Sandro Schwarz: «We want to earn 50 points and finish the season with a win»

— What are your expectations of Sunday's match against CSKA?

— We will face a serious opponent in the final match of the season. We are playing at home, so we will do our best to bring a victory to our loyal fans. We want to earn 50 points and end the season with a win. We know that CSKA play well both defensively and offensively. Our task is to be attentive at defense, make quick transitions and find free space in the attack.

— Will you experiment with the squad, given the fact that this match doesn’t have much value for Dynamo?

— We come to this match fully motivated. This is quite an important match for us. We will not experiment and put the strongest line-up on the pitch. We aim to end the season with 50 points. Over the last 10 years, Dynamo had only one season when the team earned more points. We treat this match seriously, and the current training week proves it.

— Arsen Zakharyan was included in the preliminary squad of the Russian national team for Euro-2020. Isn’t it too early for him to play for the national team at this level?

— I think Zakharyan deserved this call-up. The coaching staff of the national team saw his hard work and great play he showed this season. Arsen leaves it all out in training. His hard work, multiplied by great talent, leads to this result. I am glad that he was called up to the national team at such a young age.

— Do you already see the shape of Dynamo squad for the next season? How many new players would you like to get in the summer?

— It's too early to say anything about the squad for the next season. We are waiting for a vacation and summer training camps, when we will make the final decision. We are making internal consultations about the squad. But we understand that new players must strengthen the team.

— CSKA are the only team you haven't faced in Russia before. What impression do you have from watching their matches?

— This is a high-quality team with strong players. They stick to attacking style using 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formations. CSKA are a top side that still have a chance to qualify for European cups. We will play our hearts out to achieve a good result at our stadium. I look forward to the derby with high emotional intensity. In previous derbies, we have two wins, two draws and one loss so far, so we want to improve this statistics.

— What CSKA line-up are you wexpecting – with or without Vlašić?

 — We expect him to take part in this match. Yesterday at the theoretical session, Vlašić was in the line-up that we analyzed.

— Many matches under your guidance followed the same scenario. The team start very well, but when they fail to convert advantage into goals they often concede one and the game changes. What do you plan to do about it?

— If we talk about matches against Khimki and Rubin, we had a lot of goal scoring chances, but we didn’t manage to convert them into goals. No matter what we must always maintain concentration and continue to show our football. It is important not to be discouraged and be ready to come from behind. This is the next stage for our team, when we can stand up to the circumstances emotionally and physically. I am convinced that we will come to this point, it just takes some time. We already see the structure, ideas and principles that we stick to. We have to increase game intervals when we dominate and convert chances that we failed to convert in these matches.

— You are a coach who sticks to the attacking style of football. But sometimes the team can earn a win thanks to defense, as in the first round match against Zenit. Are you ready to move away from your principles or it is not an option?

— There are different periods in a match. Sometimes we also defend in depth. But the way we do it is fundamentally important for me. We must constantly put pressure on players with the ball and not give them time to make good decisions. Even when defending in depth, players should not be passive, they should force the opponent to make mistakes.

We must continue to show active football. Dynamo share the 3rd - 4th place in tackles and remain second in tackles on the opponent’s half. We don’t always choose exclusively attacking style of football, we can also defend in depth, but we should do it actively.

— The average age of Dynamo starting line-up in the match against Lokomotiv was 23. Is it possible to achieve good results at a distance with such a young team? Do you need experienced players?

— I pay a lot of attention to statistics, but if we talk about the average age of the team this is not a decisive factor for me. Only player's performance determines his presence or absence in the starting line-up. Yes, we have quite a lot of young players. But the foundation we have is quite solid and firm. It will allow us to stick to our principles and ideas.

— Which goalkeeper will start on Sunday?

— Anton Shunin partially trained with the team. Igor Leshchuk played very well against Lokomotiv. We will make the final decision closer to the game.

 — Have you ever met with Ivica Olić in Germany?

— If I'm not mistaken, our paths crossed onve in the German Cup, but I can't remember exactly now.

— Olić has small coaching experience. Many people believe that it is too early for him to coach a team like CSKA. Have you noticed his influence on CSKA football?

— We can already see the clear structure of CSKA football. The match against Krasnodar was tough for his team, but they found strength to come from behind and win it. In addition, I know Olić's assistant coach who is a pretty good specialist.

— Do you know that the derby against CSKA is friendly? The fans of both clubs are on good terms.

— I am glad that the fans of Dynamo and CSKA are friends. But we expect a battle on the pitch. And during the match, the fans probably will be divided into two different camps.

— Dynamo-2 season will go on for one more month. Do you plan to provide them with some players from the first team?

— We plan that several players will take part in the next week's training cycle of Dynamo-2. However, it is also important for us that the players have time to rest before the summer training camps.

— Do you plan to attend any matches of the European Championship?

— It is quite likely that I will be able to attend matches that will be held in Russia. But I can't say that I have planned to attend any particular game.

— Yesterday was Father's Day in Germany. How did you spend it?

— Yesterday we had a busy day in terms of work. And after that I spent time with my family.