"Spartak has a chance to win the championship — it's important how he uses them"

This week, the matches of the 1/32 finals of the "Path of the Regions" of the Russian Football Cup took place. At this stage, the last representatives of the media league, who have never gone further and have not beaten the representatives of the first league (FNL-1), who entered the fight for the trophy in this round, were eliminated. On Thursday, the Amkal media team was close to a historic success, losing only in the last minutes of regular time in Krasnogorsk, Krasnoyarsk, to Yenisei (1:2).

In an interview with Izvestia, the midfielder of the Siberian club Vyacheslav Krotov explained the difficulty of playing with media clubs, assessed the prospects of Spartak, which he played in the mid-2010s, and also told why Yenisei failed to start the season in the first league — the team is in 14th place, having a gap. just two points away from the relegation zone to the second league.

— How did Amkal manage to get so far in the Cup and even create problems for you?

— This is a good opponent, who deservedly went through several stages of the Russian Cup and created a lot of problems for us. Moreover, Amkal has gathered a lot of qualified football players who have recently played professional football. Leon Sabua, for example, just a couple of years ago became the champion of Armenia with Urartu and was recognized as the best player of the year in the country. I still played with some of the Amkal players, either on the same team or playing against them. I actually crossed paths with someone else at school. In general, the guys gathered with the experience of playing at a fairly good level, which is why Amkal was so good in the Cup.

— Does the fact that the media league teams have been beating the representatives of the second league for several years and playing on equal terms with the clubs of the first league indicate the progress of media football or the degradation of the lower divisions of professional football?

— The media league is progressing. Good level of players, high motivation. Plus, in games against FNL teams, those guys who haven't really played at a professional level are still gaining experience. Therefore, every year they show themselves better and better in the Cup.

— Two days before your match with Amkal in Krasnogorsk, another media team, the Brock Boys, lost to the Saratov Sokol, which plays in the first league. Your former Spartak partner Pavel Yakovlev criticized his opponent for primitive football with wrestling and long throws, saying it was wrong for a representative of the FNL to play like that against semi—amateurs from the media league. Do you share this point of view?

— I don't know. Pasha himself recently played in the first league and knows how difficult it is to win there. Everyone has their own style of football. Someone is playing power football with long-range shots and wrestling, someone is trying to attack through a pass, as Yakovlev wants. Saratov prefers the first option. We try to play not only through a long pass, but also through ball control — these are the requirements of Andrei Valeryevich (Tikhonov, the head coach of Yenisei. — Izvestia). Everyone has a different game and a different vision of what kind of football should be shown.

— Do you assume that you will play in the media league when you decide to retire from professional football?

— Yes, it is quite possible. I follow the media league and subscribe to many related channels. I like how it develops. There are cool rules of the game like a red ball and the introduction of the ball from the out with a foot.

— How would you rate Yenisei's performance in the first league this season?

— The start didn't go well, we are not in the place we wanted to be. But I am sure that we can further improve our positions. Yenisei is a club with a good history and numerous fans. And we need to start scoring points regularly and move up the table. I believe that the current 14th place is not ours.

— Is it a tough tournament in the first league right now?

— It's not easy to play it and score points. There are a lot of teams at the top now that not everyone expected this from. See for yourself — Spartak (Kostroma) is in the lead, Chelyabinsk is in the zone of transitional matches. But these clubs have just left the second league.

— Do they have a chance to break into the RPL? Who do you see as favorites in the fight to get there?

— Ural will definitely claim it to the last. "Rotor" is playing well now and can also compete for the first two places. Fakel is an unambiguous candidate for entry into the RPL. I wouldn't discount Kostroma either — the football she shows can help her stay at the top of the table. Basically, everyone has a chance, but I've named those who come to mind first.

— Is Yenisei able to compete for entry into the Russian Premier League? Or has too much already been missed at the start?

— We will try to win as much as possible, climb up and catch up with the leaders.

— Two and a half years ago, you played in the RPL for Pari Nizhny Novgorod. Since then, what kind of domestic difficulties have you faced in the first league?

— In everyday terms, one of the main problems is flights. We mostly fly with transfers via Moscow.

— How do you like the current Spartak? Is he capable of becoming a champion under the leadership of Dejan Stankovic?

"Why not?" There are always chances. How they use them is another matter.

— Were you surprised by how much money Spartak spent on transfers in 2025? We didn't spend that much under any of the previous head coaches.

— People want to become champions. Therefore, they are throwing all their forces, including financial ones, to strengthen the squad and compete for gold.