"The situation with Smolov did not affect the mood before the match with Saturn

This week, the matches of the 1/64 finals of the "Path of the Regions" of the Russian Cup were held, where media teams once again achieved success. Amkal won 2-1 at home against Salyut Belgorod and set another record by releasing Alexander Medvedev, a 70-year-old adviser to Zenit Chairman of the board, who became the oldest player in the history of Russian football, for the first 22 minutes of the match. In August, at the previous Cup stage against Kaluga (1-0), Amkal had the youngest and tallest players, 14—year-old Vasily Goncharov and 226-centimeter-tall former basketball player Pavel Podkolzin.

And the Broken Boys, with Fyodor Smolov and Ari in the squad, won away from Saturn Ramenskoye (2:0). Both star players scored a goal each. There was also a stir around the match in the Moscow region due to the fact that a criminal case had been opened against Smolov a day earlier due to a fight at the Kofemania restaurant in late May. In an interview with Izvestia, another high-profile Broken Boys football player, former defender of the Russian national team, Spartak and Rostov, Evgeny Makeev, assessed the chances of passing three more stages in the Russian Cup and becoming the first media team in history to play an official match against the RPL club.

"It will be difficult for a professional team if it enters the media league from the second league"

— How would you rate the chances of your team becoming the first to play in the Russian Cup with the RPL club?

— To be honest, I am optimistic. The masters came to the team — Fedya came, Ari came. Ari did a great job in the match against Saturn and helped the team. Therefore, there are chances. Moreover, a cup match consists of one game. So we can easily go far.

— The situation with Fyodor Smolov, who was prosecuted the day before the match with Saturn...

— It didn't affect our game or him in any way.

— This is your second year playing in the media league, but relatively recently, two seasons ago, you were in the second league with Veles. How seriously is the championship you are currently playing in different from professional football?

— Slightly different rules, different rhythm of the game. At first, you need to get used to it. Therefore, even for a professional team, it will be difficult if it enters the media league from the second league. It's hard for us, too, when we return to professional football and play a full match.

— Can we say that the level of the media league is already higher than the second league, given how media gangs regularly knock out representatives of the second league from the Russian Cup?

— Yes, they do. But if you take the same Amcal, then each time, in fact, they organize some kind of new performance and play "minus one player". I don't think this team really needs the Cup. And the fact that 2DROTS were eliminated (in the 1/128 finals from Dolgoprudny Cosmos (0:1). — Izvestia) is a combination of circumstances. In general, the teams of the media league have the same level plus or minus as the second league.

— At the same time, Amkal still wins, even when some of the matches are, in fact, outnumbered by their performances.

— Yes, it doesn't bother them.

— How do you feel about such actions?

— If they attract attention in this way, then why not? In principle, I'm fine with that. Moreover, I'm not on their team (laughs).

Is something like this possible in Broken Boys?

— We don't have anything like that. Our goal is to get as far inside the Cup as possible. We don't do such performances. Our performance is by Ari and Smolov (smiles). They have only been reinforced by them.

"Spartak looks good emotionally, physically and in terms of the game"

— Have you seen moments in media football that could be adapted into professional football, the RPL or the FNL?

—I don't know. There's a big difference anyway. There are certain standards of professional football that will continue to exist. And the media league is a show. Therefore, I would not adapt anything. These are two completely different football games.

— Don't you feel that professional football is too closed in the media?

— Probably, yes. There is something like that. But over time, the teams will expand in this regard. I have recently observed that professional clubs in other countries are becoming more open. I think this will carry over to Russian football.

— How do you like the current Spartak? Do you believe in his prospects this season with Dejan Stankovic at the helm?

— Spartak got in shape. He stalled at the beginning of the season, but now it seems to me that the optimal squad has been selected. In general, the guys look good. If they continue to keep up the same rhythm and catch their pace, and somewhere else they will fart, they may well catch on to high places.

— After five rounds, Spartak was in the transition zone with four points, and it was the worst start since the spring of 2011, when under Valery Karpin and with you in the squad, the team was in last place in this segment. You ended up finishing second in that championship. Are there any parallels with the current situation?

— Yes, quite. I think this ending may well happen again. I don't think the situations are very different here. You can lose several matches in a row, and then go on a winning streak and win the remaining matches. The emotional moment is also very important here. I think Spartak is looking good emotionally, physically, and in terms of the game right now. So I'm positive about the team's future performance.

— Do you believe that Valery Karpin from Dynamo will overcome the crisis that he had in the first months of his work in the team?

— Again, it's like Spartak. First you lose a few matches in a row, then you win a few in a row. It's not a fact that Dynamo won't start winning everything now. It so happens that the results vary from match to match. There is no such formula by which you would constantly win. If everyone knew her, then everyone would win all the time. But here everything is a little different. This is football — real people play here. It is likely that Dynamo will start winning now, and Karpin will do well.

— It seems that after leaving Veles, you did not announce your retirement from professional football. Can you still return to it?

— I once said in an interview that I no longer intend to play professional football. It was perceived that I was ending my career. But in fact, I just went to the media league, played in it, I liked everything, and I'm not going back to professional football now.

— Does the word "now" mean that you have finally retired from professional football?

— Well, you see, I took part in the Cup of Russia. It turns out he didn't leave (smiles).

— Do you want to return to professional football on a permanent basis?

—Not really. I'll probably stay in the media league. And if you play at a professional level, then only in the Russian Cup.