Meet The Manager Who's AI Generated Team Was Devastating ... To Itself

Artificially Ripped Apart - Meet the Russian Team Destroyed by AI

Over the last five years or so, the human consciousness has become increasingly wary of artificial intelligence, universally abbreviated as AI. Viewed as an all-seeing, all-knowing, feelingless entity, hundreds of sectors, thousands of companies, and millions of jobs have all had to consider the dreaded question - is AI going to replace me?

It’s a valid question - an online entity with access to the depths of the internet, scientific research, reasoning and logic is a threat in anyone’s book, and as it develops over time, it’s a discussion that will only become more relevant.

However, going off a remarkable incident in the Russian Premier League, AI has not yet reached the point where it can seamlessly replace football managers - in fact, it has given reason to actively avoid it in its current form.

Our case study is FC Sochi and now-former manager Robert Moreno, whose use of AI condemned his team to complete and utter embarrassment.

⚽️ In Russia, a football coach relied heavily on ChatGPT to prepare his team — and the club got relegated to a lower division

According to statements from the club's former deputy general direct, FC Sochi head coach Robert Moreno actively used AI in his work with the players.… pic.twitter.com/BCC0F7QRf5

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 23, 2026

AI - Absolute Idiocy

The story begins at the start of the 2023/24 Russian Premier League season, with FC Sochi one of the pre-season favourites for relegation.

Moreno, who at this time had been freshly appointed as head coach, led the side into the new season, and the side had high hopes of bettering their performance from the 2022/23 season.

However, the former Monaco manager clearly felt he required extra help to take the next step in his managerial career, and decided to change his approach as he sought new and innovative ways to help his side survive. Enter ChatGPT.

Though far from the most developed AI engine, ChatGPT is the most widely available technology-based assistant, and although it is known to make the odd mistake, its powers of reasoning and rational thinking often help the average citizen find sensible solutions to complex problems.

However, the difference between the problems of one person and a team of 11 is night and day, and it became clear that ChatGPT was creating more problems than it solved.

Moreno quickly became heavily reliant on the platform for most aspects of management, including planning itineraries for away games, picking starting elevens, and even dictating players’ sleep schedules.

Let’s dive into how Moreno used AI to completely destroy his team.

Questionable Decision-Making

I must preface this properly - though Moreno was eventually fired from his post a full four months ago, it was only discovered yesterday that he had incorporated the use of AI.

In all honesty, it was a miracle that he wasn’t discovered months earlier.

One itinerary for a team trip to Khabarovsk, a city 4,285 miles away on the far eastern side of Russia, would have seen the side travel for a whopping 28 hours to get there, leaving them virtually restless and sleep-deprived ahead of a crucial away game.

🚨🚨| FC Sochi’s former general director revealed that ex coach Robert Moreno regularly relied on ChatGPT for training sessions tactics and even team travel while at the club. 💻🤯

One AI itinerary for a trip to Khabarovsk would have left players without sleep for 28 hours.… pic.twitter.com/1iCba4j7K5

— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) January 25, 2026

I can only imagine the board of directors' faces when Moreno pitched his travel plans to them, and the subsequent outrage of everyone involved upon realising that no journey should ever take that long.

But while such an itinerary was obviously not man-made, the alterations ChatGPT made to the starting eleven were much harder to spot. For example, the AI platform opted to start striker Ivan Ignatiev thanks to certain physical traits that it thought would benefit the team.

However, instead of rewarding the coach with raining goals, Ignatiev went 10 consecutive games without a goal, proving that even when given a thorough database and detailed description of pros and cons, ChatGPT’s management skills leave something to be desired.

It also recommended other quirky managerial decisions, such as waking up the team at five in the morning or preventing the side from sleeping the night before a game - it is so blindingly obvious that these recommendations were to the detriment of the team, and it is remarkable that Moreno lasted as long as he did.

Inevitable Ending

Remarkably, Moreno kept his AI-heavy coaching methods a secret, and it is unknown whether even his closest assistants knew about his reliance on the platform. This was likely a significant contributor to the fact that he survived the season despite finishing bottom of the league, and managed to haul Sochi back up into the top flight after a play-off promotion.

FC Sochi's disastrous season was marked by their coach's unusual reliance on artificial intelligence for critical decisions, ultimately leading to relegation. https://t.co/vmYcGvpXlH

— calfkicker (@calfkickercom) January 24, 2026

Although it is unknown whether the Spaniard maintained his use of AI, the fact that he wasn’t caught during his entire spell at the club indicates that he must have continued employing the technology throughout his reign, and early results at the start of this season only support this hypothesis.

In the first seven games of the 2025/26 campaign, Sochi picked up just one point, and eventually, the board was fed up with their terrible form, firing Moreno after a 2-1 defeat to Spartak Moscow in September, during which the coach was shown a humiliating red card.

Now, a remarkable four months later, his deceitful use of AI is just entering the public domain, and with it, marring any credentials and legacy he had built as a head coach.

He has also left Sochi in a worse state than he found them, with the west-coast side at the rock bottom of the table and eight points adrift of safety, and though results have marginally improved since new coach Igor Osinjkin took over, the side will be hard-pressed to secure their status as a top-flight club.

However, the crucial moral of the story here is that AI is miles away from displacing people from human jobs. The needlessly complicated travel plans, brainless team selections and clear decline in results in tandem with its use indicate that, at least for now, we human beings can rest safe in the knowledge that artificial intelligence is a long way off taking our jobs. Watch this space.