"Suddenly, Russia will be allowed to the European Cup, and we will play there"

The players of the Kaliningrad "Baltika" became the main sensation of the start of the season in the RPL. Andrey Talalaev's men, who returned to the Premier League in the spring, are in second place in the Russian championship after nine rounds. The team has not lost a single match in this tournament. She managed to defeat Spartak Moscow (3:0) and draw with Dynamo Moscow (1:1) on the road, as well as with Lokomotiv Moscow (1:1) and Zenit St. Petersburg (0:0) at home. This week, Baltika scored the first two points in the Russian Cup, achieving an away victory over CSKA Moscow in a penalty shootout (10:9) after a 1-1 draw in regular time.

In the summer, the team was reinforced by a number of newcomers. In particular, defender Alexander Filin, who played for the bankrupt Khimki last season. In an interview with Izvestia, the 29-year-old football player explained the secret of Baltika's success.

— What is the reason for Baltika's results this season?

— We try to play to the maximum every match. We want to get as high as possible. We have a thirst for scoring points, a thirst for victory. We try to approach every game with a cool head and make a positive result for ourselves.

"I don't see any sensation in our successes"

Baltika football player Nikolay Titkov — about finding the team in the group of leaders of the championship and a win-win streak in the RPL

— When, at the beginning of the season, your team pulled off a draw with Dynamo and a crushing victory over Spartak at the beginning of the season, it could be attributed to the novelty effect, the special mood of the club, which had just returned to the RPL. How can we explain the fact that two months later, Baltika did not slow down in the level of play?

— We have a good internal team, a good team. And the good players are assembled. Despite the players' price tag, all our performers are of high quality. And we all want to grow — it unites us.

We are supported in this regard by both the club and our fans, who energize the players during every match. We feel like the whole city supports us. And we are trying to respond to this with the results that we have now. I want to continue to achieve this. Maybe Russia will be allowed to participate in the European Cup next year, and we will play there. (He smiles.)

— Do you seriously believe that our clubs can participate in European competitions next year?

- of course. Otherwise, it makes sense to go out on the field if you don't believe in something like that.

— Are they already discussing within the team that it is possible to compete for championship medals, that the current results of Baltika are for a long time?

— No, it's too early to talk about it yet. We worked very productively in the pre-season and at the beginning of the season. And we are going to continue to achieve success. But we are not thinking about what will happen at the end of the championship, about the fight for medals yet. We just set a goal for each subsequent match to score points in order to move on. We don't have any super-dreams or rose-colored glasses. But we understand that if we continue to show such results, we will continue to stay where we are in the standings.

— Is the penalty shootout in the cup match against CSKA the longest in your career?

— Yes, the longest one. But our goalkeeper is a handsome guy. I got high and enjoyed the process, which is great. He went through such a long penalty shootout, deflected two shots, scored the winning 11-meter shot himself — he will remember this match for the rest of his life!

— Now that Baltika has scored the first points in the Russian Cup, do they seriously intend to compete for entry into the playoffs of the tournament? Or is the championship a priority?

— We took him seriously enough. I don't know why everyone thinks we're not serious about this tournament. They probably looked at the results of the previous matches. But we want to do our best in the cup.

— Many people think so because you were the second team in the cup matches.

— We don't have a second team — we have one team. Baltika has a fully balanced pack of players. Therefore, everyone can go on the field and help the team win.

— How long will Baltika last at the top of the league table?

— I will not estimate how long we will last or not last at the top. We're just doing our job. All together, with the whole team — with our coaching staff, with the club leaders and staff. We're doing a common thing, but come what may.

— In the last month, former employees of Khimki have been actively writing open letters to the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the RFU with a request to help recover salary debts from the club. Have you joined these promotions?

— I'm not discussing Khimki.