"Staying in the top five will be good, but we can do more"

Kaliningrad "Baltika" has become the main sensation of the current football season in Russia. Having returned from the first league last spring, Andrei Talalaev's team immediately broke into the group of RPL leaders. Following the results of 18 rounds of the Russian championship, they went on a winter break in fifth place, having lost only one match. During the break, Baltika released Vladislav Saus, one of the key players, to Spartak Moscow for a lot of money, but retained the rest of the squad.

In the first match after the break, Kaliningrad lost 0:1 away to Zenit St. Petersburg, conceding the decisive goal at the end of the meeting. Shortly before that, Kaliningrad defender Kevin Andrade scored the ball into the opponent's goal, but the referee did not count it under the pretext of a very controversial offside. Baltika remains fifth, eight points behind the leading Krasnodar, and five points behind Moscow's Lokomotiv, which closes the top three. The team also continues to compete in the Russian Cup, where on March 3, on the Way to the Regions, they will play Zenit on their own field.

In an interview with Izvestia, Ravil Izmailov, CEO of the Kaliningrad club, assessed the winter transfer campaign, shared his opinion on the last match and hinted at adjusting the tasks for the championship.

— Can you call the key achievement of Baltika in the winter that Vladislav Saus became the only important player who left the team? And how do you rate the replenishment — did you want to acquire several more newcomers besides those who joined the team?

— Probably, as they wanted, so they strengthened. Maybe I wanted a little more, but these are subtleties. As for what we haven't lost... Yes, we had difficulties and worries that we would lose more players. It's good that they were retained, and indeed, in the end, only Saus left us from the main squad. Well done players — thank them for that.

— During the fall, I asked you twice about the possibility of adjusting the tasks for the season — from the initial goal of finishing in the top ten to something higher. You said that perhaps this will be discussed during the winter break at meetings of the Board of directors and the Board of Trustees of Baltika. Were there any relevant discussions in the end?

— Yes, we discussed everything, talked it over. The goals and objectives are outlined — we are moving towards them. I don't want to put this in the press.

— But the goals are higher now?

— Regarding the start of the season, the goals are, of course, higher.

— Stay in the top five? Or medals?

"Holding on will be good too. But we can do more. I hope so.

— Are you satisfied with the quality of Baltika's game against Zenit?

— Yes, I am very satisfied with the quality of the game. We played Zenit, a contender for the championship. We played on equal terms. I think the team played a good match. Zenit pinned us down in the first half, we defended more. In the second half, the game was even, and both teams had chances. Our guys didn't flinch in front of the stadium, in front of Zenit. Our fans could be heard very clearly, and their support was very important.

— What do you think about the referees' decision not to count your team's goal?

— No comment. This is an emotional issue, and it's better to comment on a cool head.

— Do you believe that you can maintain the pace of scoring that you had in the fall and compete with the top clubs for medals?

— We believe in it. We will do everything to keep it that way. We are a sports team. And we play every match to win. To do this, we train, strengthen and work with the team. Therefore, definitely yes, we believe in the ability to fight with leaders.