Rolan Gusev: "The main thing is to get to the next round, thanks to the guys"

— In the first 10 minutes, Dynamo couldn't get anything going in the first half. After the break, the situation improved. What changes did you make at halftime?

— We hadn't planned to play like that; we changed our formation. Zenit played the way we expected, and that's exactly what happened. We knew we had to contain their individually strong players, so we went with three central defenders. The first 10 minutes were pretty good, we kept possession, but then something happened. We probably had a two-goal lead in the back of our minds, and for some reason we dropped back, giving the ball to Zenit, who loves that. They had a big territorial advantage. They shouldn't have dropped so deep; we planned to play differently.

— Are you worried about our defensive play, given the number of chances and half-chances the opponent has?

— You can't radically change our defensive play in such a short time. I knew today that we'd be defending with numbers rather than quality. I chose my formation based on the players' physical condition. If we'd played with a high defensive line and high pressing, we could have gotten more out of Zenit in our current form. There are these two-legged ties where you have to join hands and play for the result. It was fortunate that we didn't score more than one goal, and Zenit forgave us a couple of times. The main thing today is to advance to the next round. Thanks to the guys.

— Ulvi Babaev came on as a substitute, sparked the game, fought well for the ball, and created tension. Don't you think we should have brought him on earlier? Or is it still too early for him to play at this level?

— No, of course not. All the Dynamo Academy players brought the game to life today. Leon Seidenzall, Viktor Okisor, and Ulvi all came out well, well done, as did the whole team. But I'd like to highlight the young guys, who didn't lose heart and showed their quality against such a team. Plus, we know we have a game against Akhmat in two days, and we'll need fresh energy for it. We kept that in mind, too.

— When Rubens was acquired, it was known that he could play as a defensive midfielder. How would you rate his first game in that position at Dynamo? Does he have a chance of establishing himself there?

— Early in the match, he controlled the ball and changed the direction of attacks. I talked to him and watched some of his games — he looks good in the defensive midfield. It's clear that it wasn't easy for him to play there. It's one thing to correct certain situations, and quite another to prepare the team. I'd like to see a different style of football, but right now I understand that the guys have developed certain habits, because they played differently. I'd like us to be able to play equally well with a four-man defense and three central defenders, to play higher up and press, sometimes in the low block and in the middle block. But that's difficult right now.

— Many are discussing where it's better to play — in the RPL playoffs against Spartak or in the Regionals' Path against Baltika. Has the coaching staff discussed this?

— We didn't discuss it, but of course it's better to move on and play Spartak. It's better for the players, for us, and for the fans. Maybe I wouldn't want to play Baltika (laughs).

— The team played noticeably better in the second half. What did you say at halftime?

— We asked them to go higher, but it never quite worked out. And we asked them not to give up the ball in simple situations. It's understandable when you're under pressure, but when you give the ball to Zenit out of nowhere, problems will naturally arise. We were really tired by the end because we were constantly playing low. Zenit's players had much more control of the ball. We asked them to step it up and play more actively.

— Comment on your substitutions.

— We needed to freshen up our game because we could see the players were getting tired. We needed to hold on to the ball up front and launch attacks. Tyuka was getting tired, and Bitello was struggling. Juan wasn't feeling well, so we took him off at halftime. I'll say again that our players are great.

— It was more important for you not to concede, but none of your substitutions changed the formation to a more defensive one. Weren't you tempted to tighten the defense even more?

— Tighten it even more? We were already practically the entire team on the defensive. What if I just went out and lined up with them? How would we have played then? Just passed the ball to them and let them attack? Vanya was clinging to the ball, and the speedy Ulvi, Vitya, and Gladi came on. There was no point in tightening the defense.

— Sergei Stepashin promised that if you win four games, you'll remain Dynamo's head coach. Am I correct in thinking that advancing to the next stage counts as a win?

— I don't know if this match counts. The main thing is that we advanced. We need to take it game by game. I've already said that for Dynamo Moscow, these four games, even victories, won't significantly improve their standings. It's clear that a club with such a history should be near the top, which will be difficult to achieve in this situation.

— They usually field a different goalkeeper in cup matches. Why did you decide to keep Andrei Lunev? Does he bring confidence to the defense?

— I believe in these football tricks—the "rule of former players." The goalkeeping coach and I decided on that. All our goalkeepers bring confidence with their play. We have a very strong lineup of goalkeepers who compete with each other. Today, we decided to field Lunev.