“CSKA must confidently go in the first place, excuses will not work for us.” Dzagoev – about leadership, newbies and LE

In recent years, Dzagoev was treated more than he played. But this season, Alan is back on the field and, as one of the most experienced players, brings huge benefits to the team. It was his goal for Rotor that helped CSKA jump to the first line in the table. After the match in Volgograd, Dzagoev told Sport24:

• What is the challenge for CSKA this season.
• How Gaich, Ejuke and other newcomers adapt.
• Why midfielders score more often in CSKA than attackers.
• Where the team needs to improve in the Europa League matches.

– The match against Rotor was difficult for CSKA. What is the reason?
– I agree, from the outside it seemed that it was difficult: they seemed to dominate, and everything went to victory, but in the end some ridiculous goal could still fly into our goal. It was necessary to score much earlier. At the beginning of the second half, we had 4 good chances – if you had realized one of them, it would have been much easier to bring the match to victory and not waste more energy. We need to work on this.

– Analyze your goal: when did you realize that you need to dash almost from the central circle and help the attack?
– Kostya Maradishvili gave a pass to Nikola, Vlašić put his body a little and missed on Sigurdsson. Arnor ran away from the player – I already knew that he, as a right-footed one, would shift to the center. A space opened up in front of me, and it was necessary to help the attack. He ran to the penalty area and shouted to Sigurdsson, and he drove well – what was needed, in strength. The fact that the ball hit the outside of the foot is an accident. He hit from the instep, and the ball went with a stall to the right. Everything turned out as it should.

– CSKA came out on top in the RPL. The team has maximum ambitions this year, despite its youth?
– Our task is not to hold on, but to gain a foothold in this position. You need to confidently go first. The guys have already played in the Premier League, so you can’t say that we have a young team anymore. This is not relevant for CSKA. Yes, the team is still young in age, but already quite experienced. These excuses won’t work for us. CSKA must stay at the top, we have everything for this: a good game, dominance over rivals. We continue in the same spirit.

– CSKA had the most powerful transfer campaign in the RPL this summer. How do newbies fit into the team?
– This season CSKA has strengthened: Edjuke is good, Gaich is entering on the sly, everyone is working. Also waiting for Bruno [Фукса] – he was a little unlucky with injuries. Bach [Зайнутдинов] as if it has been with us for a long time, we immediately took it to our market, ha ha. We have Georgians, Armenians, Ossetians, Kyrgyz – now there is a Kazakh! Bach is a good, kind guy and, of course, speaks Russian, which makes it easier to adapt in a team.

– At the beginning of the season you were in the attacking three, now you are playing the deepest defensive player. How does Goncharenko see your role?
– For me, there is nothing new in this position – I played as a defensive player for a long time both in the Champions League and in the national team. Everything is as before – yes, when I was younger, I gave more volume, but now I have the necessary experience. You can control the pace of the game: sometimes increase, or, conversely, slow down, relax with the ball. So for me nothing has changed – everything is super, I feel comfortable.

– You are the most experienced CSKA field player now. Do you feel this role of a leader in a team?
– Yes, it turns out. But I try to speak less on the pitch, only if it is a forced measure. Rather, I calmly suggest. Because when you get turned on, you shout, you lose concentration. This is not good for you or the team. So, as they say, less words means more action. In the locker room I can say a few words to someone separately, but we have a coach, Viktor Mikhailovich, and captain Akinfeev to motivate the team.

– In CSKA, midfielders are now scoring more than forwards: in Volgograd you excelled, before that – Kuchaev, Vlasich. What is the reason for this trend?
– Excellent: let Vlasich, Kuchaev, and everyone else continue to score. In fact, Fede [Чалову] he needs to break through – in almost every game he has moments. At the same time, he does a great job on the defensive, helping in the first line of pressure. Chalov has a game, has a desire – and goals are not far off, they will definitely come. Fedya works well. Of course, you always want the forwards to score more goals, but when the others are different, what difference does it make if the team wins?

– The next match for CSKA in the Europa League with Feyenoord. Was it not surprising that the Dutch scored only one point in two matches?
– Yes, we still joked after their match with Wolfsberg: “We rebounded in Austria”. But, seriously, if it weren’t for the field in the first match, we would have created more chances – although I’m not saying that we would definitely have won. And in the second half there were good chances to score.
Feyenoord surprised, but I can say that such teams always play much stronger at home, so it will be difficult for us in Holland. We watched their match against Dynamo Zagreb – a good team running out in counterattacks. But Feyenoord also has problems that will need to be exploited.

– You beat Feyenoord back in 2008 in the UEFA Cup under Gazzaev. What are your memories of that match?
– The stadium in Rotterdam is good, although it rained decently. It was an interesting game, the victory was 3: 1 – Wagner scored a double, Lesha Berezutsky scored another one. We beat everyone in the group of that UEFA Cup, so the memories are good.

– With the RPL it’s clear: here CSKA always has only one goal. What about the Europa League?
– CSKA has the task of getting out of the group: in order not to be left without European cups in February, you need to win. In the two starting matches we created a lot of chances, but the implementation is a little lame – hence the draws. Probably, the matches with Feyenoord can be called decisive. CSKA is in shape now, the game is on – it is important to do your job and take points in the next match in Holland. Three is desirable.

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