"It's not so much the standings that are important to us, but self-respect"

The Rostov football players solved all their tasks in the Russian championship at the end of April. They saved themselves from relegation from the RPL, but they also lost their chances of winning medals. Nevertheless, the team continues to fight in every match. In particular, in the last round, she saved herself from defeat at the end of an away game with Khimki (1-1), who are fighting for survival in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Rostov is two steps away from winning the Russian Cup.

Next week, he will play away against Spartak Moscow in the final of the Path of the Regions. If they win, Jonathan Alba's team will compete for the trophy on June 1 in the final match of the tournament, the Superfinal, where they will face Zenit St. Petersburg or CSKA Moscow. In an interview with Izvestia, Rostov defender Ilya Vakhania explained why his team continues to fight in the championship even in matches that mean nothing to it, assessed the chances of success in the Russian Cup and told what has changed after Valery Karpin's departure from the post of head coach in February.

— What makes your team fight in every championship match, even though there is no threat of relegation and no medals?

— It seems to me that any football player in any game should go on the field and fight. We understand that. And we are not looking for motivation specifically in the standings. Our motivation is just to go out for every match and win.

— Is there no temptation to focus all your efforts on the Russian Cup?

- no. We are as focused as possible and want to win every match, regardless of which tournament we are playing in. The goal for the rest of the season is to win as many of the remaining matches as possible.

— In the penultimate round of the championship, you have a home match with Zenit, who are fighting Krasnodar for gold. Do you want to influence the situation in this race and take the points away from Peter?

— Playing against Zenit is always an additional motivation for any football player. Therefore, there are no problems with the desire to achieve victory in this match in any case. No matter what kind of fight Zenit is fighting with Krasnodar for the championship and what kind of alignment they will have before the penultimate round.

Race without a leader: Zenit will visit Spartak without a key player

Zenit will face Spartak, Lokomotiv will play Dynamo Moscow, and Krasnodar will face Rostov.

— What do you expect from the upcoming Russian Cup match against Spartak?

— We still have an away match with Rubin in the championship before Spartak. So far, I'm waiting for something from this particular game. We will think about Spartak and the Cup after it.

— Is it really so important to win the fight for seventh place against Rubin, which you are currently one point behind?

— Of course, we need it. As we have already said, our motivation is just to go out and win. Just like any football player. That is, we don't even care so much about the standings as about some kind of self-respect.

— But still, how can Rostov beat Spartak and end up in the Superfinal of the Cup?

— It's a difficult question. It's better to ask the coaches. But it is obvious that we need to play as organized as possible and with maximum dedication. I won't say anything new here. In any case, I am sure that with the performance that we show in most matches, we are capable of winning. Moreover, we have already passed Spartak in the current Cup — we beat it in the "RPL Way"." (1:0; 2:1). Why don't we repeat this in the "Path of the Regions"? I think we can do it.

— Based on the recent away Cup victory against Lokomotiv (2-0), does it feel like the team has a special motivation for this tournament?

— Yes, of course. We are as focused as possible on the Cup, as well as on the championship matches. We really want to win this trophy and please the Rostov fans. And we will do our best for this.

— When we talked with you a little over a month ago, you said that after the February change of the head coach, nothing had changed in Rostov's game and Jonathan Alba fully continues the line of Valery Karpin. Have there been any changes since then?

— Some aspects of the game are also preserved. But at the same time, in recent matches we have started to try a slightly different scheme — 5-3-2. This is already some kind of innovation from Jonathan.

— How did this transition to playing five defenders affect you?

— The position has changed — I started playing more in the center of defense, rather than on the flank.

— You've been changing your appearance a lot lately. You've grown a mustache, and in our last interview, they said that you're now called Freddie Mercury at Rostov. Then they started leaving the matches in stylish glasses. How does the team react to this?

- no. The situation with glasses is still different - they are not for style. I just don't have perfect eyesight. And I don't want to drive a long way in lenses. Therefore, it is more convenient to wear glasses.

— By the way, does this kind of vision complicate the game of football?

— Absolutely not. I don't have such a big disadvantage in terms of vision. So it's okay.