Rabat – Spanish coach Robert Moreno was dismissed from his role at Russian club FC Sochi after a controversial experiment with artificial intelligence.
According to reports, the club’s management lost patience with him after a string of poor results and unusual decisions linked to his reliance on ChatGPT.
Moreno, 48, left the job in September following a disastrous run in the Russian Premier League. Under his guidance, Sochi collected just one point in seven matches and eventually dropped to the second division.
The club’s former sporting director, Andrei Orlov, revealed that Moreno had become “a big admirer of AI tools” and used them extensively in training schedules and tactical planning.
One incident stood out. Before an away match against Khabarovsk, Moreno followed ChatGPT’s recommendations to the letter.
He ordered a training session at 7 a.m. two days before the game and instructed players to stay awake for 28 consecutive hours. Orlov recalled: “When we were preparing to travel, Moreno told us he had set every detail through ChatGPT.”
He continued: “I checked the plan and was shocked; there was no sleep scheduled. We couldn’t understand why we had to wake up at five in the morning and train at seven.”
The experiment unsettled both players and staff. Moreno also relied on AI during the transfer window, using it to search for a striker.
The club eventually signed Artur Shushenachev from Kazakhstan, but the move failed to deliver the expected impact. Orlov explained that ChatGPT had become “an essential tool” for Moreno, but its influence ultimately harmed the team’s performance.
Fans criticized the coach for his obsession with possession football without attacking efficiency. Combined with the bizarre training routines, the team’s decline became inevitable.
The management decided to terminate his contract, citing his “excessive dependence on artificial intelligence” as a key factor.
Moreno’s career has seen highs and lows. He briefly managed the Spanish national team in 2019 after Luis Enrique stepped down for personal reasons, but his tenure was short-lived.