- What is your impression of the Russian national team's performance, judging by the group stage?

- Nothing ever happens spontaneously.

Unless you can catch some male disease.

A new team has been assembled, not bad girls, but they need to work together.

And we want everything from them at once.

There are only a few people left from the Tokyo Olympics.

And the rest is all new, fresh - let the girls play.

Now they need to maximize the number of training sessions in order to get used to each other.

We have a team game.

For example, Evgeny Vasilyevich Trefilov entered the field, but how will he give the pass?

At the feet or above the head?

The partner must understand, feel, a lot depends on this.

The French team had an old roster. As a result, the rivals showed better speeds, and their passes were more accurate. At first we dominated, and then everything fell into place. And the worst thing is that we have a failure in defense. Their linear scored 6-7 goals. But this problem is removed only by joint work. Look at the players: Real Madrid or Barcelona play better than the national team. Why? They train together twice a day, understand each other, work out interactions. I always scoff at my girls: you count how many hours a ballerina stands at the barre, or how many times a partner lifts her into the air during a rehearsal. Or take the skaters, how much they train. Therefore, no one falls. The composition is good and interesting. Missing a couple of center-backs, but it's a dealyou can just play a little differently.

- Do you see problems only in defense?

- In addition to the central defenders, there is another problem area ahead.

There are practically no linear ones, but only where to get them.

And in the match with the French women, I have not yet seen the point guard.

Elena Mikhailichenko was also lost.

We got lost for an individual game.

Everyone grabbed the ball, wanted to save Russia, but that doesn't work in handball.

There must be team action.

I would single out the goalkeeper line - a good replacement took place here.  

- This is the first tournament for the coaching staff.

As for the group stage, can you already draw conclusions, what did Lyudmila Bodnieva bring to the national team?

- Let's wait until the end of the championship, then I’ll express, perhaps, my comments.

The only thing I understand the work of a coach is this: everyone should have their own flavor.

It is necessary both for the national team player, otherwise he simply will not hold out in the team, and for the mentor.

Let's see what happens next.

So far we have lost only one meeting.

- Moreover, French women who are Olympic champions.

However, because of this, we have a more serious rival in the quarterfinals - Norway.

- It’s not a fact that it would be better if we hit someone else.

In the group stage, it is not clear which of the teams will be in the lead.

Many have changed their rosters.

We, in principle, are moving in the right direction, because in three years our team, playing in Tokyo, would be the oldest.

An update is needed.

The only thing is, it turned out to be sharp.

There are a lot of new players at once.

As in the song, "We will destroy the old world and then build a new one."

So it is here.

- Do our team have chances against the Norwegians?

- With this team, we can beat our rivals in a big way, and also lose a lot, because the ties between the girls are still unstable.

There is no team in the game plan yet.

I'm not talking about relationships within the team.

But a good environment is usually needed with a company at the table.

And on the field there are no established game connections, they will appear a little later - with the number of matches and trainings.

Bodnieva started working a few months ago.

She had, if I'm not mistaken, two training sessions for seven days.

During this time, you will not have time to remember all the names.

Sometimes I am mistaken in the name, when a person has been working with me for a month.

- If we talk about the situation here and now.

Will psychology affect the game of the Russian national team with Norway the most?

- Both psychology and the element of luck.

A young team can beat any opponent.

But she has no stability, maturity.

However, I can guarantee that Norway will tune in to us as to the last battle.

“She's also offended for her defeat in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games.

- For this insult they will try to score more goals for us.

And we have to hold on, to resist.

There are always chances.

- Maybe then it’s not so bad for us that the Russian team lost to the French.

Will it help motivate the team?

- You know, I always said that losing is good too.

There is something to talk about, someone to scold, to scold at the analysis.

And if the team won, then it turns out that you criticize those who played the match well.

It doesn't look very good.

We have a young team ... The only thing is that you cannot go very low in the ranking, because then it will be difficult to climb.

When I hosted the national team in 1999, it was in 12th place.

The next year they became the third in Europe.

And then it went ... The attitude of the judges also depends on this.

At this championship, I hear commentators' remarks to the referees.

But, God forbid, to be judged like that all the time.

There are, of course, mistakes.

But nobody touches us yet.

Let's hope that this will continue.