"RB Leipzig from the time of Rangnik is being used as an example for us."
In November, the players of the Russian youth national team will play at a tournament in Kyrgyzstan, where, in addition to the local national team, they will also face Bahrain and Iran. The matches will be held in Osh on November 12, 15 and 18. All teams will be made up of players under the age of 23. Among those included in the extended list of the Russian team is Andrei Ivlev, midfielder of Pari Nizhny Novgorod. In October, he made his debut for the youth team in away friendly matches against Belarus. (0:2; 1:1).
And at the club level, he has been playing in the main squad of the RPL for the second year. Ivlev played for Fakel Voronezh last season, and for Pari Nizhny Novgorod this season. Now his team is in last place in the Russian championship. But the footballer, who turns 19 on November 21, expects that Nizhny Novgorod will still rise in the table under the current head coach Alexei Shpilevsky. In an interview with Izvestia, Ivlev spoke about the demands of Paris NN, the struggle for survival in the RPL, and shared his opinion about making his debut for the youth national team and the motivation to play for it in the absence of official international competitions.
— In early October, you received your first career call-up to the Russian youth national team. What are your impressions of being inside the team?
— Very good ones. Great atmosphere, clear requirements and training process. In principle, I had already played for the Russian U-16 and U-17 youth national teams. Therefore, I understood roughly what the national team was. Plus, all the youth and youth national teams play about the same football. So, even though it was my first time in the youth team, I didn't have to work hard to get involved. From the first training session, I felt at ease. Moreover, I know all the guys who were called up to the team. And there were no difficulties getting used to the youth team.
— You said that the youth national teams and the youth team play the same football. What do the coaches require of you?
— They demand not to be afraid of anything on the field, to put pressure on the opponent and to play football with the help of combinations. In general, we try to play high-quality attacking football. Unfortunately, we didn't score enough goals. Just one goal in two games is a bad result for us. We should have scored more goals.
— What would you say about your debut matches for the youth team against Belarus?
— As expected, this is a strong team that plays well defensively. It was difficult to crack it.
— How would you rate your performance in these matches?
— On the whole, I don't really appreciate it. Failed to win either of the two games. I am glad that I made my debut for the youth national team, played half of the first match and played the second one completely. I tried to create chances at someone else's goal, but unfortunately I couldn't score.
— Do you expect the RFU to organize trips for you to strong South American teams, as it was for the older generation of the youth national team in the last two years?
— Yes, it's always interesting to travel to new countries and play against new teams. Our youth team also had trips to Latin America — once to Paraguay, once to Brazil. It was nice to play there, but, of course, we don't choose who to play with. Wherever they tell us, we'll fly there. That's why we played in Kazakhstan and Belarus, which are also high—quality opponents. And you have to be very well prepared for them too.
— What do you remember about your trips to Paraguay and Brazil?
— It is difficult to single out one thing. Latin America is very different from Russia in principle — different climate, different people. Another world altogether. At the time of our trip to Paraguay, their main team had just won against Argentina — there was a whole holiday in the country. We just couldn't fall asleep — people were making a lot of noise under the windows of our hotel. They didn't let me sleep — it was very funny. Moreover, our youth team won twice against their team. First, 1-0 — I scored a goal. Then 6:1. Therefore, only positive emotions remained from the trip.
— How would you rate the level of our young players compared to these teams?
— It's hard to say, because after all, we didn't play in official matches against them, when there is a special mood from all sides and everyone is playing with their optimal lineups at the moment. But we won most of the matches, there were only a couple of defeats. Besides Paraguay and Brazilian clubs, they also played with Panama and Senegal. In my opinion, the game was not inferior to anyone. Maybe we were physically inferior in the moment. But tactically and technically, no one was superior to us.
— Is it difficult to prepare yourself for such matches in conditions when the youth and youth national teams are not expected to have official qualifying matches for the European Championship in the near future?
— Of course, if there had been a selection and the final Euro tournament, qualification for the World Cup, everything would have been different. Although I really do not know how it would be, because I have not yet encountered it myself. But we still play with great desire in the current conditions. The call-up to the national team is pleasant in itself. We are playing for our country, for Russia. We give 100% in every match and set ourselves up only for victory.
— You are from a generation of players who still have a chance to play official matches for the youth team. Do you believe that UEFA will provide this opportunity?
— Of course I do. But we're not thinking about that right now. If there is such a chance, we will be happy to participate in the selection for the Euro. But for now we are ready to prepare for the friendly matches that we have.
— Around the same time that you were called up to the Russian youth national team, your namesake Alexander Ivlev became chairman of the board of directors at Dynamo Moscow. Did Paris NN and the national team joke about this?
— No, it wasn't discussed. But I can say that a year ago at Fakel, Sergey Bryzgalov gave me the nickname Chef. In honor of the famous chef Konstantin Ivlev. But now no one calls me that, just Andrew or Willow.
— This season in the RPL, you are a solid foundation player for Pari Nizhny Novgorod. Does such trust from head coach Alexei Shpilevsky add responsibility?
— Yes, of course. Moreover, it is very interesting for me to work with the current coaching staff. A lot of things are still difficult for us, but we are working, improving our game. Unfortunately, this does not bring us points yet, but I hope that now we will fix the situation and move up in the standings.
— What is interesting for you to work with this coaching staff?
— Alexey Nikolaevich is a very high—quality specialist. Like all coaches, he has his own methodology, a more European approach. This also applies to his assistants, who have been working with him since Cyprus. We have theory every day, game reviews, and a very interesting training process. All we have to do is listen and do our best. There is a difference from Russian coaches in training and communicating with players. But we're basically used to it. We're having a difficult time right now, but we need to keep working in training. And then all the ideas of the head coach will start to bring results. I hope everything will be fine.
— How does his European approach differ from working with Russian coaches?
— We work a lot in the gym and with the ball on the field. Although I can't say that Russian coaches don't have enough of it. It's just that the very structure of these workouts is different. But the main thing that Shpilevsky demands is that if you lose the ball, you immediately join the selection, do not back away in any case, go to the end and play boldly. Many people like it because we are not afraid to play football. And we do it. It's clear that we're having a hard time, but not everything is working out for us. But we act boldly. I think it's obvious from the outside.
— As a person who worked in Germany, in the Red Bull system and a follower of the style of Ralph Rangnik, does Shpilevsky cite game cuts of any German teams in theoretical classes?
— He gives us RB Leipzig as an example from the time of Rangnik, when the team reached the semi-finals of the Champions League. And he tries to build on this game when working with us. Plus, he shows the games of the Cypriot Aris, which he has already coached himself.
— Do the players of Paris NN believe that they can play this kind of football?
— It is clear that the Nizhny Novgorod team has been fighting for survival in the RPL in recent years. Just like I had last season at Fakel. But all the same, I think that we should only build on our game. And Alexey Nikolaevich demands this from us. I repeat, it doesn't bring points yet, but I hope that success will come to us at a distance if we are not afraid to play on our own.
— Did the fact that a third of the season's home matches were played outside Nizhny Novgorod affect the results?
- yes. I don't want to make excuses. In any case, we tried to achieve the best possible results in these conditions. But, of course, I want to play in my stadium with as many fans as possible. Now that we're back in Nizhny Novgorod, we need to catch up and enjoy the support of our fans. It's much easier to play with them because they drive you forward. And this is important, among other things, for the football that Shpilevsky puts on.
— In September, there was a scandalous episode at the end of the match with Akhmat, when a very controversial penalty was awarded to Paris NN for your joint with Georgy Melkadze, from which the opponent scored the winning goal. What emotions did you experience then?
— It was unpleasant. The moment is really very controversial. There seemed to be a touch, but Melkadze took another step and only then fell.
— Do you often encounter such refereeing in the RPL?
— It doesn't often raise questions, but there are matches when someone blew the wrong whistle. But in principle, I am determined to play football and win with any referee.
"Is that possible?" Do you believe that after such results in the summer and autumn, the team can stay in the RPL?
— We will do our best to turn the coach's ideas into reality, start scoring points and always play football. I will do my best to keep Paris NN in the RPL. The main thing is that we should all be a united team. Like in the "Torch", when at the moment all the men became one, they fought in every match. It was even last season. Everyone gave their best to the end, but due to the large number of draws they couldn't escape. At the same time, if they had scored just two more points, they would now be playing instead of Orenburg in the RPL. Well, before that, Voronezh was twice saved from relegation. And with such unity within the team, Paris NN can also retain its place in the RPL.
— Are winter camps supposed to help Shpilevsky?
— I hope so. Judging by the way he and his staff pay a lot of attention to physical fitness, I'm looking forward to this winter. And we will add even more for her, both in physics and in understanding the playing requirements of the head coach.
— In September, Sergey Tashuev named his three most promising Russian young players — Alexey Batrakov, Sergey Pinyaev and you. When he worked at Fakel, did you feel this way about him?
— I was involved in the training of the main squad even before Tashuev, under Vadim Valentinovich Evseev. But under Sergey Abuezidovich, I went to winter training camps. I tried to prove that I was worthy of playing in the base. But still, I was 16-17 years old then - there is little trust at that age. Nevertheless, he tried to prove himself in the conditions of those difficult workouts that Tashuev has, such as running and roller coasters. In the end, I couldn't get into the squad, but I knew I just had to keep working. As a result, he began playing for Fakel in the RPL the following season.
— What was the most difficult part of the training camp under Tashuev, whose infernal workload is known to everyone in football circles?
— It wasn't easy. We ran in the woods, in the hills — Sergey Abuezidovich found them himself in Antalya, where the training camp was held. It wasn't often like this, but sometimes we ran a shuttle run and just went downhill for 40-45 minutes at a time. You run up the hill, then go down with an easy run. It will be remembered for a long time.
— Were the fees tougher than Shpilevsky's?
— Alexey Nikolaevich and his staff also pay a lot of attention to physics. There is a lot of work in the gym, and the training camps are also difficult, but I did not run as much as under Tashuev. They both had barbell work, but Shpilevsky's weight is less.
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