Former Spain coach Robert Moreno faced scrutiny after his heavy reliance on ChatGPT while managing Russian club FC Sochi. His unusual methods contributed to confusion among players and staff, and the team ultimately suffered relegation.
On a trip to Khabarovsk, Moreno reportedly followed AI-generated instructions to the letter:
“I looked at the presentation: it showed that the players weren’t supposed to sleep for 28 hours. I asked, ‘Robert, that’s all great, but when are the guys going to sleep?’ The players didn’t understand why we had to wake up at five in the morning and train at seven.”
Even players with local experience were ignored.
“In the end, we followed the schedule created by ChatGPT,” said Andrei Orlov, Sochi’s former sporting director.
Moreno also used AI for recruitment decisions.
“Shushenachev emerged as the best according to GPT,” Orlov said, referring to the striker who failed to score in 10 matches.
Orlov noted that Moreno’s overreliance on AI caused unrest:
“The Russian core was very unhappy with Moreno, and the foreigners weren’t confident in his ideas either. He was completely unsympathetic to his assistants and players. People sensed it.”
Under Moreno, FC Sochi were relegated from the Russian Premier League, highlighting the risks of overusing technology in football management.
