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The Russian national football team, like almost all domestic sports, has been under control since February 2022 sanctions. Goalkeeper coach Vitaly Kafanov, in an interview, summed up the results of 2023 for the goalkeepers of the national team in conditions of restrictions, named an expanded list of candidates for the national team, spoke about the attitude towards beer consumption by players, and also said under what conditions he himself is ready to become a head coach.
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– How can you evaluate the past year from the point of view of the national team’s goalkeepers?
– In 2023, the national team played six matches, two matches were played by the so-called youth team with the Egyptian Olympic team. Four goalkeepers participated in these matches, Matvey Safonov played four matches, Sergei Pesyakov played one, and Ilya Lantratov and Ilya Pomazun made their debuts. Stanislav Agkatsev and Vladislav Torop also played one match each in matches with Egypt at the Olympic team level. None of them played below their level.
– Which match gave the most food for thought?
– The most important matches in terms of obtaining information were the matches with World Cup participants – the national teams of Iran, Qatar and Cameroon. These matches showed that the level of skill of Matvey Safonov corresponds to the level of skill of such a tournament as the World Championship.
– What can be learned from a game like the one in Volgograd in November? The Cuban team did not make a single shot on target and only two in the direction.
– The match with Cuba was not difficult for Matvey.
>How useful are matches for a goalkeeper in which he barely enters the game?
– The match with Kenya should have turned out this way too. They scored a goal, but if they scored a second, there would be five. If there was one mistake with Cuba, then another, they would have stood 10 people behind, and our ball wouldn’t have gone into the goal… From the point of view of underestimating the opponent, if something goes wrong at the beginning, then it’s difficult to change something.
– Firstly, any opponent must be taken seriously and with respect. Secondly, if we had two matches, then it was planned to use three goalkeepers, but since it happened that there was only one match, then the starting lineup should have been the most combative to date.
< br>– It turns out that now Matvey Safonov is the best in the country in meeting these requirements?
– This season there are practically no weaknesses in his games. Just a couple of years ago he was a promising boy. Today he is already an adult goalkeeper, a real man in goal.
– How did he stake his claim to the number one position in the national team?
About candidates for the Russian national team
– Who, in your opinion, is breathing down his back more actively than others ? Who can be classified as a goalkeeper, so to speak, of the second tier?
– It’s difficult to single out just one. The Russian national team has a very large pool of equal goalkeepers. A large group of goalkeepers have been playing at a very good level this season, and this year more than ever, goalkeepers are helping their teams earn points in individual matches. There are more and more such matches. The average level of goalkeepers in the Russian championship has increased and this is very pleasing!
The Russian goalkeeper school is becoming stronger. Here we cannot help but say kind words about the goalkeeper coaches who work with them. The level of coaches in Russia is also growing, although just 10 years ago in the Russian championship there were more foreign goalkeepers than Russian ones, some teams even had two foreign goalkeepers. And now every Russian Premier League club has at least two equally good goalkeepers.
In 2012, with Mikhail Yuryevich Biryukov and Vyacheslav Viktorovich Chanov, our most experienced coaches, we came to the conclusion to revive our goalkeeper school. We decided that we need to start first of all with training goalkeeper coaches, and this should lead to our goalkeepers starting to play better.
We are now seeing the results of this training and the unification of coaches. Russia now has the largest group of trainers in Europe, there are more than 300 of them and there are more young specialists. They develop quickly and also turn into good coaches.
Plus, we can add to this that we now have, albeit the only one for now, a specialized goalkeeper training school named after Igor Akinfeev and Vyacheslav Chanov in Reutov. We must pay tribute to Governor Andrei Vorobyov for understanding the significance of this project and allocating the necessary funds for construction.
Experienced coaches Vyacheslav Viktorovich Chanov, Alexander Pomazun, Sergei Narubin and Andrei Miroshnichenko are all wonderful goalkeepers in the past. This school has the opportunity to train everyone who does not currently have a team, as well as those who are just starting to play football, for example, goalkeepers of women's teams.
In its own way, this school is unique, and They have already passed the most difficult stage of their development. Very talented guys appear who have not yet managed to attract the attention of agents or coaches of some teams. This is another plus for the development of our goalkeeper school.
– In October you said that there was no talk of Sergei Pesyakov ending his career in the national team. Have you returned to this issue with him?
– We never discussed it, so there was nothing to return to. Anton Shunin and Marinato Guilherme will no longer be called up to the national team?
– I’ve never looked at goalkeepers’ passports. A goalkeeper, unlike a field player, often matures later and, with a professional attitude, can play longer than field players.
– In November, Arthur Nigmatullin was called up to the national team, but he did not have the chance to make his debut for the national team. Do you count on him in the future, or will the emphasis be placed on younger goalkeepers?
– With Arthur, I think the best period in my career. He played flawlessly throughout the first half of the championship, brought a lot of points to Nizhny Novgorod’s treasury, which is why he received a call to the national team.
What will happen next? The principles are the same as before. We invite those who play consistently over a long period of the championship to join the team. I repeat once again, the choice of candidates is very large!
– How many goalkeepers do you look at when studying candidates for the Russian national team?
– It’s easier now name who was not considered. In addition to those who volunteered, the list of candidates includes Giorgi Shelia, Sasha Belenov, Yura Dupin, Igor Leshchuk, Evgeniy Latyshonok. They also show a good, solid level of skill.
– Can Vladislav Torop be called the heir of Igor Akinfeev? Is he capable of growing into such a significant figure for our football?
– Slava is a talented guy, he has everything he needs to grow into a great goalkeeper. I am sure that he will be able to make a bright career.
I was very glad to meet him and work, albeit a little, in the national team. But no one will be able to become the second Igor Akinfeev (as I have heard more than once) – Igor is the only one. To become a worthy understudy – absolutely. Each goalkeeper has his own path, Slava’s will definitely be different.
– How much longer, in your opinion, is Igor Akinfeev capable of playing?– As much as he wants. It is clear that he enjoys football – which means Igor is still very motivated.
– Which young goalkeeper do you watch most closely? And from which of them do you expect that he can shoot in the near future?
– There are already quite a few of them. In addition to Stas Agkatsev and Slava Torop, who were called up, this is Denis Adamov, loaned to Volgar by Daniil Odoevsky. David Volk and Daniil Frolkin are pleasantly surprised in the FNL.
I am also interested in the current state of Daniil Khudyakov, who, after a large number of games played, is now in deep reserve. He is going through a difficult period. I have no doubt that he will not waste this time and will come out of this situation, familiar to most goalkeepers, even stronger.
– Which of our goalkeepers playing abroad do you watch most closely?
– Behind all of ours. Andrey Lunev is playing great for Qarabag, which finished second in the Europa League group and advanced to the playoffs. In a short period of time, he became a fan favorite. Nikita Khaikin had another strong season and again became the national champion. Yuri Lodygin finally started playing for Panathinaikos. Out of six matches, in four he kept his goal locked.
Maxim Rudakov returns to Russia. He spent a good season and a half with Honka. Unfortunately, Maxim's club went bankrupt. Vanya Konovalov won his first trophy with Tobol – the Kazakhstan Cup, and showed good play in European competition. All of them very worthy represent our goalkeeper school abroad.
– Do I understand correctly that Nikita Khaikin’s current place of work is under no circumstances compatible with calls to the national team? br>
– The situation may change, because now is a time when everything in the world is changing.
– Have you personally discussed the current situation with him?
< br>– Yes, that’s why I look at it with optimism.
– Does he expect to return to the national team? Have you discussed with him a possible change of sports citizenship, given that he was born in Netanya?
– No, he wants to play for the Russian national team!
About goalkeeper evolution
– What trends in goalkeeping can be identified over the past few years? Has football changed in terms of the actions of goalkeepers compared to what it was at the 2014 World Cup?
– Trends in Europe and in general in the world have been changing for several years. Goalkeeper as field player. Almost all the best clubs select goalkeepers who are comfortable as outfield players when starting an attack.
I know that not all fans like it when goalkeepers take risks, starting an attack with short and medium passes when pressing the opponent, but this is the dictate of the times, of modern football. We need to accept this, we need to get used to it and develop goalkeepers in this direction. We are already behind the vast majority of the best clubs in world football in this regard.
We have a large video library where there are mistakes of all goalkeepers of top clubs, where they make mistakes in such situations, but at the same time continue to play such football. And we will continue to develop this philosophy in Rostov and the national team.
In addition to Valery Karpin's Rostov, foreigners Guillermo Abascal and Marcel Licka teach their teams and their goalkeepers to play exactly the same kind of football. I talked to goalkeepers who were called up to the national team – they like to play this kind of football. And now Miroslav Romashchenko has also followed this path in Akhmat. He just needs time. You have to understand: when you radically change a system, at the first stage, losing points is inevitable. But there will be more and more such clubs over time. For now we are just catching up with Europe and beyond. We need to go this path and we can’t waste time.
– How can the goalkeeper function further transform and evolve, given the impact they already have on the game?< /strong>
– In the near future, the functions of goalkeepers will develop in exactly this direction. This means that academies and football schools already need to train goalkeepers who can act as central defenders at the start of an attack.
– Name your version of the best domestic goalkeepers in history.< /strong>
– Here, in my opinion, everything is obvious. We have three iconic figures. In the 20th century, these are Lev Yashin and Rinat Dasaev, and in the 21st century, of course, Igor Akinfeev. He has no competitors, he has been playing for almost his entire century – the 21st season.
– Which foreign goalkeepers are you following?
– If possible, for everyone. There are a lot of good goalkeepers in clubs now. Why has it become difficult to choose? They are usually remembered at major tournaments – the Champions League, World and European Championships. And in the national championships it is very difficult to choose, because there are many good goalkeepers in the clubs. The only thing that is visible is the trend in the style of play that I mentioned earlier. The fans may not like it, but in Europe they have been playing like this for a long time, and we cannot help but notice it. If, of course, we want our goalkeepers, even now, not participating in international tournaments, to be ready. When the time comes for us to play in European cups, I would like us to be on par with European goalkeepers in this regard.
– Who do you think now? think he is the best goalkeeper in the world?
– For a long time, someone was always the best. There was Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas, when they won with the national teams, then there was Manuel Neuer. Thibaut Courtois played great last season and did a lot for Real to win the Champions League. With all due respect to Emiliano Martinez, who deserved the title of the best goalkeeper of the World Cup, the strongest goalkeeper of the year is not two or three games, or a separate tournament, but the entire season. And over the long haul, last year Courtois deserved to be called the best.
– There is an explanation for goalkeepers who, like Edouard Mendy at Chelsea, had a season to live, won the Champions League, and then sat down to the “can”?
– There are many such cases. I don't know what the reason is. To understand this, you need to be close to the goalkeeper all the time. But more often than not, goalkeepers lower their demands on themselves and calm down. Soslan Dzhanaev, who was without a team for a long time, came to Rostov and in the same season became the best goalkeeper in Russia. At the end of this season, the first thing we talked about was: “Soslan, you had a good season. But it will be possible to say that you have returned to big football if you confirm this in the coming season.” There are quite a few goalkeepers who played one season and disappeared. Those who prove their level deserve respect and recognition. The next season, before his injury in February, Dzhanaev played 10 matches in the Champions League at the highest level, and he kept this bar.
– Do you set any of your foreign colleagues as an example for our youth? ?
– Yes, almost every week we make video cuts from the games of goalkeepers of various levels from various regions of the world. We analyze not only the successful actions of goalkeepers, but also their mistakes. This can help the guys not to repeat them in matches.
– What can our goalkeeper school learn from their Asian colleagues?
– I can only talk about the former Central Asian republics of the USSR. We have a lot in common. We have constant communication with goalkeeper coaches. I communicate with almost all goalkeeper coaches in Kazakhstan, because at one time, when I played for Kairat, almost all of them defended the goals of other Kazakh clubs. Also with coaches from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Dima Tyapushkin works as a goalkeeper coach in Tajikistan at Istiklol with Igor Cherevchenko. Last winter they wanted to invite goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov, who is the number one of the Tajikistan national team, to Rostov. He is from Nizhny Novgorod, his father is Tajik, and his mother is Russian. We wanted to invite him, but they didn’t let him go. He played very well for the club in the Asian Champions League.
With Central Asia, everything has remained the same since Soviet times. This is probably why the school is common.
About diet and beer in the Russian national team
– Do the national team goalkeepers have a special diet under Valeria Karpine?
– No, they come to the national team for a few days, and spend the vast majority of their time in their clubs. They themselves must be able to control themselves. Valery Georgievich simply explains how a professional football player should eat in order to monitor his own weight.
– How do you recommend your players relax after matches, on weekends?
– If we are talking about recovery after a match, then we can advise young people. The first thing is to do a little training to expel lactic acid. This way the goalkeeper recovers faster. Sauna, massage, but the best recovery is sleep. Nothing new. Everything that was invented a long time ago. Experienced goalkeepers know better how to recover after a match the next day.
– Marcel Lička said that one or two small bottles of beer after a game is normal. Do you agree? Is there such a practice in the national team?
– I agree. But neither the national team nor Rostov has such a practice.
– You, as a part-time coach, constantly have to deal with traveling on trains and buses. Already used to this? How much does this affect work?
– This is a question of psychology. You will tune in correctly and normally. The hardest part is getting back on the bus in the morning on the way back. This is most often a sleepless night. I can't sleep after the match. And this day of returning home is lost for training, because it is spent on recovering from the road by the next day.
– Football players get stuck in gadgets during flights or transfers . How do you pass the time on the road?
– Not all guys are on gadgets. There are many football players who read books. I watch clips from matches, sometimes a movie, sometimes I just want to sleep.
– What fiction, in your opinion, should be read by young football players? Which specialized publications do you recommend to them?
– Everyone has different tastes, so I don’t think I have the right to advise them to read any literature.
– How do you prefer to spend your free time? What are your vacation plans?
– At home on the couch with the family watching TV. Conduct an examination of the body, get your health in order, if necessary, and go to training camp.
About the opportunity to work as a head coach
– During his time working in the Russian national team, Valery Karpin was admitted twice that can leave her. Since you work for the club and the national team, what do you think such statements may be related to? Is this a sign of burnout?
– As far as I know, he, answering questions from journalists, said that this is possible, but emphasized that this does not necessarily have to happen in the near future. Continuing this topic, it was said that his main place of work is the national team, and he combines work at the club during the period of the national team’s suspension from official matches.
– Similar thoughts come to you ?
– No, I’m interested in working in the national team. I look forward to every training camp and match, even an unofficial one!
– Do you have an explanation for the fact that goalkeepers very rarely become head coaches later on? Of the latter, Stanislav Cherchesov and Leonid Slutsky, who did not play at a serious level, immediately come to mind.
– They become rare, but if someone chooses this path, they turn out to be good coaches. I was lucky to meet Michel Prudhomme, who achieved a lot, worked in Belgium and Holland, and gave good results. The USA had the best result with Bruce Arena, Turkey with Şenol Güneş, and Russia with Stanislav Cherchesov. There are few of them in percentage terms, because there are fewer of them in the team in percentage terms. If they take on something, they produce results. These are very responsible people.
Perhaps the desire to work as a head coach comes during their career, and not when they finish. They learn from the coaches they work with. They want to learn the best from everyone they work with. I think this was the case with each of them.
– Don’t you have such a goal?
– When I finished playing, I was faced with a choice . There weren’t really any goalkeeper coaches back then, and I just wanted to try what would come of it. There was nowhere to study; there was no goalkeeper coaching school at that time.
In 2000, Kurban Berdyev and I came to Smolensk, my position was called standards coach. When I played for Kairat, former striker Boris Vladimirovich Evdokimov trained with me. I always remember his kind words. It was better than if there was no one. Together we discussed which exercises were best to do during the warm-up and analyzed the games. At that time it was a progressive phenomenon.
I thought about it, but I don’t want to do it yet. We must finish what we started. It turned out to unite all the goalkeeper coaches in Russia – I will not be there, and now they will continue to communicate with each other. This is the main thing!
I would like to make a couple more films. At the conference of Russian goalkeeper coaches in May, I would like to show and discuss the continuations of the films “Start of Attack” and “Game Situations”. And, if I have time, I would like to make a film “Physical Training of a Goalkeeper” with exercises from the Soviet goalkeeper school. These films are primarily for young coaches, of whom there are a lot now. I didn’t intend to teach anyone, but I would really like them to become a help at the beginning of their careers. If you manage to do what you set out to do, then you can think about working as a head coach. I have graduated from the UEFA Pro category.
– It turns out that it will be possible to return to this issue no earlier than next May?
– I think so. But it’s one thing to be an assistant to strong coaches such as Kurban Berdyev, Valery Karpin, Yuri Semin and Yuri Krasnozhan, and see all this, and another thing to work as a head coach yourself. There are moments when you want to try something, but you can’t waste it. We must first bring everything to an end. When I finish everything, I can think about this topic.
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