"If I'd taken the €4m lift, I wouldn't be playing soccer now"

The Russian Football Championship went on winter break at the end of last week. Now the tournament in the RPL will resume only in March. One of the disappointments of the first part of the season was Pari Nizhny Novgorod. It got off to a bad start, but when the results started to improve a bit, it fired head coach Sasha Ilic. Under Viktor Goncharenko, who replaced him, there has been only one win in seven rounds. And in the last two matches before the break Nizhny Novgorod suffered two away defeats - from Rostov (0:4) and Spartak Moscow (0:3).

At the same time "Pari NN" manages to go on the 12th place outside the departure zone and the zone of transition matches, but its rival "Khimki" is ahead only by additional indicators with equal points. In an interview with Izvestia, Pari Nizhny Novgorod goalkeeper Nikita Medvedev assessed the team's results, explained why the team should improve in the spring, also spoke about foreigners in the RPL, commented on the loud statements of Samara Region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev about corruption in the judiciary and the influence of agents on clubs and recalled how he reacted to the information about large agent payments for his move to Lokomotiv.

- What is going on with "Pari NN" lately?

- We can`t find our game yet, we can`t adjust to what the head coach requires from us. At the same time, the last two defeats from Rostov and Spartak are especially depressing. With Spartak it's not even that we conceded goals, but that we stopped fighting after them. We need to fix it over the winter. At the same time, we should also pay tribute to our opponents, who have gained momentum in the last couple of months. I was asked recently how I feel about foreigners in the RPL. Well, such foreigners as in Spartak, especially in their attacking line, only strengthen our championship.

- And those foreigners, who in recent years came to Rostov and Pari NN under you, do they correspond to the level?

- They correspond to the level of these teams. Some of them are top. For example, Ronaldo and Sako, who came to Rostov. In fact, they are good guys. Such foreigners strengthen our championship.

- And your current partner in "Paris NN" Juan Boselli? Many believe that his disqualification for the match against Spartak prevented you from resisting the opponent?

- Well, of course, we missed him. But we lacked a lot of things. Again, the question... Well, I don`t want to talk about refereeing - whether or not Juan was sent off in the match with Rostov, I don`t even want to say, because I didn`t see the moment. But we lacked him in the match against Spartak. As you may have noticed, we didn't hit a single shot on goal in that game.

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- Taking into account the failed start of the season and two defeats before the winter break from Rostov and Spartak, is it satisfactory that you are in 12th place, i.e. out of the relegation zone and transition matches?

- Well, no, it is not a satisfactory result. For me for sure.

- What would be a satisfactory result for you?

- It will be good to finish the season at least in the top ten. The 12th place is not a satisfactory result for me.

- In early October "Pari NN" was headed by Viktor Goncharenko. Do you see how you can rise in the table under him?

- Of course we do. And we believe that we will do it. I am sure that we will have a quality training camp and bring joy to our fans.

- At the expense of what?

- Victor Mikhailovich is slowly changing the mentality of the team, the approach. We need to play every game to win. Some have already grasped it, some are not able to do it yet. Now is probably the best moment for us to take a break. Actually, the only good thing is that at the moment of failures we go on vacation and don't get into too bad a situation. We have time to work, think and play something. I think we can do everything with Mikhalych.

- You mentioned refereeing in passing. How did you react to the loud statements of the governor of the Samara region on the topic of refereeing, which is discussed by the entire soccer community?

- I did not react in any way. This is not my business at all. It is the business of other people - managers. Let them deal with this issue. If there is something to sort out. My business is different - to train and benefit the team.

- I'm just interested in such a point: Governor Fedorishchev still talked a lot about the influence of agents on the soccer environment, on how big money from clubs goes to them. It is known that in 2017, Lokomotiv paid a solid agent's fee for your transfer from Rostov.

- Well ask my agent how much he earned, if you're interested in that. And those who paid something there, ask him. I am also very interested in what sums we are talking about.

- Ilya Herkus, the then president of Lokomotiv Moscow, spoke about the sum of €4 million.

- Well, if I had taken €4 million as a raise then, I probably wouldn't play soccer anymore - it's fair to admit it. It's a huge amount of money.

- Were you not pressured by those talks about the amount of agency payments for your signing at Loko?

- Well, I was at a slightly different age then, and it was unpleasant to listen to all this. Moreover, I stopped playing at that time, I was not in the main squad of Lokomotiv - it was a very difficult period of time. But what to remember about it now? It was and it was.