Published: 7 May, 2009, 15:43
Edited: 7 May, 2009, 15:43
Ex-Chelsea mentor Avram Grant has become one of the contenders to take the vacant coaching post of Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia’s Sport-Express newspaper reports.
The Israeli specialist, who has been jobless since he left the London club in May 2008, is thinking about returning to football.
He visited Moscow back in April, but said his visit had nothing to do with football.
Also in April, he was offered a job as the boss of the Czech national team, but the deal was not struck.
Grant has spent most of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup titles with different teams, and also managing the national team from 2002-06.
The specialist, who is a friend of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, was appointed Director of Football at Chelsea FC, and became manager of the club in September 2007 after Portuguese coach Jose Maurinho was dismissed.
Under Grant, Chelsea finished second in the English Premier league, and reached the Moscow final of the UEFA Champions League, where they were beaten by Manchester United on penalties.
Other candidates for the Lokomotiv job are current Dinamo Kiev coach, Yury Semin, who coached the Moscow team from 1986-2005, winning the Russian championship in 2002 and 2004, and Valery Gazzaev, the only Russian specialist to win the UEFA cup, who lost his job at CSKA last autumn.
Lokomotiv fired coach Rashid Rakhimov at the end of April due to a weak start in the Russian Premier League. The Railway Men had just 1 win out of six games, and were sitting 13th in the table.
Substitute coach Vladimir Maminov, who finished his playing career at the end of last season, will work with the team till June. He’s already won his first match beating Spartak Nalchik 1-0.