The metropolitan Dynamo continues to struggle with the misfortunes that have fallen on it. Tomorrow, blue and white in the match against Kazan “Rubin” will have another chance to prove that the problems are over and the club is recovering. Muscovites fans do not place their main hopes on numerous legionnaires, but on Russian midfielder Alexei Smertin . Izvestia correspondent Maria Bardina met with one of the most respected players in the championship, the captain of the national team.
Question : You have a lot of friends in European football clubs . Managed to chat with someone from the participants of the past World Cup?
Answer: Unfortunately, no. I wanted to call Claude Makelele, but then I thought that I could not help him with anything but my sympathy. I guess how frustrated he is with the defeat of the French national team in the final. We met with him and William Gallas not so long ago in London, at a party, and I know how the guys wanted victory.
Q: Dynamo is now facing a difficult situation related to the non-payment of salaries for three months. Have you ever thought about moving to another team?
A: Thoughts arose only about how to pull a team out of the basement of the tournament table! According to Yuri Semin, in any situation you need to remain professionals. You have to respect people who have hopes for you. My experience suggests that you should not rush around now in search of the best deal. In our team, not everything is as bad as it might seem from the outside. I do not want to dissemble, there are problems. But here is an excellent coach, who six years ago gave me the way to Europe, releasing from Lokomotiv to France.
Q : Yuri Semin repeatedly apologized to the fans for the unimportant game of Dynamo. Would you ask them forgiveness?
A: Of course, I apologize to all the fans that we have not yet met their expectations. Frankly, I always pronounce these words with a light heart, if I know what is to blame. You must always admit your guilt. I remember, at the age of six, I stole a hairpin from my mother and put it in the outlet. It was interesting what would happen ?! But something happened that struck me with electric shock, burned my fingers, and the outlet stopped working. Then I deceived my mother: he said that he burned his fingers near the fire, and said nothing about the broken socket. And almost 25 years later I told my wife Larisa about this ridiculous case. She jokingly advised me to confess my deed. And just recently, upon arrival home, in Barnaul, I came to my mother with confession. She, of course, was very surprised at this recognition. And the outlet still does not work!
Q: Is life in Europe very different from Russian reality?
A: The first thing that catches your eye is the education of people. There it is considered absolutely normal, going into the elevator with a stranger, say hello, smile. In Russia, in response to "hello" you risk seeing a stone mine and hear deathly silence. Another difference is, of course, living conditions. For example, because of disconnected water or electricity in London, my head did not hurt.
Q : Is foreign football life just as good?
A: Yes, everything is arranged almost perfectly. A football player does not think about anything other than the game. And the conditions are more democratic. In "Bordeaux", I remember, sometimes on the day of the game we drank a glass of real French wine. There were two large tables in the dining room - for players and management. Wine always stood on the table of the latter. Each footballer could easily come up and pour himself a glass. Unlike Pauletta, who preferred Coke, I used it sometimes.
Q: Which Dynamo player do you communicate with the most?
A: With experienced guys (laughs). With Khokhlov, Parfenov, Ovchinnikov, Semshov. By the way, recently brought his son Vladik to the base. He asked the Boss for gloves, got in the goal, and I hit him a penalty. Almost the world championship turned out. True, he knocked out his finger with the ball. The son told his wife that, supposedly, dad had struck him from the whole blow. And Larisa answered him: “Why, what if your dad struck with all his might, then a finger would certainly have cost you!”
Q : Probably the son misses you very much ...
A: And I miss my family a lot, but I try to compensate for my frequent absence from home. With Vlad, we enjoy skating and rollerblading. He is eight years old, and he is already traveling so famously! I also like to read him bedtime stories. Especially the son about Carlson likes to listen. I can come up with something myself, on the go.
Q : They say you are fond of horse racing?
A: Yes, my friend Mikhail Nasibov (son of the famous jockey Nikolai Nasibov. - Izvestia) knows how I like horses, so he gave me a stallion two years ago and called it Smertin. He has already managed to win four races. I saw two of them personally. Great running! Here, July 22, another race. Misha says that the horse is very similar to its namesake: the same sleek and with the same sinewy legs.
I generally love animals very much. I remember in childhood, my brother and Eugene picked up a dog on the street - it was a black diver. They brought him home. Decided to wash; dirty he was creepy. At that moment, my mother returned from work and saw the following picture: in our little bathtub there is a grimy, shaggy monster in soapy foam, and everything around is in dirty splashes! Since then, nobody has trusted anyone but the hamsters. Yes, and they bred, and then fled to their neighbors.
Maria BYRDINA