After the great experiences and great results obtained in Italy, with Lazio and Fiorentina, Oreste Cinquini was one of the few managers to make the leap to Europe to work in foreign leagues, testing himself.
With him, exclusively for Tribal Football, we have talked about his experiences in Zenit and with Fabio Capello's Russia. Inside the Russian club he worked with Roberto Mancini, current technical commissioner of the Italian national football team.
Cinquini said: "We arrived with the Italian staff with Roberto Mancini, it was a very significant year at the beginning, full of victories, then with the winter phase we had no continuity of results and unfortunately the year was negative. Roberto went to the national team.
"I stayed to work with the President, I was his personal consultant and I was directly involved in scouting and other situations, it was an extremely positive experience."
He told us about the experience and how difficult it is to work in the world of football with people who speak different languages, but also about the differences between the national team and the club.
"After the three and a half years spent with (Fabio) Capello with Russia, the experience in a club was certainly very different. The main problem is that of communication, you meet the players every day, you have to deal with all the people in the club, starting with the managers, the press office, security, the difficulty of communication has weighed on the negative results. In the national team you see the players less, you have an interpreter, a club needs your work every day, it's more complicated. "
Cinquini's experience, however, was more than positive, adding: "I have to thank Russia, these 7 and a half years have enriched me and have been splendid, but the experience with Capello with Russia has been fantastic."
The Italian also dwelt on his period at Zenit, of which he is satisfied, but with the regret of not having reached the Champions League that season.
Talking on his responsibilities, he said: "We were so unlucky. I take my responsibilities for the work I have done, but we have brought important players who have done well at Zenit."
Asked about best purchases at Zenit, Cinquini said: "We made a big shopping campaign in the first summer at Zenit, important players, players we knew. Paredes above all, which I brought to Zenit.
"They accused us of spending too much, but in our opinion it was not true, we brought important and young players, such as Mammana, Driussi. If you think we paid Paredes 25 million euros, then we sold him to PSG for 40 plus bonuses ... it wasn't a positive season, because we had to get to the Champions League at least and we didn't. Everyone wanted Driussi, he is a very important player, we had to activate the clause with River Plate, but he is a very strong player. Even Mammana, very strong, technical."
Driussi and Paredes collected respectively 82 games and 13 goals and 61 games and 10 goals. These numbers speak volumes about the qualities of these two players, who gave Zenit so much (Paredes was then a great deal on an economic level, as Cinquini recalls).
While Paredes is now with PSG, former River Plate striker Driussu remains a star with Zenit three years after Cinquini signed him for the Russian giants.
