On Sunday evening, after signing the press, one of the unexpected leaders of the Russian championship “Spartak” from Nalchik played the match of the 14th round of the Premier League with Samara “Wings of the Soviets”, a victory in which could again return the team from Kabardino-Balkaria to the first place in the standings. Who would have thought that a match with such a poster would pretend to be central in the tour? And what kind of strange leader is this, with a budget approximately equal to the cost of one Daniel Carvalho from CSKA? Defender Denis Evsikov, who once played for the Russian national team and the same CSKA, tried to help Izvestia correspondent Chermen Dzgoev figure out what was happening.
Question: It probably all seemed to everyone that Spartak from Nalchik has a very modest budget. And how is it really?
Answer: We have written in the contracts: it is impossible to divulge trade secrets.
Q: I do not ask you to voice the amount of your salary or bonus. It’s just that you, as a person who once played at CSKA, can you compare and say: Is Nalchik a poor, rich or average club by Russian standards?
A: Well, of course, one cannot compare with CSKA. In principle, here most of the players have remained since last season, that is, those guys who played in the first division. And the budget, as I understand it, has remained the same. But the president at a meeting with the team promised that the budget would be increased.
Q: President of Kabardino-Balkaria - do you mean?
about: Yes. He looked at the team, he liked the way the guys play, give all the best. After the game with Amkar, he came into the locker room and congratulated us on his victory. It is evident that a person’s eyes burn when he starts talking about football.
Q: Your budget is still at the level of the first division, and the team is one of the leaders in the Premier League. How is this possible?
A: Well, we ourselves are a little surprised, because the task before the start of the season was to stay in the Premier League, and even the most optimistic forecasts did not reach today's reality. It seems to me that there are several reasons that have successfully overlapped. The coach, of course, organized everything correctly, the players were assembled, although from the first mainly division, but who knew a lot about football. Most have been leaders in their teams before. Luck accompanies us. And support in Nalchik is very powerful. Full stadium always.
Q: But is there such a mood in Nalchik: here, they say, the republic is not rich enough, and then they spend money on the Premier League club?
A: No, I have never encountered one. Before the start of the season, many came to Nalchik for the first time. I am including. Well, they sat there - they were discussing: what kind of city they would be ... And local guys say: you just play, try, and they will carry you here. So in the end it turns out. Everyone in the city literally lives on the success of the team.
Q: How do you like life in Nalchik? After all, after Moscow you already managed to play in Terek, which is based in Kislovodsk ... Are you accustomed to the province?
A: Yes, Nalchik is a very quiet and calm city, I like it.
Q: That the city was calm, did you have confidence at once? No doubts tormented on this score: to go - not to go? ..
A: Do you mean the events that took place here last year? It seems to me that this is generally not worth paying attention to. In Moscow, the houses did not explode? Or the subway in London? This can happen anywhere, unfortunately. From the very beginning I was calm about the fact that Nalchik was in the Caucasus.
Q: You are a family man. Wife did not mind either? Or did you not consult?
A: I didn’t consult ... You know, it happens that a person close to you says: no, you don’t need to go there. Nobody told me that. We sat, weighed all the proposals and came to the conclusion that we needed to go to Nalchik.
Q: And the wife went with you?
A: No, she is in Moscow. According to the calendar, it so happened that in the first half of the championship we play either in Nalchik or in Moscow. So quite often see each other. Moreover, our child is small, in this sense it was also convenient so that they did not move. But in the near future I will definitely bring them to Nalchik. My wife really wants to visit this city.
Q: So you haven’t been yet?
A: But really wants to.
Chermen DZGOEV