"There are no random people in CSKA"

CSKA dryly won the final series against UNICS (4-0) and won the Belov Cup for the third time in a row, regaining the status of the main force of the VTB United League after two seasons when the title went first to Zenit and then to the Kazan club. In an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express, Andrei Vatutin, president of the Army, called the key factor in the new dominance of the red-blue.

— Your team won 11 of the 12 matches in the playoffs. Can you tell me what the secret of such dedication is? The CSKA players are literally gnawing on the parquet. How do you motivate them so much?

— There are no random people in CSKA. For many, joining our club is not only a challenge and responsibility, but also an honor. If a team gets better at a crucial stage of the season, it means that it has the right people and the right coaches working with them. Everything is well set up.

CSKA looked good in the regular season, but in the playoffs the team began to play an order of magnitude better. It's not just a question of motivation — I think it would be too simplistic to reduce everything to it. UNICS, Zenit and Lokomotiv Kuban were also motivated. The bottom line is that for our guys, the CSKA championship is something special. For this, they are ready to sacrifice their health and many other things every day. That's why I have great respect for all the players and coaches.

— A number of players have won the championship title for the first time. What will you tell them?

— Well, as always, someone wins for the first time. It is a special joy for them. But by and large, it doesn't matter how many times a team has become a champion — once or ten times. You finish the season first and leave for the summer with positive emotions.

Take Nikita Kurbanov, for example — it's hard to count how many titles he has. At the same time, the level of desire of, say, Alexander Chadov and Kurbanov is comparable. The way Nikita plays is an example for Sasha and other young CSKA players. Our veterans greatly help the new generation to reach their potential.

— This year, you signed leaders and veterans during the season. Previously, all announcements took place during the off-season. Was this some kind of new strategy?

— You just need to understand that when a contract is announced, it does not mean that it is signed right now. It could have been concluded six months ago — it just became news. This year we decided not to keep such things "on the table", but to announce them to show that we are optimistic about the future.

— Melo Trimble took all the individual awards of the season. Is the American a United League superstar?

— CSKA is a superstar!

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The Army team became champions with a landslide victory in the regular season and 11-1 in the playoffs.

— Did you guess the signing of Antonius Cleveland?

— All questions are answered by the score on the scoreboard. It's not like we're playing the lottery, guess or miss. The team became the champion. So, all the signings worked.

— In the final series, you won four matches against Kazan with a +77 difference. The most uncompetitive final in recent years?

— I wouldn't say that. UNICS did well, they showed outstanding masculine and fighting qualities in the semifinals. To go 1-3 and reach the final is worthy of respect. It's clear that it cost them a lot of effort: they didn't have enough strength in the final. But that's life.

— Has the competition become lower?

— Definitely not. Everyone has a different situation this season, and here I would not like to go into details. I can only speak for us: CSKA does not have a set of players, but a real team. That's the only way to win the Cup.