"There are no season tickets in the youth team": Galaktionov on the absence of Ignatiev in the application for Euro, Safonov's injury and Zakharyan's call

- The youth team unexpectedly found a place for 17-year-old young Dynamo star Arsen Zakharyan.

How did he attract you?

- I would remove the word "star".

This is a quality footballer who showed himself well already at the winter training camp.

After the resumption of the season, he played three RPL matches in the first team.

In them, Arsen acted efficiently and deserved a challenge, regardless of age.

We are not looking at names, but at the quality of the game.

If Zakharyan is in the cage, it means that he is a full-fledged youth football player.

- Was not in the composition of Matvey Safonov.

Is it solely about the injury?

- Yes.

Unfortunately, he has been recovering from damage for a long time and so far cannot even train, let alone enter the field.

Health will not allow him to take part in the final tournament of the youth Euro.

Of course, this is an important footballer for our national team, and in the long term - for the main one.

- Did you have any contradictions with Stanislav Cherchesov when discussing the application?

- Stanislav Salamovich and I did not sacrifice.

We just discussed different surnames with him.

Stanislav Salamovich knows all the players very well and understands everything.

You need to be clearly aware of what the youth team is for.

We are working to raise players for the main team.

She is a priority.

We are proud that at the end of last year Cherchesov brought in a number of our players.

And if now he sees that one of the guys is worthy of a challenge, we will only be glad.

- The youth team included a lot of CSKA players.

Does it scare them that they are not in the best shape?

- I would not say that.

Yes, Igor Diveev and Ivan Oblyakov missed a number of matches.

But now they are in the ranks and work in a common group.

Therefore, I have no fears about this.

We still have time to prepare.

- How serious a problem for the youth team will it be that it will have very little time to prepare for the final stage of Euro?

- Here it is necessary to understand the specifics of national teams.

We could count on a full-fledged three-week training camp only after the end of the national championship.

In March, the preparation time is short, and you have to make plans within this framework.

Once again, I want to thank the leadership of the RFU, RPL and clubs for postponing the 23rd round of the Premier League and splitting it up for several days.

This gave additional time to gather the guys, assess their condition and give a game idea.

- Why is one of the veterans of this youth squad missing in the application - the defender of the Czech "Mlada Boleslav" Alexei Tataev?

- As in the case of Safonov, the matter is in injury.

Alexey was injured in January, then he recovered, but there was a relapse.

- Rubin striker Ivan Ignatiev and Arsenal defender Nikolay Rasskazov are healthy, but they also did not find a place in the national team.

Why?

- I have repeatedly said that Ivan is a footballer who needs to be supported.

But, unfortunately, now we have what we have: he does not get game practice in Kazan after the season resumes.

I had a very warm human relationship with Ignatiev, I always tried to cheer him up, but today the realities are as follows.

He said that in the youth team there are no season tickets and discounts on surnames.

Competition and game practice are at the forefront of our work.

Whoever is better prepared at the moment will be in the lineup.

I also have good relations with Rasskazov, but the experience of international tournaments suggests that universal players are needed there, capable of covering several positions.

Therefore, we made a choice in favor of Pavel Maslov, who can play both in the center of defense and on the right.  

- What can you say about the rivals of the national team?

- We spent a lot of time analyzing them.

In fact, this process is completed.

The Icelanders have a strong and athletic team that took first place in their qualifying group.

Striker Sveinn Gudjohnsen is especially worth noting, who scored five goals.

They usually give the ball to the opponent.

By the way, the Vikings were recently headed by the former coach of the country's junior national team under 17.

France is the top contender.

Almost all tricolor footballers are already playing in serious clubs.

Especially worth noting is Leicester's Matteo Guenduzi and Celtic striker Odson Edouard.

This is an organized team with outstanding performers.

But there are nuances in their game that we paid attention to, and we understand how to use them.

With the arrival of a new coach, the Danes began to demonstrate more combinational football.

They also took first place in their group.

To summarize, Russia will not have weak rivals.

All teams are strong enough with a good selection of performers.

We always say that you need to build on your own game and proceed from yourself.

- What is the state of the field at the base in Novogorsk, where the youth team will be preparing?

- We have repeatedly visited her with an inspection.

We looked at the field, talked with agronomists.

At first, his condition left much to be desired, but now the grass has grown a little.

The cover allows you to spend some time at the base painlessly for the lawn.

There is a positive trend.

The staff of the Novogorsk base have made every effort to bring the field into proper condition.

- Are there any fears that due to the coronavirus pandemic in Hungary, where the tournament will take place, the restrictions may be tightened?

- Let's hope that the championship will be held as scheduled.

We worked in exactly the same conditions last year.

Of course, there are some restrictions on the hotel, going out, there is a mask mode and mandatory testing.

We are used to it.