"This is a fateful match for Krasnodar": Shalimov and Tashuev about the game with PAOK in the Champions League, Musaev's work and Galitsky's dream

"No one will play against defense on purpose"

Krasnodar will not bet on defense in the second leg of the Champions League playoff round against the Greek PAOK.

This point of view, in an interview with RT, was expressed by the former mentor of the southerners Igor Shalimov.

According to him, the Russian team can press against their goal only under pressure from the opponent.

- In the first match, Krasnodar beat PAOK with a score of 2: 1.

How much of an advantage does this outcome give the Russian team?

- The score 2: 1 brought a minimal advantage to Krasnodar - the team will be satisfied with a draw.

But this result is definitely not comfortable.

It was much better to win - 1: 0.

It is always important not to concede at home in two-legged confrontations.

If the Russian team fails to score in Greece, the game will keep in suspense until the last minutes, because one goal will lead to the group stage of the PAOK tournament.

I think Krasnodar will face a difficult, uncomfortable meeting.

To score, Murad Musaev's charges need to play actively and act in a corporate attacking style.

But in this case, PAOK will be able to create chances in counterattacks.

- Does it make sense for Krasnodar to play defensively, or will Musaev not deviate from his favorite tactics in the current conditions?

- Specially, no one will play on defense.

Talk about teams deliberately giving up initiative is a myth.

If PAOK allows Krasnodar to take the ball under their control, the southerners will do it.

Yes, “Rubin” with “Rostov” could act as number two in European competitions, but this is not about Musaev's team.

His players feel comfortable when they hold the ball.

This is their element.

Everything will depend on how PAOK builds the game, plays carefully, or immediately starts to put pressure on.

But the problem is that they can score in the second minute, or they can - in the 89th.

- There is no feeling that the game in Greece can, on the contrary, turn out perfectly for Krasnodar, because PAOK will have to open up to score, and the Russian team will be able to break into the free zones?

- Honestly, from the first meeting, I still did not understand what PAOK was, although I also watched their fight with Benfica at the previous stage of the tournament.

If the Greek team chooses an aggressive style of play, they will be able to push Krasnodar to the goal, but in this case the guests will have excellent opportunities for counterattacking.

High-quality bulls can take advantage of the free space.

I think the hosts will still act with an eye on the defense, so as not to miss in any case.

- Southerners played the match of the last round of the RPL against Sochi with the main team.

Wasn't it worth the coaching staff to give rest to at least one of the leaders, as it was done in PAOK on the eve of the Champions League return leg?

- I think Musaev did the right thing.

In fact, only injured Wanderson and Christian Ramirez did not play for Krasnodar.

The latter came on as a substitute.

If Murad Olegovich had taken care of the main performers, they would have lost three training days, which would have negatively affected their tone.

In this regard, Krasnodar made a more correct decision than PAOK.

Moreover, the "bulls" had an excellent opportunity to rotate if they wanted to.

The team has a good bench.

I think three days is enough to calmly recover, because the players are just in the process of recovery.

In such a schedule, we are used to working at the end of last season.

The footballers entered the field two days later on the third and have already adapted.

- Don't you think that the Russian teams at the start of the new European Cup season do not functionally look the best?

- I don’t think that the failures of our clubs in European competition are due to fatigue.

Still, after a pause for the matches of the national teams, the Russian teams worked in a weekly cycle.

Although, of course, fatigue has accumulated, but this is not the main reason for the defeat.

I repeat, Krasnodar should recover in three days.

For southerners, this is definitely not a problem.

"Entering the Champions League group stage is Galitsky's dream"

The loss of one of the leaders of the Wanderson team can play into the hands of Krasnodar.

This was announced on the eve of the match with PAOK by another former coach of the team, Sergei Tashuev.

The specialist believes that the Brazilian, who sometimes does not fully work out in defense, can be replaced by Yuri Gazinsky.

- It is impossible to make predictions for this game.

This is the decisive match for reaching the Champions League group stage, and both teams will play for the result.

However, Krasnodar, firstly, has an advantage of one goal, and secondly, it will feel more comfortable, since the opponent will have to attack, and the Russian team will have space for counterattacks.

I think the return match will be more interesting than the first.

Krasnodar is faced with the task of working well in defense and taking advantage of the free space.

Behind, however, it is required to cover all zones.

The only thing is that Krasnodar will most likely not be helped by the injured Wanderson.

This is a very serious loss.

Also, as far as I know, after the meeting with Sochi, the group of players had muscle problems.

- Should we expect Krasnodar, at least in the first minutes, to play defensively?

- The balance needs to be maintained primarily through high-quality defensive play.

The whole team must work out in defense.

Krasnodar has a problem: in case of loss, a group of players “freezes” and does not return beyond the line of the ball.

- Don't you think that the absence of Wanderson in this regard will help Krasnodar, because instead of him Musaev will be able to release a more destruction-oriented football player?

- Maybe.

Instead, Yuri Gazinsky will probably come out, who will take a place in the support zone, and Remy Cabella will move to Wanderson's position.

In this case, Krasnodar will have a powerful duet of Tonny De Villena and Gazinsky in the center of the pitch.

Thus, the loss of a creative performer can play into the hands of Krasnodar.

- At the moment, Musaev has no alternative to Markus Berg in attack.

Is it not worth it, instead of the slow Swede in Greece, to release the fast technical Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov, who is able to competently fill the free zones?

- This is an erroneous opinion.

Firstly, Suleimanov works well only from the depths, that is, facing the goal, in positional attacks.

And Berg's strong quality is the ability to catch the ball.

This allows partners to adapt to him.

After all, in order to have an opportunity to escape, you need someone to fight first and perform a discount.

And PAOK's defenders are all powerful.

- What, in your opinion, is the reason for the decline in the game of Suleimanov, who recently came out only as a substitute and practically does not gain points for performance?

- Firstly, Magomed-Shapi is a young footballer who has not yet gone through fire, water and copper pipes.

This is normal, because serious praises were sung to him.

It got to the point that Suleimanov was “sent” to Barcelona.

Given the Caucasian mentality, the guy somewhere lowered his requirements.

As Boris Arkadiev said, "you need to train with all your might."

Perhaps, in relation to Magomed-Shapi, methodical errors were made on the part of both the coaching staff and the club.

- In general, Krasnodar has only one pupil on the field this season - Matvey Safonov, and sometimes nine legionnaires appear at the start.

Does this not run counter to the philosophy of Sergei Galitsky?

- At the moment, Krasnodar has made a bet on the Champions League.

Getting into the group stage of the tournament is worth a lot.

Understand, for Galitsky this is a dream.

God forbid, the team will pass the PAOK, and then young students of the academy will get their chances.

Nevertheless, now in Krasnodar there are very serious footballers, national team players.

They are stronger than the Russian youth.

- Last year, Krasnodar conceded four unanswered goals from Olympiacos in Greece at the same stage of the Champions League.

Will this match sit in the heads of the bulls?

- Believe me, modern footballers who are well informed and informative quickly forget about all defeats.

We played a match - we are thinking about the next.

This is an unwritten law, including for coaches.

- On the whole, does PAOK leave you with the impression of a team that Krasnodar cannot beat?

- I liked PAOK.

First, the team is physically well prepared.

Secondly, the vice-champion of Greece is a cut above the RPL teams in terms of pressure, pressure.

They bump into rivals, take away balls.

In the Premier League, they often defend with a low block.

It's hard to watch and there is practically no attacking football.

For example, take Barcelona, ​​which played two Champions League matches in a week in the summer, and in each of them they pressed from the first to the last minute.

I did not expect that PAOK is also capable of this.

That is why they passed “Besiktas” with “Benfica”.

- Will the Krasnodar players be pressured by the fact that the team may miss the last chance in a long time to get into the Champions League group stage?

Due to the deteriorating position of Russia in the UEFA coefficient table, it will be much more difficult to get there.

- For Krasnodar this is a truly fateful match.

I know Galitsky well.

With all the investments of Sergei Nikolaevich for ten years, the team failed to win even the Cup of Russia.

Yes, there were third or fourth places, but with the available finances this is not the same result.

- What could be his reaction if he does not qualify for the Champions League group stage?

- The main quality of Sergei Nikolaevich is a good knowledge of the subject, but he is sometimes unpredictable.

For example, I had a five-year contract with the club, but I only worked for a year.

Of course, the story of Suleiman Kerimov with "Anji" will not repeat itself, but decisions can be made, for example, on the coaching staff.

Galitsky is sick of football, for him it is the meaning of life.

He himself wanted to be a football player, but it didn't work out.

So he won't leave the club.

Another thing is that in Krasnodar they can make systemic errors, but it's not for me to judge which ones.

- In your opinion, is Musaev ready for his debut in the group stage of the Champions League?

- My feeling: Musaev is not yet ready to work in a big club at all.

There are a lot of problems in all respects.

One gets the impression that the club is marking time, including Musaev.

You cannot immediately throw a boy from a children's school into the hell.

There must be a certain amount of knowledge and experience.

And today there are a lot of "semi-finished products" in the coaching workshop.

The leaders think, "He was kind of playing football, let's put it on."

Where is the basic knowledge?

This is a very serious moment.

Anyone can pick up the schemes.

I call such specialists "Internet users".

- Is Krasnodar itself ready for this?

- In terms of infrastructure, of course.

But as for the team itself - the question is difficult.