- Zenit became the champion of Russia for the fourth time in a row. Have you personally experienced emotions from another victory or are they already boring?
- The victory of the Petersburgers of gold medals has become a mandatory condition that always faces the team.
And yet for the club, for the team to take first place is extremely important.
But, unfortunately, not all tasks were solved.
Wards of Sergei Semak sensationally flew out of the Cup of Russia.
There is something to work on in European competitions.
- Are you surprised that the blue-white-blues guaranteed themselves the title three rounds before the finish line? After all, until recently it seemed that Dynamo would pursue the leader to the very end.
“Anything can happen in the course of a long season.
The blue and white at a distance tried to impose a fight on Zenit and even reduced the gap to three points.
But in my opinion, he still had a sufficient margin of safety, and not only in terms of points, but also in terms of the game.
There was no feeling that Dynamo was really ready to throw down the gauntlet and break the hegemony.
It's one thing to look bright on separate segments and another to keep the level on a constant basis.
There is nothing to say about other pursuers.
They were engaged in organizational issues right in the course of the championship.
Sometimes I had to solve issues far from football and sports.
And other teams will need time to build their game.
And Zenit has long understood everything.
It is comfortable to work in such conditions.
Hence the result.
- Artyom Dzyuba bluntly stated that he would like more competition in the RPL. Is the constant success of the blue-white-blue an indicator of their strength or rather a demonstration of the weakness of their opponents?
“I think it’s worth talking about a combination of factors here.
On the one hand, Zenit is very strong.
On the other hand, the competition leaves much to be desired.
Agree, before the start of the season, we all thought that it would not be easy for the Petersburgers to keep the first line, but they calmly solved the problem three rounds before the finish line.
This negatively affects the level of the championship.
Competition is always important for the development of football in the country.
And such long winning streaks do not benefit anyone, neither the tournament nor the players.
Yes, there is an example of Bayern, but in relation to the Bundesliga, we are talking more about sports.
If we take domestic clubs, problems of a different nature begin.
For example, Lokomotiv experienced personnel changes throughout the season.
In Spartak, the situation is also incomprehensible.
- After the match with the railway workers, it was evident that the old-timers of Zenit looked quite calm, because they had already won more than one trophy in Russia. How do they stay motivated? Or do you never get bored with victories?
- Of course, the ideal situation is when a footballer charges himself and tries to constantly compete with someone.
The best example of this attitude is Cristiano Ronaldo.
But people like him are rare.
In the absence of a struggle, it is difficult to constantly keep yourself in good shape.
But those Zenit players who play calmly in the domestic arena do not look so convincing in the Champions League.
Even in the match with Lokomotiv, the team did not immediately cope with the stress, although it seemed that they had many options to win another title.
Therefore, “Zenith” still has room to grow.
- Can hegemony negatively affect the interest of third-party fans? Nevertheless, many people love the championship of Russia precisely for the high competition.
- Interest can disappear only among a certain group of football fans who come to the stadium solely for the result.
So they really stop visiting arenas and find other ways to spend their time, especially since there are a lot of options.
And real fans who support their teams always and everywhere will not go anywhere.
And today the clubs are doing a great job to build up their army.
Let's take Spartak as an example.
In the current season of the RPL, the red-whites are in tenth place, but this will not lead to the Otkritie-Arena being instantly empty.
- Does the fact that Zenit have not achieved success in European competition in recent years indicate the weakness of the RPL?
- This is partly true, but a lot depends on the angle from which you look at what is happening.
If we take the result as a basis, of course, there are few reasons for joy, but it does not always reflect what is happening on the field.
The Petersburgers once again failed to reach the playoffs of the Champions League and barely made it to the 1/16 finals of the Europa League.
But something else is important: the team's game has changed a lot.
In many ways, the home match with Chelsea turned out to be indicative, bright and productive.
The Brazilians began to rule the ball in the attack of the team, the company of which was Serdar Azmun.
These changes must be taken into account.
Semak did a tremendous job right during the season, and his wards added in many aspects.
Plus, it is important how the club got to the point with almost all newcomers.
Many fans in the winter wondered: “Why do we need Ivan Sergeev”?
The striker answered them by pushing Dziuba out of the base and starting to score regularly.
I look to the future with optimism, because I understand that the decisions that were made earlier give results.
- What or who is able to prevent the Petersburgers from constantly winning the national championship?
- So far, we don’t even know if domestic teams will be able to play in European competition next season.
It remains to be hoped that there will be no global upheavals.
If they do not happen, it will be difficult for rivals to compete with Zenit in the future.
I do not think that other clubs will allow themselves the acquisition of expensive players.
Today it is difficult to go this way.
In order to throw down the gauntlet to Petersburgers, serious work needs to be done.
The match against Lokomotiv turned out to be significant in many respects.
The blue-white-blue missed a ridiculous ball, but quickly got together and calmly achieved the result without fuss.
And, honestly, if Petersburgers stumble, it is largely their own fault.
It's not that they're being beaten, they're losing.
For example, for the quarterfinal of the Russian Cup with Alania, the coaching staff released a mixed squad.
- Many argue about how big the role of Semak in the victories of Zenit. Some believe that the Petersburgers have such a strong selection of players that any specialist would have achieved success with them. Do you agree with them?
- Only people who do not deeply delve into the process are capable of reasoning like that.
Understand, the job of a coach is not just to move the chips around the board.
The great merit of Sergei Bogdanovich lies in the fact that he assembled this team and found a place for each ward on the field, set a specific task for him to show his maximum.
Do you think it is easy to work with the same Brazilians?
And now he has five.
Semak also successfully interacts with the stars, and this is also an important skill for the mentor of a venerable team.
Plus, not a single major scandal happened under him at Zenith, although I think this is not the most important thing.
Semak is not only a coach, but also an excellent organizer and psychologist, and all the successes of the Petersburgers are his merit.
- Can the club lose some legionnaires in the summer, like other domestic teams? Or will good contract terms insure him against losses?
“Unfortunately, he risks losing someone.
Foreign players get good money at Zenit, but they don't always come first.
If Russian teams are deprived of the opportunity to play in European competitions, legionnaires will disappear from the radar and will no longer be called up to the national teams.
As a result, they will not attract the interest of strong teams from the leading championships.
And sooner or later the salary will stop coming.
Athletes do not live exclusively for today and understand everything perfectly.
Gone are the days when football players packed their bags and went to Russia for a long ruble.
- How easy will it be to lure new foreign performers into the club if Russian teams are not allowed to compete in European competitions?
- If you have to focus on performing in the domestic arena, there is no need to invite foreigners.
"Zenith" can easily cope with currently available performers.
Legionnaires, as a rule, are signed to give results in European competition.
Why pay them astronomical money if they have their own Andrey Mostovoy, who in a couple of seasons reached a new level and made his way into the Russian national team?
Semak also has other high-quality Russians at hand who can help in the RPL.
— Which lines of the team especially need to be strengthened?
- I repeat, depending on the solution of what problems we are talking about.
I think that with the existing roster, the Petersburgers are still able to remain at the top inside the country, and there is no need to strengthen.
You just need the players to continue to show their maximum.
- The goalkeeper's three is represented by experienced, but not very reliable Stanislav Kritsyuk and Mikhail Kerzhakov and young Daniil Odoevsky. Doesn't the team need a strong goalkeeper?
- Krytsyuk is scolded and criticized by many, but I think he has not yet said the last word.
He literally “on the flag” of the summer transfer campaign moved to Zenit and immediately made his way to the base.
And then Stanislav was injured and is still recovering.
He spent quite a bit of time in the team, and therefore should wait.
— Problems "Zenith" is also experiencing in the center of defense. Yaroslav Rakitskiy terminated the contract with the club, and Dejan Lovren has long crossed the 30-year mark and is constantly getting injured. How convincing does Nuraly Alip, rented from Kairat, look convincing in this position?
- In the case of Alip, it is primarily about the depth of the squad.
After all, not only the quality, but also the number of players is important.
The Kazakhstani has not yet played so many matches to draw conclusions from his game.
But again, fans had a lot of questions about Nuraly.
And who is it?
Why is he?
But in the end, the man made his way to the base.
That is, the club worked for the future.
There was no such thing as a “hole” in the line-up, and the panic waiting for the opening of the transfer window began.
Yes, Wilmar Barrios and Douglas dos Santos played in the center of defense during the season, but this is a forced and temporary measure.
- Dziuba's contract ends in the summer, which will not be automatically renewed. In your opinion, is an experienced striker still able to benefit the team, or has his time at Zenit passed and, being on the bench, will he only add to the negative?
“This is a very interesting and important moment.
It all depends on how ready Artyom is to play a new role - to become a kind of assistant for partners both in the locker room and on the field.
Is he ready to stay in the reserves more often?
If yes, then great, but if not, the forward himself will not sign a new agreement.
- But in terms of the game, he deserved an offer from the management?
- Even this season, periodically being in the reserve, he has already scored 13 goals in all competitions and is the team's top scorer.
Plus, it will be useful in those matches when the opponents will close on the defensive, and there will be many such meetings in the RPL.