"Winter training camps are tough for everyone, but they are even harder for Talalaev"

Kaliningrad "Baltika" has become the main sensation of the current season in Russian football. Having left the first league in the RPL last spring, Andrei Talalaev's team gained a foothold at the top of the Russian Championship standings from the first rounds. Of the 18 league matches, they lost only one — away to CSKA Moscow (0:1), conceding a goal in the last seconds of the meeting. At the same time, the team beat Spartak Moscow twice (3:0 and 1:0), drew away with Dynamo Moscow (1:1), at home with Lokomotiv Moscow (1:1) and Zenit St. Petersburg (0:0).

For the winter break, Baltika finished in fifth place, only five points behind the leading Krasnodar. She continues to compete in the Russian Cup, where she will face Zenit at home in March in the Path of the Regions. Kaliningrad is currently preparing for the second part of the season at its first winter training camp and is close to selling one of its key players, midfielder Vladislav Saus, to Spartak. In an interview with Izvestia, Baltika defender Alexander Filin shared his opinion on the possible losses of the leaders, spoke about the tasks for the spring, Talalaev's workload at the winter training camp and did not rule out the interest of other clubs in himself.

"The term "top clubs" is just a framework"

— Is Baltika ready to hold the positions it holds at the end of the first part of the season?

— It's too early to talk about it now, because it's only the initial stage of preparation for the second part of the season. But I think that during the winter vacation, everyone in our team had time to relax and reboot, so we will work out all the fees efficiently.

— In the summer, when Baltika scored their first bright victories in the championship in the first rounds, many thought that its stay at the top of the table would be short-lived. How did you manage to stretch these successes to 18 rounds?

— The team is just very well prepared. When the training is good, you can achieve success for a long time. How do top clubs become top clubs? They do good work for a long time. And we try to do everything the same way. It is clear that we still have certain fluctuations in the game, but they are not significant.

— Can Baltika already be called a top club?

— The term "top clubs" is all about the framework. As Alexander Grigoryan said, "If this is a top club, then who are we?" We at Baltika are only working to earn a good result. And we will continue to work harder to make the result even better.

— In the case of the final place of Baltika in the current championship, can we say that we did not work in vain?

— Whatever the result, in any case, we have been working all season for a reason. Because all Baltika players are growing individually. So we're just moving step by step. It's unrealistic to talk about any task for the championship, but we try to win every next match.

"The dogs are barking — the caravan is coming"

— How do you react to the constant winter rumors about the interest of richer clubs in several Baltic players, in particular, Mingiyan Beveev and Vladislav Saus, who almost joined Spartak?

— Well, it's logical when a team is performing well and its players are showing themselves. It is clear that such rumors arise against this background. But the main thing here is that all the guys are now at Baltika's location and are preparing for spring with her. So it's okay.

— Has anyone from the top clubs approached you with offers?

— No one contacted me. And in general, they should contact the leaders of Baltika, but no one personally called me about this.

— But do you admit that there may be interest in you from the conditional Spartak or CSKA?

"Why not?" The same people play there as we do at Baltika. Moreover, we have already beaten Spartak twice this season. CSKA just lost, but even then only in the last seconds. As it is, all football players have two arms and two legs. All people are the same.

— But you will be 30 years old in June. Usually, top clubs are only interested in players of this age in extreme cases.

— The dogs are barking — the caravan is coming. Age is not age — it doesn't matter to me personally. I just keep doing my job, trying to get the job done as much as possible. I have enough strength for this now, and I think I will continue to have enough. On the contrary, my age is an experience. And for a central defender, experience is very important.

— What goals are mostly discussed within the team? Do you want to stay in the top five, or do you already want something more - for example, medals?

— For now, it's just to prepare well in winter. How we did it in the summer. And confidently enter the spring part of the championship, as we entered at the beginning of the season. That is, we are not looking as far as you are asking. Personally, it's hard for me to look strategically right now. Maybe that's how far managers look. Or commands from the very top of the table. And I live for today. They told us to rest, we rested, they told us to train, we train. The main thing now is to prepare well for spring. Everything is done Step by Step.

"We can be returned to the European Cup at the snap of our fingers"

— Are winter training camps at Talalaev particularly tough?

— Winter training camps are always tough in terms of workload, as was the case with all the coaches I played under. But Andrei Viktorovich's are really even more difficult — I went through it when I played with him at Khimki. The loads are higher, so you need to approach the training camp fully prepared for them, and not expect to get in shape on the go. So we had a fitness maintenance program from the coaching staff on vacation — it had to be done. It is necessary to approach the beginning of the first gathering not disassembled, but with some preparation. During the month that I had a vacation, I could only rest for a week — the rest of the time I needed to train and keep in shape.

— During our interview in September, you said that the likelihood of Russian clubs being disbanded and allowed to compete in European competitions next season adds to your motivation to help Baltika finish high in the RPL table. Do you still believe that this admission is possible in 2026?

— Everything is the same. Why not? Everyone was skeptical about it then, but it's better now.

— Were you skeptical about the prospects of Baltika or the disbandment of Russian clubs?

— They were skeptical about us, about Baltika, not believing that we would be able to stay in high positions for a long time. And the fact that they can be banned... Why not? It will only make everyone feel better. Everything can come back for us in European competitions at the snap of our fingers, and we will already be there.

— Even the January events in the world do not deprive you of hope?

—Not really. I think everything will be fine. I'm an optimist, so I believe in the best.