This Saturday the long-awaited derby of the two sister clubs took place. A real football festival took place on the field, the main participants of which were CSKA and Dynamo. Despite a confident start to the first half of the game and an impressive somersault performed by Anton Zabolotny after scoring the goal, the army side missed out on victory, conceding twice into their own net.
In an exclusive interview with Soviet Sport, the USSR Honored Master of Sports Vladimir Ponomarev assessed Tyukavin’s chances of going to Saudi Arabia, and also shared his opinion on whether Lionel Messi could save the army from defeat.
Zabolotny gave hope and took it away. Dynamo won a strong-willed victory over CSKA
– How would you rate the CSKA match, the team could not save even a draw?
– There were two completely different halves. It’s a pity that the army team misses out on the victory, although they played very well. During the first half, everything went well, we played fast, reliably and took our players hard. In the second half they had already gotten up, mostly because they conceded some kind of stupid goal into their own net. This is a shame, they already did it in the 46th minute. Of course, in the second half we tried to maintain the initiative, but nothing worked. We wanted to play at least a draw. Many players changed, Chalov represented two halves, it is not clear why. Nothing was created after the break. And Dynamo had some chances on the counterattack. At best, the game was a draw for CSKA, but it turned out that Zabolotny played his hand. He made a goal and raised his hand, well what good is that? It’s a shame, of course, why did he go into defense? He had no business there, they would have managed without him, everything would have been fine. Well, how did it happen, how did it happen. The game was even.
Photo source: Andrey Anosov/Sovsport
– CSKA tried their best, created a lot of chances, but still lost. How did Dynamo manage to neutralize the opponent?
— The army team gave up in the second part, especially in defense. They did not play very tight, they began to receive the ball, there were moments of danger. In defense of freedoms that you cannot afford. He kicked the ball anywhere, it’s a dangerous position. Do the best for the team, remove a corner or eliminate, then everything will be fine. I can’t even say that this game was a match of unused chances for CSKA, because Dynamo had more chances, although the army team had a chance, but they didn’t take it. Dynamo players played tighter, they were not allowed to take the ball, they joined the fight.
– Who can be called the best man of the match?
– Shunin played well, eliminated all dangerous moments. And of the CSKA forwards, I don’t even know who to name. Well, maybe Zabolotny, although he made a throw from 11 meters, scored a goal, created tension, threw all the balls over his head with his head, and absolutely no one adjusted to him, although everyone knew that he was winning like that.
– The game showed that the army team needs reinforcements for a sure victory. Do you think that if Messi played for CSKA in this match, the red and blue could tip the balance of victory in their favour?
No, you don’t need any amplification. All you need to do is play harder on defense. You don’t need to make a fuss. Moses ended up there, he didn’t like something. The coach needs to do psychological work and everything will be fine. As for Messi, it is difficult to say. Maybe he wouldn’t fit himself into the team? Not all great players know how to interact with their teammates. Maybe he doesn’t understand them, or they don’t give him the pass he needs. That is a very difficult question. There is safety in numbers.
– Everyone expected Akinfeev to return to his main position for this game, but this never happened. In your opinion, how would the situation with penalties have developed if Igor had stepped on them, would you have managed to defend the goal?
– Not all it’s rigth. Torop is worth it, a good guy, he played the whole match unequivocally. There are no complaints about him. He could have avoided a penalty goal if Zabolotny hadn’t been defensive, none of his business. Yes, this is a mistake, he wanted the best, but it turned out as usual.
Photo source: Andrey Anosov/Sovsport
– How would you rate Faizullaev’s debut? Can he become a new star?
No, it can’t be a star. It is necessary that he have a crazy capacity for work, so that he runs like a shuttle, from one place to another. So maybe something will work. It has very little growth, it is not prepared for big events. I don’t think I would have made Maradona.
– How do you explain such a decent performance by Zabolotny, perhaps one of the most rigid players in the league?
“He doesn’t have that much scoring, but he scores. Zabolotny is dangerous on both sides of the field. He fought alone today, everyone blamed him, and I say you need a player like that. He’s brash, brainless, he can turn his head in a fight, he’s not afraid of anything, I like him, well done. We need those players.
– Anton today became not only the controversial hero of the match (he scored the only goal, gave Dynamo a penalty), but also received the captain’s armband. Is Zabolotny suitable for such a responsible role?
– Yes, it’s normal, I’m very happy for him. I did not expect such agility and fighting from Zabolotny, and this is the most important thing.
Photo source: Andrey Anosov/Sovsport
– Judging by today’s game, which of the players would the Saudis want to buy, for example, Al-Nasr, where stars like Ronaldo play?
– Tukavin is very good. He can create something like that, creative. And so, I think, there would be no one else, there is nothing interesting.
– The RPL season has just started, the fifth round is underway. What are the chances that both sister clubs can take pride of place on the podium at the same time?
– Definitely, both Dynamo and CSKA will be ahead. Also, of course, Zenit and Spartak. These teams will be on top. “Krasnodar”, “Ural” and others are a temporary phenomenon, now they are running out, and then the skill of the team will play a role. Everything will fall into place.
