"Karpin knows how to get out of a difficult situation": Ignatiev on personnel problems, the quality of the game and the pressure of the Russian national team

- How difficult is it for the head coach of the national team to convey his ideas to the team, taking into account the 

- That's not even the point.

The coach of the national team has few days to prepare - you are limited by the amount of training time.

In a short space of time, it is necessary to determine the structure of the game, arm the players tactically and raise their self-confidence.

Of course, Valery Karpin found himself in a very difficult position.

It's one thing when you change Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo, and another thing when life forces you to throw into battle instead of a ward, an athlete who is already not of the highest qualifications, is even lower.

- What should a coach do when such staffing problems arise?

- At such moments you have to think, rely on the physical readiness and stress resistance of the players.

In addition, they should have the desire to demonstrate all their abilities and in fact prove that their presence in the national team is not accidental.

- That is, it's all about the quality of the performers, and Karpin is a hostage of the situation?

- For the sake of objectivity, I will say that our players are not very different from those with whom they have to meet.

Although in the match with Slovakia, we made sure that the opponent's roster contains more qualified players who play in serious foreign clubs.

Ours are stewed in their own juice.

And not because they want it so much - life compels.

We have the same Alexander Golovin and Alexey Miranchuk, who smelled the smell of foreign football and understand how different the playing rhythm is in Europe and Russia, but they were unable to enter the field.

For this reason, I do not envy Karpin at all.

- Considering the selection of performers, the question arises, how justified is Karpin's idea with starting pressure?

The players get tired after 20 minutes of such intense football, and then they have to exclusively defend.

- Now there is such a tendency.

World Championships and other major tournaments show how powerful pressure is.

But it's important to have good physical fitness.

And we have already decided: the level of our skill is not high.

- Then what trump card can the Russian national team have?

- If skill is not enough, you need to run more.

When pressing, it is just necessary to show willpower and show your physical readiness.

Karpin chose this path.

He forces the players to steal the ball in the opponent's half so that the opponent makes mistakes and chooses the wrong option to develop his own attacks.

- In this case, how appropriate is it to talk about the quality of the team's play?

After all, Karpin takes time to instill such football.

- All this is interconnected.

For example, we are always confident that France will win the conditional Luxembourg.

Why?

Because he plays better.

That is, the result is a consequence of the quality of football.

What happened in the match between Russia and Slovakia is a matter of chance.

Of course, it is important for us that the team gets to the World Cup.

But how will she do it if she doesn't play well?

In this case, she is only able to gain the upper hand by chance, and not on a permanent basis.

- How is the Russian team able to score points at the current stage?

- Naturally, thanks to the high-quality actions of the performers.

At the same time, we clearly understand that winning with a bad game is better than nothing.

Sometimes it happens the other way around: you show good football, but you don't succeed.

The same Slovaks claim to have been better.

We need to reach a certain level of training of individual performers, teams and all of our football.

- What is the best way for the national team to build a game in the away meeting with Slovenia, in which it is impossible to lose points?

- This is only known to Karpin.

Perhaps we will play five defenders.

Then the extreme will be more active in the attack.

The point is in the nuances of choosing a scheme.

You can bet on any.

Slovaks, after all, in any case, attacked more even after Karpin's rearrangements, and we could only rely on counterattacks.

Valery Georgievich was looking for ways out of the situation in order to bring the meeting to a positive outcome.

Things will be different with Slovenia.

Plus, everyone remembers the play-off in Maribor in 2009.

Therefore, Russia only needs victory.

- Can we say that the fight with Slovakia revealed Karpin as a pragmatic coach who is ready to deviate from the original plan in order to defend the result?

- Not certainly in that way.

Karpin demonstrated that he can get out of a difficult situation, showed himself to be a person who understands the details and tactical nuances.

A specialist who is not afraid to make decisions.

He clearly predicted how to act to win.

But if Valery Georgievich was wrong, we would say: "He was reinsured, and he did not have enough courage."

But now you can call him a good strategist.