"I was involved in the club's departure from the RPL and I wanted to fix the situation"

Sochi Football Club returns to the Russian Premier League after last year's relegation. This week, the southern team, which finished fifth in the first league, became the strongest in transition matches with Pari Nizhny Novgorod, which took 13th place in the Premier League. Having lost the first game at home with a score of 1:2 on May 28, Sochi won 3-1 away on May 31 and won by the sum of two matches.

In an interview with Izvestia, one of the old-timers of the club, who has been playing for him since 2018, 32-year-old midfielder Kirill Zaika, shared his emotions from success, explained why he did not leave Sochi after last year's relegation. He also told how the team was affected by the situation with the licensing of clubs in the RFU, as a result of which Khimki, due to financial problems, were not allowed to compete in the RPL for the next season, their place could be taken by Pari Nizhny Novgorod even after losing in the joints, and the third-place winner (giving the right to play in Novorossiysk Chernomorets was not allowed to join the matches due to non-compliance with the criteria of the RPL of its stadium, as a result of which Sochi got there from fifth place.

— After the 1-2 home loss to Paris NN, did you believe that you could turn the situation around in the transition matches?

— Of course, they did. If we had gone into the second leg without faith, it probably wouldn't have been 3-0 in our favor in the first half. We started from the first game, in which, before being sent off (in the 38th minute of the first match, Sochi striker Vladimir Pisarsky received a red card with the score 1-0 in favor of his team. — Izvestia) we played very good football, which was not the case throughout the season. But for the last matches, the team got together and showed what it always had to show.

— How did the fact that head coach Robert Moreno officially left the team after the first transition match with the official wording "for family reasons" affect the team?

"Nothing." We concentrated on the game and removed all unnecessary information from our heads.

— Before the season, were you planning to enter the RPL directly?

— Of course, you always want the best. But there are circumstances. The fact that we did not come out directly, but through the joints, should teach us a lot. The fact that you need to get ready and concentrate from the first game. Don't leave anything for later, and we've had this all season — we've made a lot of mistakes. The fact that we have reached the RPL now, based on the results of the matches, we should appreciate even more.

— Did you have a special responsibility as one of the players who remained in Sochi after last year's relegation from the Russian Premier League?

— Well, of course. I decided to stay with the team, even though my contract with Sochi ended a year ago. But I decided to be with the team until the end, in difficult moments for her. That's probably how you feel about the club. Therefore, I am glad that we have completed the task. And, probably, I'm with Sochi until the end.

— Until the end of your career?

— I wish I could. (He smiles.)

— A year ago, after Sochi's relegation to the first league, were there many options to join the RPL club?

— Not much, but there were options. I made the right decision to stay in Sochi anyway, I did it in good faith. I was involved in the club's departure from the RPL and I wanted to fix this situation. And so it turned out.

— Was the situation with club licensing affecting your team — with the non-admission of Khimki until the next RPL season, the non-admission of Chernomorets to the joints?

- of course. There was a lot of information going around. Getting rid of it in the modern world is probably very difficult. There's a lot of press, talk, and everything else. But nevertheless, we managed it all. Now everything will be forgotten, and we will prepare for the Premier League.

— How did you react to the rumors that Chernomorets did not receive a license due to the fact that Sochi did not allow him to declare his Fisht stadium as a reserve?

— It's not a shame... I focused on my own actions, not on other people's actions. The goal for me and the team was to reach the RPL. I had to do everything that was required. That's what we did.

— You, Sochi, played the last round match in the first league away from Chernomorets and lost 1-2, releasing far from the main squad on the field. Many people think that you were either saving your strength before the transition matches, or you wanted to get into them specifically at Pari NN, considering that there was more chance of success against him than against Akhmat.

— It's not like we were talking, but the people around us are talking. I will not listen to them or answer for their words.

"Akhmat's victory gives Paris NN a better chance to stay in the RPL."

Maxim Shnaptsev, a football player from Pari Nizhny Novgorod, talks about the situation with the allocation of places in the elite division, the defeat in the play—off matches from Sochi and dissatisfaction with his playing time in the season

— Then why did you lose in Novorossiysk? Did you just know that you would get into the joints from fifth place and not have to cling to a place in the top four?

— Go to Moreno and ask him why he put such a composition. It's up to the coach to decide.

"He's already gone." How do I ask him?

"He's probably already gone."

— By the way, did they explain his departure to you?

— I don't know. I had a game. It was two days from game to game. And I didn't want to fill my head with unnecessary information.

— Does the current Sochi need to strengthen a lot before the RPL season?

— You always need to strengthen yourself and add fresh blood. But it's up to the coaching staff and the club's management how they see the future composition of the team. My job is to go out into the field and plow. Play for the club and get results.