"I never even dreamed of such a career"

Former football player Vladislav Ignatiev was one of the most prominent RPL players of the 2010s. He played five matches for the Russian national team, played in the Premier League for Lokomotiv Moscow, and also played for Krylia Sovetov Samara, FC Krasnodar, Krasnodar Kuban and Kazan Rubin. The best period of his career was at Loko (2015-2021), with whom he won the 2017/18 Russian Championship and won the Russian Cup three times (2017, 2019, 2021).

After leaving Rubin in the spring of 2022, 38-year-old Ignatiev no longer played in the Russian Premier League or at a professional level. In an interview with Izvestia, he told when he decided to quit football, commented on the end of the career of his national team and Lokomotiv partner Denis Glushakov, and also appreciated the current Loko.

— You recently participated in Denis Glushakov's farewell match. What are your impressions of the event?

— Everything is fine. We played with many of our football stars, and saw Denis Borisovich off. It was an honor for me to participate in this, considering how much we played together at Lokomotiv and the national team.

— What can you say about him as a football player and a person?

— For me, he has always been one of the leaders of the team. He always showed himself vividly. It is no coincidence that he had such a successful career — he became a champion as the captain of Spartak, played in major tournaments for the Russian national team. I can only speak positively about him as a player and a person. Denis has always been demanding, so it's natural that he maximized himself as a football player.

— There is some similarity between your careers in that he brought Spartak the championship after 15 years without a title, achieving a large number of victories for the team with his decisive goals, and a year later you helped Loko win the first RPL gold in 13 years, playing almost without substitutions on the right flank of the defense. and by pulling the ball out of an empty net with his head in a key game against Spartak (0-0)?

— I've never really thought about it. It's just that each of us tried to help our teams and win trophies with them. As a result, Glushakov and I have one championship and one Super Bowl each. And I also have three Russian Cups (smiles). Everyone has contributed a significant part of themselves to these successes.

— What are you doing now?

— I play football with the guys I know, I'm raising my son — he's nine and a half years old, I meet with friends.

— Aren't you going to join a media league where many of your generation are playing now?

- no. I want more free time. I repeat, I need to take care of my son, and if I constantly go somewhere to play, then there won't be any time at all.

— You have not officially announced your retirement, although you have not played in the RPL since the spring of 2022. When did you realize that you would never return to big-time football?

— Maybe six months after leaving Rubin. The time was not the most favorable for me in many aspects of my life. And then somehow I flew away on vacation and already decided that I would not return.

— How would you rate your career?

— Yes, I never even dreamed of such a career. When I first started playing professionally, I could not even imagine that everything would turn into a championship, three Cups and several matches for the national team.

— Isn't it a shame that you didn't play for the national team at a major tournament? In 2018, it seemed that after the championship season with Loko, you could get to the home World Cup at least as a reserve for Mario Fernandez.

— I did my best. I have no complaints about myself. As it happened, so it happened. Now I have a new life — I think more about it.

— Do you have a desire to return to football as a coach or a functionary?

— I don't know, time will tell. So far, I'm happy with what I have — my football games with friends on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends.

— How do you like the current "Locomotive"?

— I'm fine. He is in second place, just one point behind the first... The main thing is to play to the maximum possible at the end of the season. So far, everything is fine with the team.