"I want to win trophies with Dynamo"

Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Igor Leshchuk was one of the brightest football players in his role in the RPL a couple of seasons ago. Under his leadership, the club has achieved the best results in its modern history — bronze medals at the Russian championships in 2022 and 2024, reaching the finals of the Russian Cup in 2022. In 2024, the blue and white almost won the first national championship gold since 1976, but lost the trophy due to an away defeat in the last round from Krasnodar (0:1).

Since then, the 30-year-old goalkeeper has been losing his place at the base. At first, the coaches preferred Andrei Lunev to him, and because of his injuries last season, the young Kurban Rasulov was released on the field. In an interview with Izvestia, Leshchuk explained why he is still ready to fight for the status of Dynamo's number one, explained whether he can leave his hometown club if he remains in reserve, and also commented on the return to the post of head coach Sandro Schwartz (he led the team in 2020-2022) and the victory in the Champions League of the PSG goalkeeper. By Matvey Safonov.

"Schwartz has not cut off contact with us all these four years"

— What are your expectations from resuming work with Sandro Schwartz?

— Positive ones. Personally, I really enjoyed playing under his guidance when he was in charge of Dynamo last time. And the rest of the guys who have stayed on the team since those days have a very good opinion of him. Moreover, Sandro has not broken off contact with us all these four years that he has not been in Russia. I corresponded with the players and the club staff. The only coach who kept in touch with us congratulated us on our birthdays, on a good game, when we had successful matches. It wasn't like he left Dynamo and completely disappeared from our lives. Well, we remember the game and the results of the team with him — something comparable was only with a personal account.

— Can Schwartz be called the most convenient coach for you in terms of playing style of all those with whom you worked at Dynamo?

— It's still more a matter of teamwork. Yes, goalkeepers are required to participate in quick attacks, quickly put the ball into play when they play on the way out — this is a normal story, all goalkeepers do it. There is nothing special about such requirements. But from the point of view of drawing the ball from the goal, Sandro is not so demanding as to take a lot of risks. That's good, of course (smiles).

— Dmitry Izotov, who has been working at the headquarters of the Dynamo main team since the time of Kirill Novikov, since 2019, remained the goalkeeper coach under Schwartz. Why is he so in demand under different head coaches?

— I do not want to and have no right to comment on the work of Dmitry Sergeevich or anyone else from the coaching staff.

— But do his requirements change depending on who he works with?

— It happens. It mainly concerns the kicking game. Each head coach has his own requirements in this regard. And Dmitry Sergeevich focuses on them.

— Under which coach did he most demand goalkeepers to play with their feet?

— With Lichka and Karpin.

— Why do they have such different results? Personally, they almost became champions, Karpin left the club in the middle of the season, leaving the team in the middle of the table.

— It is difficult and probably impossible to answer this question unequivocally. Each coach has his own vision of the game, his own ideas, which he implements. Maybe someone needs more time to implement them, someone gets to implement their ideas on the field more quickly and efficiently. It happens that way.

— Maybe it's because you were always playing at the base when you were a personal player, but you only played in three league matches when you were a Karpin player?

— Maybe you can get a job at Dynamo? Tell me that the team's result was better with Igor at the base (smiles).

— Well, anyway, no matter how much you were criticized, the team's spring breakthrough in 2024, which almost ended with the championship, happened to you as the main goalkeeper.

— And they almost won the Cup in 2022. The only problem is that they never won the Cup or became champions. By the way, I've been thinking about this a lot, which was just a little short of trophies. And how much would it change the perception of me in football and my career if we took at least one thing — the Cup in 2022 or the championship in 2024.

— So you feel this background when you still remember being on the bench for a long time last season, and before that they focused on individual mistakes in your game, even if there were a few?

— When someone says that I don't play or don't play enough, it's a fact. You can't argue with that. But I'm sure if I had gained the trust of the coaching staff now and felt that they were counting on me, everything could have turned out differently.

— Have you ever felt this trust at Dynamo? After all, even in good seasons, during your personal life and during the first coming of Schwartz, you actually split your playing time in half with Anton Shunin.

— I'll tell you this: there has always been an internal intrigue. And for a goalkeeper, trust is important when you play and play. And everything else is in the background.

"Safonov honorably represents the Russian goalkeeper school"

— In the spring, you extended your contract with Dynamo until the summer of 2028. Are you ready for the fact that after graduation, if you do not regain your place at the base of your native team, you will leave it and try to build a career in another club?

— Anything is possible. It doesn't just depend on my desire: right now, all my thoughts are about helping Dynamo achieve their goals.

— So you won't stick to Dynamo for the rest of your career?

— I have said many times that, of course, I want to win trophies with Dynamo. This is my hometown club, I am its pupil. And considering that Dynamo has not won trophies for many years, I want to help them and win them with my native team. To make our fans happy. Moreover, this way you will go down in history from a very good side.

— But if the situation with playing time in the next two years is the same as last season, are alternative career options possible?

— Let's see. I have a contract for two more years. We need to work it out first, then watch it. But I don't look that far and I don't think about it.

— Many people think that you are ready to stay at Dynamo, even as a reserve player, because of the financial conditions and the opportunity not to leave Moscow. Can we say that gaming practice comes first when choosing a career?

— Of course, I always want to play. And at various stages of his career, the main team had the desire and the opportunity to go on loan. But the club wouldn't let go, so he worked and proved his worth within the team. And today we also have a strong goalkeeper team. Everyone is working and wants to win the competition.

"When was that?"

— Under Schwartz and after him. Yes, even before Sandro, under Novikov. So I've definitely always wanted to play more. And I want to. And I hope that I will be able to prove the right to play in the Dynamo base.

— Did you follow Matvey Safonov's Champions League triumph with PSG?

- of course. He's doing great, handsome. I am very happy for him. A Russian football player who has won two Champions Leagues has never happened before. This is a very great achievement.

— Were you surprised how Safonov ousted Chevalier from the main team?

— I wasn't surprised. Matvey is a great master and represents the Russian goalkeeper school with honor.