The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying draw takes place in St Petersburg, Russia, today with the national game of the hosts in total disarray.
Rudderless without a federation chief or coach, Russia are in serious danger of missing out on Euro 2016.
They were left without a manager after the sacking last week of Fabio Capello following a lengthy contractual dispute and a string of below-par results.
The search for the Italian’s successor has so far proved fruitless.
The appointment of a new head coach has been seriously compromised by a lack of leadership after Nikolai Tolstykh was forced out as president of the Russian Football Union in May.
The RFU’s deputy head is 88-year-old Nikita Simonyan, who says no major decisions would be made until a new federation president is elected.
The only candidate is Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko after Russina Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev agreed that he could serve in two capacities.
Mutko is no stranger to the RFU, having served as its head from 2005 to 2009. The RFU elections are on Sept. 2, three days before Russia’s next Euro 2016 qualifier, a potentially decisive fixture against Sweden, lying second in their group.
Mutko has said that the team’s new manager would be appointed this month, insisting no foreign coaches are being considered.
“We need a Russian coach to finish the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign,” Mutko said this month. “He should be familiar with Russian football to choose the country’s top players and win a place in the European championship finals.”
CSKA Moscow coach Leonid Slutsky is thought to be Mutko’s preferred candidate, although he has a long-term contract with CSKA that contains no provisions allowing him to simultaneously serve as national team coach.
Other names in the frame include Russia Under-19 manager Dmitry Khomukha, former national squad assistant coach Alexander Borodyuk and former Dynamo Moscow boss Stanislav Cherchesov.
Under Capello, Russia won just two of their six Euro 2016 qualifiers, drawing with a weaker Moldova and losing twice to Austria. That has left them struggling in third in Group G with four matches remaining and far from assured of securing a spot in next year’s championships in France.
Only the top third-placed team among the nine groups qualifies for the tournament, along with the top two teams from each group.
In addition to the uncertainty that surrounds the future of Russian soccer, the RFU has debts that amount to 1.5 billion roubles (US$26.3 million), Mutko said.
Mutko has pledged to revamp the nation’s soccer governing body, which is in dire need of order.
“We will transform the RFU into the country’s most open and transparent organization, but right now we need to solve all the organizational and economic problems that the previous RFU management accumulated,” the R-Sport news agency quoted Mutko as saying.
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