Over the 15 years of the existence of the Russian championship, only three players managed to win gold in two different teams: Igor Yanovsky, Vadim Evseev and Sergey Ignashevich. Alexander Shmurnov and Aleksey Andronov are talking with the first of them, who became the champion with Alania in 1995 and with CSKA eight years later.
- For you, the titles are an important thing, the championships have remained a lifetime consciousness of their own greatness?
“No, I never think about it.”
- But, given that there are only three players who won the Russian championship with different teams, you could feel your uniqueness.
- Perhaps there is something special in this. But there are still many championships in Russia, and such players will still appear.
- And the uniqueness of the victory of “Alania”, which became the only non-Moscow champion in the recent history of our championship?
- There was undoubtedly something supernatural in this event. Much coincided then, 11 years ago: a good financial base, a strong selection of players, a brilliant coaching staff.
- Is it so complicated in the province that everything matches?
- Of course, especially in Vladikavkaz, in a small republic, where there is not so much money as in the capital.
- Do you think that soon someone will be able to repeat the success of Alania?
- To date, I do not see applicants for the championship among provincial teams. Of course, I do not include Zenit among provincial clubs, after all, St. Petersburg is the second capital, and there are no problems with finances there.
- What did you feel when Alania was not just experiencing difficulties, but was on the verge of extinction?
- Annoyance, of course. But there were objective reasons for this. It is very difficult and expensive to maintain a team in the top division. The demands of the Premier League clubs are increasing every year, and, in the end, the content of the team becomes unbearable for a small republic. So the flight to the first and then to the second division of Alania, just like the Volgograd Rotor, was logical.
- The words: “contain the team” have been heard more than once. Without this economic component in modern football is impossible at all? Remember, we used to travel on an administrative resource, on a collective spirit. Now, without appropriate financial support, does this all work?
- I repeat that all this should come together, especially in the provincial team. But first of all, the key to success now is stability for a long time, and above all, the stability of the financial base.
- Did you feel that behind “Alania” there was not only financial support, but also help from the administration of the republic, which was important in the mid-1990s?
- Yes, the whole republic was supported for the team, one might say the whole Caucasus. And we, the players, lived with common interests. In 1995, I was only 21 years old, and I did not think about money, I thought only about football.
- Igor, you remembered the "Rotor" and its fate. Why do you think that almost all the clubs that successfully performed in the early 19 90s practically disappeared from the football card? Lokomotiv (Nizhny Novgorod), who issued a series without defeats in the first championship of Russia, the Kamyshinsky Tekstilshchik, who played in the UEFA Cup, Rotor, Alania, and this is not yet a complete list ...
- In the early 1990s, many teams in the province played on an emotional upsurge, on enthusiasm. In football, as in life, everything is cyclical, and I think that we will soon see Rotor and Alania in the top league in leading positions.
- Due to what will they return?
- Due to traditions, due to children's sports schools that are still working. And, perhaps, the most important thing is due to the interest and support of local authorities.
- Are you ready to do the lifting of Alania with other famous veterans, for example, Kovtun?
- I received a proposal when I still had not decided to finish my career, but I was not psychologically prepared to play in the second division.
- At what point did you realize that you no longer want to play?
- Probably, at the beginning of 2005, on the eve of the trip to France, to the Chateauroux club.
- Is this the result of physical fatigue or emotional?
- Perhaps more emotional. Physically, I felt that I could still run.
- It so happened that you were a leading player in two teams at once led by Valery Gazzayev: CSKA in 2003 and in the national team. Immediately after the departure of Gazzayev, they were no longer called up to the team, and the new coach decided at CSKA that he did not need the football player Yanovsky.
- I was familiar with Arthur Georges while still working at Paris Saint-Germain, and I think this was not his decision, but the club’s leadership, which decided to buy other players. In any case, I am not offended by anyone.
- This is in CSKA, but in the national team ? Indeed, in the last decisive match with Switzerland, it was you who earned the penalty for the team?
- Yes, I earned a penalty, but I can’t say that I played well in that match.
- Georges appeared in Russia after you met him in Paris. Did you tell someone about him, or did his appearance with us happen without your participation?
“Absolutely, I have nothing to do with it.” I was very surprised when they announced that Jorge came to CSKA.
- Let's talk about Paris. How comfortable was there - both as a person and as a football player?
“Extremely comfortable.” And now I am happy to return to Paris, including to the Parc des Princes stadium, where fans still recognize me.
“ Where did you live?”
- In the suburbs of Paris - Saint-Germain-en-Laye. A club is based there, and my house is five minutes from the training base.
- Was there a time and desire to walk around Paris?
- There was enough time, in the West they give players more freedom. And I traveled a lot, not only in Paris, but also in France. And fell in love with this country.
- It is believed that in Paris it is difficult to create a football team, including because the players are constantly distracted by the beauty of Paris, the Parisian life.
- I think that the main reason is the organization of the football economy. In PSG there is no such person as, for example, in Lyon, who would lead the club to stability. There are different principles for building a club. It’s enough to recall how once the presidents of PSG and the Channel Plus channel switched places, almost for fun.
- I have an opinion that in France difficulties in creating a club are connected with the fact that the legislative base of the sports business is not as perfect as in England, Italy and Spain. This was mentioned by Michel Platini. But still in Lyon managed to build a successful club, and the city is fully working for him. A similar picture was in Vladikavkaz. In Paris, this is impossible - there are too many other urban sites and other worries.
- Yes, the capital, a lot of fans. And, no matter how the team performs, the stadium is always full, all conditions for football players are created. And yet, something is stopping being a PSG champion all the time. I repeat, this is a management issue. In Lyon, an excellent manager, Jean-Michel Olyas, who, in addition to the team, has several more projects in the city, and he works with the city at the same time.
- In France, the press pays a lot of attention to football. Have you read about yourself, and was it interesting? Important - how are you evaluated?
- When I debuted, it was important, closer to thirty years I did not pay attention to ratings anymore. As for the French football press, it seems to me quite objective.
- There was a myth that it was inconvenient for Russian clubs to play with French teams.
- The difficulty is that French football is basically similar to Russian: athletic, but with a lot of technical players. And with what is closer to you, it is more difficult to cope.
- Then the French should have been more difficult.
- Their clubs just turned out to be higher than the level. But if the British, due to the fact that their style is convenient, beat, then the French - much less often.
- Has anyone helped you get comfortable in France?
- Yes. In particular, Alexander Prosvetov, who at that time worked as the correspondent for Sport Express in Paris.
- Do you have favorite places in Paris?
- Perhaps in Paris itself there are no favorite places, although I am happy to return there. And in France as a whole - these are the castles of the Loire, corners on Lake Geneva.
- Your career took place in three completely different cities - Vladikavkaz, Moscow and Paris. Which one is especially close to you?
- Hard to say. I spent in them very different stages of my life, and each of them is dear to me in its own way. Vladikavkaz is a small, one might say, family city. Moscow is a huge metropolis, from which it is difficult to break the habit. And Paris is a great place to relax.
- Paris as a metropolis, you apparently do not perceive.
- No no. When you play as a team, you are isolated from city life, so Paris has remained for me a place where I went to distract from work. And I had to get used to the current, let's say, independent life in Moscow just like a city dweller.
- Can you say that you are a player of Gazzaev?
- Yes, I spent the best years of my football career with Gazzaev. In the mid-1990s, he gave impetus to my career, and then as part of a different team, but also with Gazzaev, I achieved success again. Without him, I would hardly have become what I became.
- How has Gazzayev changed over the years?
- He became older, more experienced, it affected the relationship with the players. And in recent years, he has made obvious progress in terms of tactics.
- At Gazzayev you played in different positions: in “Alania” closer to the attack, and in CSKA - a defensive midfielder. At that moment, was it not a shame that you had to think more about defense, about destruction and, accordingly, be less in the focus of attention of fans and the press?
- I always liked to work for the team rather than attack. And the most interesting thing for me is to attack from the depths.
- Which of the players was a football idol for you?
- Marcel Desailles - in the 1990s he stood out among all the players in my role.
“ But he is a defender, that is, you were attracted by an attack from the very depths, from his gates?”
- Yes.
- You had no thoughts in your childhood: I want to be like this football player ?
- No, because each player has his own personality - and it is impossible to repeat it.
- Do you agree that Russian football players need coaching dictatorship, strict discipline and serious workloads, and all attempts to play democracy with athletes fail?
- I think that so far it is. But the situation will change, it is already changing. Although coaching dictatorship is also common in some western clubs, leading the club to success. In PSG, for example: the team took second place and won the Champions League Cup with Wahid Halilhodzhich, and he is an obvious dictator coach.
- Many people think that if you treat the Russian player gently, then nothing will work. This opinion is shared, in particular, by Dmitry Alenichev, who, like you, has extensive experience.
- Yes, of course, there is a difference between Russian and foreign players in relation to discipline. And, in my opinion, this is a legacy of Soviet sports and the old system of educating players.
- The phrase is well known: "The Italian football player, having earned a million, thinks how to earn the next, and the Russian - how to spend it." Here you are, for example, having earned a lot of money by the standards of our country, what were you thinking about: how to earn more or how to spend it?
- In this sense, I was more like an Italian - I was thinking about the future, about how much money my family will live after the end of my career.
- After winning the Russian Championship 95, “Alania” participated in the Champions League and lost the first match with a score of 2: 7. What happened then?
- Glasgow Rangers turned out to be a much more experienced team than Alania. Then in Vladikavkaz there was neither a stadium of international level, nor the experience of such meetings, and in modern football this is very important.
- What happened after the game, how did you walk around the city? After all, there you can’t hide from the fans?
- And none of us went around the city, each has its own apartment plus a training base. They hid there.
- Were you ashamed or even scared to meet with the fans?
- It's a shame, of course. It is always difficult to meet people after losing even with a minimal score in Vladikavkaz.
- In those years, there were epoch-making battles with the Moscow Spartak. Not a single match went without removal ...
- Yes, these were real battles, but after the matches there were no clashes. Everything was decided on the field.
- How were the relations between the players of competing teams?
- There have never been any problems, an adequate footballer will never begin to recall the collisions and frictions that arose during the match.
Do you have soccer friends?
- Of course, the main circle of friends is people associated with football. I communicate with Evgeny Varlamov, Sergey Semak and several other players in France.
- You had no idea to celebrate a decade of victory in the championship? It seems that a whole stadium would have gathered for the match “Alania” -1995 against “Alania” -2005?
- Yes, it is possible, but limited to the release of souvenirs. Now in Vladikavkaz there is no person who could organize everything and have people. Such as Gazzaev. He was his own. Unlike Romantsev, who worked a little earlier, but could not do anything. Gazzaev was trusted by the administration and fans, which is important for a small city. In addition, the people there are hot. When in 1996, the year after the championship, we took second place, the fans were very unhappy. Is somewhere now “Alania” and dissatisfaction with the second place in the top division?
- Then you lost to Spartak in the Golden Match. How do you feel about determining the winner of a championship using an extra match?
- I think the outcome of such a serious tournament cannot be decided in one game. If the indicators are equal, it is necessary to consider, for example, the difference between goals scored and goals conceded, the number of victories, personal meetings, but most importantly - determine the champion based on the results of the tournament.
- You finished your career - what next? Do you have any plans related to football? - - Not yet.
- And if there are offers to work as a manager or coach?
- I'm more attracted to managerial rather than coaching. I am interested in the organization of club facilities, and the long coaching path is not for me.
- In your opinion, is the club economy in Russian football changing and progressing?
- I think there is progress. CSKA, Spartak, Zenit prove it and pull the rest forward.
- Do you think this is a good solution if one person combines the responsibilities of the club’s sports director and agent of leading players?
- It all depends on the cleanliness of the person. If he works for himself - this is one option, and if he fully acts in the interests of the club, then it is completely different.
- You had no desire to work as an agent?
- No, what are you. Although my last agent in France offered me to work with him in Russia, but I did not have even the slightest desire.
- What are you dreaming about now?
- About peace and stability in life.
“ But are you planning to do something?”
- Now not, I'm still “on a well-deserved rest.” But I think that in the coming months I will have to set new benchmarks. Without them, of course, it is impossible to live.