Oleg Georgiyevich Kononov (, , born 23 March 1966) is a Belarusian–Russian
Playing career
Oleg Kononov began his playing career in RSFSR at
Iskra Smolensk in 1983.
He later moved to Belarus, where he would play for various clubs until 1999.
In 1998, he was named the Belarusian Premier League Player of the year.[ Short bio overview] Playing at FC Vitebsk, he became the runner-up of the Belarusian Premier League.
Managing career
Sheriff Tiraspol
The most glory Kononov attained as a coach, was while in charge of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. His team became the champions in Moldovan National Division three times (2004/05–2006/07), was the
Moldavian Cup holder in 2006, and the Moldovan Super Cup in 2005.
Karpaty Lviv
On 9 June 2008, Kononov was invited to take charge of Ukrainian Premier League club
Karpaty Lviv following the resignation of Valery Yaremchenko.
[ Profile on official Karpaty website ] He brought a new style of play to the team, including the use of a 4-3-3 formation which emphasizes the flanks instead of the usual 4-4-2 formation.
[ Олег Кононов: "Сейчас всё только начинается" (Oleg Kononov: "This is only the beginning" - ua-football.com ][ Олег Кононов: "Федецкому не хватает практики" (Oleg Kononov: "Fedetskyy does not have enough game practice - terrikon.dn.ua ] At the end of the 2008-09 season, Karpaty finished in the season in middle of the league at 9th place.
[ 2008-09 season league table - fpl.ua; Football Premier League of Ukraine ]
Kononov enjoyed more success the next season, guiding Karpaty to top 8 in the Ukrainian Cup where they were eliminated by eventual finalists
Metalurh Donetsk. They also finished fifth in the league and therefore qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, where after impressively passing Galatasaray in the playoff round, finished last in Group J with 1 point.
Krasnodar
He took over the management of
FC Krasnodar early in the 2013–14 Russian Premier League and led them to Europe for the first time in their history, finishing 5th in the league and qualifying for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. In 2014–15 season they defeated, among others,
Real Sociedad in the Europa League qualifiers and advanced to the group stage. They did not qualify for the knockout phase. Midway through the 2014–15 Russian Premier League competition, they reached the 2nd spot in the standings. He resigned from his Krasnodar position on 13 September 2016.
Arsenal Tula
He signed with FC Arsenal Tula on 1 June 2018.
Spartak Moscow
He left Arsenal by mutual consent on 12 November 2018
and signed with FC Spartak Moscow until the end of the 2018–19 season.
on 29 September 2019, he resigned from Spartak following 4 consecutive losses in a league that were preceded by a failure to qualify for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage.
Riga FC
On 5 February 2020, he signed with the reigning Latvian champions
Riga FC.
The stint ended in late 2020.
Return to Arsenal Tula
On 10 June 2022, Kononov was hired once again by Arsenal Tula, freshly relegated to the second-tier Russian Football National League.
On 11 January 2023, he left the post of head coach, having played 20 matches in the current season of the First League, in which FC Arsenal Tula won nine victories and drew five times.
Saturn Ramenskoye
In July 2023, Kononov headed the fourth-tier Russian Second League Division B club Leon Saturn Ramenskoye.
He resigned from Leon Saturn on 31 August 2023.
Torpedo Moscow
On 24 May 2025, Torpedo Moscow, managed by Kononov, secured promotion to the Russian Premier League.
Torpedo was removed from the RPL before the start of the season for attempted match-fixing in the 2024–25 season.
Honours
As a manager
Sevastopol
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Ukrainian First League: 2012-13
Krasnodar
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Russian Football Premier League third place: 2014-15
External links
