Valery Karpin leaves Dynamo coaching position to focus on Russian national team

Valery Karpin announced his departure from the head coach position at Moscow’s Dynamo. The coach stated he made this decision in order to ‘fully focus on the Russian national team,’ which he has been in charge of since 2021 (for the past six months, he held both positions). Karpin emphasized that his priority is the national team’s results and preparation ‘both for individual matches and for the team’s return to the international level.’ The Russian national team has been excluded from participating in any international competitions under FIFA and UEFA as of 2022. Valery Karpin’s team only plays friendly matches against national teams of ‘friendly countries,’ which are usually of lower quality. Karpin took over Dynamo this summer, before the 2025/2026 season. The team, which finished fifth last season in the Russian Premier League, is currently in 10th place. Until February 2025, Karpin coached Rostov before leaving the club with a similar statement about the need to dedicate himself to the national team. The Dynamo sports franchise lost its main coaches in two sports on the same day, as noted by ‘Sports.’ A few hours before Karpin’s departure, the Dynamo hockey team dismissed Alexei Kudashov.