27 year old striker Smolov in the prime of life, and we believe he has a wonderful future. Including financial. The contract, according to which Fedor receives $ 2.5 million per season, is valid for two more years. The amount of compensation prescribed in it to the club (compensation for an early break) is $ 30 million.

Krasnodar is one of the most reliable, stable, advanced in terms of structure and dynamics of progress of the RFPL clubs. Participant of the Europa League draw and contender for the medals of the Russian Championship.

Club owner Sergey Galitsky Is a long-liver on the Forbes list with a personal fortune of about $ 7 billion. His authority in domestic football is backed up by serious achievements, and his reputation is impeccable ...

What other arguments are needed for the player to hold on to his work with his hands and feet, ensuring the maximum possible return (which Smolov, in fact, has been doing over the past two years), and for the club - for the player?

Nevertheless, rumors that they are gaining strength, acquiring all the signs of reliability along the way.

Muromets

Fyodor Smolov's career is unique and amazing in its way. One of the most talented players of his generation, he, like Ilya Muromets, rested on the stove for up to 25 years. Having made his debut in the Moscow Dynamo at the age of seventeen, over the next 8 years Smolov changed 4 clubs and during this time, God forbid, scored two dozen goals in official matches.

Dynamo player Fyodor Smolov during the match of the 6th round of the Russian football championship between the teams of Moscow and Dynamo. 2008 Photo: RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko

And in 2015, when many had already given up on him, he moved as a free agent (that is, free) to Krasnodar and finally blossomed. Fedor scored 38 times in the Russian championship alone!

Krasnodar has strengthened in this segment in the cohort of leaders Russian football, finishing in 4th place in the national championship twice in a row and reaching the 1/8 finals of the Europa League. But towards the end of last season - in general, quite successful for the southerners - there was a strong feeling that the club in its development rested against the ceiling. To enter a new round of progress, he needs new challenges.

A normal work situation that just takes time to resolve.

Motives

Smolov does not have this time. Smolov is now in perfect order, but he is already 27: there are 5-6 years of an active career ahead, hardly more, and in order to leave a mark in football, he needs to act now. “To act” in translation from football into Russian means to present oneself vividly at the highest level.

In a year, Fedor will most likely have such a chance (at the level of national teams), but he is no longer interested in everything he has to do before the 2018 World Cup. It was, it took place, it was passed.

Smolov, like his Krasnodar, needs a new challenge: the fight for champion gold and participation in the Champions League. In Russia or in Europe - the question is secondary.

This topic is probably related to the topic of the terms of a personal contract. According to this fundamental indicator, Smolov is in the end of the second ten among all RFPL players.

The highest paid RFPL footballers (data from the Sports.ru portal at the beginning of 2017):

1. Javi Garcia(Zenit) - 4.5 million euros

2.Vedran Chorluka(Lokomotiv) - 4.5

3.Branislav Ivanovic(Zenit) - 4.1

4. Alex Song("Ruby") - 4

5. Yann Mwila("Ruby") - 4

6.Igor Denisov(Lokomotiv) - 4

7.Quincy Promes(Spartak) - 3.8

8. Manuel Fernandes(Lokomotiv) - 3.8

9. Artyom Dzyuba (Zenit) - 3.6

10. Luiz Adriano(Spartak) - 3.5

17-21. Fedor Smolov(Krasnodar) - 2.5

Sergei Galitsky is a zealous owner; he never participates in the "football arms race". In other words, Smolov cannot count on improving the contract at Krasnodar. At the same time, there are clubs in Russia that are ready to remove an urgent problem. There would be a desire.

"Spartacus"

The list of mutual sympathies, if you do not take into account all sorts of undercurrents and hidden intrigues, is undoubtedly headed by the champion of Russia "Spartak". There are several reasons for this.

The position of the center forward, in which Smolov is playing, is one of Spartak's personnel problems that need to be addressed. Ze Luis, Luiz Adriano, Lorenzo Melgarejo- none of the "pure" Spartak forwards last season, as they say, convinced (2, 5 and 2 goals, respectively). At the same time, increased competition for the Champions League is an absolutely necessary condition. In turn, the guaranteed 6 matches of the League group stage is the minimum that attracts Smolov to Spartak.

Improve the Smolovo contract, Spartak owner Leonid Fedun certainly in a position: since Luiz Adriano was called in for 3.5 million, then an order of magnitude more effective Smolov costs no less.

On the other hand, Spartak, as far as we know, has not yet had any substantive contacts with Krasnodar on Smolov: he seems to be not ready to pay 30 million compensation, and Galitsky, in turn, is not ready to work to strengthen a competitor. Moreover, his relationship with Spartak is, shall we say, not the most ideal.

But business is business, and work in the transfer market is a delicate and delicate science: neither the very fact of negotiations, much less their details, are never advertised. There is still plenty of time before the transfer window closes (market closes on August 31, UEFA Champions League applications must be sent on September 1), and anything can happen. From the obvious to the incredible.

"Zenith"

The bronze medalist of the last season, Zenit, is the most active in the market, and, as usual, he has a lot of money (even taking into account the financial fair play). Peter is able to pay the costs of Smolov's contract and offer the best Russian striker more than decent personal conditions. Certainly not worse than Artyom Dziuba (3.6 million euros) and Alexander Kokorin (3.3).

At the same time, Zenit did talk with Krasnodar about Smolov (there were no contradictions with Peter at football Krasnodar), which is confirmed by several independent sources at once. Although the clubs themselves fiercely deny the fact of communication.

But the St. Petersburg version is twice affected by the logic of life.

First, the Zenit attack group is already overloaded: to Dzyube with Kokorin added in the summer Dmitry Poloz and a young Argentinian Sebastian Driussi... If Smolov is also in the plans, someone from the quartet will have to part. Rumors about a probable exchange according to the formula "Smolov = Kokorin + 16 million" are wandering around the sidelines, and this option seems outwardly quite logical. And then there is another “but”: is Krasnodar so interested in forward Kokorin with a heavy contract and spoiled image, who scores a teaspoon per hour?

Secondly, Zenit is only a member of the Europa League, and this is a well-trodden route for Smolov.

Abroad

The ideal option for Smolov would be to move to one of the decent European clubs... Until recently, Borussia Dortmund claimed Fedor: in the winter the transfer was already, as they say, on ointment, but still fell through. The reasons, as usual, were not disclosed.

“I waited a very long time to go to Borussia, negotiations were going on throughout the transfer window,” Smolov said in an interview with Championship.com. - I got very upset when it didn't work out. And then there were the Chinese who are hard to refuse. They offered more than 10 million euros a year, plus there was an official offer to Krasnodar. And they, most likely, would agree, since the amount of compensation is spelled out in my contract. But I understood that if I agree and take this step, the likelihood of getting to Europe in the future is reduced to almost zero. "

So far, there is no clear interest from Europe in Smolov, which was also facilitated by the unsuccessful performance of the Russian national team at the Confederations Cup. There is talk of options in Turkey, but since Smolov has given up big money in China, it’s ridiculous to talk about Turkey. Even if they call him to the most popular "Fenerbahce" with a great friend of Russia Dick Advocate in charge of.

Injury

In the control match Krasnodar - CSKA (1: 1), which took place on July 9, Smolov was injured: a stretching of the back of the thigh. This means that the forward will miss the start of the season: the treatment will take about three weeks, and the first match of Krasnodar in the new RFPL championship scheduled for July 16.

But the most interesting thing is this. From Smolov's entourage, immediately after the match, information came that the medical headquarters of Krasnodar refused to conduct an in-depth examination, citing organizational problems. The club coldly ignored this "bomb", and Smolov confirmed it in social networks, retweeting the link to the publication accompanied by a sad emoji.

The story is more than strange, suggesting that the relationship between the player and the club is definitely not the best times ...

Roman Babaev: "Smolov was even ready to cut salaries for the sake of moving to CSKA"

The general director of CSKA Moscow, Roman Babaev, spoke about the situation with the transfer affairs of the army team, noting that midfielder Alexander Golovin may leave the team next summer.

- Could CSKA buy someone this summer?

- From own funds, most likely not. We considered options with renting or signing a free agent. To take players for the number of us with coaching staff and the shareholders considered it meaningless. CSKA needs quality players, at least comparable to those who are already in the team. It was not possible to find such free options, - said Babayev. “But I don’t see a catastrophe in this. With a reservation on the attacker, our squad is complete and combat-ready. This is proved by the results of past seasons - three gold and two silver. After all, we didn’t buy anyone in this transfer window only. It's great when there is an opportunity to update the roster and take great players from Latin America and Europe, but when it is not there, it does not mean that the team is not able to fight.

- The coolest asset of CSKA is Mario Fernandez. Why is he still on the team?

- If you noticed, the guys always leave CSKA very reluctantly. Even Musa hesitated when the offer came from Leicester. I won't say that he thought for a long time, but Ahmed considered the option to stay. The guys get used to a good, one might say, family atmosphere, and to success. In the case of Mario - the same situation, he is comfortable here. But this does not mean that Fernandez will definitely stay with CSKA until the end of his career. In addition, his agent has never approached us with the words: "There is an offer, the player wants to leave."

- And what about Golovin? Spartak head coach Massimo Carrera recently said: "I'm surprised that Golovin is still playing in Russia."

- There were proposals on it. From England, including one top club. But Sasha and I felt it was premature. In addition, the offered conditions, in our opinion, were significantly lower than the market ones. In my opinion, Sasha himself agreed and took everything adequately. Sasha is at the very beginning of his career, and if he continues to play as he is now, offers will still come. Even Musa's example is indicative - not always those qualities that allow you to be a top player in Russia are enough to go to the Premier League from the bench. There is a risk of being in a deaf stock.

- How long does Golovin need to mature?

- At least until the end of the season. We will play at least five more Champions League matches, and I hope that we will fight for the prizes in the RFPL. Each match is very valuable for Sasha and gives him the necessary experience for a possible move to Europe, where each game is like in the Champions League. So I admit that the transition may happen as early as next summer.

- How much is CSKA ready to spend on the transfer? Maximum?

- Under current conditions - not at all. In the long term, our psychological ceiling is 10-11 million euros, which is our record.

- Does CSKA have any regrets about abandoning the purchase of Smolov two years ago? Now it has grown decently in price. And it would also be a wonderful asset.

- Firstly, it also cost a lot then. Secondly, at that moment we were negotiating the lease of Doumbia, which is also a cost. It is clear that we did not pay anything, but Roma reduced the amount that they had to pay us. Therefore, there was a choice: Smolov or Dumbia. I think no specialist would have chosen Fedor then. Although we understood that Smolov was very good football player, who at that moment just had a difficult period. But we made a choice in favor of the scorer, who had just left us.

- Could you rent Smolov this summer?

- We did not hesitate to consider any options. And this one as well. And there were good chances to sign Smolov for six months, before winter. Fedor was even ready to cut salaries for the sake of moving to CSKA.

- But?

- Krasnodar was not ready to let him go. At the same time, I cannot say a word of reproach to the management of this club, which refused us. Actually, in the very first match after this decision, Smolov scored a double against Dynamo and showed that he is a great professional.

PFC CSKA General Director Roman Babaev speaks in detail and honestly - about the composition, transfers, attendance and prospects.

Despite the fact that CSKA didn't buy anyone in this transfer window, interest in the “army” cuisine still remains heightened. We agreed to talk with the general director of the club Roman Babaev for a long time, but the interview was postponed every time because of his employment. But when we finally met and talked, we learned a lot of new and interesting things.

We started, of course, with congratulations. For the first time in 11 times, when CSKA participated in the group stage of the Champions League, the team started with a victory. Despite the fact that the composition was the weakest in recent years. Babaev did not argue with the last thesis.

At least in terms of names - Wagner, Doumbia, Musa, Honda, Elm - in the attack we used to look brighter, - says the general director of CSKA. - It is a fact. But there is no need to look for a causal relationship between the line-up and the victory. This is nothing more than a coincidence.

- What final result of CSKA in this Champions League will surprise you?
- If we can repeat our best achievement- reach the quarterfinals. In the current circumstances, this is an excellent result for any Russian club. In our case, it will be doubly pleasant, because apart from CSKA in modern format None of our teams made it to the quarterfinals in the Champions League.

Do you think it's realistic: to have such a bar of expectations with the current CSKA roster? Without a bench and without a solid striker?
- If you don’t wait and don’t believe, why play at all? In previous draws, we could count on best result, but for a number of reasons they were ranked fourth. Although remember our rivals in the group - these were not the last teams in Europe. In the current situation, we do not consider an attempt to leave the Champions League group unpromising. A favorite on paper is not always a favorite in fact. Yes, we do not have an experienced striker. I do not draw parallels, but the Spanish national team also comes out to play without a forward and smashes the Italian national team. Yes, we would like to see Wagner in his best form in the team. But what is the point of discussing this topic if there are those who are. The team and the coaching staff are objective and calm about the situation. We are trying to squeeze out the maximum.

"I liked the mem about CSKA after 30 years"

- Could CSKA buy someone this summer?
- From own funds, most likely not. We considered options with renting or signing a free agent. But feints with the return of Doumbia from Roma or transfers of Natkho and Eremenko cannot occur systematically in every transfer window. For this, many factors must coincide, which do not always depend on the club. And we, with the coaching staff and shareholders, considered it pointless to take players for the number of players.

CSKA needs quality players, at least comparable to those who are already in the team. We could not find such free options. But I don't see a disaster in this. With a reservation on the attacker, our squad is complete and combat-ready. This is proved by the results of past seasons - three gold and two silver. After all, we didn’t buy anyone in this transfer window only. It's great when there is an opportunity to renew the squad and take great players from Latin America and Europe, but when it is not there, it does not mean that the team is not capable of fighting.

- Have you seen a funny meme about the CSKA squad after 30 years?
- I saw (smiles).

- And how is he to you?
- I liked. A sense of humor in such a situation helps a lot. We are constantly discussing these topics in the team, and I am pleased with the reaction of the guys. Many would probably have thrown the oars, seeing that there is no reinforcement, but this does not apply to our guys. The slogan of our fans "Do not retreat and do not give up" for the team is a message to action. Many of the results, including the victory over Benfica, were achieved largely through character and experience.

Considering the first match in the group, CSKA has already earned at least € 16.2 million in the Champions League. Why can't they be spent on buying a forward?
- The shareholders invested huge funds in the implementation of the stadium project and, like everyone else in the country, found themselves in a difficult economic situation. I'm not even talking about the devaluation of the ruble. 70% of the club's expenses are in foreign currency, because these are the players' salaries. At the same time, 70% of the club's income is in rubles: tickets, sponsors, and so on.

- CSKA didn't convert salaries to rubles?
- No. How can you explain Vitinho that he will receive a salary in rubles, when, figuratively speaking, he does not know at all what kind of currency it is?

- Good. But the Russians know: Ignashevich, Akinfeev, Berezutsky, Dzagoev.
- But such an approach would be dishonest. There is only one team on the field. We had to tell the guys that in terms of salaries, the principle of "one for all and all for one" is no longer valid? In other financial matters, the players largely met. It would be possible to convert salaries to rubles if only Russians played in CSKA. Of course, it would be possible to "bend" the legionnaires, but, firstly, this is not our method, and secondly, it is difficult from a legal point of view. That is, a football player comes to us for a conditional € 1 million per year, and now he will receive 500 thousand, since the course has changed.

So, the money received in this LP will be very useful in repaying the loan. What if CSKA hadn't passed AEK or Young Boys? Would the club be closed?
- We would have to look for additional sources of income.

- What kind?
- Lending, sale of football players, etc. The fact that we have kept the first line-up, with the exception of Tosic, is a kind of transfer window success for CSKA. We also managed to extend the contract with Fernandez until 2022.

Tosic refused to cut salaries at CSKA. But it is unlikely that he gets more in Partizan than he could in Moscow - even taking into account the demotion?
- I think he gets less.

- Why didn't he stay at CSKA then?
- There were no financial disagreements with Zoran. But he had to come to terms with the status of a reserve player due to objective reasons: a change in tactics, age and the consequences of injuries. Both Tosic and the club thought about the continuation of cooperation for a long time. Zoran, by the way, had interesting options with a large salary in China and other Asian championships. But he decided to play consistently at home, and not chase after money. Considering how much Tosic did for the team, we wanted to carry it out with dignity. I think Zoran will come to Moscow more than once - cooperation on the basis of football is also possible.

"About Golovin there were proposals from the Premier League - we agreed to wait"

- The coolest asset of CSKA is Mario Fernandez. Why is he still on the team?
- If you noticed, the guys always leave CSKA very reluctantly. Even Musa hesitated when the offer came from Leicester.

- Are you seriously?
- I won't say that he thought for a long time, but Ahmed considered the option to stay.

- How do you explain this?
- The guys get used to a good, one might say, family atmosphere, and to success. In the case of Mario - the same situation, he is comfortable here. But this does not mean that Fernandez will definitely stay with CSKA until the end of his career. In addition, his agent has never approached us with the words: "There is an offer, the player wants to leave."

And what about Golovin? Recently came to visit us Main coach"Spartacus" Massimo Carrera and he said bluntly: "I'm surprised that Golovin still plays in Russia."
- There were proposals on it.

- Where?
- From England, including one top club. But Sasha and I felt it was premature. In addition, the offered conditions, in our opinion, were significantly lower than the market ones. In my opinion, Sasha himself agreed and took everything adequately. Sasha is at the very beginning of his career, and if he continues to play as he is now, offers will still come. Even Musa's example is indicative - not always those qualities that allow you to be a top player in Russia are enough to go to the Premier League from the bench. There is a risk of being in a deaf stock.

- How long does Golovin need to mature?
- At least until the end of the season. We will play at least five more Champions League matches, and I hope that we will fight for the prizes in the RFPL. Each match is very valuable for Sasha and gives him the necessary experience for a possible move to Europe, where each game is like in the Champions League. So I admit that the transition may happen as early as next summer.

- And what is the situation with Dzagoev? Alan often said that he wanted to leave for England. Doesn't that scare you?
- It only makes me happy. If a football player sets himself such an ambitious task, then he understands that the scouts will examine him under a microscope. Such specialists do not focus on a couple of successful matches, but consider the entire career of a player. Although Alan never needs additional motivation - he always gives the team everything he can.

- Will you part with Olanare in winter? As it seems from the outside, the footballer has exhausted all credits.
- If we did not know how he knows how to play football, we could put an end to him. Remember how dignified he looked on his first visit. Although you need to understand that he came to CSKA for free. Of course, the process of restoring Aaron was delayed. However, the doctors warned about this. Before winter, the striker will be given the chances, and then we will make a decision about his future. I am glad that against this background, young people are trying to cope with the responsibility that has fallen on them. The club has always paid great attention school. Having cut the transfer budget, we did not take a single ruble from the CSKA Academy.

"We wanted to rent Musa, Wagner or Doumbia"

- Now let's talk about who could have moved to CSKA, but did not. As far as we know, CSKA tried to bring Musa back this summer.
- You have the correct information. We talked with Ahmed, but, as I said, such feints cannot be successful all the time.

- Why didn't you succeed in the case of Musa?
- It seems to me that Ahmed is now in a depressed state, and he really wants to prove that he is worthy to play in the Premier League. It is in the Premier League, and not just in England, for example, in the Championship. Therefore, he also rejected the option of renting in Hull City. I am very worried about Musa - in my opinion, this is the most adapted player to European football, who played in recent times from the RFPL.

Wagner and Doumbia score for their clubs Alanyaspor and Sporting respectively. Were they not considered as a possible enhancement?
- We examined, communicated with the agents of the guys.

- AND?
“We ourselves would be surprised if we returned Seyda a third time. Although we talked with Sporting. The Portuguese had just signed a contract with Doumbia, where he finally began to succeed. It is logical that they do not want to let him go.

- And what about Wagner?
- The Turks did not consider the option of renting them top scorer... Now both Wagner and Doumbia could not be returned without serious financial arguments. Probably, if we had money, we could just get a striker. But now we see that something is happening on the transfer market beyond good and evil - illogical amounts are absolutely not tied to the market.

- Are you talking about the transfers of Neymar and Dembele?
- Not only. The worst thing is not that Neymar and Dembele cost 222 and 105 million, but that footballers for 2-3 million cost about ten, and we felt it ourselves. To buy a footballer of the level of Wagner or Doumbia, you need to pledge about € 20 million at least. Of course, you can buy a 17-year-old guy for 5-7 million and wait, but in this case there are no guarantees.

"Smolov was ready to play for CSKA - Krasnodar refused"

- How much is CSKA ready to spend on the transfer? Maximum?
- Under current conditions - not at all. In the long term, our psychological ceiling is € 10-11 million, which is our record.

- Is the record a purchase of Fernandez?
- And Vitinho. The amounts paid for them are roughly comparable. Doumbia cost significantly less.

Does CSKA have any regrets about abandoning the purchase of Smolov two years ago? Now it has grown decently in price. And it would also be a wonderful asset.
- Firstly, it also cost a lot then. Secondly, at that moment we were negotiating the lease of Doumbia, which is also a cost. It is clear that we did not pay anything, but Roma reduced the amount that they had to pay us. Therefore, there was a choice: Smolov or Dumbia. I think no specialist would have chosen Fedor then. Although we understood that Smolov is a very good footballer who just had a difficult period at that moment. But we made a choice in favor of the scorer, who had just left us.

- To summarize: you do not regret anything?
- I regret that at that time it was not possible to sign both players - Smolov and Dumbia.

- Could you rent Smolov this summer?
- We did not hesitate to consider any options. And this one as well. Moreover, there were good chances to sign Smolov for six months, before winter. Fedor was even ready to cut salaries for the sake of moving to CSKA.

- But?
- Krasnodar was not ready to let him go. At the same time, I cannot say a word of reproach to the management of this club, which refused us. Actually, in the very first match after this decision, Smolov scored a double against Dynamo and showed that he is a great professional.

"Dziuba would not fit the CSKA game model"

- In "Zenith" does not have a permanent place on the Dziuba field. CSKA does not have an experienced and high-quality striker. You could find each other. Or was this option unacceptable from an ideological point of view?
- Rather, yes. If CSKA can still consider that the opposition of the clubs is not so important when it comes to sporting tasks, then we cannot but take into account the opinion of the fans. The success of a footballer largely depends on how the fans will accept him. But that was not the only reason.

- What else?
- We felt that Dziuba does not quite fit our game model. And, of course, a high salary.

- Is it possible for Roman Eremenko to return to CSKA after the expiry of the period of ineligibility?
- We never gave up on Roma due to image losses. Everyone can stumble, and we supported him to the last. Another question is whether he will be able to return to the previous level after disqualification. If the desire is mutual, its return may well occur.

For a long time, CSKA, which has not changed over the years, had a solid margin of safety, on which the team won trophies. Don't you feel that this season is over?
- The fact that the team does not change from year to year is a stereotype. Vasin appeared in the defense line, who had hardly played for CSKA before, but now he is useful. In midfield and attack - Vitinho, the same Golovin, other youth are pulling up. Now the most acute problem is the attacker, and strategically - the defensive line. If our veterans, who are still the best defenders with Russian passports, end their careers at the same time, we will resolve this issue. Another thing is that at the moment I do not see an adequate replacement for Ignashevich and Berezutsky in Russia. So, you probably have to pay attention to foreign players.

- Since you mentioned Vasin - did the club somehow communicate with him after making mistakes?
- The philosophy of the club and the atmosphere in the team are very important for us, so Vasin did not hear a word of reproach. Surely the coach analyzed his mistakes, but we did not present any claims to him. At some point, he became a hostage to the situation, because he also brings a lot of benefits.

“Rumor about the sale of the club? We are used to such stuffing "

- Do you have any idea when CSKA will be able to buy players?
- Nobody is sitting idly by. But first of all, we need to close the dollar loan for the stadium. When we issued it, the dollar cost 30 rubles, now it is twice as much. We do not consider this to be a disaster. Even many big clubs in Europe include a savings regime after the construction of the stadium. We hope that stadium revenues will start to grow. Although the office space at the stadium, again due to the crisis and the decline of business, is sold with difficulty, just like the VIP boxes. European football, and especially Russian football, is absolutely inadequate in terms of the ratio of income and expenses. To date, the maximum income from television rights that an RFPL champion can receive is about $ 5 million. This amount is barely enough to cover the annual salary of two or three leading players on the team. If we could improve our football financially, it would be better for everyone.

- Is there a forecast when CSKA will manage to close the loan?
- The loan is designed for 10 years, but, of course, this is not directly related to transfers. It is quite possible that this winter we will be able to buy someone. We are guided by the budget, and that is why we are the only ones in Russia who have not had any problems with financial fair play. As for the loan, the first years were the most difficult, but we are grateful to the management of Vneshekonombank, which helped us to implement this project and are meeting halfway in many issues. Recently, our stadium received an award from the Moscow Government as the best construction project in two nominations: both, in the opinion of Muscovites, and in the assessment of a professional committee. This is a very rare combination when the decision of two juries coincided.

- How did the club react to the information that appeared that CSKA could be sold?
- We are already accustomed to such stuffing, so we did not react in any way.

- How much is the club president Yevgeny Giner involved in club affairs now?
- Evgeny Lennorovich spends every day at the club, coordinates all strategic decisions - transfer issues, contract renewals, budgeting, etc. He keeps his finger on the pulse.

"CSKA has the most loyal pricing policy"

- CSKA big problems with attendance. Do you see this as the club's fault?
- Yes, that's why we are working and trying to improve the situation literally with every match. Yesterday, for example, there was a meeting dedicated to the match against Rostov, where we considered not only technical issues, but also requests from fans.

- What are these appeals?
- They are different. If it concerns the stewards, we communicate with them, if they complain about catering, we turn to the catering operators. I myself see improvements in the work of services. For example, we promptly responded to comments about pricing policy. The economy is extremely important for us, unlike other Russian clubs, which have well-known sources of funding. And nevertheless, we went to meet the fans and lowered ticket prices, although this required an agreement with VEB on the business plan. Now you can get to the Champions League match for 700 rubles, and buy a season ticket for the Russian championship for 4000 rubles. This is the most loyal pricing policy among the leading clubs.

You have to fight for the fans. There is a feeling that CSKA lived with a philosophy for a long time: “We are cool, we have to walk on us, because we are winning. And we do not need to fight for new fans - let the old, but proven ones be better with us ”.
- I disagree with you. I have been working at the club since 1999, and all this time no one sat idly by waiting for the fan to come by himself. Some stadiums had unsolvable problems, such as logistics in Khimki. But there we worked with Khimki schools in search of a new audience. Now we are working with other schools and universities - for example, Moscow State University. On social media, we try to connect with fans and talk about new products.

- What are these products?
- For example, like the “Champions Club”, where for a small fee, fans can have an interesting and tasty time before the match and during the break. For the club, this will not bring income - we expect to go to zero. So far, we cannot solve certain problems - for example, heating the stadium during winter matches. Nevertheless, I really want the fans, as Goncharenko said in one of his addresses, to get up from the couch and come to the stadium. Now in Moscow, everyone is accustomed to maximum comfort, but after all, this is still a trip to the stadium for your favorite team, and not to the cinema.

"Success is a place that will allow you to get into the Champions League"

- Some CSKA leaders have not given interviews for years. Do you think this is normal? Does this not mean that the club is losing interest in it?
- This question does not apply to working with fans. Yes, every athlete is a media personality, and they must understand that their job is not only to go out on the field, but also to communicate with journalists. But I don't think there is a causal relationship between attendance and interviews.

It's not even about journalists. For example, at Lokomotiv, Miranchuks fry meat with fans after winning the derby over Spartak, and Semin plays football with the fans. CSKA coach Viktor Goncharenko gives about two interviews a year.
- Compared to Chelsea or Manchester United, we are lagging behind. But, for example, none of the Russian clubs holds a meeting with fans the way we do. In our country, everyone gets there - at least 30 thousand. We try to be open, but maybe the problem is that there is not enough coverage.

- Maybe the club will invest in a strong marketer who will help CSKA attract people to the stands?
- We attracted the best marketing companies in Russia, ordered research, but it didn't work. You can even hang the whole of Moscow with red and blue billboards - this will not help. The fact is that after the collapse of the USSR, the culture of sickness was lost. Now there is a stereotype that it is dangerous, non-status and unfashionable. And we, like others RFPL clubs, we are trying to break this stereotype. Do you want to sign up for free? Super management move. We can also draw the attendance figures, as other clubs do. But I don't want to deceive anyone. Now our attendance is 16 thousand out of 27 (another 3 thousand are VIP-lodges), but this is still lower than we expected. One way or another, work is underway to return the fans. I believe that we have one of best programs on club television: "On horses!", "I am the host of CSKATV." I don’t want to say that we are the best, but the fan still doesn’t walk. But this is a two-way street. The audience should be prepared for the fact that the stadium, especially in winter, is not the most comfortable place. Although equipped with warm food courts and the same “Champions Club”, I hope they will help us.

It has become fashionable to root for Spartak, especially after the last championship. Why has it never been fashionable to root for CSKA, despite the many trophies won by the team in recent years?
- Do you remember the attendance at the Otkrytie Arena immediately after the construction. She was far from perfect. Now their situation has leveled off, and the championship has given impetus. We have an audience: we see it on social networks, it is almost 2 million subscribers. If at least 1% comes to the stadium, these are the same 20 thousand. We have significantly improved the quality of service at the stadium in the first year, and this is not the limit. By the way, in terms of security, we made a huge leap - look at the number of fines for illegal actions of fans. There are almost none. When we made the decision not to do the barrage in the fan stands, they called us crazy. But our fans behave with dignity.

Speaking about CSKA, we also see reasons for the positive. No other club now has so many successfully playing pupils. The fact that such a wave has gone - Golovin, Chalov, Zhamaletdinov - is a merit former coach youth teams of Alexander Grishin?
- And including him. But it is wrong to single out one person. This is the job of the system. There is also the contribution of breeders, who at one time considered the guys, academy employees and coaches youth team who gave them a football education, and Leonid Slutsky, who began to pull the guys to the base, and, of course, Viktor Goncharenko, who believed in them and began to regularly release in the squad.

- Let's now summarize the season. What place will you be happy with in the 2017 championship?
- We will be absolutely satisfied with the first line in the table. But you have to be realistic. The place that will allow you to get into the Champions League group, preferably directly, will be successful (over the past 5 years, CSKA won gold three times and silver twice. - Approx. "Championship"). I am sure the guys will do their best so that CSKA will again have a decent result at the end of the championship!

Interviewed by Danila Ignatov and Denis Tselykh.

Smolov: you need to score 50 goals to become Superman

Fedor Smolov in the editorial office of "Championship" answered questions from readers and journalists in a video chat.

Full video version of the interview with Fedor Smolov

“I seriously considered the option with CSKA”

In 2015, he turned from a hero of Internet memes into one of best footballers countries. And this is not sarcasm at all. Therefore, we decided that Smolov is an excellent candidate for an honorary mission. Fedor became the first footballer to take part in an online video chat, which in live could be seen by all subscribers of the "Championship" group in "VKontakte". Of course, it's not just the fact itself, but also the forward's sincere, vivid answers. By the way, for a start, Smolov received a prize. Also extremely prestigious.

- Fedor, congratulations. You became best player RFPL in November-December 2015. Is this your first personal award?
- Maybe yes. It's nice to win it. Thanks to partners. Without them, I would not have received this award.

- Our reader Sergei Korolev asks the question: “Over the past year, only you and Dziuba have improved so sharply. Everything is clear with Artyom. And how did you achieve this? "
- Thanks to Alexander Fedorovich Tarkhanov. He in the "Ural" allowed me to do what I see fit on the pitch,

did not limit in anything. Plus, the transition to Krasnodar took place, where the players are very high level... The whole team succeeds in the game, and thank God that I am a part of it.

- Now, the conditions for development of the new generation are many times better than yours. Do you agree?
- Yes, 100 percent. Our main problem is children's schools. There are no normal training conditions. I played in sneakers in Saratov, there was no grass on the field at all. You run - you immediately get a column of dust, even on your teeth it remained. Thanks to Galitsky, that now in Krasnodar he has created an amazing academy.

I know that they take away their phones from the guys, they give them out only for three hours in the evening. They watch closely so that nothing distracts from football.

- Are the players of the main team also watched?
- By the way, yes. Krasnodar is very strict about the restoration. You have a list of procedures that you must go through on your locker. And only after that you can leave the base.

Seriously, they won't be released otherwise. The gates are closed - that's all. Open only with the permission of the doctor. Once I really needed to leave urgently. I asked Khashig, he let go, although he was very unhappy. “This is the first and last time”, - warned the CEO.

- What impression does Galitsky make?
- A very well-mannered, kind person, madly in love with the club. Keeps track of all the little things - here workouts are recorded on video. So he watches them live! When he arrives at the base, he can talk to anyone about very deep football topics. He does not get off with general phrases.

Sinitsyn said that he argued with Galitsky about how to beat off a penalty: guessing or reacting to a blow. Have you had similar conversations?
- Yes. Galitsky and I discussed the role of a forward in shooting from the flank. Sergei Nikolaevich believes that in such a situation an unbeaten ball is the attacker's fault. I said in the format “yes, but”… “We have interchangeability, it may not be me at the apex of the triangle” and so on. Only now it is impossible to argue with Galitsky (laughs).

- The knowledgeable reader Alexei asks: "Is it true that you went to a magician or shaman to overcome the goalless strip?"
- No that's not true.

- And one more question on the same topic. Is it true that Victoria Lopyreva restarted your football career?
- I think it is rather a coincidence. My rise in the game came just at the moment when our relationship ended. There is no reason for this. It just happened.

- Vanya Fedorenko asks: “Why did you choose Krasnodar?
- I have already said that I consider Krasnodar the Russian Barcelona. I am impressed by the team's play, and the club's policy, and how the president treats the business, and in general how the work is structured. If everyone Russian clubs will strive for this, then our championship will become better.

- Alexander Novokhatskiy asks: "How did you react to the words of CSKA General Director Roman Babaev that in the camp of" army men "they would sit in reserve?"
- He knows better. This is a value judgment of the subjunctive mood. Nobody knows what could have happened. If he thinks so, please. I am glad that I ended up in Krasnodar.

- Did you seriously consider the option with CSKA?
- Yes.

- Have you consulted with someone?
- Yes, with parents and agents. We just couldn't agree with CSKA, and I ended up in Krasnodar. Nothing to regret.

"I came to the training camp, there were no boots"

- Stepan Zakharov asks: "What is Oleg Kononov's coaching trick?"
- You can see everything in the game. Oleg Georgievich asks us to play on the attack. Plus, a lot of emphasis is placed on combination football.

- Reader Arkaim has some information.
- Insider?

- Apparently. Question from Yekaterinburg: "Have you stopped missing your boots in Krasnodar?"
- In Yekaterinburg there was a case that the boots were gone. Everything is in order in Krasnodar so far, everything is with me.

- What happened in Yekaterinburg?
- There was no specific person in Ural who was responsible for the boots. They were put in a special box, which was carried by the administrator. We awarded him. I remember exactly putting the boots in the drawer. The administrator promised to control everything. He said that he would not open the box during vacation. However, when I arrived at the training camp, there were no boots.

- Did you carry out the investigation?
- Well, what an investigation. How will you find it later?

- Is this the first time that something was stolen from you?
- There were cases in the boarding school. They stole something from everyone once a week.

- Seriously?
- Yes. In general, the boarding school had its own specialty. When guys of a certain year of birth were dismissed, and the rest were given a couple of days off, then all things had to be hidden somewhere at once. I think this is something like this in all schools.

- Caught those who stole?
- One was caught, but I did not find him. The guy got a lot from the whole team. After that, he had to leave the boarding school.

"Shirokov told me: scumbag, I will go to the airport with a typewriter."

- Ilya Baikov asks: "Why did you decide to radically change your image?"
- I wanted to try for a long time. I asked my hairdresser. Says: "No, it is impossible to repaint at one time." Then I thought: "Well, okay, then I won't." And recently I met a man who told me that it was realistic to carry out the procedure in an evening.

- Do you like the result?
- In general, yes. But I'll shave everything off now. Father did not like it very much. I promised him that I would not appear in training in this form.

- How did your current girlfriend react?
- She liked it. Actually, she told me that you can repaint in one evening.

- How did the partners react?
- The opinions were polar. Someone said that it was normal, but most ... If in a mild form, then: “Why did you do this?”.

- Who sneered the most?
- Roman Nikolaevich Shirokov. On the day when I posted the first photo, he immediately received a message: "Hey, scumbag, I'll go to the airport with a typewriter."

- Ronaldo said he would like from Messi left leg... What would you like from both of them? (Slava Baikalsky)
- From Messi left, from Ronaldo - right.

- "Fedor, what track do you listen to before the match?" - Semyon Kholodov finds out.
- Semyon Kholodov? I think I know him. In fact, it depends on the mood: sometimes I only listen to rock, sometimes I listen to rap. There is no such thing that any particular track is constantly scrolling. Remember there was a tennis player - Greek, I think (speech about the Australian Kiryos. - Approx. "Championship")... He lost and blamed Drake for everything because he listened to his song before the match. Like, the track did not tune it properly.

- Do you have any rituals before the games?
- There is.

- It's a secret?
- I'm always the last one to get off the bus.

- So the coach is the last to leave?
- The point is that I am the last player to come out. I remember there was a funny story at Dynamo. Petrescu was always the last one to get out of the bus, but Misimovich hid behind the seat. Petrescu looked - like no one. Came out. And only after him Misimovich. Petrescu got angry: “Why are you? You know that I am the last one to go out. " He was like: "Yes, I was tying my laces, I just didn't see it."

"I have assembled the main line-up for Lopyreva"

- A reader with the nickname antonio64 asks: “What was the most memorable gift you received from the supporters of Krasnodar?
- Most of all I remember one of their banner. It read: "Why superman when there is Smolov?"

- How many goals do you need to score to be considered Superman in 2016?
- I do not know. Probably 50.

- Do you play video games? (Ilya Azarko)
- Yes, in hockey on the PlayStation and in Counter-Strike sometimes.

- Why not football?
- Everything there is somehow long, the gates are far from each other. In hockey, a smaller area means more action.

- Victoria Lopyreva won the Russian Cup in the football manager, the championship and the European Cup faster than you. How so?
- I put together the main team for her, so she won everything.

- And what was it football manager?
- 2015. There, it seems, Arsene Wenger is depicted on the cover.

- What team did you play for?
- For Ural. I was living in Yekaterinburg then.

"It makes no sense to send a child to football at the age of 7-8"

- Alexander Pugachev asks: "Do you spy on acting football players?"
- I rarely Finch, so I don't pay much attention to it.

- Come on, Smolov's dribbling is not bad.
- Sometimes dribbling happens on a whim. Feet themselves do the feint. I don't go out to a match thinking about what kind of trick I need to do.

- They say that Berdyev harshly suppresses, even if a football player plays with his heel during training.
- Yes, I also heard about it. There is no such thing in Krasnodar. Only among ourselves we prompt each other, they say, it was easier not to do a trick, but to give a pass.

- Mikhail Melik-Guseinov asks: "Do you observe the regime on vacation?"
- Sure.

- What do you have to give up?
- Nothing. Everyone decides for himself what he needs. If nothing prevents you from playing football, then you can do whatever.

- You have problems with overweight?
- No. My mom and dad are both thin. The constitution of the body is like this.

- Did you run on vacation?
- Yes.

- Where?
- In Dubai on a treadmill. We also played volleyball and football every day, in gym went.

- Was there a football company with you on vacation?
- Yes. Roma Shirokov, Sasha Samedov, Pasha Mamaev, Sery Ignashevich ... In general, all of us.

- Our reader Ilya Kazakov asks: "If it were not for football, who would you work with?"
- Oh, hard question... I don’t know, I can’t answer it. My parents paid great attention to my education. We agreed with my father that if I don’t go to Saturn, then my father would help me to enter a good university.

- What would you like to do after the end of your career?
- (Smiles.) I want to become Vice President of Prosport Management (the company that manages the affairs of Smolov and a number of players of the Russian national team. - Approx. "Championship")... Why not? Agency activity is a promising direction.

- Is it possible to break into big football, if you started practicing only at the age of 13? (Radmir Aitbaev)
- Yes, sure. If you have talent, it doesn't matter when you started. I believe that at the age of 7-8 there is no point at all in giving a child to football. At 9-10 you have to start. And before, children do not understand whether they want to play or not. The main thing is that the child himself has the desire, and forcing is stupid.

"With great pleasure I will leave for Europe"

- A question from a fan of FC Krasnodar Roman Gladkikh: “Messi said that he never dreamed of five Golden Balls. What did you dream about in childhood? "
- I dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. Thank God it came true. I also always wanted to win the Champions League with Milan. I have had this dream since childhood.

- The current Milan can only save. Things are really bad there.
- It's hard, yes. At least Roma did not lose. I already thought that Mikhailovich would be fired.

- And why are you so gravitating towards Milan?
- A funny story, actually. I was about six years old. The father watched football. I went up to him and asked: "Who is playing?" He replied: "Milan". Then everyone had only black and white boots. And only one George Weah - red. I said, "Here he is going to be my favorite footballer, because he is alone in red boots." Since then I have been rooting for Milan.

- "Would you like to play under the leadership of Berdyev?" - Roman Lepyavkin, fan of FC Rostov. Apparently, he begs for a compliment to the club.
- This season, Rostov surprised more with the result, but in terms of the game, Ural looked very worthy. To be honest, I would like to play under the leadership of Kurban Bekievich. All the guys who worked with him speak very well of Berdyev as a specialist. So yes, it would be interesting.

- Even Shirokov responds well?
- Yes. He said that as a coach Berdyev is very strong. They had an incomprehensible story there in Rubin, but in general there was no negative left.

- A question from Sasha Naumov: "What are the forecasts for the European Championship in France?"
- Predictions are a thankless job, but I am more than sure that the Russian national team will perform with dignity.

- And what will be a failure if not the absence of the playoffs?
- 0 points in 3 matches.

- So 1 point is no longer a failure?
- What are you, real success (laughs).

- You have already played at Feyenoord. Do you want to try yourself in Europe again?
- Undoubtedly. If possible, I will leave with great pleasure. This summer I had no options abroad. Even though I was a free agent, by and large Who is watching the Ural there?

"DiCaprio will receive an Oscar someday

- Many people ask: "In which European championship would you like to play?"
- At the moment, Germany is the most attractive championship. We played with Borussia - the level of the teams and the attitude towards football in the country made me happy.

- And the Dutch championship familiar to you?
- As Andrey Voronin said: "The only one who did not play in Holland is Smolov." I still have good impressions. A great league for a young attacking footballer. There are all opportunities for development there. Teams play absolutely without defense. For young attacking footballers, the Dutch championship is very rewarding.

- Was it hard to get comfortable in Holland?
- Yes, a different mentality. Russians are very different from Europeans. Immobile said in an interview that Germans are very cold people. Even he, an Italian, lacked communication. I had the same thing in Holland when I was 20. Everyone came to practice, worked out and left. Outside of football, there is no friendship among the players.

- Reader Sergei Kotyushkin recalls your long-standing interview. In it you reasoned: "Will I jump to the water from the window of my apartment in Rotterdam?"
- It was like that, I lived on the 11th floor. But there it turned out a decent distance - about 20 meters to the water. It seems to me that it was real to jump.

- You said that they play crazy attacking football in Holland. Who plays this kind of football in Russia? And who is purely defensive?
- Defensively - Rostov. We played with them twice - it was very hard. Berdyev built a defensive game.

- How?
- Through discipline. You can see how everyone retreats back into two clear lines - eight people are on the defensive. In each game, the team sits down when the ball is lost. And the most reckless ... Zenit spends a lot of time ahead, we also try to play attacking football. Again, Ural, judging by the first part of the season.

- Have the opportunity to talk to famous person- who would you choose?
- Probably Lewis Hamilton, Wayne Gretzky and Leonardo DiCaprio.

- Have you already watched his new film "The Survivor"?
- Not yet. They say it's a good movie, right?

- He has a lot of good things, but there is still no Oscar.
- Will get it someday.

- What would you ask DiCaprio?
- I would ask: "Are you worried that they are not giving an Oscar?"

- Why Gretzky and Hamilton?
- I wanted to name Ayrton Senna, but he is not alive, so I chose Hamilton.

- Hamilton was painted like you.
- Yes, he spied on me. As for Gretzky, Wayne is just a legend. Collecting points over 51 games in a row is super cool.

"Put an ax in place of Schildenfeld with a pomegranate"

Weirdest / funniest / weirdest legionnaire you've played with? Tell a story (Maxim Arsenevsky)
- Misimovich. He is a strong footballer and a good guy. He was joking all the time, very funny! Well, I have already told the story about Petrescu.

- Have you ever been made fun of?
- In “Dynamo”, if someone saw a funny, ridiculous thing with a partner, then he would specially hang it in the center of the locker room. This was usually done by Vladimir Granat. So, once he hung up Voronin's red moccasins. Andryukha was unhappy: “What are you, young people ?! Have they swam, or what ?! ”.

I also remember that Roma Berezovsky took a lot of things with him to the match. We just need to leave the essentials at our locker - well, there, boots, shin guards, all that. And Roma put everything in a row. And Pomegranate and I once put a box of water for him, in general we forced half of the locker room. The unhappy administrator came in and asked with horror: “You need to take all this, or what ?!”.

When Schildenfeld just came to Dynamo, Garnet bought an ax and put the Croat in the locker room. Gordon reacted calmly and laughed. Well, not very technical footballers are called “axes” ...

Kevin Kuranyi generally rolled Bori Rotenberg's car to the center of the training field. I took the keys and drove them quickly ... Then there was just a training session open for journalists. And suddenly a car was standing right on the lawn (laughs)... Silkin sees this and shouts: “What are you doing? Borya, what do you allow yourself ?! "

- "Fedya, if you had one day left to live, how would you spend it?" - Telli Meshkov asks.
- I would jump from the balcony in Rotterdam and see if I got to the water or not.

- Did you teach your girls to play football?
- No.

- And they - you?
- It used to be.

- What did they say?
- Comments from the series: well, you can't score? Even I would have scored!

- "What kinds of sports do you enjoy besides football?" - Ivan Bolsunovsky.
- Hockey.

- Watching or playing?
- Look. I tried to play a couple of times, but now I'm not practicing anymore.

- Are you more interested in the NHL or the KHL?
- More NHL. And in the KHL I follow my friends. I communicate well with Dima Kugryshev, plus the guys from Saratov Kuteikin and Platonov, and also with Ilya Kovalchuk. I look at the results - who won, who scored points.

- Who do you root for in the NHL?
- For Chicago.

- How do you like the mode allows you to watch NHL matches if they start at 3:00 am?
- It was convenient in Yekaterinburg in this regard. There are two hours difference with Moscow. I woke up in the morning - they were just finishing the game in the NHL. I went to practice and watched.

- "Fedor, with which top-level player would you like to play in conjunction?" - Sasha Kalinkin's question.
- With Messi, of course.

- So he will score everything, and you will have nothing left.
- What do you mean, he passes so much! The same Neymar. Just run and open up behind the backs of the defenders. The ball will fly right into your leg.

- Is there a football player in Russia with whom you would like to play in the same club?
- With Dzagoev.

- Why?
- I played with him in the youth team as a child. It was very comfortable with Alan. He sees the field well and passes perfectly.

“I laughed at my jokes”

Let's get serious: they say that in most cases, success consists of 10% of talent and 90% of hard work. Can you set these boundaries for yourself? (Andrey Zubov, Arkhangelsk)
- Hard work is more important. I know examples of insanely talented guys who have not achieved anything. We had one guy from Yekaterinburg, he played in “Locomotive”, he just tore everybody for children. Looked even stronger than Dzagoev, against “Real” he dodged packs of rivals, drove Madrid.

But he was not serious about football, he was not going to work hard, everything was too easy for him. So I have not achieved anything.

The same Dzagoev is an example of an ideal symbiosis. He is very gifted and always works 200 percent. As a child, Alan devoted all of himself to football at every training session.

- So what is your distribution of talent and hard work?
- 50 to 50.

- How did you change during the period that you did not score, that many fans laughed at you?
- I changed my attitude to some things. Including criticism, public opinion. Then, after all, only the one who had no mouth did not laugh. But what happened hardened me, made me stronger.

- What helped not to pay attention?
- At first it was impossible not to pay attention. Because they wrote a lot and everywhere. There was a choice: either to close all social networks, or to survive. I deleted Twitter, but essentially chose the second option.

- You yourself laughed at some jokes in your own address?
- Sure! I have no problem with self-irony. There were really funny jokes.

- But you do understand that by changing your image, you have made the audience skeptical again?
- I did what I wanted. But I was not going to specifically attract attention.

An honest question from Artemy Arsenkin: “Fedor, you are straight new Cristiano... First Lopyreva, now Shelia. When is the wedding? Or will there be a new supermodel? Sorry if it's so blunt and harsh. I'm sure I'm not the only one interested in this issue. "
- The wedding is not planned yet. So is the new supermodel. Now everything is fine.

- How did you meet new girl? Everyone has already seen that.
- It's corny - on the Internet, through social network... We could not meet for a long time, I was in the national team, then in Krasnodar, and she lives in Moscow

Fed, hello. Listen, tell me, please, where are you getting your hair cut? I want the same hairstyle (well, I won't dye my hair). (Black Star)
- "Where do you get your hair cut - I will never go there?" (laughs)... In fact, I have had my hair cut by the same master since the age of 14. I even specially fly to Moscow to have her hair done.

“It was like in a camp with Capello”

- Alexander Novokhatsky bursts into our conversation: "Has Slutsky changed the national team a lot?"
- Changed, very much. I think that largely due to the atmosphere that he brought to the team, we managed to achieve a very necessary result.

- What kind of atmosphere has become under Slutsky?
- He communicates with all the guys on equal terms: with jokes, without severity. Not that you can do whatever you want. There is no permissiveness, but relaxedness has appeared. I don't know, it's hard to convey in words. It just became comfortable and cozy.

- Was it uncomfortable before?
- Yes.

- Is it true that Fabio Capello owes you a trip to a restaurant?
- Yes. But I myself did not take part in the dispute. It was in the winter at the training camp, a bet between Capello and the president of the FNL Igor Efremov. Fabio said that I will not score more than five goals in the spring part of the championship. Efremov accordingly argued that I would score. If I am in order with performance, then Capello pays for dinner for me, Efremov, the president of Ural Ivanov and any of my companions / companions.

By the way, in Dubai we were sitting at a large, common table, where there were enough players. So Sasha Samedov, when they brought the bill, just said: “That's it, call Capello, let him pay!”. Don Fabio was in that hotel too.

- Did you talk to him after your dismissal?
- No. But he told me one important thing: "Work, stay after training and never feel sorry for yourself." When it's hard for me, I always remember this phrase by Capello.

- Did Capello really forbid football players a lot?
- Yes. There was a feeling that we were all in the camp. Apart from the fact that it was about adults ... In the hotel it was impossible to go outside, use certain stairs, cards were made for specific floors, even coffee was forbidden to be ordered in the room.

- Why? Is this a crime?
- So I don’t know…. There were no explanations. You can sit in the lobby until 10 pm. But no room service.

Capello, in principle, is difficult to convince. He takes the advice as an attempt to question his authority as a head coach. Capello has two opinions - his own and the wrong one. So it's really hard to find a common language with him.

"I can have a bite to eat at McDonald's - what's the big deal?"

Recently, former NBA point guard Steve Nash, along with the owner of the Phoenix Suns, bought a controlling stake in the Spanish Mallorca, Axel Witsel invested in a Belgian airline. Are you currently thinking about sources of income after your career ends? (Igor Shchi)
- Think. But now the situation in the country is not easy, there is a crisis. Friends from higher structures advised me not to rush, the year will be difficult economically. So the gamble is dubious.

My father is in business. I invested in commercial real estate.

- Have you ever cried on the field? From resentment, from happiness? (Ivan Manin)
- This season after the match with Mordovia. I screwed up a destructive moment in the end, I was very worried ... Even as a child, my team won the tournament, but another forward scored two goals and overtook me in the list of scorers. All the guys were happy, and I was crying (laughs).

- Reminds the behavior of Cristiano Ronaldo, who seems to care only about his own successes, not the team.
- By the way, I am absolutely not impressed by this style. I was a child, but when Cristiano swears at Arbeloa, because he scored himself, and did not leave the ball to him ... It's strange.
Or, pay attention, Cristiano is not particularly happy with the goals of his partners. Is that Marcelo, they are friends.

- I remember that you “took away” a goal from Bystrov in “Anji”.
- I apologized to Volodya, right on the field. Bystrov is quick-tempered, knows how to swear. But I told him: “What can I change now? I'm sorry. " Volodya, in his own style, muttered: “Well, I get it, I get it…”.

The other day Henrikh Mkhitaryan admitted that personally, the book that Thomas Tuchel had recommended to him helped him a lot: Timothy Golvey "An Inner Game of Tennis". What book are you reading now? (Igor Shchi)
- Recently I bought Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. But there was not enough time on vacation - volleyball, football and so on ... In general, my favorite work is “The Master and Margarita”. I also love "Demons" very much.

- Which dish from the Dagestan cuisine do you like best? (Khadzhimurad Khidirbekov)
- Miracle and khinkali. A miracle is an analogue of a cheburek in Dagestan.

- Do you eat pasties at the railway station in Moscow?
- In Saratov, I constantly ate. In childhood, a classic - "threw" a cheburek or hot dog at the station and went on. But for recent years five in Moscow did not try cheburek. But I can go to StarDogs for a hot dog. I also have a snack sometimes at McDonald's - what's the big deal?

- Do you have higher education? Do you plan to receive it if it is not available? (Alexei)
- According to the documents, there is (laughs)... But it's hard to combine with football, I studied by correspondence. Now I am a “coach of the youth school”.

In general, I plan to get an education. I think in the field of management. Hotel (laughs).

- How should 2016 end to make you happy?
- I want the silver at the European Championship and the gold at the Russian Championship.

- That is, the national team will lose in the final?
- I think no one will be upset with silver (laughs).

This match is, of course, one of the most interesting on the tour. I would also highlight the match in St. Petersburg between Zenit and Rostov, it will start a little later.

The match in Khabarovsk, between SKA and Moscow Spartak ended in a draw today.

After 4 defeats in a row, the chair under Akhmat's head coach Kononov is clearly shaking. On the other hand, if Akhmat breaks the "black" streak today, the credibility of the coach can be partially restored.

The defense and the goalkeeper of the army men are as always in order. Dzagoev is in very good shape, scored just a super goal by Young Boys ...

And I like the head coach of CSKA much more than Slutsky. This CSKA is clearly weaker in composition, but it plays much bolder. Slutsky's cowardly tactics, personally, always repulsed me. Do not forget that this is with Dumbia and Mousse, I no longer remember Wagner Love ... And Goncharenko has a tip ... Chalov ... I hope that Fedor Smolov, if he moves, then to CSKA, and not to Zenit ... Although, I understand that Zenit's possibilities, if he wants Smolov in a pair with Kokorin, are much higher. And it is unlikely that Mancini will break the new link between Kokorin and Driusi.

Of course, CSKA is the favorite, but Akhmat is a strong club and we'll see ... I admit that Akhmat's players will be under nervous pressure today, given the close attention they are now on the part of the leadership of the republic, and Ramzan Kadyrov in particular.

By the way, Kadyrov, like all lovers martial arts, and including me :-), watched the highly publicized Mayweather - McGregor duel. And here's his comment!

“Floyd Mayweather Jr wins early in the Las Vegas ring! He writes in his asset the fiftieth victory! Conor McGregor is defeated. Mayweather clearly demonstrated that true master is able to playfully, artistically defeat an opponent, is able to turn a duel into a colorful performance, stretching it for the sake of the viewer for many rounds, although he could have completed it at the very beginning. Of course, it is difficult to call a fight a pure sport. "

Well, now football! :-) May the strongest win.