Former sports director of Spartak Thomas Amaral in an interview with a source, he spoke about the problems he encountered while working at the Moscow club.
I believe whoever is at the club wants the best, but there came a point where, because of issues that I wasn’t happy with, I was forced to ask to leave. Spartak announced a mutual agreement to end cooperation, but the initiative came from me, so I was the one who asked to leave. Obviously, after that, a mutual agreement was reached. I leave very grateful. For the experience, for the opportunity to work at a club of this stature and for the fantastic people I met.
I cannot help but name two people from the board of directors: Alexander Matytsyn and Pavel Zhdanov. Besides the experience they gave me in other aspects outside of football and the game itself, they are people who welcomed me with open arms and who always treated me with the greatest respect. These are people to whom I will be grateful for the rest of my life and who I know will remain my friends for life.
Yes, there was some resistance. It is difficult for me to work in an environment where many outside people try to influence decisions not based on what is best for the club, but based on what is best for those people. There is one thing I am proud of: I have always defended the club, I have always defended those who paid my salary, and I gave everything to make the club better, to make the team better and so that everything is more stable. But there are some issues I can’t control and just have to respect.
I fought it as much as I could. From the moment I realized that it was no longer my responsibility, I had to make a decision. Either I agree to work in such conditions, or I ask to leave. I believe it is best to be honest about such matters. I never wanted to keep a contract because it was good, or because the status was good, or because the club was huge. It might be easier, but I am who I am. Perhaps the fact is that in my youth I was already a non-conformist.
But I remain grateful and proud of what has been accomplished. The truth is that anyone who fairly compares the team from a year ago to today will see that the difference is noticeable. It is above all thanks to the players and to coach Dejan Stankovic, who is an excellent coach.
