spartak style that everyone expects to see is not there. For 80 years, the team played attacking football and won many titles, and it is not right to destroy everything and come into the club with a very different vision. If the president is a Dynamo Kiev fan, he is most probably responsible for that."
Russia's national team captain Roman Shirokov said the above two months ago in a TV interview. What makes it such an incredible statement is that Shirokov is a Spartak player, who was loaned out to Krasnodar at the beginning of 2015. To hear the club's star criticizing the very soul of the owner in such a blatant fashion is extraordinary, even by Shirokov's standards; the midfielder is widely known as the most outspoken player in Russia.
The Shirokov saga is perhaps the most damning part of a Spartak crisis that reached its nadir in the past two weeks. The 33-year-old player, who is Russia's most inventive and intelligent passer of the ball, became a free agent last summer when his contract at Zenit St. Petersburg wasn't extended. Shirokov was raised at CSKA Moscow and made his name in St Petersburg, but he grew up as a Spartak fan and thus clearly preferred to spend the last years of his career there.
After signing such a significant player on a free transfer, it was obvious that Spartak needed to build their play around him. Around the same time, however, they named Murat Yakin as their new coach. The Swiss specialist -- whose football was criticized as too boring, even by Basel fans, despite winning two titles and enjoying a handful of successful European campaigns -- was hardly the right choice for Shirokov. It was like bringing in Carlos Valderrama and getting Jackie Charlton to coach him, but Spartak management didn't seem to understand.
Initially, Shirokov was injured -- that was why he missed the World Cup, where Russia failed miserably without him -- but upon returning to match fitness, he discovered that the coach didn't use him properly. Expectedly, the midfielder made his feelings known, stating that he doesn't like "the ball flying over his head all the time." Their conflict escalated very quickly. Shirokov was benched numerous times and failed to shake Yakin's hand after being substituted.
Eventually, there was little option but to loan him out if Spartak wanted to keep Yakin; that's when the midfielder started openly lambasting Fedun, as well.
Surprisingly, Shirokov was not the only key player who left the club during the winter break. Spanish midfielder Tino Costa was loaned to Genoa, Italian stopper Salvatore Bocchetti was loaned to Milan and star striker Artyom Dzyuba was thrown off of the team after negotiations regarding his contract extension failed to bear fruit. Dzyuba went on to sign a contract with hated rivals Zenit for the 2015-16 season.
Spartak fans disliked Yakin from the beginning, and their relations with the coach deteriorated as the season progressed. Spanish midfielder Jurado -- who after Shirokov and Tino Costa left was supposed to be the main source of creativity -- was usually benched.
Added to that, the team had no recognised playmaker, and the defensive lineup was constantly changed -- for example, Yakin usually used full-back Yevgeni Makeev as centre-back, and changed his partners (one of the reasons why Bocchetti left).
Results were disappointing in the extreme. Having aspired to fight Zenit and CSKA for the title, Spartak now find themselves in 6th place, 21 points from the top. They lost to relegation strugglers Ural, Rostov and Arsenal Tula, and only scored 39 goals, compared to 66 by CSKA and 57 by Zenit.
Almost all the headlines Spartak have managed to produce this season are negative, with one of the most bizarre scandals erupting last month, when fit-again Armenian winger Araz Ozbiliz hinted that Yakin didn't let him play and sent him to train with the reserves on racial grounds.
"I tried not to think that way, but now I am asking myself, 'Maybe it's because I am an Armenian and the coach is of Turkish origins?'" he told Sport Express, adding that fellow Armenian striker Yura Movsisyan was also being mistreated. "What would a player think if he regularly scores at least 15 goals a season, and then suddenly becomes a substitute? Maybe it's not his fault?"
Ozbiliz was fined by the club for his words and never returned to the squad, while Movsisyan continued to warm the bench. In the meantime, results went from bad to worse. Spartak lost 4-2 at 10-man Terek Grozny, before hosting CSKA two weeks ago.
The only significant positive achievement of the Fedun era has been the successful completion of their modern stadium, as the club found a home for the first time in their history at the beginning of this season. Thus it was the first big Moscow derby at the fantastic Otkrytie Arena, and it was sold out. The atmosphere was superb, and the fans did their utmost to support the team, but they were in for a deep shock.
CSKA scored three goals in the first 30 minutes and easily won 4-0; the result should actually have been much more emphatic. The humiliation was the last straw for long-suffering supporters; some of them tried to attack Fedun, who has spent €260 million on players during his tenure but failed to build a team.
That was the last straw for Fedun, as well. A couple of days after the CSKA fiasco, he announced his resignation from his post as chairman of the board of directors, even though he doesn't intend to sell the club. "I understand that time has come to give over the responsibilities to professionals. Maybe they will be luckier and more competent, and will lead the club to winning the titles," he wrote. Adding to the continuing chaos, Spartak's general director Roman Askhabadze was fired on Tuesday.
Such dramatic moves haven't changed the attitude of the fans. On Sunday, Otkrytie Arena remained mostly empty during the game against lowly Ufa. Just 12,000 people came to the stands, and they did so with one purpose: Spartak players and coaching stuff were whistled and cursed during the entire 90 minutes. The atmosphere became unbearable for the players, who meekly lost 2-1. Never before has Spartak experienced anything like that. The very bond between the club and its supporters seems to be broken.
Will the legendary club eventually find its way back to the top? And would that require Fedun, who might have celebrated Dynamo Kiev's revival under Sergey Rebrov, to leave in order for that to happen? Only time will tell -- fans are already hoping that their former legend Dmitry Alenichev will replace Yakin next season -- but it is very far from certain.