There are not too many managers who are managing a top club and then, the national team of that particular country as well.
Leonid Slutsky is doing that in Russia, but, he reckons because of not having a Football playing career, he has had to face non-acceptance from people right through.
It’s not that Slutsky did not have aspirations of playing the game. He definitely had and he loved Football like any other kid does. He was a shot stopper at school.
But, a miserable accident in his teenage saw one of his legs getting damaged to the extent that he had to remain on bed for about 12 months or so and the doctors feared standing on that leg might not be possible for him.
However, thankfully, the injury did not reveal itself as badly as feared and he recovered to stand again, but, the damage was enough to ensure that his dreams of making a career out of his playing skills were over.
However, such was his interest in Football that he wanted to do something which would keep him close to it and that made him go for a coaching certificate so that he could have it as a future career option.
Today, if he has got the jobs that he has, it has come after years and years of efforts as he has shown his credential at all the levels while climbing up the ladder in Russian Football. But, many are still not sure of his efficiency.
Talking about that, Slutsky says, “I have dealt with refusal from the days I was working in junior Football and it’s still happening I reckon, with a section of supporters willing for me to be out of the job. So, it’s a case of me trying to prove myself every day.”
