Stanislav Cherchesov: Players in best shape are invited

Russian national team coach Stanislav Cherchesov on Monday 27 August announced the squad for upcoming UEFA Nations League match against Turkey (7th of September in Trabzon) and international friendly against Czech Republic (10th of September in Rostov-on-Don). He then took questions from journalists.

 

— Mr. Cherchesov, Igor Akinfeev is not in your squad for the upcoming matches. Why is that? — We had a phone conversation with Igor a week ago and he has to undergo a scheduled medical examination in Germany. He will have his knee checked. He had some troubles with it during the World Cup as well. That is the only reason for now.

— How about Stotsky and Aleksey Ionov invited to the national team? — Stotsky had already been invited before. And Ionov is a national team player anyway. Our decisions are based on the present condition of players. We invite players who are in a better physical shape at this time. Ionov performed quite well last season and he started this season very well, which placed him on our radar.

— When did it become clear that Aleksander Golovin would have to sit out upcoming matches due to injury?— I had a phone conversation with him just two days ago. Sasha is adapting to new circumstances. Of course, starting with an injury is never good but it would still take him about ten days to start training in the common group. So we thought it would not make sense to invite him this time. It is better for him to stay with the club, complete his treatment course and show his best.

— Did you have to think hard about the choice of players or everything was clear? — It never comes easy. Just this morning we found out from Rubin Kazan team doctor that we cannot reckon on Dzhanaev because he suffered a neck injury. And then, there are certain players, like Granat, who appeared on the World Cup but do not have playing practice in their clubs. There are always questions. What is more important is that we have another gameweek ahead and hopefully everybody is ready and healthy.

— Russia played against Turkey before the World Cup. Is the upcoming match going to be different in terms of performance and meaning? — We have already started a round of training with a match against Turkey in September two years ago and now we are playing against Turkey again. So this is our third match against them. Turkey is a very good team, with fine players and an excellent coach. So we have a difficult match ahead.

— Why did Ilya Kutepov get his invitation although he did not play a single match after the World Cup? — We are unhappy about that either but he is one of our key players. We cannot help inviting him especially that there are not many players on his position. And by the way, Granat did not have playing practice either so we have decided to invite Kutepov out of this two.

— Why is Smolov absent this time? — Fedor is just starting to feel at home in his new team so we have decided not to invite him this time. I watched Lokomotiv in the stadium yesterday and he scored a brilliant goal. So we better not bother a player who changed clubs in summer. Let him show his best, start comfortable in Lokomotiv and then he will be more useful to us. He gave rise to much talk lately. And a similar situation was about Dzyuba when we did not invite him to the squad after he went on loan to Arsenal.

— What are your thoughts about UEFA Nations League? — We treat the Nations League as a tournament where teams are positioned according to their performance. We are in the second basket now and we need to get to the first. And of course, this is an additional chance to qualify to Euro 2020.

— You will have only limited time for preparations. How are you going to use the time? — This is why we are only inviting players who are in a better shape now. We will not have a chance to improve preparedness of players who are not in their best shape now.

— You will be playing all matches outside of Moscow this year. Is this going to cause additional difficulties? — Not at all. When it comes to the upcoming matches, we are playing in Rostov, which is only one hour by plane from Trabzon. We have the appropriate infrastructure and stadiums. Rostov has a great stadium and amazing fans. These are things we can be proud of. There is some uncertainty about pitch condition in Sochi where we play a match on the 14th of October. I hope that pitch condition will be improved before then.

— Why did you invite Anton Zabolotny? — He had difficulties with adaptation in his new club last season. But now he is rather useful during his playing time. He can be useful both in the starting lineup and as a substitute. The situation can change but that is our decision for now.

— Are you informed about player conditions by clubs? — We have our own data and we also maintain direct contact with all clubs, especially that all matches are attended in person or watched on TV several times. We do our best to not miss anything, especially when it comes to statistics and numbers.

— It caught our attention that you invited Roman Neustedter who, based on his comments on social media, seemed somewhat offended that he did not end up on the World Cup squad. — It would indeed hurt me if he posted Russian flag with a comment saying “Thanks God, I’m not on the squad”. But he was just upset and that is normal. He will now have another opportunity to show his best. Our judgment is based on objective matters, there is nothing personal. We have watched a few of his matches already. His club did not quality to the Champions League but Roman seemed fine. We will now watch him perform for the national team, especially that we play against Turkey. He has a good chance to appear on the lineup but we will be guided by the situation anyway.

— Are any changes in the coaching staff envisioned? — No. We just spoke with Ignashevich who will attend our training sessions and help. We will give him an opportunity to display his skills. He works in CSKA but we offered him to coach the 2004 national team. He is not quite ready for that at this time. As for Granero, who no longer works for CSKA, he will remain with the national team.

— Are you going to use the extended analytical group, as it was during the World Cup, in matches against Turkey? — No.

— Tashaev was on the extended squad list for the World Cup but you did not invite him this time. — Tashayev suffered an injury. I think he would have been invited if it was not for the injury.




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