"When Akinfeev made his debut for CSKA, it seemed like he had been in the RPL for a long time"

Last season, CSKA became one of the most successful teams in Russian football. He won the Russian Cup and the bronze medals of the national championship. The success of the club under the leadership of head coach Marko Nikolic, who recently sensationally left the Army, was largely due to the goalkeepers. The legendary Igor Akinfeev, who at the age of 39 signed another contract with CSKA for the next season, once again performed at a high level in the championship. He also successfully played the Russian Cup Superfinal against Rostov, after a 0-0 draw, bringing the red and blue a 4-3 penalty shootout victory.

And the second goalkeeper Vladislav Torop, who has successfully replaced Akinfeev in the Cup for the third season, helped the Army to reach the Superfinal. The 21-year-old was particularly distinguished at the penultimate stage of the tournament, when he won a penalty shootout (4:3) in the second leg of the final of the RPL Path against Zenit St. Petersburg, in which CSKA prevailed in regular time (2:0) after losing with the same score in the first game. For four years now, goalkeepers at the club have been coached by Dmitry Kramarenko, who played for the Army in the early 2000s, and is also known for playing for Alania Vladikavkaz and Dynamo Moscow in the second half of the 1990s.

In an interview with Izvestia, Kramarenko explained the phenomenon of Akinfeev's long career, recalled his debut at the age of 17, talked about the prospects of Rushing, and also shared his opinion about Ilya Pomazun's winter transfer from CSKA to Spartak.

"Experience, flair and crazy skill"

— Before the decisive match of the Russian Cup, it took a long time to make the decision to release Akinfeev on the field, given that Torop had played the entire tournament before that and pulled off a penalty shootout with Zenit?

— Igor Akinfeev has been our main goalkeeper for 20 years. Therefore, the decision was not made for a long time.

— Why does Akinfeev still find motivation to play and fight for trophies at this age?

— At what age? He's still a young guy — he still has to play and play.

— How long does he have to play?

— About 20 years old. (Smiles.)

— Then what should Hurry do? Does he have a chance to oust Akinfeev from the team?

— You know, Igor is Igor. I've always said that there's no point comparing him to anyone else. Vlad has a great future, but Igor has been number one for over 20 years.

— How do you and Akinfeev prepare for penalty shootouts like those in the Russian Cup Superfinals two years ago with Krasnodar (1-1, 6 on penalties:5) or this time with Rostov?

— I think Igor knows what needs to be done. So there's no special training here- experience, flair, and crazy skill.

— And how did you prepare for the penalty shootout with Zenit?

— I wished him luck and hoped for my instincts. I did some tactical tips, but nothing special. As I said, the main thing here is flair, skill and a certain amount of luck.

— How would you rate the prospects of Rushing in the coming years, despite the fact that Akinfeev is not slowing down?

— Vlad made a huge contribution to our victory in the Russian Cup. He's a great guy. God grant him good health and good luck — I am sure he will continue to progress.

— What is the difference for you in winning trophies with CSKA as a goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach?

— It's hard for me to say. In any case, I can say that it is very pleasant to always win. In the four years that I have been at the club as a goalkeeper coach, we have already won the Russian Cup twice, won silver and bronze in the championship. It's a very pleasant feeling. And I just want to thank the whole club and the whole team that I can feel emotions from such successes.

"That team became legendary, the current one is great"

— Have the requirements for you and the goalkeepers changed after last year's arrival of Nikolic instead of Vladimir Fedotov?

— Absolutely not. We have our own training, our own system, and we act on it. And Marco gave us all kinds of help. We have a good understanding. I also have excellent relations with Vladimir Valentinovich. I am grateful to him for the time that we have worked together, I am very lucky. And I can say this not only about Marko and Vladimir Valentinovich, but also about everyone I've worked with over the past four years since joining CSKA.

— In 2018, CSKA had to undergo a drastic restructuring, when Sergei Ignashevich, the Berezutsky brothers and many other players from the club's championship squads left the club at the same time, since then only Akinfeev has remained, and the new team achieved its first successes only in 2023. The way it was built and reached the trophies, is it reminiscent of the formation of the CSKA star Valery Gazzaev, whose construction you saw from the inside as a goalkeeper?

— Well, CSKA is a team that fights for high places all the time. Therefore, I think it is wrong to compare what happened in the past and what is happening now. That team became legendary, the current one is great. But each time has its own peculiarities, each team has its own winning periods. But what the club has built in the past, we are now trying to show in the present.

— I would like to ask about an episode from the recent past. More than a year ago, under Fedotov, CSKA also played for reaching the Cup Superfinal with Zenit, during the return match, Torop was seriously injured, but he was replaced not by Akinfeev, but by the inexperienced Vladimir Shaykhutdinov. As a result, CSKA lost a penalty shootout and was eliminated, but it seems that Igor could have taken it purely from experience.

— My position here is clear, and, in my opinion, it was discussed earlier — Igor Vladimirovich had a difficult injury. And we decided not to let him out on the field — everything is simple here.

He'll look for good things: why Marko Nikolic decided to change Russia to Greece

Serbian coach of CSKA is close to a contract with AEK

— A lot of questions arose due to the fact that he was still in the application for the match. It is clear that that injury to Hasp is force majeure, but there were no options to release Akinfeev after it?

"I was."

— So you decided on the move that you shouldn't let Igor out?

— We don't make decisions on the fly. But at the moment when Vlad was injured, they decided to release Volodya, because, I repeat, Igor had been injured before.

— Did you feel badly about Torop's injury in that match in St. Petersburg, when he had to be taken away from the stadium by ambulance?

— Yes, the injury was very serious. And in the first few minutes, it was very difficult for all of us to come to our senses, because this collision looked scary. But thanks to our doctors, led by Eduard Bezuglov, who quickly dealt with this and took him to the hospital. Thank God that everything ended well for him. And Vlad is a great guy. He managed to recover pretty quickly and get into the training process. Literally two months later, I started training on the field. He no longer had any fear.

"I remember that moment very well —it's right in front of my eyes."

— How did you react to the story of Ilya Pomazun and his departure to Spartak?

— It was his decision. I believe that it can be considered correct on his part. Ilya is an ambitious goalkeeper who wants to play. And I will say once again that CSKA has a primary goalkeeper, Igor Vladimirovich Akinfeev. Who never for a second lets you doubt his professionalism and cool game.

— Is joining the ranks of such a principled rival as Spartak no longer as painful as it used to be?

— You know, Ilya is an adult who makes decisions. May God grant him good health and good luck. If he thinks it's the right thing to do, then it's his decision. And I will never judge anyone.

— Your transfer from Dynamo to CSKA was probably not so resonant, but at that time would a transfer like the one that happened to Pomazun have been perceived more emotionally in the team?

— I am sure that Igor Vladimirovich Akinfeev would never have crossed over. But he is a unique person who has been devoted to his club for many years. As it is, people are different. And I can't blame anyone for deciding to join Spartak.

— I asked how it would be perceived during your goalkeeper career, but then I remembered that you crossed paths with Dmitry Tyapushkin at Dynamo, who managed to play for both Spartak and CSKA back in the 1990s. So this is not a unique case.

— Yes, yes, yes. I know Dima very well. And here's an example for you. In general, I repeat, we are all adults, and everyone makes decisions based on their views. Whether it is right or wrong is not for us to judge. Yes, there are some traditions, concepts and principles, but everyone has their own. Everyone should have their own principles. If he has them, then great. The guys I work with — Vlad Torop, Dani Bokov and others, led by Akinfeev — have principles. As for the other guys, I do not know.

"It's always nice when the stands are pushing forward"

Russian national football team player Ilya Vakhania — about the match with Nigeria, Karpina, Safonov and possible changes in Rostov

— When you played with Akinfeev at CSKA, were you surprised by his debut in the RPL in 2003, when he came to the match with Krylia Sovetov (2-0) and in the first match at the adult level he beat off a penalty kick from Andrei Karjaka, who was at the peak of his career?

— I remember that moment very well. (He smiles.) He's standing right in front of my eyes. It was really very enchanting. I would like to thank Igor's parents for the way they raised him, his charisma and character are simply unique. From the first time he joined the main team, it was all obvious. Back then, we talked with Valery Gazzaev and came to the conclusion that Akinfeev is a man without nerves at all. When he played the first match in Samara, it seemed that Igor had been playing at the Premier League level for a long time. A unique case.

— Did you and the late Veniamin Mandrykin immediately realize then that Akinfeev would not leave you a chance to play at the base of CSKA?

— As for Veni, God rest his soul, he's a great goalkeeper. Unfortunately, his fate was very difficult. But then Mandrykin was a very good competitor to Akinfeev. There were just moments when he might have given up somewhere or something. As for me, I was already old then. And there were also problems with the meniscus. So then he lived with other thoughts and goals — he played the role of an uncle, mentor and assistant more. In this regard, we had a very good goalkeeper workshop under the guidance of goalkeeper coach Vyacheslav Viktorovich Chanov, who made a great contribution to Igor's career. In this sense, everything turned out very well.

— Did Chanov have a strong influence on your work as a goalkeeper coach?

— He contributes a lot to my work. As a goalkeeper coach, I learned a lot from both Chanov and my late father (Sergey Kramarenko, the main goalkeeper of Neftchi Baku in the USSR's top league in the 1960s and 1970s. — Ed.), God rest his soul, and from Nikolai Pavlovich Gontar (the legendary goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach of Dynamo Moscow. — Ed.). They have been a great help to me in my coaching. I am very grateful to them for having learned from them many of the principles, views and training schemes.