"It happens, you look - but your eyes are empty": Gadzhiev on Kokorin's motivation, Spartak's chances for a title and Krasnodar's losses

"If Krasnodar doesn't make blunders in defense, it can win"

- Krasnodar played a tough match against Renn on Wednesday in the Champions League.

In addition, the team lost nine players at once.

Do the southerners have any chances of success in the game against Spartak in such conditions?

- Yes, Krasnodar won't be able to count on a number of players on Saturday.

On the other hand, in the match against Rennes, they lost only one person - the injured Sergei Petrov.

I think that even in this combination, the southerners have chances of success.

At the same time, in the Champions League, Murad Musaev had to release two nominal defenders on the flanks of the midfield - Igor Smolnikov and Christian Ramirez.

But despite all the losses, the team looked solid and did not become a whipping boy.

The situation is difficult, and Musaev's charges will not be easy.

However, they had three days to rest.

This is not the most comfortable pause, but it is not critical either.

It is much worse when you have to play two days later on the third.

- Can Musaev move away from branded football and bet on defense, given the love of the red-and-white to play number two?

- You constantly hear such conversations here and there, but the coach works differently.

He looks through the range of players at his disposal and chooses the optimal combination in which his team will be able to both defend and score.

We are not talking about betting exclusively on defense or only on attack.

This is stupid for any team.

Yes, Musaev had difficulties with the rotation, but the players he has at the moment are competitive at the level of any RPL club.

Moreover, Krasnodar will play at home.

Let "Spartak" lead along with "Zenith", this does not mean that the southerners have no chance.

More to say, if they do not make blunders in defense, then they can win over the red and white. 

- But won't Krasnodar's daring game become the most convenient option for Spartak?

- It is difficult to predict, but already now it can be noted that Spartak has quick attacks.

They play well for the team, both from their own half of the field and from the center.

This is ideal when the opponent is oncoming attack, when the opponent's defenders do not have time to return.

In space, reds and whites feel better.

And Krasnodar just has problems in order to close the zones in a timely manner.

But other things being equal, I don't think southerners will move away from their football.

They will try to act primarily in the attack.

As for Spartak, we can only say for sure that the team will play three central defenders and will actively attack.

But it is difficult to say whether Muscovites will put pressure on the entire perimeter of the field or only in their own half.

- In attack, Krasnodar can only count on Markus Berg.

Will it not turn out that he will simply be cut off from his partners?

“Spartak” plays three central defenders, and Samuel Zhigot and Georgy Djikia have returned to the game of the 12th round.

- The return of Djikia and Zhigo is an unconditional strengthening of the squad.

In the game against Khimki, the Spartak defense made so many stupid mistakes that the RPL newcomer could decide the outcome of the match even in the first half.

But you need to understand: if you have a numerical advantage in one zone, you lose it in another.

Spartak risks losing their dominance in the middle of the field or on the flanks.

The main confrontation can unfold just on the edges, where the red and white have Ayrton and newcomer Victor Moses.

At the same time, in the aforementioned game with Khimki, Spartak also had problems in these zones.

So, the goal of Brian Idov came just from the right, where Moses did not finish on the opponent.

"Safonov is almost ready to play for the Russian national team"

- Ramirez played on the left flank of midfield in the match with Renn and even scored the first goal for the team.

Don't you think the Ecuadorian looks even better in front than in defense?

- I also think that he plays better in attack.

On the other hand, we cannot say that he looks preferable in this position to Wanderson or Remy Cabell.

But from the point of view of reliability in the most important away match against Rennes, Christian played useful.

- Can Matvey Safonov transfer the courage he caught in the match against Rennes to the game against Spartak?

- Such matches help footballers recover faster and approach the next game in a good emotional state.

But in addition to courage, a lot of factors affect the athlete.

In general, there is a lot of talk now that Safonov can play for the Russian national team.

I think he is practically ready for this.

Still, Matvey still lacks experience.

Just in the Champions League matches, he will get it.

- Due to the injury, Petrova will almost certainly get his chance Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov.

Do you believe that he is still able to play as before?

- Still, this year turned out to be very difficult for football players due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And Suleimanov himself had been ill with COVID-19.

This could not but affect him.

It seems to me that Magomed-Shapi looked better in the game with Renn than in previous meetings.

Plus, he is young, and on his part, there could be a certain overestimation of his own importance.

But I cannot name this factor as the main reason.

I would say differently: the season does not fall on the season, and fluctuations in the condition of players are absolutely normal.

Of course, I would like Suleimanov to return to his previous level, because Krasnodar needs to add and improve its position in the standings.

In general, I would call the southerners the second most popular team in the country after Spartak.

Many are rooting for other clubs, but they also worry about Krasnodar.

"It will be more difficult for Spartak to win the championship than in 2017" 

- Spartak shares the leadership in the RPL standings with Zenit.

And in many matches, the team is lucky.

Can the team of Domenico Tedesco in this regard be compared with the team of Massimo Carrera in the championship season?

- Those who are lucky are always lucky.

In order for you to be lucky, you must be ready for this.

You cannot lead for so long solely at the expense of luck.

First, it is necessary to note the good functional readiness of the Spartak team, which allows them to pull out tough matches, in particular, they have enough strength to add after the break.

Secondly, the red-whites now have a real team.

In the game, they are friendly and militant.

Thirdly, individual footballers have high individual skill.

For example, good performers are collected in the attack.

Alexander Maksimenko acts reliably on the last frontier.

And in the center of the defense there is a very good pair of defenders represented by Djikia and Zhigo.

Spartak's line-up is really good.

- Is the current Spartak ready to become a champion, like Carrera's team?

- It will be more difficult to do this than in 2017, but the red and white are able to fight for the first two places, and then, how will it turn out.

In my opinion, Zenit is stronger than the rest of the RPL teams, but other contenders for medals are approximately equal.

Spartak has its drawbacks.

First of all, it is a defense game.

If Lokomotiv threatened to show attacking football, but built a high-quality game in defense, Tedesco's players cannot boast of this.

The German himself adheres firmly to the scheme with three central defenders, but in his performance it is not at all a "closed" formation.

Still, the German wingers are active along the entire flank.  

- Tedesco took many first-team players to the cup game with Enisey.

Shouldn't he have saved them before the most important RPL game, given that the red and white have practically solved the problem of reaching the 1/8 finals?

- He needed to prepare his charges for the match against Krasnodar.

Someone flew to Krasnoyarsk, and someone played football in training.

The German headquarters knew perfectly well who needed to spend how much time on the field.

Alexander Kokorin needs to play.

Ilya Kutepov and Ilya Gaponov are unlikely to make it to the base for the meeting with Krasnodar, as will Nail Umyarov.

In general, there have been many situations in my career when a team that played a cup match with leading players in the week, beat an opponent in the championship, who had been calmly preparing all week.

"Kokorin is a very talented footballer who has not realized his potential" 

- In Krasnoyarsk, Esekiel Ponce was injured.

And in training, another striker Alexander Sobolev was injured.

Don't you think that without them, Spartak will miss a footballer who can catch the ball in attack?

- Of course, they may not be enough, because Esekiel and Alexander have a certain set of strong qualities.

Plus, both can score.

The loss of such attackers can take a toll.

Much will depend on the state of Kokorin.

In my opinion, he lacks not only fitness, but also motivation.

- But he found himself a new strong team, finally found stability.

- He returned from prison not to Spartak, but to Sochi.

There he tore, threw and hammered.

The psychological state of a person is a complex topic, especially of a professional athlete who is constantly in sight.

As they say, someone else's soul is darkness.

It is difficult for me to assess Kokorin.

I know that he is a very talented footballer who has not realized his potential.

We can speak about this with confidence.

Now, it seems, Alexander lacks internal energy, while in "Sochi" he breathed deeply.

- I do not feel the desire to fly into the tackle for every ball ...

- I agree, it is not felt.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that there were too many incomprehensible conversations around Kokorin.

- Could this be due to the fact that in Sochi the striker was the main star, and in Spartak he still needs to prove his importance?

- No.

It so happens that you seem to want something, but you look - and your eyes are empty.

It cannot be said that Kokorin has lost his skill.

I don't think it's worth talking seriously about the fact that Alexander is not yet fully integrated into Spartak's game.

- At the same time, Jordan Larsson's progress is impressive.

In the current RPL season, he has already scored five goals and was called up to the Swedish national team.

Did Tedesco find the striker the correct position on the pitch? 

- I have seen so much that there is nothing to be surprised at.

Larsson is a good player with a set of strengths.

He is fast, has great dribbling, strong shot and has a good sense of position.

It would be surprising rather if Jordan with such skills did not enter the field

- The fans were unhappy with the level of Moses' motivation.

In the game against Khimki, when he came on as a substitute, he failed several times in defense.

- Perhaps Moses simply did not have time to recover after the flight.

With Khimki, he left the ship for the ball in order to play with his partners as soon as possible, not to lose his qualities during the forced pause.

In "Spartak" Viktor is systematically trained.

But it is clear that in the game against Khimki, his level of motivation was lower than that of Nigeria's teammate Idovu.

Brian won almost all of his martial arts.

- Will it turn out that by introducing Moses into the composition, Tedesco will violate the system he has played with Roman Zobnin on the right flank of the defense?

- The fact that Zobnin is better off playing in the middle of the field was expressed by many experts.

Tedesco is probably of the same opinion.

Apparently, this is connected with Moses' invitation.

In any case, the lease of a Nigerian is an unconditional strengthening of the squad.

Victor is a great football player.

We'll see when it reaches its previous level.

Zobnin and Alex Kral will most likely operate in the support zone in the near future.