- How do you know Russian so well?
- I studied it after the war, when I was in captivity. I spent five years in the Soviet Union. Nobody taught me, I myself tried to learn new words.
- What else did you have to do at that time, probably things far from football?
- Yes, of course, it was not up to football. At first I worked on the construction of a power plant in Rybinsk, and then in Tula and Orel laid roads.
- The Russian language subsequently came in handy?
- Not that word. Knowing the language gave me a unique opportunity to communicate with your people without a translator, to correctly understand the meaning of words and read Russian publications in the original. I was the only one with whom Russians spoke easily. And my western colleagues turned to me as the main specialist in Soviet football in the West.
- Which of ours had the closest relations?
- We were friends with Lobanovsky! I often visited his house; he always visited me when he came to Germany. True, everything was not always smooth; there were serious conflicts a couple of times. However, this could not continue for a long time, and subsequently the world was restored. I now think that I have more true friends in the East than in the West.
- Now the Russian team has a new coach.
- Russia needs Hiddink. What he did four years ago in Korea is a miracle. He knows how to set up, charge players with his energy. Australia also looked very good here in the match with Brazil.
- Do you pay special attention to the Ukrainian team? I remember last December at the draw of the World Championships in Leipzig you said that you insisted on moving the Ukrainian team from Kaiserslautern to the Berlin area.
- Indeed, I strongly recommended that they move to Berlin. Because when it became clear that they should play in Leipzig, Hamburg and Berlin, then the greatest stupidity is to choose the Kaiserslautern base.
Lobanovsky was very fond of Stuttgart. He brought all his teams there. When he trained in the Emirates, in the summer during the break in the Bundesliga he was always here, because at this time it is impossible to play in the Emirates due to the crazy heat. My wife, learning that Lobanovsky’s team was going to Germany, laughed that now you can not look for me at home. I spent a lot of time with the Russians.
- If we talk about this championship, was it worth the sensation from the debutants?
- Ecuador did a miracle. A similar situation was with Tunisia in 1978. Germany achieved a sensational result - 0: 0. The Germans could do nothing with the North Africans, and the Tunisians themselves, apparently, were hypnotized by the result - they are tied with the world champions! They would go ahead and take the victory, and they quit playing 10 minutes before the end and were content with little. Tunisia has now become a more European team than in 1978.
- Remember the historic defeat of the German national team in 1974, which can no longer be won back?
- Of course. The match, in which the GDR team won 1-0, went down in history, and it’s impossible to recoup. Someone wrote that there was a negotiated game - complete nonsense. There could be no “agreement” with the GDR. Before the draw of the final stage, I invited two colleagues from East Germany to a restaurant and I told them: “If only we wouldn’t get to play in one group”. When it fell to the draw to play the GDR and the FRG - it was a real shock. Politics instantly changed relations with colleagues from the East. They generally were jealous of me, because I was in closer contact with the football world of the Soviet Union.
- And what are the prospects for today's German team?
- Now in Germany, and in other countries, the younger generation is not interested in football. Everyone has computers, a TV, they don’t go out into the yard to play football. The level of the Bundesliga is now lower than before. Look - in 1990, when the Germans became world champions in Italy, the national team consisted of 9 legionnaires who played for Serie A clubs. Now we have only one goalkeeper, Lehmann, playing abroad, and Ballack has signed a contract with Chelsea. We have big problems in defense. It is always disturbing when the ball appears in the central zone. Only the left flank, where such a small one from Bayern plays - Lam, is reliable. I once told Tolya Demyanenko that he is the best left back in the world, because now there are no such players who play on the left flank, being right-handed. Now Lam has appeared. He himself was a pupil of Bavaria, but he was not immediately introduced to it. He spent two seasons in Stuttgart, then he was returned. Then he was badly injured and just now he got in shape. On the left flank they and Schweinsteiger have a good bunch. This flank in the German national team is the strongest.
- How is the country of Germany ready for the championship?
- Why, there were no problems with the choice of stadiums in Germany. It was possible to prepare at least 20 arenas.
- They even say that it would be possible to hold a separate world championship in the Ruhr. The stadiums in Dusseldorf, Bochum, Mönchengladbach, Duisburg and Leverkusen were not involved. There is also a stadium in Bremen. What other European country has so many “battle-worthy” arenas?
- Probably, perhaps only in England. True, we have some problems with stadiums. For example, the condition of the lawn leaves much to be desired. (At the match Ukraine - Saudi Arabia, the field of the stadium in Hamburg did not really look like the field on which the matches of the world championships should be played - I.S.) Before the championship, new lawns were laid. True, it is not clear why FIFA, and not the organizing committee, was engaged in this. For some reason, we chose a Swiss company on our own, although there could be other people.
- In Russia, the problem of fields is also relevant.
- I was in Luzhniki a few years ago. Then in the spring, due to the new roof, one side of the field is already free of snow, and on the other it has not yet begun to melt.
- Well, problems with the roof not only in Russia?
- Yes, in Frankfurt periodically there are all kinds of problems with the roof there. Remember how at the World Cup 74 we played a match with Poland? When there was so much rainfall that they said, a little more - and you could play water polo, but you could no longer play football.
- Which country in Asia, in addition to China, is able to hold a high-level world championship? Maybe rotation is too populist Blatter’s decision?
- There was a rotation before, the championships were alternately held in Europe and in America. Three of them were in the North (Mexico-70 and 86 and USA-94. - approx. I.S.). And in South America, the world championship has not been held since 1978. And it is not clear whether he will be there in 2014. There are no bidders yet. The next world championship will be held in South Africa. Already, FIFA fears for its organization.
- Do you think the principle of rotation of the world championships justifies itself?
- I think that it is impossible not to hold the World Cup in Europe for so long. The next - according to the existing principle of rotation - in Europe will only be in 2022.
- Tell me, for example, in which Asian country, besides China, is it possible to host a world championship?
- Not only in Asia, but also in other confederations, it is very difficult to find a country that can organize a world championship well.
- In Europe, the situation seems to be different, there are three candidates left for holding the future European Championship in 2012: Italy and two pairs, Hungary - Croatia and Poland - Ukraine. Who do you think is the favorite in this top three?
- To be honest, I believe that when a critical moment comes and UEFA realizes that nothing is ready, they will turn to Germany or England to host the tournament. Stadiums have already been built in Hungary, but not yet in Croatia. There are other problems in Italy now. Ukraine and Poland have not yet built stadiums, and there are problems besides this. Underdeveloped infrastructure. How will they take fans? Hotels, transport, service - this is not.
- From your stories that you know about our football and soccer players, can you tell a couple of the funniest?
- I remember the story of Tofig Bahramov, who in Germany is called Mr. Drei Zwei or “Wembley goal maker” - the decisive ball in the final-66, which, after hitting the crossbar, bounced into the field, but was counted. (They have been talking about this goal for forty years. - Approx. I.S.) Once I came to his anniversary, and at the banquet he says to me: “I didn’t say that there was a goal. I just said that I didn’t see him "True, his book says what he saw, and Dinst himself was closer to the place of events than Tofig. And the fourth goal was scored in violation of the rules. English fans ran out onto the field and the game could not be continued.
“ Anything else?”
- I remember, once the Spartak team arrived to play with the Kaiserslautern. I was with them. Unexpectedly in the evening one player turns to me asking for help. In my opinion, his name was Sasha, such an outgoing defender. And he says that he urgently needs to buy a Mercedes. And this is looking at night! I told him that this is impossible, and the prices there are higher, if you buy, then in another place. And he urgently asks me: "Let's go to another place!" And this is at 11 o’clock in the evening. So he wanted to buy a car.
- I think that now players in Germany do not drive cars. In Russia, this good is enough. Have you ever thought of writing a book about yourself?
“No, it's no reason.” Moreover, many of my stories cannot be published at all.
Igor STUROV