“For the development of football in Russia it is better to stay in Europe.” A look at the Qatar team
Polina Kuimova September 13, 2023, 14:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
And if you need results, you should move to Asia. We spoke with a local journalist.
The training of the Russian team before the match in Qatar did not attract any local journalists: there was only one photographer from the local press. There were already more locals at the game and we spoke briefly with one of the journalists, Mahmoud Fadli.
“It’s nice to see the Russian team in Qatar; everyone is welcome in our country,” he said. – Also, it is definitely a good experience for the Qatari team to play against a team as strong as Russia. This is a useful meeting for us. We prepared the team for the local world championship for five or six years and then it failed there. The people who left the stands at the opening match simply could not accept this situation: it was completely unexpected for everyone. Everyone thought we would advance from the group, but in the end we lost all the games. Now Queiroz has rebuilt the team, bringing back players who were in the World Cup but missed the Gold Cup. This is only the second game for a team with this lineup, so it is a great experience for the players to play. against strong players.
– So you think the Russian team is a strong team? – Yes. Certainly. They played in Europe, they have excellent experience and good results at home. We don’t know all the players, but we know you have good players.
– Maybe you can highlight someone? – Oh, I don’t remember. But I saw them! I follow all European football, so I am aware of the level of the Russian teams. The World Cup in Russia was fantastic for your team.
Karpin and the players were not so enthusiastic after the match:
– Have you come across the fact that Qatar is condemned for choosing to play with Russia, when almost everyone refuses to do so? – I’m only interested in sports, I haven’t heard anything. Maybe someone is hiding their personal opinion, but I haven’t read anything like that. For me it’s just a sport. Only football. We constantly repeat that football must be far from politics. And so it should be. I know people who live here and they respect people of all nationalities.
– In Russia there has been a lot of debate that we should replace UEFA with an Asian confederation. What do you think of this, considering that Qatar plays in Asia? – There are two opinions here. Some people believe that Russia’s move to Asia will mean that the Russian team will consistently qualify for the World Cup because they are a strong team. Because of this, the chances of other Arab teams participating in the tournament will be greatly reduced. It will be like with Australia, which came to Asia and started going to the World Cup, so the opportunities of the other teams that are part of the Asian confederation have worsened. Another opinion is this: Russia is a strong team, the RPL is a good league. With the arrival of Russia, a completely different style of play would arrive in Asia, which would push the rest to develop. And this is very good. My personal opinion is that with the transition of Russia to the Asian confederation there would be an increase in the level of football. I am sure that the Russian team would constantly be at the top of all teams, because it is a very organized team with educated people at the helm, which cannot be said about many Asian teams. In Asia there are Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia and now Qatar, but still not all of them are equal to the Russian team.
– Good. Imagine if Qatar had the opportunity to move to Europe. What do you say to this? – Oh, well, that’s completely different. Qatar played qualifying matches for the European World Cup, but without results. It was a good experience for the players who played matches with top-level teams. But in this case it is illogical to compare. If Qatar moves to Europe, it will not be able to do anything there. In Europe the strongest teams in the world come together and it is very difficult to compete with them. Russia does not have as big a gap with them as Qatar.
– What is better for Russia: staying in Europe or moving to Asia? – It depends on the circumstances, of course. But staying in Europe is better for the development of football; In terms of results, it is better to move to Asia.
Report from Qatar, where they expected a victory, but got a draw:
Even the cardboard Dzyuba condemned the Russian team. What was not shown on television about the match against Qatar?
