Under-pressure Valencia coach Unai Emery has emerged as a possible candidate to succeed Spartak Moscow’s acting coach Valery Karpin after Emery and Karpin reportedly said the move was possible.
Karpin submitted his resignation in April 2011 after a string of poor results but has carried on in a temporary capacity and is seeking his own successor.
Emery is likely to leave Valencia at the end of the season, and the club has admitted holding talks to replace him with former Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas.
“Spartak is one of the possible options for me to continue my career,” Emery told the Spanish media after Valencia’s 1-0 win over Villarreal on Saturday.
Karpin had earlier said that Emery, whom he played alongside at Real Sociedad between 1995 and 1996, could be on Spartak’s shortlist, but played down hopes of his appointment.
“It could be that he is on the list of names that we have, but at the moment it is almost impossible for him to come here,” Karpin told Valencia newspaper Las Provincas while visiting Spain on Friday.
“I would say there is only one chance in a hundred.”
Emery would be Spartak’s first foreign coach since ex-Denmark midfielder Michael Laudrup was fired in April 2009, and former Spartak and Russia defender Viktor Bulatov said he would welcome the Basque coach joining the club.
“He’s a progressive coach, there’s the constantly improving Spanish football values like ball control and quick passing, based on a high level of technical skill on the part of the players. These characteristics are close to Spartak’s traditions,” he told RIA Novosti on Sunday.
But former Spartak, Celta Vigo and Russia midfielder Alexander Mostovoi disagreed.
“I don’t see anything extraordinary about Emery,” he told RIA Novosti.
“He didn’t have the results last year, and this year not everything’s going smoothly. Overall, a mid-level, ordinary coach like many others.”
Spartak are fourth in the Russian Premier League, 16 points behind leaders Zenit St. Petersburg, who have already won the title.
Valencia occupy third place in the Spanish league, but are 36 points behind leaders Real Madrid and 29 behind second-placed Barcelona.
Karpin scored 28 goals in 117 total appearances at Spartak in the 1990s. He spent 11 seasons in Spain, scoring 68 goals in 378 games playing for Real Sociedad, Valencia and Celta Vigo.
