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    • Nail Izmailov Spartak biography. Nail Izmailov: “Now talk about the departure of Promes is groundless

    16.09.2021

    After the end of the first part of the season, the deputy chairman of the board of directors of Spartak answered the questions of the correspondent of Match TV.

    - "Spartak" seriously added before the break and shares the second or third place with "Zenith". But will the gap from Lokomotiv allow you to aim for more?

    If we have managed to radically change the situation in the table now, why not continue in the second round? Time will show.

    - By what means did you restore the nervous system after 0: 7 at Liverpool?

    Gathered at the hotel after the game with members of the board and the board of directors, discussed the match and went to bed. These are the means.

    - Everything is quiet, calm?

    What's the use of making noise? Yes, it hurts, it's unpleasant. We did not have any serious experience of participating in European competitions, which was confirmed by the match with Liverpool. There was a reason to think about what we were doing wrong. Certain conclusions were made, as the game with CSKA showed. It is clear that the high stages of the main club tournament in Europe are not yet the most attainable goal for us. And the task before the season was formulated as follows: worthy participation in the Champions League.

    Alexander Selikhov / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Filippov

    - What was worthy?

    If you do not take these 0: 7 into account, yes. Coming to the spring part of the Europa League is worthy. You cannot set yourself unrealistic tasks, because this has the opposite effect: realizing that they cannot be fulfilled, people reduce their demands on themselves and stop fulfilling them altogether.

    - But there is another point of view: you would be forgiven 0: 7, if not for two draws with the outsider Maribor.

    Both are offensive. But they are also an experience that has not been there for a long time. As well as 5-1 against Sevilla.

    - Rate Spartak for the first part of the season.

    - "Good", judging by the current standings RFPL. There were a lot of irregularities, though.

    - Of all the rivals of Russian clubs in the Europa League, Spartak has the most serious one?

    Didn't she work?

    In the summer, according to my information, the trainer's suggestions and conclusions from the selection department were ignored. Who will look for candidates now?

    Your data is incorrect. Maybe someone wanted to see problems in Spartak, but in reality there were none. We worked closely, in tandem. And someone on the side tried to put unnecessary rumors into rotation. In fact, the mechanism remains the same: some candidates are proposed by the trainer, others by the selection department. Then - discussion and choice. Within budget.

    - How big is it?

    I will not name the amount, of course. But it's important to remember about financial fair play.

    - Does he press you strongly?

    Highly. A cruel instrument. Limits - but also stimulates to earn more.

    - What are the priority lines for strengthening?

    Defense for sure.

    - Will Tusky leave?

    Taking into account the spring part of European competitions and the upcoming matches of the Russian Cup, I would not like to lose anyone from the current squad. It's too early to talk about the rest.

    - Is a significant amount of compensation prescribed in Promes' contract able to protect Spartak from his departure?

    There really is such a sum. But we must understand that this is not a dogma that excludes the negotiation aspect.

    Quincy Promes “destroys” “Sevilla” after a smart individual pass and an accurate shot on target / Photo: © Vasily Ponomarev / Edgar Breshchanov / Sportbox.ru

    - Have the club received any official offers to buy Promes?

    Not at the moment.

    How true is Spartak's interest in midfielder Patrick Twumasi from Astana, voiced by the press?

    There is no interest, we are not considering buying it. And it is unlikely that it would have become a gain. Another informational "stuffing", of which there were already quite a few.

    - And yet again about selection. Who will lead it?

    The final decisions, like last summer, are up to the head coach. Naturally, within budget.

    - In the summer it was the same. But the breeding policy of "Spartak" smacked of disagreement.

    Perhaps it seemed so from the outside. But there is centralization, interactions are fine-tuned, everything will go on as usual.

    There were complaints about the backstage celebration of the championship. A small hall for our own people - and no fans.

    A party for the fans was at the stadium during the presentation of the championship cup. This was originally planned. 45 thousand people came, people ran out onto the field, thanked the team, and the team thanked them. I have not heard that the championship was celebrated anywhere else on such a scale. Everyone was happy. And the presentation of medals took place in a more intimate atmosphere, this is normal.

    - How many medals were there, by the way? Really four hundred? Didn't this devalue the champion's prowess?

    Far less. We considered it necessary to thank the club staff with medals, who gave years of their lives to this championship. It is quite natural, in my opinion. It would be wrong to do otherwise: in victory there is a part of the labor of everyone who works at Spartak. We certainly did not give out medals to the right and to the left, each of them is well deserved.

    - Why was the restaurant at the Spartak stadium surrendered to CSKA fans?

    Well, here it is not at all that steppe. Everything is not so in reality. It was a children's birthday with a football theme. A girl who is a fan of Spartak. Children and parents who support different clubs came. Someone is wearing a Barcelona shirt, someone is wearing an Ajax scarf, someone is wearing a CSKA uniform. It is not strange what it was, but the fact that we are discussing it at all.

    - With what feelings did you read the interview with the driver of the Spartak bus?

    Sorry, but I haven't read the interview with the bus driver.

    - Will the fire show at Spartak's home games remain the norm?

    Pyrotechnics are prohibited in stadiums, which means it cannot be the norm. We do our best to prevent. Even though it's not easy. At the match with CSKA, for example, police cadets were inspected. Did not help.

    - Do you think the fans have the right to demand influence on the club without being its shareholders?

    The fans are our support, we always listen to them. Moreover, we will soon create a platform for fans to vote on certain issues. With feedback in the form of answers to their questions. Hopefully it will work by the end of the season. We live and work for them. Of course, we are interested in their opinion.

    You mentioned the emphasis on your own pupils. Are there quantitative “assignments”, and if so, what are they?

    If the world of football worked according to the rules, the viewer would not be interested in watching this. The installation of the young in the base should happen naturally. If at least one of them manages to replenish the main team during the season, it will be good.

    - Do you often attend matches of Spartak-2 and youth teams?

    I don't often, Sergei Rodionov comes to every game. He does not miss a single one.

    - And Carrera?

    Both reserve teams train in Tarasovka, they are constantly in sight of the head coach.

    Why does a foreign coach need Spartak youth? Long dreary process. And the result is needed here and now.

    Not certainly in that way. The tasks set by the board of directors for this season: worthy participation in the Champions League, getting into the top three in the league championship at the end of the Russian championship and winning the country's Cup. This completely allows you to raise your own pupils to the level of permanent base players.

    - Do you want to say that Spartak is not faced with the task of defending the championship?

    It was put before us for many years. And we wandered with this task all over the table, except for the very top. Finally, an understanding came: a forward movement is required. And four years ago, the strategy underwent a change. Since then, we have been developing in this way - progressively. For four years they cooked porridge from an ax, lined up and polished the team, until they got the one that wants, can and does what they planned. Because only progressive development provides the team with a future. Within the framework of this idea, the graduates of the academy should also develop. They need practice in the first team, otherwise there will be no progress.

    Massimo Carrera during the match between Spartak and FC Spartak-Nalchik / Photo: © Edgar Breschanov / Vasily Ponomarev / Sportbox.ru

    - What form of reporting by the head coach to the club exists in Spartak?

    Every six months, all coaches of all teams report to the board of directors. Including Carrera. The dynamics of the growth of players, their potential, possible mistakes of the coaching staff, conclusions from these mistakes are indicated. A standard permanent procedure for several years.

    - Does the board of directors only listen or does it set tasks too?

    Certainly both.

    That is, Carrera only once every six months has the opportunity to hear: “Massimo, something is storming you along the distance - now 0: 7, now 3: 0; instability, however ”?

    Sergey Rodionov and I visit Tarasovka at least once or twice a week. So the head coach can hear this much more often.

    - What are the reserves for the growth of home attendance?

    It's hard to come up with something revolutionary. Rather, it is worth talking about strengthening those areas that we have been doing for a long time and, by the way, successfully. The quality of the game - one, working in the media space - two, improving the service for fans on match days - three. Much has been done - and much remains to be done.

    - How difficult will Spartak's life be with the World Cup, the matches of which will be held at Otkritie Arena?

    Complicates - not entirely true. There is a lot of technical work to be done, for some time the regular activities of the services and services of the club will be interrupted, which is now being carried out not on match days. We'll have to take into account a completely different contingent of fans, which requires a different approach. We will return the stadium to the organizing committee, then return it, adapt it to club life and continue to operate it. On the plus side, during the World Cup, the arena will be officially named "Spartak Stadium". Good advertisement for the club and society.

    - Is the problem of agent clans tangible for Spartak?

    If there is such a problem, it has no effect on Spartak. What does an agent need? Good contract for the ward and commission. We work with different agents, Russian and foreign, we do not bias in someone's direction.

    - How many wards of Marco Trabucchi play now in Spartak?

    Marco is one of those involved in Spartak's transfer deals as an intermediary. Without the slightest tilt towards him. The club definitely does not have “basic” agents.

    Denis Glushakov and Massimo Carrera / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexander Vilf

    - Were you shocked when you read Glushakov's: "Carrera is not a top coach"?

    The headline is yes. By the essence of what was said - no, because the phrase was taken out of context. Most importantly, the captain and coach have a great relationship, and that cannot be changed by any headlines.

    Photo: RIA Novosti / Vitaly Belousov, RIA Novosti / Alexey Filippov, Vasily Ponomarev / Edgar Breshchanov / Sportbox.ru,

    Nail Izmailov is the new vice-president of the Moscow football club "Spartak". Where did this sports functionary come from, who became the right hand in the team of the owner of the “red and white” These questions are asked today by many fans.

    Biography of a functionary

    Nail Izmailov was born in 1976. He was born in Moscow.

    In the early 90s he became a student at the Moscow State University of Environmental Engineering. Received higher education with a degree in ecology. Later he became the owner of two more diplomas - at the Higher Commercial School, which was based at the Federal Ministry of Economic Development and at the Diplomatic Academy Russian Federation... He graduated from the last educational institution in 2011.

    Many contradictory facts are known about the youth of Nail Izmailov. For example, they say that while studying at the university, he moonlighted as an ordinary bouncer in a bar. Over time, Nail Izmailov himself admitted this as a journalist, noting that the work was interesting. True, in the future this hobby did not receive any continuation. The hero of our article did not become interested in martial arts.

    Professional career

    Before coming to “Spartak”, Nail Izmailov changed more than one occupation. His career was very diverse.

    Since 2006, by his own admission, he has supervised several large investment projects, combining this with work in a company owned by a large financial group.

    He also has experience in the real business sector. Izmailov Nail Kamilevich collaborated with duty-free shops, clothing boutiques, chain grocery supermarkets. There is a record in his work book about work in the Federal Ministry of Natural Resources. Still, by his first education, he is an ecologist. Izmailov held the position of a specialist at the Center for Socio-Economic Analysis.

    He has a master's degree. He defended it in environmental engineering.

    Relations with Spartak

    When in “Spartak” Nail Izmailov became vice-president, everyone immediately caught the eye that he, unlike most other leaders of the “red and white”, was not trying to measure popularity with the St. Petersburg “Zenith”.

    He himself looks like a fairly experienced and competent specialist and sports functionary. For example, once in a conversation with a journalist, he argued that in Russia, according to statistics, there are about 20 million fans. And Spartak's matches have some of the highest ratings in the country. So the team can be safely recognized as one of the official state brands. Because Spartak's victory ultimately benefited the whole of Russian football. At the very least, it was economically profitable for him, because millions of fans throughout Russia, who for many years had been unsuccessfully rooting for Spartak, now realized that it was not in vain.

    This success of the “red and white” in the domestic national football championship has led to the fact that the interest of fans in football has grown even more, there are more fans who are fond of this sport. And all this is especially important on the eve of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Russia for the first time.

    Responsibilities at Spartak

    The vice-president of “Spartak” Nail Izmailov in this post oversees an important economic block in the club. He is directly responsible for budget replenishment, infrastructure facilities, develops a ticket program, interacts with fans.

    Everything related to the income of a football club is in the competence of Izmailov. These are shops with team symbols and attributes, and trade operations, and sponsorship contracts, and the exercise of rights belonging directly to the club, as well as advertising, marketing issues.

    Izmailov himself admits that he faces an important task - to develop an integrated approach so that the club can regularly earn money. Only in this case will shareholders be able to compensate for their expenses. In the future, the "red-whites" expect to go to an IPO in the near future and start attracting real money from the sale of shares. There are also serious plans to expand the infrastructure network. Moreover, in this case we are talking not only about the Russian regions, but also about the far abroad. This, for example, America and China, where they also know and love the Moscow “Spartak”.

    Most of these plans are now in their infancy. I wonder which of them will be able to be implemented.

    Nail Izmailov: We are building a self-sufficiency system for "Spartak"

    The observer of "Soviet Sport" met with the vice-president of "Spartak".

    The observer of Sovetsky Sport met with the vice-president of Spartak Nail Izmailov and asked him about the economic and marketing aspects of the club.

    "WORKED AND LEARNED"

    - Are you really a fan of Spartak since the age of seven?
    - Yes, I have been ill since seven. He started going to matches since 1989. The Muscovite himself. Both grandfathers defended the capital during the Great Patriotic War, served here. One was an artilleryman, a crew commander, the other a sapper. After the war, they stayed in Moscow. And the parents were born here.

    - Did you get sick actively?
    - I attended matches regularly. Onsite as well.

    - According to the tough option?
    - For everyone. I did not enter the fan environment, but I know many.

    - How did you go from a fan to the vice-president of Spartak?
    - I worked and studied a lot (smiles). I went to work from the third year of the institute. The experience is very diverse - from retail, restaurant business, entertainment to construction, investment and banking. Then he received an invitation from Leonid Arnoldovich Fedun. "Spartak" is involved in the large project "Tushino-2018", which implies the development of the Tushino field. Several functional clusters are planned. The sports one is Otkritie-Arena, a new club base, a multifunctional indoor palace that will be located next to the stadium, where matches, competitions in other sports, concerts, exhibitions and conferences will be held. Shopping and office centers, hotels, a children's entertainment complex, schools, kindergartens, clinics, housing will be built. Actually a city. There is a lot of talk about the fact that all this is for the enrichment of investors. But construction costs are supposed to be offset by income from home sales. Permanent income from other facilities will be directed to the club for the stable maintenance of its life and. This will allow Spartak to feel financially confident over time and lose its absolute dependence on the state of its shareholders.

    - So you are building a self-sufficiency system for the club?
    - Yes exactly. The same system is being built by London's Arsenal - the Highbury project and Queensland Road. The Brooklyn Nets basketball mega mall is a similar model. The club, if it wants to live and develop normally, needs constant replenishment of the budget. It is ineffective to rely only on the shareholder's money.

    - How did you get involved in this?
    - I had experience in investment activities, I was engaged in this in one very large financial group. Housing, commercial real estate, mutual funds ... Professionally I know this area, which is probably why I received an invitation to Spartak four years ago.

    Have you watched the Hollywood Shorting movie about the 2008 crisis? If so, you must have understood the dialogues, which are 70 percent of banking terms.
    - There is no time for cinema, work takes 24 hours a day. But since you advise, I will take a look.

    ORDER FOR RESERVE

    - You were invited to deal with construction and real estate, but you are the vice presidency in a football club. How so?
    - The club and "Tushino-2018" are one whole. It all started with the stadium, during the construction of which I was in charge of a kind of management company, that is, I supervised the construction site as a future user of the facility. Now the strategic goal is to create an autonomous life support system for Spartak, to generate income from new and development of old capabilities of the club, stadium and territory.

    - Are buying and selling players included in this system?
    - Ideally, both parts, sports and infrastructure, should be profitable. Players are an asset that must grow in value. True, so far few people in Russia manage to achieve this. The vertical "academy - youth team -" Spartak-2 "- the base", which is headed by Sergei Rodionov, exists. But we often hear reproaches that our pupils go to other clubs, open up there, play better than us. This means that there is something to add.

    - Sergei Galitsky said that he used the classic stadium cladding made of travertine stone, because bright modern materials tend to fade. I immediately remembered "Otkrytie Arena".
    - Our cladding will not fade, everything is done with a margin. In addition, there are more important parameters. For example, stadium functionality, convenience and comfort, safety and logistics. Or the place of its construction. The construction of arenas for the 2018 World Cup is underway. In each case, is it calculated that the stadium will become a center of human attraction, a focus of sports and commercial life, a place for non-stop mass events? Are there those who evaluate these investments professionally and with perspective? Whole areas with transport and other infrastructure should be developed around arenas. An illustrative example is England and London, where the growth in real estate prices in football districts in recent years is higher than in other non-football districts. Tushino-2018 has not yet been built, but people are already jogging around the stadium, walking dogs, and riding bicycles. Although the nearest residential buildings are on the other side of the busy Volokolamskoe highway.

    - Those who have seen the arenas of the Portuguese Euro-2004, which are not in demand today, will agree with you. But back to the Spartak vertical. Is it really hard for the club academy to keep up with the pace of "one pupil per year for the base"?
    - I'll make a reservation right away: I'm not responsible for the football part of Spartak. This is the patrimony of Sergei Rodionov. I will answer only because I took part in the development of some innovations. The desired "performance" of the club system was fixed on paper. The coaches of all divisions are faced with the following task. From this year on, it is, in fact, regulated. Trainers will be encouraged for their performance, bonuses are clearly defined. There was no systematization before. It is the replenishment of the base, and not a place in youth competitions or in the FNL, the main thing in the preparation of the reserve.

    TV INCOME - ONLY 4 PERCENT OF BUDGET

    - What is the scope of your duties at Spartak?
    - All the business component and those tools that help to provide it. That is, a security department, a fan club, commercial and IT departments, a public relations department, a single technical center that ensures the operation of the stadium, the Academy in Sokolniki, the base in Tarasovka and the construction of a new base in Tushino.

    - Are you on the board of directors of the club?
    - No, I am a member of the board of Spartak.

    - How is the football business different from any other?
    - Modern football is a huge business, coupled with the passion and excitement of millions. The profitability of such a business can be very high if the level of management of all participants is appropriate. Globally - no different from many others. It is a symbiosis of different types of business, from retail and ticketing to real estate. The main product produced is human emotions. They should be such that it is pleasant for the fan to be aware of his involvement in the club. There are three pillars in the marketing strategy of any football club - sports success, the number of fans and their activity, and the club's budget. They are not directly related, but they have a very noticeable effect on each other.

    - How did the 13-year absence of titles from Spartak affect the number of fans?
    - We recently launched a large study on this topic, including in the regions. We have developed a methodology, we want to understand the dynamics. As regularly as the number of our subscribers in social networks, merchandising, the ticket program, we want to analyze the change in the number of fans. And not only quantitatively, but qualitatively. Whether there have been fewer of them over the past 13 years, I don’t know yet. But there are results from an English study. A person begins to get sick at the age of 6 to 12 years and after that, in 90 percent of cases, he does not change his club addictions. The main thing that influences the choice of the club is friends, family, environment; then, by a large margin, the team's sporting successes; in third place is a favorite item: a scarf, a pen, a T-shirt, that is, merchandising. Liverpool have not been the champion of England for 26 years, but they are unlikely to have lost much in the growth of fans.

    We understand that there is a danger of missing young people due to the lack of titles. We are trying to compensate for this. The Spartak Kids program, for example, making the visit of children and families with children to our stadium memorable and enjoyable. The family sector is almost full at every match. Another example is the huge popularity of shares with our partner Nissan in recruiting children to the Spartak Academy. This was done in different cities. Fortune could smile at two or three boys, no more. But in Krasnodar, for example, 2500 parents came in the wild heat, the event stretched out for several hours!

    - Can you compare the economy of Spartak with the leading foreign clubs? Or are they different worlds?
    - Filling the budget is radically different when it comes to the top leagues in Europe. There, revenues from the sale of television rights are about 30 percent. Spartak has less than four. Despite the fact that match day revenue, that is, the total profit on the day of the match, we have a similar one - about 25 percent of the budget.

    - It's strange: the clubs have pennies from television, but they absolutely don’t bother the Premier League on this score.
    - Our television shows football for free, nothing can be done about it.

    SPARTAK CANNOT LEAVE THE POOL

    - How are the prices for tickets and season tickets calculated?
    - After the opening of the stadium, we were guided by the figures of the previous season. It doesn't matter where you play: emotions are sold, and they do not depend on the arena. Comfort, convenience, safety, parking, food can change, but the stadium itself is just a box, which, if used correctly, can turn into an effective business tool, etc. Therefore, the history of pricing in Luzhniki and Cherkizovo was taken as a starting point, increasing the added value by a row VIP categories. Changing the price for regular fans would be disrespectful to them.

    - Don't change - optimize.
    - That is why the ticket program is being analyzed now. Based on the dynamics, in each segment we will be able to regulate prices pointwise. Of course, we will take into account the team's results and the expectations of the fans before the season.

    - Then you have to sell season tickets for half the season. After all, expectations before autumn and spring are often different.
    - Dynamic pricing is also in our plans. When not only the result is taken into account, but also the advance of sales, the day, the time of the game, the weather, and so on. There are difficulties, but we already had experience in selling season tickets for a series of matches. It is possible that we will return to it.

    - Does the lack of a clear calendar for the season bother you? Sometimes the day and time of the start of the match is found out almost a week before the game.
    - Here we are hostages of television. An unpredictable software grid dictates conditions to us too. Matched matches for the European competition participants - too. In England, the calendar is clear for a year ahead, there the grandfathers also went to the matches according to the current schedule. The British keep traditions, with us constancy is not tied in any way. Although the first shoots have appeared: we see how people in the new season are happy to purchase season tickets for their homes, know their neighbors, and communicate with them in a friendly manner. This is important for football. A person entering the arena feels a sense of belonging to his favorite team and has an influence on what is happening through its support. This is especially valuable, it is one of those ingredients that allows the team to win.

    - And yet it is not clear. 4 percent of TV is ridiculous money. Leaving the pool, you would get more.
    - Leaving the pool means destroying the entire component of the League. Real Madrid and Manchester United do not leave the pool, which means that everything is not so simple. Plus, we're all in the same boat in a way.

    DUMPING DEVELOPS

    - Why do you keep high prices for guest tickets? They also sell expensive tickets to your fans in return.
    - We do not artificially raise the price. In similar sectors, it is the same for strangers and our fans.

    - If both clubs made prices lower, the Spartak sector in the second leg would be fuller.
    - Direct exchange is impossible, there is no such practice anywhere in the world. In addition, prices for guests and hosts for identical seats should not differ according to the regulations. We offer a service that costs 1000 rubles. The price of a service at another stadium may vary depending on convenience, comfort and other factors. Artificially lowering the price, on the other hand, corrupts the consumer. It is possible to give out tickets for free, but it is unlikely in the long term that this will attract a fan and teach him to support the team in all ways.

    - How many season tickets have you sold this season?
    - About 15 thousand. 30 percent of the arena occupancy.

    - Is Spartak a self-sustaining club?
    - I would say - the closest to self-sufficiency of the Russian clubs.

    - Are there any problems with financial fair play?
    - We were allowed to participate in European competitions, so no. UEFA allows a certain budget deficit if a number of conditions are met. They look at details like revenue relevance, for example: the cost of advertising sponsorship contracts should not exceed market value.

    - To what extent has the commercial potential of the new stadium been realized?

    There is a growth reserve. We want to make, for example, free wi-fi in the stands so that fans have access to the club's mobile application. It will contain news, photo and video content, ticket services, the ability to buy goods in the club store, delivery of drinks and food to a place on the podium, location of oneself and search for acquaintances at the stadium through a personal account. We are completing a project with four mobile operators; a stable 4G signal should appear in the arena in December. We expect to launch an official online service for reselling tickets Ticket exchange between fans. If a person does not manage to go to the match, but he has a season ticket or a ticket, he will be able to officially resell the opportunity to visit the game. It's so popular in England and Germany. Despite the fact that online "Spartak" sells about 70 percent of all tickets and season tickets.

    BEST MUSEUM IN THE WORLD

    - How else are you fighting for the audience?
    - Different ways. We organize children's football camps, we hold school tournaments - 15 thousand people came to the final of one of them, which was held in the schools of the North-West Administrative District of Moscow this year. We use the possibilities of the media. We work closely with the fan base, about whom we know a lot, from who they come to the stadium with, to their gastronomic and preferences. We congratulate them on the holidays. People are pleased to receive a personal video greeting on their birthday and an invitation to a match from a team player. We connect the club's partners to the loyalty program. We have a long-standing customer relationship management (CRM) system. It is connected to a ticket program, access control, a loyalty program, merchandising, monitoring relations with our partners, catering and so on.

    We cooperate with charitable foundations, we recently launched a program with a fund to fight leukemia, and we plan to involve organizations that help sick children, orphans and low-income families. We help people with disabilities attend matches. A great deal of work in this direction is being carried out by our new employee, Alexander Sergeev, who himself moves in a wheelchair.

    - Do you have enough non-football events in the arena?
    - Presentations, conferences, test drives, children's events are ongoing. But we are ready and want to spend more. Two shows are planned for next season. More often it is fraught with the field: we cover it with bridges, but in our climate this is not very useful for the grass.

    - 13 thousand rubles for a modest autumn jacket in a Spartak store - is it not expensive?
    - We are dependent on the manufacturer, our mark-up is small.

    - Are you planning to bring the Spartak brand to the international level?
    - Mainly through the promotion of the mobile application. Opening fan clubs? But why with modern internet possibilities? But what we are planning is a network of branches of the football academy. Boni will appear in the cities of Russia, and we want to make one in China. And open a club office there. In Hong Kong or Shanghai, negotiations are underway. This will allow us to establish a dialogue with a huge country and, possibly, sponsors. Moving to Europe, where the positions of the leading clubs are strong, is futile, we will not compete with them. Our fans already get emotions from a distance, watching matches on the Internet. A friend from Los Angeles got to the game in Moscow, quietly buying a ticket in America through an online service and was impressed by the comfort, safety and atmosphere at the Spartak game.

    - The club museum leaves a strong impression, especially on the technical side. How much did it cost?
    - More than 200 million rubles. We have been working on this project for almost three years. I think we made the best football club museum in the world.

    - What is the situation with the monument to Cherenkov?
    - "Spartak" is in constant contact with his family and city authorities. If everything goes as planned, we will announce a collection of donations. The club is ready to pay the cost of the monument. But the fans also deserve such a privilege - to pay for the monument to Cherenkov, thereby paying tribute to the great player and great man.

    In addition to Rodionov and Leonid Fedun, the board of directors of red and whites currently includes: Sergei Mikhailov (member of the board of directors of Lukoil and chairman of the board of directors of Capital Group Asset Management), Alexander Matytsin (vice president of Lukoil), Alexander Zhirkov ( chairman of the board of the pension fund "Lukoil-Garant") and Andrey Fedun (general director of OOO Stadium "Spartak").

    Mikhailov Sergey Anatolyevich - member of the board of directors of Spartak since 2004.

    Mikhailov got 3 higher education: Graduated with honors from the Dzerzhinsky Military Academy, the Moscow Aviation Institute and the Plekhanov Russian Economic Academy with a degree in Finance and Credit. One of the main areas of work in the club is the fans. The main task is defined as economic: "The main thing is to sell tickets and season tickets. Today it is desirable to sell 30 thousand and the entire VIP-zone, then the proceeds will be about 10 million euros - that's already something." Every year it plays an increasing role in making club decisions and was even considered as a replacement for General Director Roman Askhabadze. It is difficult to say something about the possible "sabotage" of Mikhailov, but it is known for certain that Mikhailov's brother - ardent cheerleader CSKA. I am not putting forward this as the main argument or some kind of proof, just information for your information.

    Matytsin Alexander Kuzmich has been a member of the board of directors of Spartak since 2004.

    In 1984 he graduated from Moscow State University, received a Ph.D. in Economics. After 10 years he received a degree from the University of Bristol. Honored Economist of the Russian Federation, and also awarded two medals, including the Medal of the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, II degree. What this merit is - it is not very clear. 1994-1997 - Director of the international auditing firm KPMG. From 1997 to 2012 - Vice President of the Main Department of Treasury and Corporate Finance of OJSC Lukoil. From 2012 to 2013 - Vice President for Finance of OJSC Lukoil. In 2013, he became Senior Vice President for Finance of OJSC Lukoil. His wife, Lyubov Khoba, is the chief accountant of Lukoil. In 2000, a criminal case was opened against her and Vagit Alekperov on the fact of fictitious oil export supplies abroad. The case was closed because Lukoil paid the state as much as it was told.

    As for Spartak, of the current board of directors, he is considered the most devoted fan and, at the same time, a fairly sane manager and financier.

    Zhirkov Alexander Nikolaevich - member of the Board of Directors since 2013.

    Graduated in 1988 from the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, Zhirkov has been working in the banking sector since 1993, and Alexander Nikolayevich came to IFD-Kapital, which is controlled by Fedun, in 2005. Zhirkov is a member of the board of directors of the Petrokommerts bank, which is part of the holding, and his main area of ​​work is non-state pension funds. Zhirkov is the chairman of the board of the NPF LUKOIL-Garant.

    He is Fedun's deputy on the club's board of directors. The main pest in today's Spartak! The fact that Zhirkov is a fan (well, or sympathizes / sympathized) of CSKA (even before his appearance in Spartak, it is Punchinel's secret. And the red and blue pennant (!!!) and the calendar in his office (!!! ) at the "Otkrytie-Arena" (!!!) and completely goes beyond the bounds of reason.

    Fedun brought Zhirkov to “Spartak” with one single goal - to save, and save a lot. Zhirkov is not worried about the club's sporting successes, he is only concerned about the total economy. Fedun himself indirectly confirms this: "I have a deputy, Alexander Zhirkov, who often argues with me. He has his own opinion on everything. I want victories, and he wants a balanced budget."

    In the first transfer window of Zhirkov - and this was the winter transfer window of 2014 - Karpin asked to buy two or three newcomers. However, Zhirkov strongly opposed the transfer spending and as a result, only one player was bought - the German Ebert for 1.4 million euros. Economy mode has been launched to its fullest. And the main incentive for his work is the following: the more the savings, the more his salary.

    Andrey Arnoldovich Fedun - member of the Board of Directors since 2013.

    In general, Andrei Fedun appeared in “Spartak” in March 2009, when he took up the post of director of medicine and rehabilitation, since his education was just medical. He worked in this place until the summer of 2013, after which his brother decided that it was useless for his native blood to engage in medicine, and it was time to count family money and appointed him general director of Spartak Stadium LLC. From the same moment he became a member of the board of directors. Obviously, he understands football even less than his brother - although, it would seem, it is simply impossible to understand football less than Leonid Arnoldovich. This is clearly demonstrated by his recent statements in the press that “Spartak” has an excellent composition, in which there is not a single failed line, and that, quote: "the coaches are probably not doing enough."

    Another statement of his stands apart: " I traveled a lot around the world and I know very well that angry fans attacked the coaches, shot at the players, but no one ever touched the owners. Criticism of the Spartak leadership in the stands is an inadequate reaction to what is happening. The club has created all the conditions for winning. If the players don't play, ask them ".

    With the fact that you have to ask the players, of course we agree. But we cannot ignore his knowledge of the untouchability of the owners of football clubs. We, of course, will not cite as an example how fans from different countries around the world have a physical impact on the owners of their clubs - for example, they burst through the podium straight into the VIP box, or how, for example, quite recently fans of the Belgrade “Partizan” beat him to death. one of the leaders of the club right outside the walls of the stadium, but we recall that at one time there were quite loud protests of Manchester United fans against the Glazers, Newcastle fans against Mike Ashley or Milan's tiffozi against Silvio Berlusconi and a dozen other similar shares. So the current criticism of Fedun is so, they just "chided" with a finger.

    Silly, unprofessional, ignorant - all these, unfortunately, are characteristics of today's management team of our club and Andrey Fedun in particular. It is clear that he ended up in the club thanks to his brother and that Leonid Fedun himself wanted to see him in the club. In general, it's amazing how the two sons of Leonid Arnoldovich are still outside the club. I won't be surprised if after a while he will add them too. It's good that I haven't thought of taking my daughter to the club yet, even if I took her husband Geraskin. In general, there are great fears that the "team of professionals" which, as Fedun himself says, should lead the club to victories, will not turn into a family business.

    But today's "Spartak" is not living on one board of directors. It is necessary to say a few words about other "heroes of our time".

    Izmailov Nail Kamilevich - vice-president of the club.

    In his student years, he combined his studies with the work of a bouncer in a bar. After graduation, he was engaged in investment projects in the regions. He has been involved in large investment projects since 2006, working in a company of a large financial group. He worked at the Ministry of Natural Resources as a specialist at the Center for Socio-Economic Analysis. Later he graduated from the Higher Commercial School under the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, MBA Strategic Management. Leonid Arnoldovich Fedun invited him to Spartak.

    One of his main areas of responsibility is the sale of tickets and season tickets. “The more the revenue, the more his salary,” in connection with which Izmailov allegedly wanted to raise the prices for season tickets in the new season - this opinion is often met among fans. The issue is controversial, because he managed to contain even a minimal increase in prices for season tickets for the new season. Although on the other hand it is logical, given the low place of “Spartacus” in the standings of the finished championship.

    The question is, what will be the prices for season tickets if, for example, “Spartak” will break into the Champions League in a year or even win the championship. V last season“Spartak” became the most visited team in the championship, including the home matches of the red and white came on average about 25 thousand people. The figure is certainly good, but the percentage of the stadium's capacity, which is about 50%, leaves much to be desired. At the same “Zenith” the average attendance at home matches is lower only because “Petrovsky” accommodates 21 thousand spectators, but the percentage is close to 100%. And if Spartak finally becomes the champion, then the fans will rush to buy season tickets for the post-championship season and then “Demand creates supply” will work, and it is quite possible to expect an increase in prices for season tickets up to 20-30%. Perhaps, such changes will not affect the fan stand, but the central stands, and especially the VIPs, will noticeably increase in price.

    But so far this is all just speculation and bare speculation, and Izmailov continues to earn pluses in his reputational piggy bank - most recently, he made an attempt to return the historic diamond to Spartak. Although initially they said that the final decision on this issue was for Fedun and the board of directors (after all, it was they who had to agree with Alyosha on the money), but this is already his great merit, because it was he who raised this topic, worked it out (although Izmailov is far from the first who raised this issue earlier, but none of his predecessors could bring it to its logical conclusion) and, apparently, will bring it to the final stage - in any case, everyone is talking about the return of the “correct” diamond to Spartak more persistent and specific character.

    Trakhtenberg Leonid Fedorovich - Director of the Department of Public Relations and Press Attaché of the club in the period from 17.02.2010 to 25.07.2012 and from 22.06.2015 to the present.

    Trakhtenberg worked at Spartak as director of the public relations department from 2010 to 2012, after which he worked in a similar position at Rostov for 3 years, until he returned to the red-and-white camp last summer. Despite the fact that he is a sincere fan, deeply worried about our home club and, in fact, devoted his life to it, but, alas, this does not in any way negate the fact of his professional stupidity. "The old fool", "Crazy Fuck" - in these "epithets" the views of fans of different ages and different, let's say, "cheerleading layers" are similar. Sometimes Trachtenberg's stupidity is even funny and touching, but, unfortunately, most often it only causes irritation. And this smack of stupidity, narrow-mindedness, mediocrity, which you clearly feel when you open another ordered interview with Mr. Mikhailov, Cheloyants, Fedun senior and junior, reading Trakhtenberg's reports, permeates everything connected with the club today, is inherited (or virally - God knows) from year to year. And the hallmark of this oppressive regime became the opuses of Leonid Fedorovich Trakhtenberg on the official website and his unforgettable reports, and his clichés about the "Persian carpet" and "thanks to Leonid Arnoldovich for such a wonderful stadium" are simply tired.

    Atamanenko Alexander Vladimirovich - commercial director from July 2014 to the present.

    Atamanenko in 1996 received a diploma of higher international commercial education from the Academic Center for Management, Business and Law of the International Academy of Sciences (San Marino) with a degree in Marketing Director. In 2005, he was certified by the American Hotel and Lodging Association in the direction of "Service Standards". In 2008 he completed a full course of training in the direction of "stadium director" at the educational center "Amsterdam-Arena". In 2013 he received the "Spectator Safety Management" certificate in England. Prior to Spartak, he worked at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he was in charge of the Donbass Arena stadium and directed it for 6.5 years. Atamanenko was entrusted with Donbass Arena when it was still a construction site, so he also had to participate in the management of a large-scale project to open this stadium, and then lead the project for preparing and holding Euro 2012 matches. It also fulfills the main tasks set by the investor - getting the maximum profit from the stadium. Under him, Donbass Arena had good financial results - even before Euro 2012, the stadium's income was more than $ 18 million. holding matches. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Council of the European Stadiums and Safety Association (ESSMA), and is also an honorary worker of tourism in Ukraine and has a medal "For Labor and Valor".

    In 2014, Atamanenko was invited to "Spartak" and since then he has been making a profit from the Spartak stadium. We have already spoken in detail about the numbers and the amount of profit in the 2nd section of this article - "On income and expenses" - and we will not repeat ourselves.

    It is gratifying that, at least on the issue of pyrotechnics, he is quite adequate and treats it, if not loyally, then with understanding. Here's what he said after the derby against CSKA in the first round: “Millions watched the match between Spartak and CSKA and everyone saw that there was pyrotechnics. But there were no incidents in terms of interference with the safety of fans and the atmosphere of the holiday football ". He also noted that, in general, it is unrealistic to remove pyrotechnics from the stands, and that if a person wants to carry pyrotechnics, he will do it. In general, he does not make any tragedy out of the use of pyrotechnics, quite reasonably noting that fire is used throughout Europe, and in some countries it is even legalized.

    The only serious blunder in his work is the incomprehensible stewards and other Otkrytie-Arena personnel who support other teams. I think not everyone managed to forget the scandal after the same match “Spartak” - “CSKA”, when after the second goal of the army team the assistants of the Spartak medical service (porters) jumped up from their seats. Then, fortunately, they were all fired almost immediately after the match. The situation with the stewards is still much worse - some are fired, but others come in their place, which indicates the absence of at least minimal interviews when hiring (more about Otkrytie-Arena stewards who support other teams). In general, it remains to be hoped that Atamanenko will focus more serious attention on this problem - after all, this is his area of ​​responsibility.

    Closing the topic of "Spartak" leaders, one cannot fail to mention one more person who has been on the board of directors for many years. It:

    Dzhevan Krikorovich Cheloyants - member of the Board of Directors from 2004 to 2015.

    Cheloyants' ancestors moved to Russia from Western Armenia during the genocide, and he was born in Grozny. The local “Oilman” was supported by his father, who instilled in his son a love for football and “Spartak”. From then until his last day at Spartak, Cheloyants was almost the only real fan of our team in the club's management. For 18 years he served as vice president of Lukoil (1993-2011), is a laureate of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology (2007) and an honored worker of the oil and gas industry.

    He was included in the Board of Directors of the club in 2004 - shortly after Leonid Fedun bought a controlling stake in Spartak. For a number of years, Cheloyants' work in the club remained outside the media field, although it was still known about some of his personal actions: for example, in 2004 he offered Nikita Simonyan to take the post of Spartak president, which he, on reflection, refused. After retiring from Lukoil in 2011, Cheloyants fully focused on working at the club. The scope of his activity can be defined as "organizational" - once, for example, he, together with the general director, even flew to the Spanish training camp of "Spartak". In addition, Cheloyants participated on behalf of the club in the meetings of the RFPL and the United Russia-Ukraine Football Championship. When a discussion arose about whether to place 4 stars over the Spartak rhombus, Cheloyants publicly supported the team's veterans, who demanded that the USSR championships be taken into account in this matter.

    As part of his activities, Cheloyants personally supervised the Spartak Academy named after Fyodor Cherenkov, which prepares players for the main team. For young Spartak players, he allocated personal scholarships, for their mentors - funds for sanatorium-resort treatment, and, if necessary, organized charter flights for the departure of football players to away matches.

    On a national basis, he lobbies for the purchase of Armenian footballers and their interests - so, with his direct participation, the transfers of Aras Ozbiliz and Yura Movsisyan to Spartak were organized. And he and the other, as a result, left the camp of red and white just at the same time with their patron. In addition, it was Cheloyants who at one time really wanted to see Armenian national team midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan in "Spartak", but the matter never came to a discussion of the numbers.

    Cheloyants also influenced the choice of candidates for the post of head coach. He was one of the main participants in negotiations with Cherchesov two years ago and even flew to Rostov-on-Don on a private plane, where Amkar, who was then coaching Cherchesov, played a match with the local Rostov, and at the end of the game took the coach to Moscow. It was from Cheloyants' phone that the famous SMS was sent, in which Cherchesov was confronted with the fact that he did not fit Spartak. He spoke for the candidacy of Alenichev and against the candidacy of Yakin.

    When considering certain personnel issues, Cheloyants in the board of directors very often remained in the minority. This, in particular, happened when the issues of the resignation of the head coaches - Mikael Laudrup in 2009 and Valery Karpin twice - in 2012 and 2014 were being resolved. opposed.

    Cheloyants' rhetoric often ran counter to the rhetoric of the club, or rather President Fedun. The businessman was active in the press and did not hesitate to criticize some of the decisions of the board of directors. So, a year before his departure from Spartak, Cheloyants said that no positive events had taken place in Spartak since the dismissal of Valery Karpin, with the exception of the opening of the stadium.

    Soon Cheloyants was left without a board of directors - in August 2015, Sergey Rodionov took his place. The businessman himself then admitted that he did not understand the reasons for this decision. After that, it became clear that his position in the club had weakened significantly. After that, he sold 10% of his shares to Leonid Fedun, and he himself became a shareholder of the Yerevan football club "Banants". But even after leaving the team, Cheloyants remained loyal to “Spartak”, saying: “I have been rooting for this team for 50 years and I want to be rooting for another 50!”.

    Also, as in the case of Dzhevan Cheloyants, we cannot pass by the figure Vagit Yusufovich Alekperov .

    About a year ago, the famous TV commentator and journalist Vasily Utkin named Alekperov, and not Leonid Fedun, the real owner of Spartak. Still, this is not entirely true. Yes, he regularly provides personal sponsorship to Spartak (we can say that he is financed together with Fedun) and certainly owns an impressive percentage of the shares of the red and white. But football itself with its problems is of little interest to him, and even more so he has no desire to deal with it - there are quite enough “Lukoil's” concerns, otherwise he would have personally headed the club's board of directors for a long time. Since Alekperov is not interested in football, it is better for him that Fedun is involved in the club, depriving him of an additional headache. But his participation, even if somewhat detached, is in “Spartak” and in the stadium. They just don't talk about it or talk about his participation to a lesser extent than everything really is.

    Populism is a tactic of directly flirting with the broad masses of the people, distributing unsubstantiated promises in order to gain popularity in the election campaign. It is this word that pops up in the head of every fan of the red and white after the release of the next interview with any of the management of “Spartak”. These interviews contain a lot of bombast, a lot of promise and confidence in a bright future. It is populism that the Spartak leadership has been doing all these years. They do not need any sporting achievements, successes, trophies. Of course, they will not mind if a trophy suddenly falls on their heads, but even without them, everything is going well for these "leaders": attendance records will not go anywhere, not to write about Spartak in the media is suicide, paper hot dogs for 200 rubles and tea bags for 100 rubles will be sold in tons, if Promes leaves, it will go for a tidy sum to a good club - everything will be fine for them, one might even say - excellent. And everyone understands this: from Fedun to the Kombarov brothers, and the saddest thing is that it suits everyone. And Leonid Fedun continues to attribute all his own mistakes to the players, the conspiracies of the judges, the intrigues of opponents. When Emery came to “Spartak”, there was a real chance to make a serious step forward for the whole club, but it turned out to be of no use to anyone: neither the players who had merged one of the most talented coaches in the world, nor the leadership, who did not deign to support the Spaniard in his struggle. And it's just wonderful that after leaving “Spartak” Emery won the Europa League with “Sevilla” 3 times in a row (!!!) - I hope that after each of these victories Fedun was tormented by hiccups for a week.

    Then, hiding behind a screen of a brand new stadium, you can annually shuffle the coaches and shuffle the players for them - only the players are not bought, but only sold and distributed free of charge to the closest competitors. And then in an interview to declare that this was done only in order to introduce young people to the vacated seats, at the same time comparing Davydov with Messi, admire and call "lace" any 2-3 accurate passes in a row.

    At the most critical moments, you can go to extreme measures - dismiss the general director, along the way saying that his course was wrong, that Fedun gave the command at his complete disposal, but he did not cope, but now we will find a real professional in his place and everything will be fine.

    In the end, Fedun decides to form his "team of professionals" from real Spartak players - Alenichev, Titov and Ananko under the clear gaze of Rodionov, and Trakhtenberg's breathtaking delirious comments burst into Tarasovka, carrying a wagon and a cart of the Spartak spirit. And everyone is happy - the Spartak public - the return to Spartak roots, and Fedun is that Rodionov is in fact a non-initiative general director, and the new coaching staff does not seem to need purchases, which means that a large amount of transfers can not be pledged.

    All 13 years of Fedun in “Spartak” are sheer mistakes. We can say that Fedun himself is one big mistake. The incomprehensible dismissal of Pervak, the undercover games in the management of the club, which brought the same Fedotov (the wife of Vladimir Grigorievich herself spoke about this in an interview), whom Cherchesov had once sat in for, a shameful transfer window in 2010 codenamed "blank check" when " Spartak, who was tasked with winning the championship, spent as much as 4 million euros on transfers before the season, and the transfer campaign itself (Spartak then signed Drinchich, Ari, Golyshev and Sheshukov, and returned Sovetkin, Sukha, Dzyuba and Shishkin from leases. Golyshev, Shishkin and Dziuba will leave “Spartak” in the same year), the dismissal of Unai Emery, the coaching leapfrog, football-dubious people in the club's management - all these are the reasons why “Spartak” has not achieved anything in 13 years with Leonida Fedun. Once again Fedun signed his own stupidity quite recently, when he said that the 5th place, thanks to which “Spartak” secured its participation in the Europa League next year, is shameful for the red and white. This is really so, only for some reason Leonid Arnoldovich does not consider the task that he himself voiced before the 2015-2015 season - and this is the 4th place and, accordingly, participation in the Europa League - does not consider it shameful.

    What is most sad for a Spartak fan is that everyone (well, almost everyone) in the leadership and in the team does not care about Spartak or what is happening in it. For Fedun, the goal has always been the same - the self-sufficiency of “Spartak”, behind which lies his real goal - to maximize profit either through “Spartak” or with his help. Now he is betting on Otkritie-Arena and the 2018 World Championship and, of course, on the Tushino-2018 project. Everything else does not matter for Fedun, and that is why many people from his entourage say that Leonid Arnoldovich simply does not care about the results of the team. The main thing is to furnish everything beautifully, to shuffle the coaches and the management, to spend the minimum possible amount of money on the team, but so that the fans are happy and to divert the rays of hatred from themselves, and at the same time be engaged in making a profit from parallel projects.

    His subordinates do not care about "Spartak" because they are all interested only in Fedun's money and how to master it more quickly. That is why they strenuously sing into his ears what Fedun is a great manager, wise leader and sensitive "dear father", how far-sighted and purposeful he is, how good everything is in "Spartak" and what excellent prospects await the club in the very near future. And all this day after day, month after month, year after year.

    Absolutely all players, including legionnaires and youth, know everything described above - after all, this has long been no secret to anyone in Spartak. Hence, such a disregard for the game and the results of the team among all players in half of the matches this season. The game is going well. It doesn't work - well, after the match we'll say that we tried, ran, but today it didn't work out. SMS from the bank about the salary - this is the quintessence for the players and employees of today's “Spartak”.

    For this situation to change, changes must occur in Fedun's head. Fedun has been at the helm of Spartak for 13 years. Very long and painful 13 years. During this time, “Spartacus” won nothing (jokers may remember about “Copa Del Sol”). He must finally understand that football club created primarily for victories, and not for the implementation of his business ideas. And that is why he is constantly criticized - exactly as the president of a football club, and not a calculating accountant. You can be a calculating accountant and live within your means - there is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, it is very good in the conditions of constantly tightening financial fair play. Only at the same time it is still possible to win, because not all clubs spend fabulous sums to win. And for this it is necessary to completely clear the Augean stables (and in the case of Alexander Zhirkov, the expression about the stable acquires another additional meaning) in the leadership and in your "team of professionals", in which, in fact, not professionals sit, but the most ordinary economists who consider and protecting every penny of Fedun. Only in fact, Fedun's money is not protected, but is carefully pinched off by each of these lions, and the official parsimony of Fedun's money is done to the detriment of the club. It is also time for Leonid Arnoldovich to stop managing the team according to the principle "Today I want one, tomorrow another, and the day after tomorrow I want it again as it was the day before yesterday." So it's time for Fedun to ask himself a question - what does he really want? Annually rejoice at the next positive financial statements, despite the fact that the club has been out of the top three for 4 seasons in a row? Or win? If he does not want this, then perhaps it is time for him to sell Spartak and give up his place to the fact that he realizes that the football club was created for football and for victories in it, and not for the circulation of money.

    - The owner of "Spartak" Leonid Fedun recently came up with a proposal to carry out a number of reforms in Russian football. What work is being done by the club to implement these proposals?

    - Now we are preparing letters to all leagues: RFPL, FNL and PFL, we send an appeal to the Ministry of Sports and hope that all our proposals will be considered at the next executive committee.

    - Why so radically change the usual structure of a popular game?

    - Several goals are pursued here at once, because the proposed reforms are pointwise aimed at improving certain components of the game. But I will single out the main priorities: this is to improve the quality of football itself and the growth of spectators' interest in the matches of the domestic championship. For this, a proposal was put forward. Thus, viewers will have the opportunity to personally watch the game in comfortable, safe arenas, and the quality of the television picture will also increase, which, in our opinion, will affect the general growth of interest in the Premier League.

    - And what about the reforming of the game grid? It turns out that the current calendar still does not suit Russian clubs?

    - Yes, indeed, this story repeats itself every year, every season we try to transfer games from cold regions to the summer period, but so far it has been difficult. I would like such questions to be automatically taken into account when forming the calendar - it is with this approach that it will be possible to avoid a lot of difficulties for both clubs and their fans.

    - Your club has also received a proposal to introduce a mandatory bonus system for children's coaches who have trained players for the Premier League, and to tighten the current limit on foreign players. It turns out that Spartak defended young Russian footballers?

    - It is important to understand here that pinpoint work will not fundamentally solve the problem. Unfortunately, even if the limit is tightened, we will not have new young stars with Russian passports overnight. So, in addition to the introduction of the limit, it is necessary to pay attention to children's coaches, football schools, youth and youth competitions. And then, having carried out reforms in all these areas, we will be able to get the first results and increase the number of potential players for the Russian national team - it’s no secret that today the choice of the coaching staff of the national team is not so great.

    - And yet your proposals seem a little harsh, especially for clubs that do not identify themselves as elite Russian football... Are there any fears that your colleagues will not accept your project?

    - Yes, we are ready for the fact that many clubs will react to our reforms without much joy. After all, objectively, except for the top teams, few people will find these proposals interesting. But let's take an objective look at the situation: we are all pursuing different goals. For some, the main task is to represent the region in the Premier League draw, for others - to show good football, develop schools, represent the country in European arenas. But we are talking about a global reform of all football in Russia, so sooner or later everyone will come to a common understanding.

    • Nail Izmailov: "Our goal is to make the Russian championship better and more popular"

    "After 0-7 at Anfield, there was deathly silence in the dressing room."

    - You spoke about goals and repeatedly noted that Spartak will continue to fight for the championship. But don't you think that the club lost a lot of points at the start of the season?

    - I have lost a lot, I will not deny, and in general we started the season very indistinctly. There were reasons for this - both external and internal, subjective and objective. It was not an easy moment, but thanks to the guys who found the strength to get together and finish this year with dignity. We are in the top three, we have with Zenit, so I will regard this intermediate result as positive.

    - In the fall, a whole information campaign developed around Spartak, mostly with a pronounced negative connotation. How did you manage with thiscope?

    - The thing is that the situation in which we find ourselves is definitely beneficial to someone. Someone outside the club.

    Inside - for all employees, coaches, players and administration - such stories interfered with productive work. We held several meetings, gathered at the base in Tarasovka, in my office, talked a lot with Massimo Carrera, with the entire coaching staff and together worked out a mechanism that allowed us to rally.

    In addition, we found the strength to regain the lost motivation and believe that, despite the lead over the competitors, the team is able to fight for the second championship.

    - Have you identified the reason for the loss of motivation?

    - This is psychology. As the people say, they went through fire, water and copper pipes, and with them fame, prizes, medals and recognition. Alas, the team was not ready to win over and over again. But there are also positive aspects: when they got into a stressful situation, the guys became stronger. The recent rounds of the Premier League are vivid proof of this.

    - How do you assess the results in the Champions League? Is it unlikely that the score 0: 7 in the final match of the group stage was considered satisfactory by the club's management?

    - Today, for our team, this is primarily a tournament that allows you to gain invaluable experience in the international arena and play with eminent opponents. Many guys had such matches for the first time in their lives. With this invaluable practice, players will continue to progress and grow. I assess the club's overall performance in the Champions League as positive, besides, even before the start of the season, the task was clearly formulated: to play in the Champions League with dignity. Decent does not mean reaching the next round or getting into the Europa League. Honest is to push your limits, draw the right conclusions and improve the overall quality of football.

    • Reuters

    - You were with the team in Liverpool. What was the atmosphere in the locker room after the defeat?

    - There was deathly silence. Of course, we all were in pain - it is not so easy to survive such defeats. But, again, for all of us it was primarily an experience, so if we lose 0: 1 or 0: 7, the result is the same for the tournament layout. In Liverpool, the team came out to play to win, to fight for the right to play in the tournament further - in such a situation, either pan or disappear.

    - Did you worry about the psychological state of the players? Many experts said that, for example, Alexander Selikhov should not be bet on the match against CSKA.

    - Although Sasha is young, he is a very promising, high-quality and professional player. Still, we saw the match with CSKA - he, and the whole team, were able to rehabilitate for those seven goals in England.

    - After the victory over CSKA, Leonid Fedun said that the team would completely make amends only if they beat the leading Lokomotiv with a score of 4: 0. It's a joke? Or do you really believe that you can still catch up with the railroad workers?

    — Of course, anything is possible, we are the creators of our own success. Without looking back at the opponent, we will take points in each of the remaining ten matches. So in the spring, every game is like a final.

    "Conversations about Promes leaving are irrelevant"

    - You re-subscribe very quicklysigned a contract with Georgy Dzhikia. Playerwas so interested in extending cooperation, or is the club's management spurred on by rumors about his possible departure to Zenit?

    - Fortunately, and maybe unfortunately for many, the team does not work on the basis of rumors and gossip. We live in the real world and in real facts. Jikia is a talented guy, he proved his right to play, and we need him without a doubt. In addition, we discussed the option of extending and increasing payments in case of successful actions on the field a year ago, when he just came to Spartak.

    - It's no secret that in the summer Massimo Carrera told you the names of those players with whom he wants to work. Does such a top list from the coach exist now?

    - Just want to clarify the following:. And by the way, in the summer, despite all the rumors and speculations that enveloped the club, they acted the same way. There is a wish from the head coach - these are positions and names, and there are suggestions from the selection department. Putting all these lists together, we begin a discussion. But believe me, the last word always rests with the head coach, he will play and work with them, so the whole prerogative of choosing the players is with him.

    • Nail Izmailov: "We live in a world of real facts"

    - In which market will you focus your attention?

    - This is equal to the Premier League and the European championships. We are looking not only at Russian players, we also need strong legionnaires.

    - Have you marked the lines that need strengthening?

    - Of course, but I will not tell all the details of future transactions yet. I want to say something else: in addition to attracting highly qualified football players, we really want to reveal our own youth, to rely on our pupils, so we will try to strengthen the main team thanks to their involvement.

    - What is the situation with the current contracts? In the summer, Serdar Taski wanted to leave the club, and even now he honestly admits that he has not yet made a final decision. Will his contract be re-signed?

    - He has a contract with Spartak until the end of the current season, the final decision will be made later, during the final negotiations.

    - ANDdo they sweep the soil pthe talk that Quincy Promes might leave the team and go to England?

    - Not at the moment. And, in general, I really do not want to destroy the championship line-up, which is quite capable of repeating and surpassing its last year's result.

    • globallookpress.com

    "They can't forget the performance of our fans at Liverpool"

    - Last year you entered into a dispute with Zenit for the title of the most popular club in the country, and, according to the results of the VTsIOM poll, Petersburgers won. Didn't you ask for new data?

    — At VTsIOM? We don't need this. We receive data at our stadium, at away matches. Our fans are with us anytime, anywhere. Everything is clear and understandable here.

    - The club is actively working with fans. Is the loyalty system for Season Pass holders justifying itself?

    - By and large, the full taste of this program, launched several years ago, we were able to understand only now, during the Champions League matches. The system works: many fans bought real tickets for Euro-matches for the accumulated points on a priority basis, without spending a penny. In addition, this approach blocks the air for speculators. The fans themselves were very positive about this system.

    - Is Spartak fighting for a new audience?

    - Of course, the club's successes in the Russian and international arenas contribute to attracting fans.

    - What are the plans for the development of the club are building "Spartak"?

    - The priority for us is the improvement of the youth program. It is in young talents that the future of both Spartak and the Russian team lies. Therefore, we pay great attention to this. But we also plan to expand the borders, in particular, we are working on entering the Chinese market. We plan to start developing football in this country, which will be carried out under the emblem of "Spartak".

    - After the incident in Maribor, the fans of the red and whites had no particular complaints about the discipline. How did you achieve this?

    - We are in constant contact with representatives of fan movements. Players, coaches, and the club's management meet with them.

    - At the Champions League matches, the fans of the Moscow club noted colorful performances.

    - The performances performed by Spartak fans in Europe are still remembered with shudder. I met with the president and director of Liverpool, they can't forget the image and the inscription on the banner that was displayed at the match in Moscow. This made an indelible impression on the British delegation.

    - Does the club provide any assistance to fans in creating such banners?

    - We help in the issue of interaction with any government agencies, but the fans finance the performance itself. We are very grateful to them for this. There are no analogues to this in Russia. The performances of our fans are considered not only the best in Russia, but also one of the brightest in Europe.

    • Nail Izmailov: "Klopp still cannot forget the performance of our fans"

    - How can you comment on the rocket launcher incident in Maribor?

    - This case cannot be attributed either to the shortcomings of the Russian fans, or to the problems on the part of Spartak. The inspection system and the general conditions for organizing the match in Slovenia were at a low level, something like that in Europe had never been seen before. Despite the fact that everything was terrible there, the inspector of UEFA (Union of European Football Associations - RT) gave them a good grade.

    - What exactly were the problems?

    - Due to problems with the access system, the match turned out to be one and a half times more Russian fans in comparison with the quota - the organizers allowed absolutely all fans to pass, and then simply closed them in the arena. How this could have happened is worth asking the management of "Maribor".

    - Did Sevilla do the right thing by not allowing Russian fans to attend the Champions League match?

    - according to the letter of the law, the club received a ban from UEFA on admitting fans from Russia to the stands and began selling registered tickets in order to exclude all possible violations of this decree in every possible way. As a result, even those who obtained tickets through resellers could not pass control at the stadium.

    - Do you get the impression that Spartak is under greater public scrutiny due to the upcoming 2018 World Cup and foreign media stories about cruel Russian fans?

    - "Spartak" is a leader in everything: in football, organization, fan movement, business and work with academies. Naturally, because of this, there is a certain subjectivity in relation to the club, attempts are being made to harm Russia in general and us in particular.

    Take, for example, the incident with accusations of racism by the captain of the Spartak youth team. We will defend his rights at a meeting of the UEFA Disciplinary Commission, as we are confident in his innocence.

    - Where such confidence?

    “He doesn't speak English well enough to say such rude words to someone of a different skin color.

    - Is this connected with the not very friendly attitude towards Russian sports?

    - I think it is possible to draw parallels, because now they look at Russia with a special squint.

    "Changes await the stadium before World Cup matches"

    - In 2017, the Otkritie Arena stadium hosted the Confederations Cup games. Did FIFA have any complaints?

    - We work closely with the organizing committee of Russia-2018 and FIFA, we received high marks for holding the matches of the tournament. The reason for this can be considered a great experience in organizing competitions of the highest level. People with vast experience in organizing tournaments work in Tushino, which, perhaps, none of the RFPL teams has.

    - Before the Confederations Cup, the stadium was modified, in particular, the number of seats for journalists increased. Will such work be carried out before the World Cup?

    - That's right, we will need to re-engage in the rotation of spectator seats. At FIFA, we will again increase the working areas for media representatives, the so-called hospitality zone, and expand the areas for restaurants. There will be changes in the logistics of the stadium, the teams will enter the field along a different path. But do not think that such works will negatively affect ordinary viewers. The ticket program has been launched and is being successfully implemented, including for matches at our stadium.

    - Most recently, the president of Lokomotiv, Ilya Herkus, said that the club is seriously thinking about installing a sliding roof over the stadium. Have you ever had such thoughts?

    - There will be no rearrangements at our stadium in the near future. By the way, we considered the option with a roof while developing the Arena Opening project, but so far we have not returned to this issue. Now there are simply no necessary resources, it is very expensive, and Spartak is already not in the most advantageous position regarding the financial principle of fair play.

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