"Everyone wants to help the team come out on top and stay there"

After the winter break, the season in the Russian Premier League resumed. In the 19th round, Zenit St. Petersburg, which is in second place, did not easily beat Baltika Kaliningrad at home (1-0), which became the main sensation of the current championship. Thanks to the victory, the club from the Northern Capital continues to follow Krasnodar closely, lagging behind it by one point.

Last year, it was the Bulls who took away the gold medals of the championship from Zenit, which Sergey Semak's team won six times in a row in 2019-2024. Midfielder Alexander Erokhin took part in all these victories. In an interview with Izvestia, he assessed the team's performance after the winter break, told what positions he was ready to take the field, declared his desire to fight for a place in the main squad at the age of 36, and spoke about Zenit's newcomers.

— During the training camps during the test matches, when Zenit was short on offense, Semak put you on the attack. Are you ready to fight for a place in the squad in this position?

— I had experience in my career playing as a striker, an attacking midfielder, and an "eight" (central midfielder. — Ed.), and extreme strikers. I think I have experience playing in all positions on offense.

— You've been a full-time striker for a long time.

— I had matches at Zenit when I played in this position on offense. So I'm ready to play it if the coaching staff tells me to. I have an understanding of how to play as a striker. Moreover, I have been working with the current coaching staff for a long time. I know what the requirements are for players in different positions, and I'm ready to fulfill them.

— Do you feel that you are ready to fight for a place at the base again, as you often do in recent years, when you start on the bench, but even when you substitute at the end of matches, you manage to make effective actions?

— That's a strange question (smiles). Of course, I'm ready. In general, every football player strives to win the competition for a place in the main squad. And he trains in order to play and be as ready as possible to go on the field. Naturally, now we have the strength and motivation to help the team. In any case, we are not expecting simple matches this spring, which was also shown by the first game against Baltika after the break. That's why all the players are important and must be ready. I think everyone wants to help the team to come out on top in the championship and stay there.

— Did your first opponent in the spring part of Baltika, who became the main sensation of the first half of the season, give the impression of a competitor in the fight for medals, and not a random upstart?

— A good team. Intense football, standard positions and counterattacks are their strengths. I think that as in the first part of the season, many rivals will simply not be able to compete with her this spring.

— How would you rate the newcomers who came to Zenit this winter — John Duran, John John and Igor Diveev?

— I think we have quality players who will help the team. But they still need time to adapt — some more, some less. It's clear that Igor might feel better, because he's been playing in our championship for many years, knows it, plus he knows many guys at Zenit from the national team. And he arrived at the team's training camp earlier than Duran and John. But they are also gradually joining the team and will add more soon.