- I suspect that at the first moment you were surprised to see your name on the list of invitees to the match against Macedonia. But now some time has passed, other emotions should supplant the surprise. What are you like? What is it like - from the Spartak double to the national team?
- Fine. I have many different impressions. There was bewilderment, but I rejected all these thoughts. If the coach decided that I would come in handy, then you just need to train and get ready for the match.
- The players have a "star fever" and for lesser reasons. Will we lose Rebko now?
- I’ll say right away - this is impossible.
- Where such confidence?
“I don’t even know what to say about this.” But I will not have any "star" disease. I’ll start to control my behavior myself. Experienced guys tell me. I'm not worried about this.
(Yegor Titov, seeing Rebko talking to a journalist, asked Alexei with a smile to say something about him).
- By the way, Titov is in perfect order with us. And if we return to the topic of a possible stellar illness, then I perfectly understand that this challenge is an advance. Yes, what! Of course, I am pleased that they called, but ... It seems to me that Guus Hiddink is working for the future. It is necessary to pull young people into the main team, you cannot live exclusively today.
- They say that Hiddink considers you one of the strongest young players in Russian football. He believes that you are able to grow into a football player of European level. Did you hear that?
- Wow! I know, he believes that I have great potential. But I can hardly be called the strongest in the country. At least I have not heard the Dutchman say that.
- However. Have you already talked individually?
- Not here, not in Sochi. I spoke with Hiddink at the same training camp in Bor, when I was seconded from the youth team to the national team. It was not a challenge, it just helped the team before the match. Hiddink said I need to get stronger, I need to play more. Hurry to switch from youthful football to men's. It seems that I have all the data for this. It is necessary to swear.
“Did you communicate directly with him?”
- No, through Igor Korneev. I don’t know English myself.
- In general, the situation is paradoxical. You do not go to the main team of Spartak, but you are preparing for the game for the national team of the country. The coach of one of your two teams is probably mistaken.
- To be honest, it seems to me that this should not be. I mean - an invitation to the national team. The strongest players of the country at the moment should play in this team. The leaders of the first clubs in Russia. But you see what is happening in our country.
- What's going on?
- A lot of legionnaires.
“Are you against them?”
- Not this way. I am against low-quality foreigners. Around the world, if a person comes to another country, then he must play an order of magnitude stronger than the local ones. We have the opposite. I don’t understand why to take such players, if in our country there are guys no worse.
- The club managers say that bringing some Yugoslav is cheaper.
“We are cheaper.”
- Well, again, someone is wrong - either you or the managers. But what, however, is a lot of foreign players playing in Russia, looking at which you clutch your head and ask yourself how they got here?
“Not that much.” But there are some. I still can not understand the logic of managers. More legionnaires harm our championship. This harms the national team. This puts an end to talented youth. This, in the end, affects attendance. It is more pleasant for the fan to watch and cheer for their own than for the legionnaires playing in the form of their club.
- Remember, somehow Dynamo released 11 legionnaires on the field?
“This is no good at all.” And look what’s going on with the club now! It’s good that there are guys there, such as Semshov, Khokhlov, Kolodin. They have a character, they got out of a difficult situation. But most legionnaires do not care what happens to the club. If only they paid on time.
- Well, yes, the idea is popular that you do not go out on the field just because there are too many legionnaires in Spartak. They must work out their contracts, play. And their ... Well, where are they going to go.
- You know, I’m far from thinking that there is some kind of conspiracy against the young guys in Spartak. It seems to me that to play in the main team of such a team you need to consistently show a completely different level of football than I have now. But in order to play at a different level, one must go out onto the field in important matches and gain experience.
- Vicious circle.
- That's it. Need to do something. No, I'm not saying, like, let's put me on the starting lineup, I’ll tear everyone. I understand perfectly well that everything is not so simple. But you can pay more attention to us, young players. Allow to base, trust at least a few minutes. Otherwise, how will I progress? After all, they did just that. And the footballers appeared.
- Do you think that you are far from the foundation of Spartak in the current situation?
- I do not know. I would play now. I think that I would not spoil the big picture. I feel the strength in myself. But, probably, the coaches believe that it’s too early for me, I have not grown up ... A striking example of my words is Roma Shishkin. Together we played half the season for the double, then he was given a chance, and he took advantage.
“Didn't they give you a chance?”
- They gave it. I played with Saturn, with Amkar. Everything seemed to be normal. The coach praised me. I think that I did not spoil the overall picture. I made normal transfers, I deduced partners one on one. But ... They didn’t put me further.
- Are there any versions?
- Not. The coach says that I put up with training.
- Maybe it’s protecting? See what important meetings Spartak has had recently. Who knows how you would behave? Excitement, again.
“Again you are about excitement.” Yes, it passed a long time ago. Maybe once upon a time there was excitement. When you go out to train with people about whom I read a lot, I enjoyed their game. But all this is in the past. Does Shishkin know nothing about Figo or Materazzi? He knows. And he coped with them perfectly. We are not 16 years old.
- There is still such a version that young guys will not be able to withstand the struggle for the first place, which Spartak is now leading. Therefore, legionnaires are invited, experienced people.
- If the team needs everything at once, then it is certainly better to invite experienced football players from abroad and to bet on them. Give ten million for them. Nobody argues, this is one of the options. In our Spartak, excellent legionnaires play: the Czechs on the defensive, Mozart ... But this is a dead end. Russian football will not develop like that. May we not be able to immediately fight for first places. But not a single great club that relies on the young requires results immediately. Now look at Sporting. If they retain their composition, then in two years they will rattle throughout Europe. There are a lot of promising young people there. And we, having a team made up of expensive legionnaires, play a draw with them.
- It is possible to voice another version of why the “Spartak” hold the young. Time at the club is not the easiest. This can be seen in the championship matches. Watch what happens in meetings with Shinnik, Torpedo. Do you have an explanation - why so?
- Spartak need to play more intelligently, especially at the end. We have in the composition of emotional football players focused on the attack. We must be able, like CSKA, to “dry” the game a little. And the coach tells us so. But this is Spartak. It seems to me that even if a footballer comes to the team who has “dried” matches all his life, then after a while he will also run forward.
“As happened with Mozart.” He was in Italy, with a strong defense.
- Exactly.
- Only who will let you dry the game? Your fans, criticize the players even after not too bright victories.
- Yeah ... Our fans, of course, are something special. But I am ready for this pressure.
- Will Spartak come to the fact that the club will trust youth more, and will they fight for medals?
- Same as in 1996? But then George Yartsev and Oleg Romantsev did not plan to win the championship. They wanted to run in youth and just compete for a place in European competitions. But here is what trust does. Of course, now the situation is different. Many strong players play in the championship, including foreigners. CSKA is a very played club. And the “Zenith” this season impressed me the most. The game has become faster - although there is less reason ... If you maintain a reasonable balance between the young and the legionnaires, then you can win.
- They say that today's football youth is completely different. How do you personally feel about match-fixing?
- I do not understand this. I don’t even understand how it is to play in a contract match?
- Very simple. You give away three points away, take away three points at home. It turns out premium. Everyone is happy.
- I play in Spartak. And I, fortunately, did not have to participate in anything like this. In general, I would not want to talk about this topic. She seems very vile to me.
- But there are such matches.
- I can’t imagine how some football players give it to others. This is football. A game. Maybe this topic is too promoted? Although people see everything. Everyone understands perfectly well: who surrenders to the game, and who plays the fool on the field. And if an honest team will notice a place below dishonest, then everyone will perfectly understand.
- Let's end the conversation with the theme of the team. Here you are, for example, you are not surprised that St. Petersburg are kept separately, CSKA - separately? Yes, and you, young, have your own circle.
“No, that’s nothing ... wrong.” We are just going for interests. This does not affect football.
- How do you like this move from one Sochi hotel to another?
- Fine. This is a professional approach by the coaching staff. Why live in worse conditions if there are better ones. Thank you RFU for taking care of us. We did not fly 500 kilometers in search of a hotel, but drove 10 minutes by bus ... This concern is visible in everything. The field, here, provided the beautiful.
- And Hiddnik drags balls for training ...
“Hiddink is a normal guy, simple.” He has no stardom, although he had the best teams in his career. In general, he is a professional. He has everything painted "from and to." Do you know how nice it is to work with this?
Alexey Shevchenko