Gullit pays the price, CSKA win tabletopper clash

Moscow: Dutch legend Ruud Gullit`s managerial career at Terek Grozny ended dramatically Tuesday when Ramzan Kadyrov the strongman of Chechnya accused him of being a playboy and sacked him for losing a must-win match.

Terek, a side from from war-ravaged Chechnya, lost 1-0 away at Amkar Perm to a last minute own goal by Belarus defender Sergei Omelianchuk in a match that Gullit had been told on Monday he had to win or else be sacked after just five months in the job. It took less than five minutes after the final whistle for Chechnya`s Ramzan Kadyrov -- a former field commander who also runs the club -- to announce that Gullit was surplus to requirements. "Gullit will no longer coach Terek," the Interfax news agency quoted Kadyrov as saying. "Unfortunately, he was unable to prove his mettle as a trainer. Under his leadership, the team played exceptionally poorly this season," added Kadyrov. Terek later issued a more formal statement saying Gullit was still welcome to work with the youth squad. But "the club no longer sees him as head coach of Terek," it added. A seemingly unfazed Gullit said as he watched his despondent players trot off to the locker room that he expected to get the sack even if he had beaten Amkar. "I don`t think it would have mattered it I had won or lost," Gullit told a television reporter through a translator. Gullit added in a separate interview that he had said goodbye to his players before the match started and refused to be drawn on his future plans. "I knew about (Kadyrov`s) ultimatum. Of course something like that does not improve your frame of mind," the Dutch star told the online edition of the Sport Express daily. Terek now sit 14th in the 16-team Russian Premier League with three wins from 13 matches. At the other end of the table the feature clash saw CSKA Moscow prevail with a 3-0 thumping of Anzhi Makhachkala, who had been co-leaders with them ahead of Tuesday`s match. CSKA top the table with 25 points from 12 matches, two points ahead of defending champions Zenit St Petersburg, who have played a game more. Lokomotiv Moscow and Anzhi share third on 22 points. CSKA came out of the blocks fast clinching the lead in the fifth minute through their Brazilian marksman Vagner Love, who beat Anzhi goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili with a low shot from 17 metres. CSKA doubled their lead through star Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda, who scored in the 27th minute firing home from just inside the area. After the break Anzhi, captained by veteran Brazilian Roberto Carlos, upped the tempo in trying to claw back the deficit but CSKA stifled their efforts before playmaker Alan Dzagoev made it 3-0 in the 61st minute sending home a rebound after Sergei Ignashevich`s freekick. "Today everything went our way from the beginning to the end," Ignashevich said. "We just were the better team today." Bureau Report