Dynamo Head Coach Sandro Schwarz answered journalists' questions on the eve of the match against Ural.
— Sandro, what are your expectations from the upcoming match.
— We wait for a tough game on Saturday. Ural changed a head coach for whom it will be the first match at the home ground. That’s why the team will certainly do the best to show themselves. In the previous round, Ural played against Spartak and demonstrated good football, created goalscoring chances. This team has good-quality players, so first of all we need to be disciplined in defense.
— In your opinion, how much have Ural changed in these two weeks? What normally can be changed in such a short period of time?
— You can’t radically change anything in two weeks, but you can change the psychology and the mood of the team. We analyzed their match against Spartak. I can say that they played a fairly high-quality game. The Ural side looked quite solid in the midfield. We also watched the matches of Akhmat under Shalimov and we took all this into consideration when preparing for this encounter.
— Last season, a draw against Ural in the home match actually deprived Dynamo of chances for European cups. Is there any revanchist mood in the team?
— We are not thinking about any revanche. The football aspect is important for us. For both sides, Saturday's encounter will be a clean sheet of paper, and it is unlikely that anyone will think about what happened last season. It is important for us to be better in all aspects of the play and tip the scales of success.
— Luka Gagnidze plays for Ural on loan. What can you say about his progress?
— He is a young and talented football player. So far, he only comes out as a substitute and gets little playing time. I think he will progress. It is not so important who will come out on the pitch on Saturday. The main thing is to show our football.
— In the previous round, you suffered a painful defeat from Akhmat. How did the team get through it? With what mood are you going to the match in Yekaterinburg?
— Of course, the mood was not uplifting. Now we are fully focused on the game against Ural. The guys have a competitive spirit. We talked about how to play when possessing the ball, how to break a dense defense, play quickly and aggressively.
— We saw that Akhmat played defensively against Dynamo, changing their usual style of play. You repeat that you always try to play on your own. Do you keep in mind the option in which the team can play from the opponent?
— We are not only planning to organize a lot of pressure. It is also important to know how to play having a large percentage of ball possession – we are striving for it. This week we analyzed this aspect. It is very important to have patience, to wait for chances, but at the same time constantly search for the shortest way to the goal. We need to change psychologically, because when a team constantly possesses the ball, it must break into the defense due to a large number of runs into the penalty area. If you lose the ball, you need to tackle immediately. This is what the team is currently working on.
— This season, Dynamo concede similar goals, which often come from the right wing of the defense. The same thing happened in the match against Akhmat. What is the reason and how are you working on it?
— We conceded these goals because there was a lot of space between the players. We analyzed these situations and still working on it right now. Such issues are not solved quickly, so we gradually practice these aspects in training until they become automatic.
— Denis Makarov still plays in the individual manner. Is this your game plan or his improvisation on the pitch?
— Denis needs time to fully adapt, feel our style of play and understand all our requirements. He quite often came to dribbling in the game against Akhmat. We need to be patient so that he fully understands what is required of him and feels comfortable. We have to take him to a new level.
— Anton Shunin was not called up to the Russian national team for September matches. How does he feel himself from a psychological point of view?
— Of course, Anton is disappointed with this decision, but the new coaching staff of the national team decided so. Anton reacted professionally to it. He gives his everything in training and prepares for the game against Ural.
— But four other Dynamo players will go to the Russian national team. In addition, Konstantin Tyukavin and Nikola Moro were called up to their senior national teams for the first time. Do you congratulate the players somehow?
— Yes, I congratulated all the guys, including Tyukavin and Moro. I consider it the confirmation of their work. They deserved it. But do not forget that they need to prove their worth in the training process and in the upcoming matches.
— Aren't you afraid that Tyukavin will get dizzy from such rapid progress and he will reduce the requirements for himself?
— I am absolutely not afraid of it — I don’t fear that Tyukavin will ease up. I trust him completely and I see how hard he works in training. We hold a lot of theoretical sessions, including individual ones, so that the players develop and understand what they should focus on.
— The Dynamo forwards scored only one goal in four matches. Does it bother you?
— All players must create goalscoring chances, not just the strikers. Our attacking group is quite young and not stable. But we fully trust them, they not only create a lot of chances, but also exhaust the opponents. For example, if we take the third goal against Ufa, then Tyukavin took the centre-back with him, freeing up the zone for Szymanski’s run.
— Roman Yevgenyev doesn’t play much. There were even rumors that he could move to CSKA. What are his current conditions?
— As for the transfer, I had no thoughts about it. Roman is an important part of our team. So far, he gets little playing time, because we have a very high competition in the team. Yevgenyev shows himself as a professional in training, we see it. It is difficult to make a choice in his position, because the defensive line is well complete. Sooner or later, Roman will get his chance to prove himself on the pitch.
— The transfer window is still open, is work underway in this direction?
— We are always looking for the way to strengthen the team, but potential newcomers must be competitive. Zeljko Buvac is closely involved in this process. We still have time until September, and the issue is still open.
— This week, the clubs were asked to build a position on the foreign players’ limit. What do you think about it?
— We need to find an optimal, balanced solution that would allow both strong foreign players to play in the Russian Premier League, and young Russian footballers to progress.