– I think it would be strange to assume that Zenit could have problems. It is not clear how the opponent can do something. A few days ago I watched the Nizhny Novgorod match against our Zvezda at the FONBET Cup in Russia and I can say that they did not show anything. We win by making mistakes. Yes, they had an advantage, since the club from the strongest class was still playing against the representative of the second league. I think that, unlike the Cup, Zenit will be able to put together the optimal lineup.
The second moment: we missed the game. I think that in my own field and with my own spectators, the rival has no chance. Yeah, they can play defense, shut down and kind of push back. I am sure that Zenit will be the champion. And you can’t go wrong in this game. Our team is very aware of the need to be very calm and attentive. As it was at the meeting in the old Simbirsk (at the moment – Ulyanovsk. – Approx. ed.)
– Apparently, did you like the opening match of the season?
– I think there were difficult conditions, freezing weather, a well-prepared course. “Zenith” had a slight advantage. I cannot say that we won with little bloodshed. I had to work hard, of course. The opponent’s team is ready for combat, tried to do everything possible to create trouble for the opponent. At the same time, I think we had a good control game before the start of the championship and it is very good that there were no injuries.
– How is the current Pari NN different from the team that played before the break?
– I would compare it with the team that Alexander Kerzhakov created last season. I liked the game of his pupils better. Nizhny Novgorod played counter-attacking, the team was functionally well prepared, there was a fight, good set pieces. Kerzhakov himself was at one time a strong-willed and good football player. Galaktionov remains a tactically inclined coach. He works a lot on tactics, he works with young people. It was noticed that the new mentor began to rebuild, the team focuses on ball control and makes positional attacks. And in my opinion, the team did not show what Kerzhakov was under. The level of play at Galaktionov and now at the current mentor made it possible to set up the game with an emphasis on what the head coach wants. The ability to control the ball, play smarter.
Kerzhakov did the right thing: he started from the level of the players available to him and built the game in this way. Galaktionov did not achieve this, and the team was in a fever. There were good individual games, but basically the team is not far from the relegation zone and has not secured itself yet. The restructuring that Galaktionov had planned did not happen.
