Karpin's confession, Safonov's injury and Sychev's tale: how the Russian team is preparing for a friendly match with Tajikistan

“If someone does not give all the best, he will not be in the team”

Despite the fact that the Russian team is temporarily deprived of the opportunity to play in major tournaments, it continues to actively hold meetings.

Following the confrontation with Kyrgyzstan at the end of September, in November, two matches with the national teams of the Central Asian countries are waiting for her at once.

The first in line was Tajikistan, where Valery Karpin's wards arrived on Tuesday.

And the very next day they held a pre-match training at the Pamir Stadium, where the confrontation will take place.

Four people did not take part in the lesson at once.

Matvey Safonov and Anton Zinkovsky did not come to Dushanbe due to various health problems.

Georgiy Jikia and Vyacheslav Karavaev did not enter the field either.

Just with a discussion of their condition, the press conference of head coach Valery Karpin began.

According to him, we are not talking about serious injuries, but they decided to give both of them a break.

At the same time, he did not rule out the option in which the Spartak defender will play with Uzbekistan on November 20.

He also promised that he would put up a completely different line-up for the second meeting.

Further, the specialist was asked about the state of the field on which his wards were engaged.

He diplomatically replied that the lawn cannot be called both excellent and frankly bad, but he remained delighted with the city and local people, remembering how he had been here back in Soviet times with Spartak.

“What we saw on the way from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel window suggests that everything has changed.

What I saw now is Dubai, ”said Karpin.

Turning directly to the upcoming meeting, he admitted that he would not conduct a special analysis of the opponent for the wards and would focus on his own actions.

At the same time, he warned them not to underestimate their opponent.

“As the players say, it is an honor for them to play for the Russian national team.

If someone does not give all the best, he will not be in the national team, at least with me, ”the specialist promised.

Those who definitely shouldn’t have problems with motivation, it’s the debutants, since there were seven of them in the final list at once.

Perhaps the largest advances are given to one of the most talented young football players in the country, Sergei Pinyaev, who recently turned 18 years old.

Karpin urged the public not to put labels on him and not to draw conclusions ahead of time.

“Last year, Arsen Zakharyan was the most talented, now Pinyaev.

Let's see how it develops and progresses.

We had a million people who at 17-18 were predicted to have a great future, and at 22 they were no longer in football.

When he spends at least five seasons at the highest level, then we will give estimates.

There is talent, but we need to see how he implements it, ”concluded the coach.

Karpin even took another newcomer, Vladimir Sychevoi, with him to a press conference, but stressed that, contrary to the old tradition, this does not guarantee him not only receiving the captain's armband, but also a place at the base.

And the striker himself said that for him the very fact of being called up to the national team is like a fairy tale.

“If I had been told this three years ago, I would not have believed it.

I have already thanked Valery Georgievich.

He replied that it was my job for which I was called.

Sitting here is a fairy tale, ”admitted the striker.

At the same time, he assured that the adaptation is easy, because he got into a friendly team, and the partners themselves help him get used to it.

In addition, the footballer, like the coach, was impressed by the city, although he called the state of the lawn at the stadium where the game will take place not the best.

“Dushanbe is very beautiful.

I was pleased with the people - polite and friendly, positive.

The field, to be honest, is not of very good quality, but we have no choice.

Tomorrow there will be two teams on it, and all the players are on an equal footing, ”added Sychevoi.

He also gave a brief description of the Tajik team, calling it uncompromising.

According to him, the hosts run a lot, actively press and act with maximum dedication in every episode.

“Russia is a top team even by European standards”

In the Russian national team, the most attention in recent days has been riveted to Karpin, who, even before the press conference, managed to talk several times with media representatives and make many interesting statements.

So, in one of the interviews after the start of the training camp, the specialist admitted that he would have agreed to move to the Asian zone, since it is not clear how long it will take to return to tournaments in Europe.

He also remembered how, as a footballer, he did not lead the most sporty lifestyle.

“I ate sugar, smoked, drank beer, but more whiskey.

And no good.

I'm not proud of it.

It’s bad that there wasn’t a person next to me who would explain how to eat right, how to prepare for training.

They reached everything with their own minds, ”the RB-Sport coach quotes.

On the topic of proper nutrition in the national team, they even managed to pin Sychevy.

The Orenburg striker once admitted that he does not like being recognized as the best player of the match, because in this case he does not have time for a team pizza snack.

Khimki was the first to joke about this topic, bringing him an Italian dish to the locker room before the face-to-face meeting.

In Novogorsk, he was also greeted with a characteristic box.

However, when the striker opened it, there were three green apples inside with the inscription "Tomorrow weigh-in at 8:30".

The players began to gather at the base of the national team on Sunday evening, and the first training session was held on Monday.

And the very next day, just before leaving for Dushanbe, she suffered losses.

It became known that Safonov, who received minor damage, would not take part in the next matches.

In turn, Zinkovsky caught a cold and stayed in Russia, but still retains the opportunity to enter the field. 

“The coaching and medical staff decided not to risk the health of the player.

The goalkeeper went to Krasnodar for further recovery.

Zinkovsky will remain in Moscow for the time being under the supervision of a Spartak doctor.

The decision on his participation in the matches will be made later and will depend on the state of health, ”explained the team’s senior doctor Vladimir Khaitin.

But the forced departure of Safonov utterly aggravated the struggle for the title of number one, because it is extremely difficult to determine the strongest between the experienced Anton Shunin and Sergey Pesyakov and Alexander Selikhov, who is in his prime.

And Karpin's goalkeeping assistant Vitaly Kafanov only added to the intrigue, saying that there is no such thing in the national team at the moment.

On Tuesday, she went to Dushanbe in a truncated composition.

The flight itself went smoothly, and the players whiled away the time as best they could.

For example, Mikhail Kerzhakov and Anton Shunin played cards with Daniil Utkin and Nikolai Komlichenko.

Karpin enthusiastically watched the game, periodically giving advice to wards from Rostov.

And upon arrival in Dushanbe, the delegation was given a rather warm welcome.

For each footballer, the host country prepared special gifts - skullcaps with the inscription "Tajikistan" and scarves.

And for the local team, the arrival of a strong opponent was a real event.

So, head coach Peter Segrt admitted that his players are waiting for the match of life.

In his opinion, Tajikistan has not played with opponents of this level before.

“Russia is a top team even by European standards.

Yes, this is a friendly game between two teams, between which there is a very long distance.

But each of our players will try to show the best he can on the field.

I am sure that the stadium will be packed to capacity, and the guys will play for every fan sitting on the podium, ”the Match TV specialist quotes.

And midfielder Alisher Jalilov expressed confidence that if the domestic national team moves to the Asian zone, it will become one of the strongest there and is guaranteed to be among the favorites of the Continental Cup.