Without Kevordo Text: Pavel Katsyn. Source: Redyarsk.ru – Sport of Krasnoyarsk. Photo: Ruslan Rybakov. April 28, 2022 | Reads: 1935 Print version Magic football Yenisei

Without Kevordo

Text: Pavel Katsyn.
Source: Redyarsk.ru – Sport of Krasnoyarsk.
Photo: Ruslan Rybakov.
April 28, 2022 | Reads: 1935
print version

Magic football Yenisei in the spring put the entire FNL on the ears. For a couple of months, Krasnoyarsk residents from a strong middle peasant without obvious prospects turned into the most spectacular team of the League, won eight victories in nine meetings and broke into the junction zone. In parallel, the Yenisei issued two masterpieces in the Russian Cup, having outpassed Lokomotiv and Rubin behind the obvious advantage.

Alexander Zotov has always been among the leaders of the Krasnoyarsk, and with the advent of Vadim Garanin, he completely blossomed the senior coach. Now Zotov is one of the best in all of the FNL, if not the best at all. Alexander has been playing for the Yenisei since 2018, but you definitely won’t call him an interview lover. Fortunately, the correspondent of the network publication Gornovosti.ru Pavel Katsyn still managed to talk with Alexander, discuss the progress of the Yenisei and much more.

The most difficult thing is to play just

– I admit that I have never seen such an “Yenisei”, as it is now. Each of your match gives true pleasure. And how is it felt from the inside, your impressions of your football?

– I feel excellent. We made a good job of the November segment in the first part of the season, but with the advent of the new coaching staff, almost everything changed. And now everyone in the Yenisei feels more than comfortable.

– Can you remember in what other teams a similar style confessed for your career?

– Dmitry Alenichev instilled in combination football in Arsenal and Yenisei. Then there was no such high line of defense, but in each match they tried to dominate the opponent. They defended highly in Spartak under Valeria Karpina, he said that if we miss a goal due to such a location, it would be his problem, and not ours. But, perhaps, the Yenisei is now different from all past teams. We really get high from what we are doing. It went from the training camp. In matches, we show exactly what we work out in training.

– If in the first half of the season I can name the best match of the Yenisei – home with Khabarovsk, now I am really difficult, I like almost everything. What is the best in the spring segment for you?

– I agree in the fall. With Khabarovsk, he was especially fundamental for us. And in the spring – a cup with a “locomotive”. We realized that everything works. We respect all rivals, but do not adapt to them, play from our own. Such football did not take from the air. We went out and show what we trained. Such football is very energy -consuming, and, again, one cannot but pay tribute to the coaching staff, we are physically very well ready. Plus analytics.Analysis of the opponent by Vadim Vyacheslavovich at the highest level. We thoroughly analyze opponents. We go out and know what to expect from whom and due to what we can beat them.

– Yenisey doesn't show anything revolutionary, but they play differently than everyone else in the FNL, and it looks fascinating. Change of positions, walls, runs, playing for the third – after all, all this was not invented yesterday, but how I personally missed such football from the domestic club.

– No wonder they say that the most difficult thing in football is to play simply. We are now united by one idea. And this is not a specific place in the table, but the game itself. We think in unison on the field. It used to be like. Everyone roughly understood what needed to be done, but acted as he himself understood. And now we are thinking in the same direction. For example, Sasha Lomakin is only going to do something, and I already know where he will move. And so it is in almost everything.

– You say that in games you show what you train. But your two self-guided riding passes with Fakel and in the last game with Rotor, in my opinion, cannot be trained. These are examples of insight and mastery.

– That's what we train. These are subtleties. With Rotor, the coaching staff specifically explained to us in what situations a numerical advantage is created in the Volgograd penalty area. And when I moved to the center, I already knew that Nikita Razdorskikh would be where I would send the ball. All that was left was to complete the transfer. It turned out really well. Nikita – a handsome man, of course, adjusted himself, translated, and Anzor Sanaya famously threw off later. Such a multipath came out.

– With the Torch you showed with your hands where to run to your partner, and without looking you hung everything in the head of the same Razdorskys, as it turned out in billiards. Moreover, the rivals were distracted precisely by your gesture, and no one had time for Nikita. Everything looked impressive.

– I knew that our player would be there. But there is no need to belittle Nikita's merit in that episode. I didn’t hit him in the head with the ball, but he opened up great, jumped out and scored.

– How would you rate Andrey Okladnikov from the height of your experience, given that he is the first year in professional football, and before that he played for the championship of the region and the city?

Andrey is a good guy. He is progressing and getting better. I can't remember if I've ever seen a non-professional kid make such a jump from amateur football to FNL Player of the Month in such a short amount of time.

Does he have a great future?

Maybe big, maybe not at all. I have seen so many supertalents who have achieved nothing and ended up playing football at a young age. It depends only on Andrey. I think that with his perseverance, mentality and upbringing, everything will be fine, he will not turn off the right path.

– With Akron, you earned a second yellow card for simulation. What was it?

– The match was over. Draw.Wanted to get a penalty. I understand how it looked from the outside. I wanted to win so much that I resorted to such a trick, everything subconsciously came out. I did not intend to deceive or substitute anyone, it happened. I kick myself for this. It's good that the guys got together and pulled out a victory in the minority.

Credo Garanin

– And yet it is very difficult to realize that the team has gone through a radical transformation so quickly. When, before the start of the season, the same Anton Evmenov said that Yenisei would play combinational football, to be honest, I couldn’t believe it.

Why didn't you believe it?

– Firstly, I have heard this countless times, and secondly, because most often I have seen in the performance of this line-up in recent years a take-away towards Sanay in the hope that Anzor will either catch on or throw off his partner. I thought that combinational football needed a different selection of players, but it turned out I was wrong. Only Orenburg caught you, but, again, they rather used your mistakes than created something on their own.

— Anzor is generally unique. I have never played with a striker who has won so many duels. As for combinational football, the team acts as the coach requires. We adopted the style that Garanin suggested to us. And with Orenburg, we understood that there would be such counterattacks. Midfielders should not allow this, but you will not cover all the passes. In any case, we played no worse than the championship leader, which made the defeat even more offensive.

– You say that already in the winter there was an understanding that you could play different football. But then it was hardly expected that everything would go so well.

– I live at the training camp with Lomakin. We discussed what was happening and were optimistic. Another thing is that you can't guess in football. One second can change everything. Here with the same Locomotive in the first minutes, a lot did not work out, they could launch three things. A little later, we got used to it, realized that a lot was working out, and everything went as it should.

– I always called you one of the smartest players in the FNL. But I didn’t understand why you play so deeply and spend most of your time and energy on destruction. The ball basically flew over you. And only now, in the spring, everyone finally saw the real Zotov.

Why did the ball fly?

– Because they often beat Sanay and waited for what he would come up with.

– Why did they do that?

– I suspect that this was the coaching setup for the priority exit from defense.

– That's right, and now we have a head coach who gave the ball and said: Play football, and most importantly, explained how to do it. Garanin has his own attacking credo, we all liked it.

– At the same time, he does not have a license, however, looking at the game of Enisey and everyone else, I had a strong conviction that your head coach Garanin should not study, but teach.

– The license will not go anywhere from Vadim Vyacheslavovich, and we, I hope, will help him with the game and results.As for me, in Yenisei I was never a pure destroyer, but I played lower than now. Basically, I felt fine. In the RPL with Dima Torbinsky, we generally sat down deep precisely in order to get out of defense and start attacks. It's much better now than it was a couple of years ago. I repeat, we think and act in the same direction, and we all like it very much. I hope the fans do too.

– When you watch the matches of other Russian teams both in the RPL and in the FNL, the thought often arises that both clubs go out with the main task – not to miss. I had exactly the same impression from Yenisei, but this spring, as seen from the outside, you are primarily trying to outplay the opponent and score.

– Personally, I never went to a match with the idea not to miss. Sometimes it was even the other way around, the coaches asked us to play harder in the first 10 minutes, and we conceded in the second. Maybe they were overly cautious. Now, all of us at Yenisey, both experienced players and young people, just go out to play football, we want to have fun and give it to the audience.

– You worked with a huge number of outstanding personalities for Russian football: Stanislav Cherchesov, Karpin, Alenichev, the legend of the Yaroslavl Shinnik Alexander Pobegalov, even with Unai Emery in Spartak. All of the above have vast experience, either playing or coaching. And here comes a little-known coach from the second league. How did the team meet him, wary?

– I would not want to compare Vadim Vyacheslavovich with anyone. Garanin is Garanin. I am very glad that our paths crossed. He opened up a lot of new things for me in football. Even at first there was no skepticism. Rather, curiosity, getting acquainted, looked closely at each other. In fact, he impressed already at the first theoretical lesson, showed a presentation of how he sees football, how he wants us to play, and how we will achieve this. Never seen anything like this in FNL before. Saying what to do is one thing, explaining it thoroughly so that everyone understands is quite another. Not a single nuance goes unnoticed. This attitude is captivating. It is extremely interesting to work with Garanin.

Anticipation of Spartacus

– How did a boy from a deep province get into the Spartak school?

All thanks to my parents. In fact, my father was my first coach. He himself was engaged in wrestling, but he always loved football and supported Spartak. And my brother instilled a love for this sport from an early age.

– Already on Saturday you are playing with KAMAZ, but, probably, all your thoughts are about the semi-final of the Russian Cup with Muscovites?

– And here it is not. The most important and most difficult match is always next. We will think about Spartak when we start preparing for the game with him. It will be hard with KAMAZ. There can be no underestimation. For us, every match in the FNL is like the semi-finals of the Russian Cup. Now they have already begun to look at the table, not like in early spring. However, I do not think that any extra pressure will arise.So many said that the victorious series is pressing. I will not say for everyone, but for me personally there was nothing like that. Yes, and the guys, I think, too. Now, going out for every match, you feel some drive inside. It is difficult to explain, but I really want to play football, I always wanted to, but now even more.

“Perhaps I understand what you are talking about.” I cannot be called the Yenisei fan, but this drive is felt at a distance. I admit that I'm looking forward to your matches. It’s hard to imagine how your fans are now happy.

– It's great. We are playing for them. I would like to have support at every match, as with Rubin. Imagine what would happen in Krasnoyarsk, we play the cup semifinals at home.

– I am sure that if you play your football, then defeat the Spartaks and go to the final.

-Apparently we really show something like that, even if the skeptics have confidence in the victory of the Yenisei over Spartak. Muscovites have a very strong composition, this is a club with a great history, and also plays at home. But I have no doubt that the coaching staff will explain to us how to play with Muscovites.

– What does it mean to you to play against your own club in one of the main matches of life?

– It is very cool. I will return to the opening of the arena. The whole family will be in the stands. My son is engaged in the Spartak school, but he said that in this match he would root for the Yenisei. Like all other relatives and friends.

-Do you communicate with someone from the current Spartak?

– With Tyoma Rebrov. He is a wonderful person. I can’t say that friends, but always glad to see each other, correspond. True, our match has not yet been discussed. Rebrov and Spartak are not up to it now.

– Indeed, now Muscovites have big problems in the RPL. Are you still worried about them?

– What is there to hide. In the Spartak, it was in the club system that spent 20 years, from 1996 to 2016. How can I not worry about him? But now – in the head and in the heart only Yenisei. I do everything that I am capable of, for my team. Then, as I finish, I will calmly root for Spartak. When I found out that in the semifinals they fell on him, some excitement came, anticipation from the match. A beautiful story is obtained. It remains only to win, and we will strive for this.

– You left Spartak to Dynamo. It has now been forgotten that for many generations of Spartaks there was no more important opponent. But in your childhood, everything was different?

– Dynamo has always been for Spartak the main opponent. Although in recent years, of course, it has been a little gone. Spartak remains a fundamental opponent for anyone in Russia. People's team. I do not believe in the ratings in which the most popular club in the country is called Zenit. If only in St. Petersburg people are interviewed. In childhood, putting on a red-white shape, they felt invincible. And now I hear a son with the boys from the team of rivals discussing. Say, those good, these.We did not have this at all, everyone lived that we are “Spartak”, which means that we simply have no right to lose.

Difficult choice

– The Russian Cup or the exit to the RPL? You can choose only one thing.

– Oh. If you just choose, then the exit to the RPL. The ideal option is along with the Cup of Russia. But still the Higher League is priority. I will never forget how in Krasnoyarsk they went to the RPL. You go along the bridge for the match, and crowds go along it.

– If the Yenisei with such football now played in the elite, how would he look there?

– I think, in matches with Lokomotiv and Rubin, we showed and proved everything.

– The three best football players with whom you played in the same team.

– I will not name three. Better five. Brazilian Alex, with whom he played in Spartak is a cosmos, an incredible master. Torbinsky notes. A man could play in any position and stood out everywhere. Egor Titov is also. Outstanding player. I can’t help but name partners and friends in the “Yenisei” – Yegor Ivanova and Sanya Lomakin.

– You played in the RPL when the level of the championship was several times higher than now. How do you remember?

– The championship was cool. You can list high -class players for a long time. Hulk, Lassana Diarra, Mathieu Valbuena and others. And the FNL level was higher. Now there are more running around, thoughts have become many times less. How did the Higher League always differ from the first, do they run about the same everywhere? It is the speed of thought. When you go to the RPL with the ball to a strange half of the field, you always have a timekeeping. In the FNL, the time for decision -making is slightly more.

– Do you have football dreams left?

– Certainly. They are possibly others than at the age of 18. Then there was a desperate dream – to get into the national team. But I'm only 31 years old now. I feel great, everything ahead. And the way “Yenisei” plays now, shows that nothing is impossible.

– For the Yenisei you played more matches than for other clubs in your career. How do you describe the time in Krasnoyarsk?

– As one of the best. Together with the game for Spartak and a good period in Dynamo.

– At the end of May, the contract with the Yenisei ends. What's next?

– For now, I can not say it. We are talking, trying to find a solution that will suit both the club and me. Much depends on whether we will go to the RPL or not. But this is not the main factor. I had a whole heart to the Yenisei, and given what we have a team now, what football we play, of course, I want it to not end. However, for me, as for any normal person, the family is in the first place. And she is in Moscow. The son is nine years old, my daughter is four years old. I miss them madly. My wife is very difficult there alone, at the first opportunity I try to break out of Moscow, but the distance is huge. In Krasnoyarsk I do not translate them for one simple reason. For me personally, this would be ideal, but I think about children. The son is engaged in the Spartak school, the daughter goes to gymnastics. There are friends, there is a house, as I take them and break them here. The wife is just smart, very grateful to her, she understands everything that I have a job, and my beloved.Although football is difficult to call work – this is a huge part of life, bringing joy.

Dossier

Alexander Zotov

Date and place of birth: Born on August 27, 1990 in Askiz (then – Krasnoyarsk Territory, now – the Republic of Khakassia).

Career: I got to the school of Moscow Spartak at six. In the Muscovites system was until 2016, periodically leased to other clubs. He played for Spartak, Pearls (Sochi), Tom, Spartak-2, Shinnik (Yaroslavl), Arsenal (Tula), Dynamo (Moscow). In the “Yenisei” since 2018. He raveled eight matches for the youth team of Russia.

Achievements: Silver medalist of the Russian Championship as part of Spartak. The FNL with Dynamo and Silver won the gold medals of the FNL – with Tomu. The Yenisei spent 114 matches, scored nine heads and gave 18 assists.