Mariusz Jop: Lokomotiv will hold the ball

Before the final matches of the Cup of Russia, the Polish defender of Moscow told the Sport Today correspondent about the strengths of the upcoming rivals, his club’s readiness for European competitions and the desire to go down in history again.

- In the last two rounds of the Premier League, you went out for the first time in the season, went out at the base and spent the whole match on the field. Will you be among the first eleven in the Cup final?

- In theory, nothing should prevent this. We spent all week training, in which I trained as a player of the basic structure. This year, I had almost no opportunity to prove to the coach that I am able to go out at the base, but now I can do it in the Cup final.

- Do you like the game of “Locomotive” this season?

- Loskov, Sychev and Bilyaletdinov are still the main players in this team. I will have to play against them, so I certainly will not envy.

- In late April, “Moscow” has already met with “Loco” in the championship of Russia. Surely, you all the team disassembled this game and made conclusions.

- That match was very interesting, and I think that in the upcoming match there will also be a lot of struggle and high-speed football. But do not forget that Lokomotiv also made many conclusions. Most likely, they will try to control the ball more and win the center of the field in order to bring the fast Sychev, Bilyaletdinov and Samedov to our goal. So they played against Spartak and achieved success.

- Have you been called up to the Polish national team for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers?

- No, I did not receive the call. Football players who constantly play in the main teams of their clubs are being called up to our team, but I didn’t even go out for a replacement this spring. But I'm sure this is a temporary setback. If I play more often for Moscow, I should be called up for the last rounds of the qualifying cycle.

- Interesting, and the coach of your team knows such an interesting fact that you became the first Pole to score a goal in the championships of Russia.

- Yes? Wow, I made history! In general, this fact does not represent any importance for the coaches of the national team of Poland. He only says that I have been playing in Russia for a long time.

- By the way, you scored four goals during your performance in the Premier League. Is Leonid Slutsky going to use you with standards?

- Yes, this is part of our plans. Although I have not scored for a long time. Therefore, it’s not so important for me whether I’ll score tomorrow or not. The main thing is that we win the final.

- In case of victory in the Cup, Moscow will get a place in the main UEFA Cup bracket this fall. What is more important for you - the possession of the Cups of Russia or a place in Europe? After all, if in the final you had met with Spartak, you would have passed ahead of schedule in European competitions.

“The trophy is important to us.” In order to go down in history, we need to win tomorrow, then we will have the first trophy. And the fact that we reached the final, then no one will remember. In European competitions you can play unsuccessfully, and the Cup is already a victory.

- “Moscow” has already played in Europe - last year, in the Intertoto Cup, I must say that it was not very successful. Do you think the current team is ready to successfully play in the UEFA Cup?

- It is impossible to predict this in advance. For example, at an early stage, we may come across too strong an opponent. In terms of composition, we, of course, are stronger than last year, we have become a more played team, but we can be let down by the game recession that can happen at any club. The main thing is that he does not fall on the decisive matches.

Vadim SINAEV


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