Sandro Schwartz: "The end of the season is still far away, we are only looking at every next match"

– Tell us about the condition of the injured players.

– Osipenko trained individually yesterday, today he will be on the field, so tomorrow we will decide on his participation in the match with CSKA. I can say the same about Chavez.

– You have two disqualified players at once. How will you cope without them?

– These are very important players for us, covering the edges of the defense. In this part of the season, it's already normal that someone misses matches because of cards. Let's try to find the best replacement. Skopintsev will play on the left, who is doing well in training. We will think about the right-back position and make a decision closer to the match.

– There is a match with CSKA ahead. Are there any parallels with the pre-season game, and what can you say about the current CSKA?

– Coach Dmitry Igdisamov is doing an excellent job. I would not compare this match with the pre-season, which took place against the background of heavy loads. At the CSKA training camp, they played four defenders, and the day after tomorrow, with a high probability, they will play three central defenders, and they will need to prepare for this.

– Dynamo is leading in the RPL for only the sixth time in the XXI century. What are the chances of a championship? Do you feel that Dynamo is on the threshold of something great?

– I can understand your question, but if you look outside the window, you will see that it is quite cold there, which means that the end of the season is still very far away. When it gets warmer – in April or May – then we can talk about this topic. Now we are only looking at every next match. Of course, we want to win every match, because any victory gives confidence. So we are looking forward to the big game on Sunday. I am sure that the stadium will be full, just as it was at the game with Spartak.

– The head coach of CSKA said that he has a special score with you after the defeat in the pre-season match. Is this game special to you? Who are you most afraid of from CSKA?

– CSKA has a very good team, which has been looking great in recent weeks. This is a great example for Russian football, how a coach from the academy, who has not played football professionally, can get a chance in the main team and take advantage of it. He's doing a great job. The team is playing really well with him, but I hope we won't see it on Sunday, and that's my responsibility.

– We can already say that you have dispelled the skepticism that some experts and fans had after your arrival. What else do you see as room for improvement? For example, in the game on standard positions.

– The first games of the season were difficult both in terms of the result and the game. But starting with the match against Zenit, despite the defeat, we began to see the game we want to put on. After every game, even a winning one, we look at what points need to be improved: in defense, offense, transitional phases. I agree that we can still improve the game by standards, especially with regard to the game in attack. At the same time, for example, in Grozny, Akhmat had a lot of standards, and we coped with them very well.

– In the previous coaching staff Andrey Panov was responsible for standards, and in your first visit – Volkan Bulut. How do they interact in this moment today?

– I would not focus on the interaction of these two specialists. We all decide together how we want to play, discuss the game plan, the starting lineup, and so on. In daily work, all members of the coaching staff have their own goals and objectives, from which the training process is formed. I can say about all our coaches that they are top specialists and wonderful people who do an excellent job of their duties and help players grow both on and off the field.

– Today the club extended the contracts with three players at once. Why is each of them important to you?

– The club has worked very well and very quickly on this issue. It's great that we are all moving in the same direction. Marinkin and Okishor are graduates of the Dynamo Academy and an excellent example for young football players who see that the doors to the main team are open for them. Our task is to help them develop and take the next steps in their development. They are very open and hardworking players. Glebov is a great professional with an impeccable attitude to business. He is always ready to play intense football, which is very important for us. We also see his development in playing with the ball in the center of the field.

– Matvey Abdulkhalikov, who is about to turn 16, is a great talent growing up at the Academy. How do you see his future? Can he go to winter training with the foundation?

– Let's see, in the winter we will have a big preparatory period and then we will decide which of the young players deserves their chance to get closer to the main team. Now is not the time to single out someone individually, it's better to talk about how we want to play - the base, the second team and the youth team.

– How hard is it to emotionally manage a team after such a series of victories?

– It's not difficult, because we have a clear course on which we have been working since I arrived here. We all create this atmosphere together, and with good results it only gets better. But every new match is a different story, and at 16:15 on Sunday with the first shot on the ball we have to show that we are ready for the match, and it won't matter what happened in the past. The most important thing is always ahead.

– Bitello has changed and works amazing for the team. But he is still Brazilian. Does he miss the assists?

– I don't want to talk about his game in the past, I can only talk about the last four months. He always runs, fights for every ball, with the loss of the ball immediately comes into pressure, always involved in the game. He still has room for growth, he is an open guy, he has a top attitude to work, and his nationality is not important in this case. I am very happy to work with him every day.

– Tell us about the two newcomers. How easy is their adaptation?

– Gutierrez played against Orenburg and Rostov before the international break and showed his quality. Then he flew to the national team, where he played a lot and flew decently during this time, but he coped with it perfectly. Of course, it takes time to fully adapt, but I am sure that he will add quality to us. Kazimir also joined the team quite late, played well in a friendly match with Rodina during the break, then gave an excellent assist to Okishor in Grozny. With every training session, he perceives our playing style better and better.

– Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov has not played for a long time, should we expect him on the field in the near future?

– It is difficult to predict anything. Our medical staff and Baha himself are doing their best. I hope he comes back as soon as possible.

– How are you learning Russian? How difficult it is for you.

– I already understand a little Russian (Sandro said in Russian). The club found me an excellent teacher, and I study Russian twice a week. But I can say that learning any language is difficult for me.