Andrey Talalaev returned to the Premier League. In an interview with Sport, the coach answered the question of whether to expect Artem Dzyuba in his Khimki, spoke about the main problem of the RPL and why he does not want to give up his expert chair to an artist and politician.
«Gasperini won't let me in»
— Who does Khimki need to avoid becoming an elevator team?
— We need players who are already adapted to the RPL. “Khimki” does not need a radical change; I am sure that we can acquire a player for each line who will add class to the team. We will not destroy the existing balance in Khimki, nor will we create large gaps in salaries. I am convinced that it is necessary to invite football players who will become system-forming, but they should not be moral monsters.
— Is this consistent? description of Artem Dzyuba, who is being wooed to Khimki?
— I would not like to answer this question. Although I understand the interest in a potential transfer.
— Goalkeeper Anton Mitryushkin announced back in the winter that he was leaving your team. Do you think this approach is correct?
— Together with goalkeeper coach Alexei Botvinyev, we adhered to the concept that it is necessary to have two equal goalkeepers, and Igor Obukhov successfully competed with Mitryushkin for a place in the base. We twice offered Anton a new contract, but he and his agent preferred a different career development option. There is not a single question about Mitryushkin’s behavior and his attitude towards training.
— You didn’t even think about exiling him to Khimki-2, as they did at Zenit with Danil Krugov?
— I won’t draw parallels. It seems to me that it’s simply stupid not to use a great football player when there is such an opportunity.
— Quite unexpectedly, it turned out that goalkeeper vacancies have appeared in many RPL clubs. Does this create difficulties for Khimki to operate in the market?
— We had one goalkeeper since the winter, but, unfortunately, he was bought by a more status club. We brought in two more goalkeepers, one from the First League, one from the RPL, and now we are waiting for their decision. After all, a player who suits Khimki’s football may not always suit representatives of other clubs. If we talk about goalkeepers, then for me there is only one criterion: it is necessary that he does not concede, and if he makes a mistake, then he immediately forgets about it and does not concede in the future. Although many require mandatory play with feet and the ability to launch attacks with long passes.
— The main sensation of the last season was Akron, which, based on the results of the transition matches, won a ticket to the RPL. What is the secret of this team?
— Zaur Tedeev, who accepted Akron in the winter, added combativeness and stability to Evgeny Kaleshin’s baggage. In addition, playing in Zhigulevsk on artificial turf is difficult for any team. I will also highlight the work of Alexander Storozhuk in Tula. When we beat Arsenal in an away match, they wanted to sack him. Right at the press conference he said: “Give the man time! After all, you can see how the coach works.” The club's leaders listened, by the end of the season Arsenal had become a very organized team, it literally needed just a little to return to the RPL.
— You dream of getting an internship with Gianpiero Gasperini at Atalanta. Do you have an explanation why he won’t let you into the base in Bergamo?
— Gasperini doesn’t just let me in, he doesn’t let anyone in at all. He doesn’t even agree to have a one-on-one conversation in an office or restaurant. Many come to Bergamo, study the organization of the training process at Atalanta, but no one has yet managed to get Gasperini to talk. Believe me, I know Italian football well from the inside and I speak about this with full responsibility. Gasperini is an old cunning fox who knows the secrets of the coaching craft.
— What are they?
— His methodology is based on extreme loads in the first days of the weekly training cycle. I had a chance to read an interview with one of the Atalanta players (this is not Alexey Miranchuk), who stated: “On Tuesday, the players don’t want to live. They know that they will die during the 12-kilometer cross-country race.” Although the game usually runs less. At the same time, Gasperini also forces him to run in game mode, working with the ball. In combination with the peculiarities of tactics, the physical readiness of Atalanta's players brings victories. Remember how they dealt with Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final, who had not known defeat this season! Even with the score 3:0, they were not allowed to enter their penalty area.
Gasperini's main secret is that he knows how to motivate football millionaires and make them strive to be the best. And it’s not green youngsters who come to Atalanta! It took Miranchuk, one of our best players, time to get used to the intensity of the game and training work. And he has not yet become a key player for the Bergamascos. The biggest problem of our football is the intensity of tactical and technical actions. In the RPL, players can maintain speed for a short period of time, but in the top leagues they need to do this for all 90 minutes plus injury time.
— Is it really possible to apply Gasperini’s methods even in the First League?
— We strive to get closer to the intensity that the leading European clubs demonstrate. Some people can’t stand the stress of training and then give angry interviews. Like, the coaches didn’t give me a chance. But those who persevere make noticeable progress. Who knew Timur Kasimov and Sergei Varatynov before joining Khimki? One was going to continue his career in the Media League, and the second was the last one to be invited for promotion from Strogino.
The style of Simeone and Bielsa< br>— The great figure skating coach Tamara Moskvina constantly emphasizes: at competitions, the coach’s place is in the buffet. During matches, you always suggest something to the players from the sideline. Do the football players really hear your words?
— With all the colossal respect for Moskvina, I would like to note that individual and team sports have their own specifics. If all the movements of skaters can be practiced to the point of automatism in training, then team interactions require constant intervention from the coach. Let me give Borussia Dortmund as an example. When Edin Terzic first replaced Daniel Farke on the coaching bench, the team's team pressure dropped sharply. But Terzic learned by working on the sideline to get the most out of team pressure and, with not-so-stellar performers by European standards, reached the Champions League final. I understand the style of behavior of Diego Simeone or Marcelo Bielsa. Your humble and humble servant has the same.
— I understand how difficult it is to refuse to work on television, but is it ethical to comment on the coaching moves of colleagues working with teams of a much higher class?< /strong>
— If I don’t do this, then artists and politicians who just want to get involved in football will be invited as experts. Sometimes you have to make critical comments on the performance of teams that have achieved great results. At the same time, I try to explain the reasons for certain actions without getting personal. I am interested in football.