"The top 5 RPL teams will be able to impose a fight in the Champions League"

A year ago, Lokomotiv Moscow defender Nair Tiknizyan joined Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, with whom he won the Serbian Championship last spring. Now he is preparing for the new season and playing in the Champions League, where his team will have to overcome three qualifying rounds to reach the general stage. Belgrade will play in the first of them on July 21 and 28. In preparation for these matches, on July 12, Deyan Stankovich's team held a control meeting with Zenit in St. Petersburg and lost - 1:3.

In an interview with Izvestia, Tiknizyan summed up the results of his first season in Serbia, compared local football with Russian football, assessed the prospects of domestic clubs in European competitions if they return, and also commented on the bronze medals of Lokomotiv in the last Russian championship, the first for railway workers in five years.

— How do you feel about your second season in Serbia?

— With a very good one. It is clear that the last test match with Zenit leaves much to be desired in terms of mood. But we are all well aware that we were under enormous stress, just like Zenit. Therefore, in the match in St. Petersburg, the most important thing was to overcome oneself. It was difficult for all of us, both Crvena and Zenit, in the second half. If you look closely at the match, you can see that there was a change of pace: first we will be on the defensive, then the opponent. And in any case, in terms of preparing for the new season, it was useful to play in St. Petersburg, because Zenit is a great team with a great selection of players. It's great to play with them because they play attacking football: they let others play and they play themselves.

— How much have you adapted to life in a new country and playing in a new championship over the past year?

— Everything went fine. I think I'm like one of my own now. We have a very clear task for the season, first of all for the next two months, when the Champions League qualification part will be held.

— Is the task to qualify for the group stage?

- yes. It is clear that it will be very difficult. But no one initially said it would be easy.

— Last season you played with Crvena in European competitions at the Champions League qualification level, the general stage and the Europa League playoffs. How difficult will it be for Russian teams to play there when they are allowed there?

— I'll say this, Zenit is at least a Champions League group stage team. I repeat, they have a very good selection of players. My subjective opinion is that if the stars that Zenit has will add to the intensity of the game without the ball, then this team may well reach a good stage in the Champions League. We can look at the current World Cup, where every team could win against every other team. Yes, the teams that could have been considered favorites from the beginning reached the semifinals, but in general, this World Cup shows that football is not only about working with the ball, but also without the ball. If Zenit does well with this, then it has great potential to play not just in European competitions, but specifically in the Champions League.

— And the teams with less expensive player selections, but competing for medals? For example, could the Lokomotiv you left have played in the Europa League group stage and competed for the playoffs?

— It's difficult to compare here, because I haven't played against Lokomotiv in the last year and haven't been inside the team. For example, we just played against Zenit and last summer we played against them. And based on this, I'm giving you a specific answer to what Peter could qualify for in European competitions. It's hard for me to make a conclusion about the rest of the RPL clubs. But I don't want to talk nonsense.

— But when you joined Crvena a year ago, was it difficult for you to get used to the level of speed and fighting in the Serbian championship and European cups compared to the RPL in which you played in recent years for Lokomotiv?

— It is clear that football is a bit different. Probably the intensity and transitional phases. But the top 5 or top 6 RPL teams are ready for these speeds. I think through the adaptation they will be able to easily impose the fight in the group stages of the Champions League and Europa League — there will be no problems with that.

— Did you follow Lokomotiv last season?

— I talk to some guys at the club. I won't say with whom, but it's about five or six people. I've been following the team's results and I'm very happy for the guys that we finished in the top three of the championship. They earned this bronze by their work — due to their solidarity, due to the amount of running work and work in theoretical classes. I am very happy for the guys from Lokomotiv: they rightfully deserved this medal.

— At the end of February, you gave a harsh interview, where, among other things, you criticized the head coach of Lokomotiv Mikhail Galaktionov and asked where his masculinity was. How they reacted to his quick response: "We started to ventilate the locker room. Is she absolutely clean and healthy now?"

— That's history. I don't think about it anymore. Our goals and objectives are completely different now. And that's in the past, and it's still there.

— Are you considering returning to the RPL in the coming years?

— This is a question for the management of Crvena. To date, I repeat, there is only one task. I'm a Crvena player, and we've been given a specific goal to achieve.

— It seemed to many that Crvena would be a transit point for you to stronger European national championships. Do you have such a goal?

— The goal is to win every game, win the Serbian championship and go as far as possible in European competitions. I don't think about what will happen next. For me, Crvena is not a transit point, but a team that I have to give everything to, because they welcomed me well and gave me everything to play good football.