"We will learn from PSG to shoot penalties"

Konstantin Tyukavin, one of the RPL's most star players, missed the recent matches of the Russian national team against Egypt (0:1) and Burkina Faso (3:0) due to health problems. But starting in the second half of June, he will begin preparing for the new season with Dynamo Moscow, whose head coach Sandro Schwartz recently returned. In 2021, it was under the German that the striker gained a foothold in the main squad. In an interview with Izvestia, Tyukavin commented on the success of national team goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, who won the Champions League with French PSG, appreciated the newcomer to the national team, 18-year-old Manchester United youth midfielder Amir Ibragimov, positively assessed the prospects of the previous Dynamo head coach Roland Gusev and shared his impressions of attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"I think Sandro definitely missed the time when he worked at Dynamo

— Have you already talked to Sandro Schwartz after being appointed to Dynamo?

- yes. Before and after the appointment, I talked with Sandro and his assistants. We've been in touch with everyone before, and we've been in touch since he left Dynamo.

— How would you assess their emotional state before returning to Russia?

— I think Sandro definitely missed and still misses the time when he worked at Dynamo. Let's see how it will be now, how the work will be structured. Let's get out of vacation and talk in more detail. I think we're going to have a long conversation about everything.

— Schwartz's style of play is pressing, quick counterattacks. But in the four years of his absence from Dynamo, about half of the squad has changed. How well does the current team fit his system?

— Let's see, I think it will be interesting. There is time to prepare — that's what fees are for. I think Sandro will find the key to all the players that Dynamo has. I hope everything will be fine. In my opinion, our squad is at least as strong as it was in 2021. Definitely not weaker. So it all depends on us, on the preparation for the season. There's a lot of work ahead, and only time will tell where it all leads.

— Did you manage to personally say goodbye to Rolan Gusev and his staff?

— I am in constant contact with Rolan Alexandrovich. I recorded a video for him immediately after the official announcement of his departure. I am also in constant contact with Roman Sergeevich Sharonov. I remained on cordial terms with all the previous Dynamo coaching staff — thank them for their work and for their help. There can be no complaints about them at all. And I have nothing wrong with them.

— It is clear that their fate was largely tied to the results of the Russian Cup, from which Dynamo crashed out at the penultimate stage. But in general, have they convinced you that they can successfully train at the RPL level?

— I think that they were definitely convinced. Even if you look at our results in the spring, we were among the best in the Russian championship in terms of points scored.

Yes, unfortunately, we were eliminated from the Cup by Krasnodar, but if we take the content of the game, then we played well against him and were in no way inferior to one of the leaders of our football, we lost to him only in a penalty shootout. It is clear that no one will look at it — the game will be forgotten, but the result will remain. But I am sure that Sanych will still work on the coaching bridge and lead a good team.

"I needed a rest to heal minor sores"

— You attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The day before you appeared on it, you posted on your Telegram channel a photo from the train with your wife Alyona with the caption: "We are going to St. Petersburg. Wait for the news." Why was it necessary to unnerve people, many of whom again thought that we were talking about negotiations with Zenit?

— Whoever wants to, understands what is meant (smiles). I needed to upload something to the channel - I hadn't updated it for a long time before. I thought it was a great picture, so I decided to post it.

— For many years, rumors about Zenit's interest in you have been appearing almost every transfer window. How do you react to them for about the tenth time?

— They don't come from me. It's common for a club to be interested in any players. But everyone knows that I have a long-term contract with Dynamo and that everything suits me at my hometown club. So if anyone is interested in me, let them contact the Dynamo management, and they will already contact me with this proposal if they deem it necessary.

— How did you like the trip to the SPIEF and the main event with your participation — the signing of Dynamo's contract with a new partner?

— Everything is cool. I had a great day in St. Petersburg. The working mode is on my feet in the morning, I went to the race in the city center, held a warm—up for the participants, then we ran with them. It was very large—scale - about 2.5 thousand people took part. Well, the visit to the SPIEF itself was interesting — the autograph session, the signing ceremony of the contract between Dynamo and BETCITY. My goal is to continue playing football and scoring goals so that both the fans and my new partner are satisfied. I will certainly participate in new activities within the framework of this agreement.

— You went to St. Petersburg, among other things, because for health reasons you could not fully train with the national team. How serious are the problems?

— It was necessary to take a short rest so that all sorts of minor sores could be treated so that they would no longer bother.

"It's clear from training that Ibragimov is fast, sharp, and technical."

— Amir Ibragimov from the Manchester United youth team was called up to the Russian national team for the first time. During a few days of training with him, did you manage to get to know him and evaluate his playing qualities?

— Just to get to know each other, no. We crossed paths several times in the national team, but I can't say that we talked a lot. As for his playing qualities, it was clear from his training that he was fast, sharp, and technical. Let's see how it goes in the game. But it's clear that the football player is cool.

— How did you like the recent Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal?

— The final probably didn't seem as enchanting as the semifinal match, in which PSG won 5-4 against Bayern Munich. But the Parisians did well, they won on penalties against Arsenal. We will learn from them to kick penalties (smiles).

— Is it possible to learn this?

— Everything can be learned. If you don't score today, you'll score tomorrow.

— It's not a lottery after all?

— Many people think it's a lottery. But PSG turned out to be stronger in spirit.

— Could you have imagined a year ago that Matvey Safonov would become the main goalkeeper of the best club in Europe and win the Champions League as such?

— No, I couldn't.

— Now what emotions do you feel from the fact that you cross paths with such a person in the national team?

— Matvey is a good boy. He proved with his work that he deserves to be the main goalkeeper of PSG. Yes, for the first time he did not play at the start, but he did not fold his arms, did not drop anchor, but worked on himself and proved that he was the number one in the club.