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KAZAKHSTAN – RUSSIA 0:5 (0:2)

January 3rd, 2016, St. Petersburg, Peterburgsky SCC, 3000 spectators

Best players: Said Muzarapov, Danil Krugovoy

Post match comments

Oirat Saduov, Head coach of team Kazakhstan:

– Good evening! Of course, the result is disappointing. After such a final score it is difficult to be here at the press-conference and to make myself talk. But we have to forget this result and prepare for the following games. We lost and it’s bad, but we’ll be playing against Russia once again in the Euro-2016 Qualifying round. It’s better to lose now and be ready afterwards. This match gave us a lot to think about.

– How bad is such a strike for psychology of the team?

– Devastating scores always leave a mark. But this team is absolutely new, we’ve just gathered. Yes, we have many weaknesses at this point, but we have movement, we have thinking. We’ll figure it out.

– Football Federation of Kazakhstan often sends promising players to South America for practice. Are there such players in your team?

– Unfortunately, players of this age are not a part of this program. I know that the team of year 1994 went for practice and that now the U-16 team is preparing.

– A player from your team got injured in the very beginning of the match. How serious is the injury?

– Yes, we had to make a substitution already at the 8th minute. Bakhtiyarov replaced the injured Zainutdinov. The doctors say they suspect meniscus tear. I feel pity for the guy. We were counting on him.

– You made other substitutions when the score was already high.

– Yes, I’ve already told that the team is brand new. Some players need practice. So we let them play. Might be only for 20 minutes, but they will be able to feel the team.

Mihail Galaktionov, Head coach of team Russia:

– The impression is dual. On one hand, we’ve achieved a rather comfortable result and gained points in the tournament standings. On the other hand, the coaches have very serious pretensions to the play itself. We expected more. What were the reasons? I think we will have a thorough analysis of the game and then correct our mistakes. We’ll be moving forward. The team has just gathered together. We’ve had only one practice. The guys had had holidays before.

– Regarding the team: you brought them here last year to play as “Russia-2”. Has the lineup changed much?

– The lineup changed almost entirely. We initially planned to bring the closest reserves here, to let the leaders have some rest and give practice to the guys who had been staying on the bench, as well as to new ones. It’s very simple: our guys – I mean the first squad – had serious load during the last year. Both the Football Union administration and FUR Sports Department agreed with me.

– Traditional question for all the coaches: what are the objectives for the tournament?

– The main goal is to see the closest reserve in action, so that the first team leaders could feel that they are tightly followed. And, of course, we realize that we are the tournament home team and the spectators are expecting victories from us!

– You are the youngest coach on the tournament. How does it feel?

– I am often asked this question, though generally in Russia. I can’t see anything special about it. For instance, Croatia team head coach is even younger. And this was not an obstacle for him and his team to qualify to the World Cup quarterfinals.

– Last year you said you were teaching your guys, for example, not to dispute with the referees…

– Yes, you’re right. We’ve always considered that discipline is the main thing in the team. We are trying to implant and pass it to the newcomers. We’ve seen many times how players performing for their clubs can let their emotions out in some way. We do not admit it. I’m glad that my guys understand this perfectly.

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