"Arshavin advised me to put the ball under my left foot more"

The main discovery of the start of the RPL season was the 18-year-old Orenburg striker Andrei Kasadzhikov. The Zenit graduate, who still owns the rights to the football player, is spending the current season on loan at the Orenburg club.

Kasadzhikov made his RPL debut in the first round: coming on as a substitute in the match against Rostov with the score 0:1 and the team playing in the minority, he first gave an assist, and scored the winning goal in the 90+4th minute. Later, the striker distinguished himself in the championship in the game with Lokomotiv (1:1), and in the Russian Cup he scored three points in matches with Spartak (1:5) and Rodina (4:1).

In an interview with Izvestia, Kasadzhikov told how he managed to start the season so brightly, appreciated the support of Orenburg head coach Ildar Akhmetzyanov and recalled the main advice he received from Andrey Arshavin at Zenit.

— What do you attribute your bright start in the RPL to?

"I don't really know. It's a job. Work during training sessions. I think it's paying off.

— Can we say that the current Orenburg style suits you, when the team as a whole does not sit on the defensive and tries to impose its game on any opponent?

— In any case, a football player must be able to adapt to the coach and his requirements. When I first joined Orenburg, it was hard at first. And I can still say that I haven't fully gotten used to it yet. Sometimes I fall out of the game. But I try to understand the requirements of the head coach.

— How did you tune in to the RPL debut match against Rostov, which turned from defeat to victory thanks to your effective actions?

— Nothing unusual. It's the same as before the other matches.

— Did the head coach of the team, Ildar Akhmetzyanov, and his teammates say something?

- of course. They encouraged me and told me not to worry. There was nothing special, except that it was my first match in the RPL.

— After the undefeated penalty in the match against Lokomotiv, Akhmetzyanov said that he had appointed you to go to the point, and without this, more experienced players would not have let you beat. Was it important that the coach took responsibility for this episode?

— Yes, of course. The only shame is that he didn't score a penalty and we didn't win the match, although we could have done it. I practiced eleven—meter shots in training, and it turned out well. Ildar Raushanovich noticed this. I had scored against Lokomotiv from the game shortly before that, and I think that also contributed to the fact that I reached the point.

— Was it difficult to mentally recover from this episode with the missed penalty?

—Not really. I try not to dwell on it at all. What happened happened. What can you do about it now?

— Do Zenit representatives keep in touch with you? Have you reacted to your successful start to the season?

— They wrote congratulations.

— Did Andrey Arshavin, Deputy chairman of the Zenit Management Board, who oversees youth football, say something before the loan or after his debut for Orenburg?

— No, he didn't tell me anything about it personally.

— Have you ever talked at all?

— Of course, we talked. When I played in Zenit's youth team, in Zenit-2, he came to our games and training sessions, approached me, prompted me.

— Are there any tips that you particularly remember?

— Probably when he advised putting the ball under his left foot more (smiles).