"The fact that Khimki is out of the docking zone is inexplicable, but a fact"

One of the key intrigues of the last, 30th round of the Russian Football Championship is the final tournament place of Khimki. The Moscow region club has been in a difficult financial situation since the winter. Players are owed salaries for several months. At the same time, the team managed to regularly score points this spring and avoid direct relegation from the RPL. Moreover, for the round before the end of the championship, she is in 11th place, outside the zone of transitional matches. And he can ensure that he retains his residence permit in the Premier League, but no longer play in it if Khimki does not find the money to pay off debts and perform next season.

In the last round, Khimki will play away against Spartak Moscow. In an interview with Izvestia, the striker of the Moscow region club, Reziuan Mirzov, commented on the successful results of the team in difficult conditions and stated that he believed in the best development of events for Khimki.

— How do you explain the fact that Khimki, with all their financial problems, have already avoided direct relegation from the RPL for the round before the end of the championship and are close to avoiding transitional matches?

— It's inexplicable, but it's a fact.

— Is "Inexplicable, but a fact" your favorite TV show of your youth?

- of course. I've been watching it since I was a kid (smiles). I liked the paradoxical moments, like our results, like the strong-willed victory over Rubin (3:2) in the last match.

"I didn't think that the situation with Artiga's dismissal was possible"

Khimki football player Ilya Berkovsky — about the resignation of the head coach, the club's salary debts, the intervention of the RPL president in the situation and the struggle for survival in the elite

— What caused it?

— The same answer as the first question. But in general, it's all about our character, the desire to play to the end. Therefore, the winning goal was scored in the last minutes, and before that they equalized, losing during the second half. It was the most important game. And we did something unreal by winning it. It's good that it worked out. Now we need to bring the matter to an end based on the results of the last round.

— Does the experience of fighting for survival in Torpedo and Tosno help you, where you also haven't been paid for several months?

— I have not played in such conditions as this year in Khimki.

— Even in the bankrupt Tosno, everything was not so neglected?

— Yes, it's not like that. It was a little better there.

— Do you believe that the financial problems will be solved soon?

— Let's see, let's see. We are waiting for everything to be resolved. The management told us that everything would be fine.

— How would you rate the current state of Spartak, which you will be playing against in the last round?

— How can we assess their condition? They recently fought for the championship, but fell off in this race. We also dropped out of the Russian Cup. After this, Spartak's condition is probably not the best. But this is football, everything happens in it. So we just need to play as much as possible, play to win. And then we'll see what happens. We will play to win. I hope everything will work out for us, as it did in most of the matches this season.

— What are your plans for next season?

— I have one more year of contract with Khimki.

— And if the team is not allowed to compete and loses its professional status?

— I have one more year of my contract. Let's hope for the best.

— Do you believe that Khimki will receive a license from the RFU and, having avoided relegation from the RPL, will play there next season?

— I believe that everything will be fine.