"Now the result is more important than the content of the game itself"
There are three rounds left in the Russian Football Championship among the First League teams. So far, Fakel Voronezh is in the lead, which a month ago had a large 10-point lead over its competitors, and it seemed that this team would definitely enter the RPL directly. But in April, she started having problems. In the last four rounds, Oleg Vasilenko's team scored only two points — two defeats and two draws. Moreover, in the last match they could also lose away to the Moscow Torpedo.
At the end of the first half, the main goalkeeper Igor Obukhov was removed from Fakel with the score 1:1. In the 75th minute, the opponent led 2-1, but in the last minutes Voronezh equalized and escaped defeat. However, the issue of joining the RPL for them hung in the air. They are only three points ahead of Ural Yekaterinburg, which is in third place in the transition zone. The first two teams go directly to the RPL, the third and fourth play the joints. Fakel has already lost first place to Moscow's Rodina, but it can return to the top if it wins at home against Krasnoyarsk's Yenisei on May 3.
In an interview with Izvestia, the captain of the Voronezh team, Ravil Netfullin, commented on the recent failures of the club, assessed the chances of direct entry into the RPL and told how important the confrontation with Torpedo was for him, for which he played for many years, but left the club without explanation in 2023 and 2025.
- How did you manage to escape being outnumbered in the last match?
— At the expense of zeal and character.
— Do you feel that with the current game, Fakel has enough zeal and character to enter the RPL directly?
— It should be enough. Maybe in recent matches we haven't shown the level of play that we and our fans would like. But nevertheless, now the result is more important than the content of the game itself.
— What is the reason for the difficulties of "F Akela" last month, because of which they lost all the gap from competitors?
— If you're talking about a 10-point advantage, then personally I've already gone through such gaps in my experience. But football is such a thing that you can slip up somewhere and your opponents will catch up with you. Therefore, I will not name a single reason for our failures. It's hard to say anything about this right now. More precisely, there is not even time for these arguments. Naturally, we are analyzing the situation, but now I don't see any point in sitting, sprinkling ashes on my head and being sad about it. Everything is still in our hands. Therefore, we just need to win the three remaining matches and do what we strive for.
— Is the confrontation with Torpedo important for the AC, given that the club did not part with you very well twice?
— For me, there is no principle here, let alone resentment. Because everything that is done is for the best. The Torch game is more important to me at the moment. Especially now my team is leading in the First League and is fighting for entry into the RPL. I'm only thinking about how to help Voronezh return to the Premier League. As for Torpedo, I can only assess my stage of my career at this club from a positive point of view. As for my departure from it, it is better to ask other people a question. You definitely don't need to ask me that. These are clearly not questions for me. I'm just doing my job. And the result will tell for everything.
— Last season, you and Torpedo reached the RPL from second place, but just before the start of the next championship, the club's leaders were detained on charges of attempting to bribe referees, and the RFU KDC suspended the team from the Premier League and sent it back to the First. Are you surprised by all these scandals?
— I can't comment here either. I was the first to leave Torpedo after last season. And now I can only say that maybe everything is happening for a reason. But without the details. So that's how it should be at this stage.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
