"Should finish the season in the top three at least."
One of the highlights of the end of last year in Russian soccer was the goal of Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Igor Leshchuk against Akhmat Grozny (1:1). The 28-year-old player became the first goalkeeper in the history of the tournament to score from a game in another team's goal. At the same time, 2024 was a very controversial year for him. In the spring, Leshchuk's team was close to its first championship since 1976. But the chance was lost in the last round due to an away defeat to Krasnodar. A month earlier Igor had been heavily criticized for two goals conceded in the derby with Spartak, and in the summer he lost his place at the heart of the team after signing a contract with Andrei Lunev. In an interview with Izvestia, Igor Leshchuk assessed Dynamo's chances of success in spring, explained the secret of his goal in Grozny, shared his impressions of his vacation in Japan and lamented the impossibility to personally see Alexander Ovechkin's goal, after which he will break Wayne Gretzky's historical record.
- Will you ever be able to repeat your goal against Akhmat at least in training?
- I think not. But after the goal in Grozny I was put for five minutes on offense at the first training session. And I scored a goal. Apparently, in general, I have the skills of a striker (smiles).
- By the way, in the episode with that goal to Akhmat, did you meaningfully direct the ball in the fight closer to the goal? Or was it just important to win the fight and throw it with your head wherever you could?
- More just wanted to send it towards the goal. So that someone could kick it over the tape or it could go in directly. It ended up going straight in. When you run to the near post on a cross, the main thing is to dribble it towards the goal with the expectation that someone will get it there.
- Explain as a goalkeeper: did Giorgi Shelia make a mistake, or is it difficult to make the right decision with such a trajectory of the ball?
- I think, he almost miscalculated. Either he did not hit the ball, or he was confused by the mess in the goalkeeper's room, when there were a lot of people, and everyone was fighting. I do not know exactly what prevented him. When I watched the replay afterwards, I was more trying to understand how it was possible to hit on such a trajectory.
- Since the spring of 2024, you have rarely given interviews, so a few questions about the events of the end of last season. What, in your opinion, prevented Dynamo from taking the championship in conditions when a draw with Krasnodar in the last round was acceptable?
- The point is that, apparently, they were afraid to play, thinking about a draw, that the main thing is not to lose. And this prevented us from showing our soccer. I think, if we had played at full strength, we would have taken gold. Of course, Krasnodar is a good opponent. But after the conceded goal we started to play properly. And we should have done it from the first minutes.
- Problems with psychology?
- Yes, it was not the first time I noticed that we can`t play to keep the score. We go down in the penalty area and that's it. We just fight back. Although the level of the team allows us to play good soccer. Therefore, we do not need to think about not conceding, we just need to continue to play in attack. Due to this we won in the end of the last championship in the last minutes over "Sochi" (3:2), "Baltika" (3:2), being in first place before the last round. Unfortunately, we have a problem that we start trying to keep the score. And in Krasnodar it hindered us.
- Are you starting to do it yourself? Or does the opponent force you to do it?
- I think then in Krasnodar we let ourselves play like that. I do not know how to say... We were scared, probably, and started to get closer to our goal. Just like recently in Voronezh, when we missed the victory over Fakel (1:1) in the last minute.
- Taking into account how harshly you were criticized for the match with Spartak (1:2) and two missed goals from Sobolev, were you ready that Dynamo would sign a goalkeeper of Lunev's level in the off-season and you would be in the reserve?
- I kept in my head that Shunin's contract would be extended and I would have to compete with him again for a place in the defense. But he left. I consider Anton to be a professional in terms of soccer performance. Despite his age, he constantly trained at the maximum. At least on the sports part there were no claims to him.
- How did you morally survive the return to the bench?
- I took the situation simply as the fact that a new goalkeeper came, because the coaching staff sees it that way. The only thing I would like is some dialog. But in general, I was going over it in my head and gave explanations for what happened, so I reacted calmly to everything.
- On those two goals from Spartak: were they your faults, or Ignatov shot too well in both cases that I had to pass to Sobolev?
- It's more relaxation, when you think that the ball is already in your hands. But the ball is not fixed at that time. And this relaxation leads to what everyone saw in that game.
- What do Dynamo need to improve in the spring to win back the gap of four points from the first place and not to lose the gold medal for the second time?
- To be honest, I haven`t thought about it. I think our head coach knows the answer to this question better. On vacation I tried to turn my head off from soccer and not to think about it.
- Do you feel that the team has become stronger? For some reason it was criticized in the fall for the quality of play, although formally you scored more after 18 rounds than a year ago.
- I don`t know. I think, plus or minus the same. I can`t say that we`ve somehow become stronger. It's just a long season with two parts. And it's very difficult to compare only the first part. In any case, it's good that we scored more points and are ahead of schedule. But the upcoming spring part is crucial.
- But intuitively you feel optimistic before the spring part?
- It will be hard to fight for the championship. But I think we should finish the season in the top three at least. And then we'll see how we will spend the training camp. Maybe, at the end of them we will be ready for more.
- You like to spend vacations in the USA and vividly tell in interviews about the realities there. That's why I can't help but ask about the topical issue: how did you react to the fires in Los Angeles?
- Regretfully, of course. I was impressed by the shot with burning letters on Hollywood Hill. It's like some kind of apocalypse. I don't know why it was allowed to happen, how it happened. There is official information about the wiring, but it's hard to make any assessments. I just feel sorry for people who lose their homes and property. And it does not matter where it happens - in the United States, Russia, Europe, China. People are suffering. Great damage to nature. I would like it not to happen at all or at least to happen as rarely as possible.
- You are often criticized for talking about some of the shortcomings of the United States, but at the same time you spend your vacations there.
- Well, I'm not saying that only there are problems there. It's just that every country has its pros and cons, but in general the degree of disadvantages and advantages is the same. And don't idealize - plus or minus the same thing happens everywhere.
- Have you ever been to Los Angeles and California in general?
- Yes, last summer I went for the second time. The first time was more than eight years ago. It was much cleaner and tidier then.
- At the end of 2023, Florida Governor Ron Desantis accused California Governor Gavin Newsom of cleaning feces from the streets in San Francisco only when the "Chinese dictator," who he called Xi Jinping, arrives.
- They certainly didn't clean anything on purpose for my visit to Los Angeles(laughs). I don't know about San Francisco, but if you compare Los Angeles with New York, for example, New York is more atmospheric, but it's also dirtier. I don't compare it to Russian cities at all. I don't remember when it was dirty in our country, at least in Moscow. I don't remember mountains of garbage in the city center. We keep an eye on it.
In general, I would travel all over America - from New York to Los Angeles by car or motorhome. But I don't know when it will be yet, lately I've lost the desire to travel to the States.
- Why?
- I just want to visit some other countries. I was in Japan now - I liked it. I want something new. For example, I want to go to Africa. And I want to visit Antarctica.
- Have you already found out how much it will cost?
- Yes, very expensive. A cruise for one person is $10,000 for one or two weeks. There may be cheaper, but I've seen those prices.
- How much do you usually spend on a vacation?
- The same amount - about $10 thousand. Like, for example, it was this winter, when the vacation lasted 20 days. If I go somewhere with my children, it can be more expensive, but not by much. It's just a different vacation with kids - Turkey or maybe Dubai.
- Why did you go to Japan this winter?
- I've been thinking about visiting Japan for a long time, and then I thought about where it would be interesting to go alone, since this vacation was almost all spent alone. So this was a new experience for me - Tokyo, Nara and Kyoto.
- What particularly impressed you?
- The openness of the people, their kindness. They are always willing to help if you ask them. The cleanliness of the city also catches my eye, even though I'm used to it in Moscow. I remembered that there are no garbage cans. You will walk for three hours with a cup of coffee until you go into a store and find a small garbage can. But I was immediately told that it was better to put the glass in a bag and put it away in my pocket or backpack, throwing it away at the hotel.
But the most interesting thing is that even though there are no garbage cans in the city, there is no garbage itself, that is, everyone throws it away at home, in the hotel or store when they get to them. And they don't pollute the street.
- Have you tried the Japanese national food?
- I've had sushi, but not rolls - they are not there.
- So this is a specialty of Japanese restaurants in Russia or Europe?
- I don't know who invented rolls, but they don't have them in Japan (smiles). There they just serve sushi in the form of rice and fish on top.
- Is the original sushi very different from the variation in Moscow restaurants?
- They have better cooking there. I think the fish is just very fresh. Still, probably, while it is being delivered, for example, to Moscow, the flavor is lost due to freezing and other conditions of transportation. And the rice is different - I haven't tasted it here.
- You follow Alexander Ovechkin's game, you even attended his Washington's game in the NHL last winter. What do you think of his movement towards Gretzky's record? Is there an explanation for his high performance even against the backdrop of injury?
- There's probably no explanation. Every athlete has some good times and some bad times. One season can go well, the next season not so well. This season he is doing very well. Of course, I'd love for the game where he scores his 895th goal and beats Gretzky to fall on some of our vacation.
- We'll have to root for him to not score his remaining 20 goals until next winter.
- Why, we can still do that in the summer... Although yeah, playoff goals don't count in those stats, do they (smile). Then yes. I will not be able to personally see this historic goal. But I would like to see it in person.
- Do you think he will break the record before the end of this season?
- I think it is realistic.
- Maybe you'll get to see his 1000th goal in the NHL?
- It's a long way off.
- By the way, what would you like after his record: to play in the NHL and try to reach the 1000th puck or return to Dynamo?
- Of course, I would like him to score his 1000th goal in the NHL. But I don't know how easy it will be for him. After all, for that he needs to spend a few more seasons at the same level that he is showing now.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
