“The quality of football will be lower than before the pause”: Kirichenko about the resumption of the RPL season, tests for COVID-19 and the departure of Semin

- Several coroner footballers were found to have coronavirus. Is it worth it to resume the championship in such a situation?

- I would not call the current situation critical. Nevertheless, coronavirus should be more afraid of people with weakened immune systems, senior citizens. And professional athletes are strong and hardened guys. I do not think this disease is dangerous for them. Another thing is that football players are in contact with members of their families and other people. There is a risk of infection.

Therefore, from the point of view of safety, the season should be completed, or a pause several months long, until the virus finally recedes. Yes, they have just announced that they will finish the season, but unpleasant surprises are still possible. Much will depend on the epidemiological situation in the country. In general, I think most of the clubs were not against the early termination of the championship, but several teams did not like it. Opportunities in the apparatus war already played a role here.

- But in fact, in words, most of the clubs just supported the decision of the executive committee of the RFU ...

- I am sure that somewhere 13 out of 16 RPL clubs were initially not against the end of the season. Still, with this scenario, no one flew out of the Premier League, it would just be replenished by two teams from the FNL. And now, because of two or three teams, the championship will continue.

- How fair is this?

- Some clubs did not want to end the season, and they can be understood. After all, we are talking, among other things, about not getting into the Champions League, and this will entail a serious financial blow in the already difficult time. Perhaps if these teams were compensated for losses, they would also have called for the early completion of the championship. But talking about big money, and just because no one will give their clubs.

- Some teams will have only three weeks to train before the restart of the championship ...

- In this case, the problem is that the teams are in unequal conditions. Provincial clubs have already received permission to resume classes, while in Moscow there is no talk of this. In the capital at the moment you can’t train even in small groups. If everyone were in the same conditions, questions would not have arisen. Three weeks - so three weeks. And so it turns out, a number of teams will be in a winning position.

“But three weeks in theory is enough to get in shape?”

- In principle, special problems should not arise. After all, the players all the time kept fit, although they did not have the opportunity to enter the field. There are only eight rounds to be held, the length of the bench will play a significant role. Usually a month of training is enough even in winter, when the team is just getting ready for the season. Three weeks is not an ideal option, but in general - normal. This is better than going out and playing right away.

- Could the number of injuries increase due to insufficient preparation time?

- There will be damage, but this is a common situation for football. It is difficult to say how much their number will increase. Some will start training earlier, others later ... I repeat, we are all in an atypical situation, this has never happened before. In any case, the ideal picture is not worth the wait, now you just need to get out of the current situation with the least losses.

- Will permission to make five replacements help avoid injuries?

- Of course. But, in my opinion, such a large number of substitutions will negatively affect the dynamics of the game. Indeed, each castling takes precious minutes. In addition, we must not forget that the players, leaving the field, sometimes pull time. I think the introduction of four substitutions in this situation would be the best solution.

- What will be reminiscent of pre-season fees?

- I think yes. Most likely, the quality of football will be lower than before the break. The absence of people will also play a role. With empty stands, it is difficult for coaches to squeeze one hundred percent of the capabilities out of football players. Nevertheless, the energy of the fans always gives extra strength. In the summer, players will be left without this bonus, without support. But we often perceive football itself not only through what is happening on the field, but also through the surroundings, the sound effect. Now we will see it in its purest form.

- Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs Mikhail Degtyarev said that the state will gradually leave professional sports. How can this affect the financial condition of Russian clubs?

- I do not think that the state will completely stop financing clubs. Rather, some options will be found, let's say, of a public-private partnership. To refuse support is quite problematic, especially in the regions, in cities with a population of one million people. But expenses will definitely be reduced; there is no need to build illusions.   

- Will the state’s refusal to finance professional football be a disaster?

- It depends on what you mean by this word. First of all, it will hit the lower leagues hard. As for the level of the tournament, our championship is still not in leading roles in Europe. It is clear that high-quality foreign players will stop coming to the RPL. What to do, the Russians will play. But our guys are much more willing to go to Europe. But, I repeat, it is unlikely that the state, with all the problems, will completely refuse to help clubs.

- The season has not yet had time to resume, and there is already a lot of news about the coaches of the leading clubs. So, CSKA extended the agreement with Viktor Goncharenko ...

- I think that both for Viktor Mikhailovich and for the club is a good step. CSKA continue to fight for trips to European competitions, and to change a coach now, in my opinion, would be strange. Goncharenko works efficiently, taking into account the capabilities of the army.

- During the season, there were opinions that the specialist had exhausted himself at CSKA.

- All this is idle talk. Similar discussions are ongoing. We must not forget that the coach is highly dependent on the players and the composition at hand. I repeat, Goncharenko works well with the players and capabilities that the army now has. Perhaps CSKA would not hurt the gain.

- CSKA is five points behind the second or third places. Can red-blue overcome this distance?

“I think so.” In general, it is difficult to predict who and how will look after the break. Still, the team will fall into a rather unusual situation. First of all, there will be no spectators in the stands. To some extent this will influence, for example, Rostov, Krasnodar and Zenit consistently collect 30 thousand people at home matches. And returning to CSKA, we can say five points - by and large, nothing, two successful games. The gap is far from catastrophic.

- Unlike CSKA, Lokomotiv did not renew the contract with the head coach. Are you surprised by the departure of Yuri Semin?

- From the point of view of the club’s obligations to Semin, there are no questions. Yuri Pavlovich ended the agreement, it was not extended. It is difficult to make a complaint to the club management. But given the role of Semin in the history of Loko, his departure looks rather controversial. What to do: who pays, he orders the music.

- Did it surprise you that his place was taken by almost unknown Marko Nikolic in Russia?

- I admit, I have not heard so much about this coach and I know almost nothing about him. At a high level in Europe, he did not work. But if Nikolic ended up in Lokomotiv, then there are reasons for that. This place means a lot of responsibility. It is unlikely that the club leaders took anyone horrible.

- The team under the leadership of Nikolic is waiting for difficult times, given the possible departure of a number of players?

- If five or seven leading players, including the Miranchuk brothers, leave, it will be very difficult to work, and it does not matter who heads the team, Semin or Nikolic. But at the moment, Lokomotiv has a very high-quality composition. I do not think that the railway workers in the remaining rounds will fail. In any case, an exciting fight for medals awaits us.

- With Goncharenko, the contract has already been extended, but with your other Sergei Semak - not yet. When does Zenit do it?

- I do not see anything surprising in this. Everything is in the process, both sides discuss details, various nuances. I think its extension is a matter of time. You yourself see, the situation is incomprehensible. It is difficult to say what kind of reinforcement clubs can expect after the end of the pandemic, and if at all. And there will be no problems with Semak. The contract with him is likely to be signed.