The acting head coach of Dynamo Moscow, Rolan Gusev, spoke about the preparations for the match with Dynamo Makhachkala and the situation in the team.
— Was it a surprise for you to be appointed acting head coach for the second time in the last six months?
— It's always a surprise. When the results started to fall and the hype started, we knew anything could happen.
— How different is the situation for you personally from what it was in May of this year?
— Firstly, the season was ending back then, and we still had a theoretical chance of winning medals. Now we're in the middle of the season, when we need to improve our situation, primarily in the tournament. Plus, we understand that there's still a chance to win a trophy — the Russian Cup.
— In 2005, Andrei Kobelev also became acting head coach twice, in May and November, and then, having earned trust, he led the team quite successfully for almost four years. Do you ever think about that path?
— Becoming a permanent and long-term head coach is probably the dream of any Dynamo native. I grew up in the Dynamo Academy and made my name as a player there, too. So staying here as a coach is a dream come true.
— Colleagues on social media were recalling how you replaced Valeri Karpin several times while he was playing for the Russian national team, and now you've replaced him at the helm of Dynamo. When was it more difficult for you — then or now?
— I joined the national team under Oleg Romantsev. In my first official match, a qualifying game against Switzerland, Valeri played on the right wing, and I on the left. Obviously, when we were both called up to the national team, there was a certain amount of competition. I was a young guy, so I was more often played on the left, but when Valeri was there, he played on the right. Then he retired from the national team, and I started playing in his position.
— Do you have an understanding of what exactly went wrong in the first half of the season and how to fix it?
— We have an understanding, but again, the matches and the results will tell whether we understand this correctly or not. That's football: everything might seem great, but then you go out to play and everything turns out completely differently.
It's clear that Valeriy didn't want things to turn out this way. He wanted the best, and it had worked before with other teams he'd worked with. I'm talking about his preparation, his principles, his demands. We see it happen with other coaches too: Mourinho comes to one team and wins the Champions League, but can't do anything with another and gets fired after the fifth or sixth matchday. That's football: that's what happens when your principles and demands work in some places and not in others.
— What changes have you already made in preparation for Sunday's match?
— Of course, we've changed the training process, adjusted our daily routine and schedule a bit. We're also making some small adjustments to the system. It's clear that the guys have already formed certain habits, so you can't wave a magic wand and have everything go swimmingly. Some habits will always remain, and to make any significant changes, a certain amount of time must pass.
— What's the mood of the national team players when they returned? Are they all safe and sound?
— All the guys are in a positive mood. Some injured players are working with the medical staff to recuperate. The rest are training well, eagerly, and energetically.
— Ulvi Babaev has been the standout performer during this break, scoring three goals for the Russian U21 team. How would you rate his recent progress?
— I think he's improved greatly. He's always had the qualities of a good attacking player. We're counting on him, as we are on everyone else on the team now.
— In the first round in Makhachkala, the team played what many consider to be its worst match of the season. How do we need to play against our Dagestani teammates to achieve a positive result this time?
— We've been working on that during the current week. We hope a result like that in Makhachkala won't be repeated.
— In May, under your leadership, the team won three of four matches, including the derby against Spartak. If you were offered the same deal for the end of the year, would you take it?
— I don't know what the deal would be. I understand only one thing: we need to win every match. Both now and in the future. If we as a team, as a club, along with all our fans, want to move forward and become champions in the future, then we shouldn't focus on these four matches. It's not about them, but about the 22-24-26 matches we need to win (over the course of the season). And then the team will become champions. If we win these four matches now, we'll simply improve our standings, and not by much.
