“Football players will just fight”: Kovtun and Chanov on the quarterfinals of the Spartak Cup of Russia - CSKA

Spartak can play and “second number”

The match between Spartak and CSKA will be the decoration of the quarterfinal stage of the Cup of Russia. Victory in it is, in fact, the only chance for the hosts to save the failed season and save the chances of participating in European competitions in the coming fall. Having played for the team for six seasons, Yuri Kovtun, currently working as one of the Ural trainers, is sure that Domenico Tedesco wards will play on Wednesday as aggressively as they did against Dynamo last Saturday.

- In fact, the Reds and Whites have only one opportunity left to save the season and break into the European Cups, but for this they need to defeat a principled opponent on Wednesday ...

- I think both teams still want to win the cup. In addition, the derby always remains a derby. But for Spartak and Domenico Tedesco, success in this tournament will really be a great help. And CSKA needs to solve their problems in the RPL and pave the way for the Champions League. But motivated red and white on Wednesday will be clearly more, I agree. It is interesting that the army team will oppose them in terms of mood.

- Is it possible for the first matches of the opponents after the resumption of the national championship to conclude that Spartak is better physically prepared?

- CSKA, probably, somewhere did not expect such a game from Ural. In the face of our team, they are faced with a very uncomfortable opponent. And Tedesco wards in the derby achieved an excellent result, and the match itself was a success. But the opponents did not look bad either, they were just let down by the implementation. You can recall the two hits of Nikolai Komlichenko in the goal post and the crossbar. In turn, Spartak showed a great desire for victory, and the irritant was what it needed.

- What impressions did you have from the game of forward Alexander Sobolev?

- If a person immediately falls into the main structure, this says a lot. So, he proved his worth to the trainer by working at the training camp. The purchase of Sobolev is an unambiguous gain for Spartak. Further, everything will depend only on Alexander himself. But the guy wants to play and is eager for battle. He is gifted and possesses precisely those qualities that will be useful to the team in the future.

- On Wednesday, we will witness the confrontation between Sobolev and Chalov. Do not you think that at the moment Alexander looks preferable?

- Let's see what he will show in the future. Here's how to get into the team, then it will be possible to draw far-reaching conclusions. Another thing is that Stanislav Cherchesov did not invite Fedor there either, even when he was the top scorer of the RPL. So, some moments of the mentor of the national team in the game Fedor embarrassed or not satisfied.

- If the Spartak attack looks good, then the defense is not so smooth. What is the reason for this?

- In official meetings, all the problems of the team immediately appear. These are not control games, where an opponent can allow himself to be underestimated or not circulated. But the trio Ilya Kutepov - George Dzhikia - Samuel Gigot on paper looks very strong. This is an almost perfect combination at the center of defense. However, it is impossible to blame the central defenders for the conceded goals. After all, they are only the last line of defense, and partners are obliged to help them. Apparently, there is some inconsistency in the actions of the same midfielders. Everything is interconnected here. If Dynamo created moments, then the team lacked reliability.

- Should we expect the first number from the red and white in the derby of the game, because victory is vital for them?

- I think Spartak will try to play aggressively in the first place. Such an assumption can be made by looking at football, which is trying to instill Tedesco in red and white. But CSKA also developed its own style. With the Urals, they acted in the same manner, but in a derby they can look completely different. Perhaps Victor Goncharenko will decide on some kind of permutation in the attack group.

- But it seems that Spartak is more comfortable with Tedesco to act on counterattacks ...

- I agree, the red and white may well play the “second number”, making a bet on a quick way out of defense. Let's see what the army team will allow the owners. Still, they have a very strong attack group in the person of Ilzat Akhmetov, Alan Dzagoev, Nicola Vlasic and Mario Fernandez. Between them, excellent mutual understanding is established. And if you give freedom to players of this level, difficulties may arise.

- There is no fear that the result will be the first in the derby, and not the game, and we will not see spectacular football?

“It could happen.” Still, in the cup teams act with extreme caution, realizing that any mistake can lead to a crash. It is difficult to determine the favorite in the derby, but I will give a small advantage to Spartak. Still, we must not forget that the team will enter the field in high spirits after the victory over Dynamo.

“The game of CSKA defenders may raise questions”

He knows firsthand what a derby is, and Vyacheslav Chanov, who, as a footballer, spent several seasons at CSKA, and then worked for nine years with goalkeepers of the team, including Igor Akinfeev. The specialist, although it was difficult to imagine how the match will end, but admitted that he believes in the army.

- Spartak confidently outplayed Dynamo, while CSKA almost lost to Ural. Does this indicate that the red and white are better prepared for the derby?

- You said a very good and correct word - derby. And since it's a derby, anything can happen. It is not known which way the scales will swing and how the match will end. This is such a peculiar thing in itself. Everything will be very unpredictable, but I always believe in CSKA.

- At first glance, the army team will have less motivation, given their place in the RPL standings ...

- Once again, this is a derby. You should not look at such fights through the prism of certain tasks and tournament layouts. Believe me, football players on Wednesday will not think about who needs to break through. They will just fight. You yourself understand that a battle awaits us, a confrontation for two results. And on the field no one will remember statistics, about the relationship between the players and the places in the table. Derby always stands apart.

- The last time the teams met in the cup in 2011. Then the main time of the semifinal match ended in a draw - 3: 3, and in the penalty shootout the army team turned out to be stronger. At that moment, you entered the coaching staff of the team. What do you remember about that fight?

- It was an incredible game. In the end, we managed to equalize due to the exact impact of Wagner Love, and then turned out to be stronger in the series of eleven meters. “Spartak” did twice in the long run, but there were no decadent moods on the CSKA bench. On the contrary, they believed in the best to the end, and the boys managed to turn the course of the meeting. Even after ten years, I can easily call that derby the brightest and most memorable of those in which I happened to participate in the role of a coach. That day everything corresponded to this great confrontation: both football, which the teams showed, and the score.

- Should we expect the same scoring extravaganza this time?

- I can’t say anything about the players of Spartak, but the army team will definitely go ahead. I am waiting if not an extravaganza extravaganza, then an open game. And what really happens, we do not know. Everything will depend on those guys who enter the field.

- In the match with Ural, a productive mistake was made by 17-year-old Vadim Karpov. Do you not mind the actions of the team on the defensive?

- The game of CSKA defenders, indeed, can raise questions, but we must not forget that Igor Akinfeev is behind the guys. He will help in the derby. And the whole team will be set up for Spartak as it should. I’m sure the guys will enter the field with a completely different level of concentration than the duel with Ural. I think they can play well.

- The problems in the attack of the army are largely due to the low performance of Fedor Chalov. Why did the last scorer of the last RPL season stop scoring?

- It all depends on him. When you suddenly start to believe in yourself too much, problems arise and you stop hitting the gates of others. I hope Fedor finally breaks through the derby and he does his job.