"We will be seventh — this is a normal result"

In October, the Moscow Rodina unexpectedly won the Russian Football Championship. In the last three rounds, the team scored seven points out of nine — a home draw with Orenburg (2:2), a win in a match with rival Voronezh Fakel (1:0) on the road and an unexpected strong-willed victory at home over Krasnodar (2:1) in the group of leaders. This allowed us to rise from the relegation zones and transitional matches to 12th place.

At the same time, the season started very hard for the RPL debutant. The team started with almost the same squad that they left the first league with. And before the 12th round, she won only once, back in the summer, away from Zenit St. Petersburg (2:1). As a result, in early October, Rodina replaced the head coach — instead of Juan Diaz, who brought the club to the RPL, another Spaniard, Jonathan Alba, came. In an interview with Izvestia, the goalkeeper of the team, Sergei Volkov, commented on the recent successes, said that he had changed Alba, and also expressed his opinion about the chances of staying in the Premier League at the end of the season.

— Why is it that so far Rodina has mostly managed to defeat opponents from the top of the table in the RPL?

— Yes, so far we have beaten only Zenit and Krasnodar. We also beat Fakel — is it at the top of the table? (He smiles).

— I said that you mostly beat people from the top, not just them.

— Well, we don't have many victories right now to deduce any pattern. We must continue to try to beat any of the opponents. We're not in a position right now to think about who we're beating and who we're not. We need to go out and beat everyone.

— Nevertheless, in October, Rodina scored seven out of nine points in the last three rounds. At the expense of what?

— Discipline and dedication have become overwhelming. Jonathan demands a lot from us. There was a lot of running around in training — or rather, working without the ball. Due to this, they have increased.

— How did Alba manage to do this, considering that he took over the team after the break for the national team games and still did not really have time to spend at least a mini-training camp?

— He does painstaking work every day. His staff does a lot of analytics, studies the sensors that are put on us, looks at who runs how much per day, who performs what efficiency. Based on this, he sets us the maximum demands in each training session. And due to this, we are adding. Therefore, it doesn't even affect the fact that Jonathan started working with us right on the eve of the first game and hasn't really had long pauses between matches yet.

— Can we say that he simplified the team's game?

— No, I would not say that I have simplified it. He asks the guys a lot to play low down in attack. Yes, it's still a bit difficult, but we're adding to it. At the same time, it is clear that when you are in the last places in the table, the main thing for the team is the result. Therefore, we have intensified work on defense. And it brings results.

— Why did his predecessor Juan Diaz do worse?

— Both Juan and Jonathan are excellent specialists. Both can safely work in the RPL with most teams. But in terms of discipline, Alba is more scrupulous.

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— Does his knowledge of the Russian language give him much advantage?

— He speaks Russian very well. And generally a cool, open person. You can approach him with any question. Not only on football topics, but also on life topics. It helps a lot. You could say it's an upgrade by a Spanish specialist.

— Have the requirements for goalkeepers at Alba changed?

— Probably not. You asked, and I can't even remember what changed. A new goalkeeper coach came with Jonathan, and the work became a little more dynamic. But there were no unexpected requirements for me in the game plan.

— After the next round, there will be a pause for the national team games in the RPL. Alba will not be with you, as he works at Valery Karpin's headquarters in the Russian national team and will leave for its location. Will it affect the "Homeland"?

— This is the first time I've encountered this. To be honest, I don't know how this will affect us. But Jonathan's assistants can probably handle it. In any case, time will tell.

— In the summer, when Rodina was just starting to play in the RPL, many people thought it would be difficult for her to play with the same squad as in the first league. Since then, the team has significantly strengthened, but in general, the selection of players is the same. Can we say that you have proved the competitiveness of this squad in the RPL?

— It's too early to say that we've proved something to someone. We're not in the place we want to be. We had good players at the beginning of the season. Then, at the end of the transfer window, several good foreigners signed. We have a healthy competition in the squad. And it helps.

— Where do you want to be? I know you'll say it's the first one. But if you really look at the possibilities?

— Yes, you already know what I'm going to say (laughs). Then let's… Let's… Let it be the second one, since you don't want to hear about the first one. Or the European Cup zone. Will it suit you?

— The European Cup zone is not possible — our clubs have not returned to the European Cup yet.

— Okay (smiles). We will be seventh — this is a normal result in my understanding.