"I don't want to go back to the first league"

The Russian youth national football team played its last matches in 2025. Our team of players under the age of 21 (U-21) won the Manas Cup international exhibition tournament in Kyrgyzstan. Last week, she managed to beat the teams of Iran (U-23) and Bahrain (U-23) with a score of 2:0, and on Tuesday, November 18, Ivan Shabarov's team defeated the hosts of the competition Kyrgyzstan (U-23) with a score of 8:0.

Alexander Degtev, who plays for Sochi in the RPL, played the meeting with the Iranians as the main goalkeeper. Last season, he was the main goalkeeper of the southern club when he managed to return to the elite from the first league. And in the current championship, he shares playing time with Yuri Dupin. In an interview with Izvestia, the 20-year-old football player shared his opinion about playing for the youth national team, the most interesting matches for it, the struggle for survival in the RPL with Sochi and told how former head coach Robert Moreno taught the team to defend against standards using the example of his work as assistant coach of Barcelona Luis Enrique.

— You have been in the youth national team for a long time. Do you feel like one of its main old-timers against the background of the fact that the team has been seriously updated in the last couple of months?

— Yes, a lot of new guys are coming, who are younger than us. Although there are also older players, born in 2004. But you're right, there have been more and more boys born in 2006 lately, so yes, we already feel like old—timers.

— Are such friendly matches as you have had in recent years in the youth national team comparable to the level of the RPL?

— I would not say that they are comparable. After all, we are playing against the youth teams. But if we take our last trip, then the tournament in Kyrgyzstan is very interesting with good opponents. I think these matches will help us progress in the future.

— You were born in 2005, so you won't be playing for the national youth team next year. Is it disappointing that you never got a chance to play for her in official matches?

— The guys and I have often discussed this and we agree that with this composition of the youth national team we could have performed well in the qualifying tournament for the European Championship. So yes, it's a little sad that we weren't even given a chance to do that. But these are our realities — we need to get used to them. More precisely, we are already used to them. We have been going to the youth team for two years now, playing such matches as in South America or now in Kyrgyzstan. Of course, this is useful for us, although it's a shame that there are only friendly games. But never mind, if we grow up to the main national team, we will already play there at the official level. All together.

— What would you recommend to the new generation of the Russian youth national team, who may have a chance to play in the Euro qualifiers?

— Showing up in the youth national team is a good level. It contains some of the best young football players in the current Russian generation. You need to come to the youth team, show yourself, prove on the field that you are the best. And if they are returned to the official tournaments, then, of course, they will represent our country at the international level in a very good performance. It's better for the guys to be talked about, because then they can move to good clubs.

— When you look at those goalkeepers who, in addition to Matvey Safonov and Stanislav Agkatsev, are called up to the first national team, do you feel that you can break into the top 3 goalkeepers of the national team?

- of course. You just need to show yourself on the field — to play good matches for the youth national team and in the RPL for Sochi. Show your best qualities. I'm sure the coaches of the national team are watching all the goalkeepers playing in the RPL. So it's all up to me.

— You managed to cross paths with Matvey Lukin, Matvey Kislyak and Kirill Glebov in the youth team. Two years ago, did you feel that they would soon become the main players of CSKA and the first national team?

— Yes, it was a matter of time. So they managed to prove themselves at the RPL level, then they got into the main national team and now they are playing for it. Basically, over the past couple of years, a lot of guys have made their way to the base of their RPL clubs. And now those who do not yet have a permanent place at the base at this level or play in the first league may well rise to the Premier League in the near future. Our team is good, all the guys are combative and ready to fight for a place in the main squad of their clubs. I can't say that anyone in this regard is any different from Kislyak, Glebov and Lukin.

"It's good that the match wasn't a qualifier"

Football player of the national team and CSKA Igor Diveev — about the unfortunate defeat by Chile and the future of the army derby against Spartak

— Many consider the RFU's great organizational success to be that, under the conditions of sanctions, it organized several series of friendly matches for your team in South America — Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. Are these special trips in your career?

— Yes, especially the last one to Colombia in March of this year was the top one. It was great that we played with the local youth national team, a very strong team that took third place at the U—20 World Cup a little later. Plus, Colombia is a special place for me, because I traveled a long way there from Khabarovsk, where I previously played in the first league for Sochi against SKA. I will definitely remember this for the rest of my life. A great adventure. Of all the Latin American trips, this one was both the most serious in terms of level and the most interesting in terms of entourage.

— How did you survive it?

— It's not easy. But it's okay, I held out, since we drew 2-2 against Colombia, in which I was on the field. Then we flew back via Istanbul, but our initial flight was canceled. The guys from the RPL clubs didn't have time for their clubs' matches, but I was right in time for our match with Yenisei in the first league. We won it 2-1. Of course, it was hard to endure all this, but it will be something to remember.

— Did someone steal the players' personal belongings on the plane?

— Yes, one of our guys had his sneakers stolen. We flew out of Colombia, woke up after landing in Istanbul, and there were no sneakers. We started looking, but we didn't find it. Someone stole it. He had to buy new ones right there in Turkey.

— How did you become the main goalkeeper of Sochi last season in the first league and in the current championship you played a third of the first round matches in the RPL?

— If we take last season, it was the work in training and the trust of the coaching staff — head coach Robert Moreno and goalkeeper coach Dmitry Vladimirovich Borodin. Plus, the whole goalkeeper team with Kolya Zabolotny, Max Rudakov and Nikita Karabashev helped each other, while competing very seriously. As a result, whoever looked better was allowed to play. The guys helped me, and I did it. I can't say that about the current season in the RPL yet. We played almost equally well with Yura Dupin in the summer under Moreno, and now under Igor Vitalievich Osinkin, I entered the field only in the last match against Rostov (0:1). And I need to play at least a few more matches in a row at a good level to say that I have gained a foothold somewhere. We work in training, the coaches look at who is better. And only with time it will be clear which of us is stronger with Yura.

— Over the past two months, under Osinkin, has faith appeared that you can save yourself from relegation from the RPL?

— In any case, since the beginning of the season, when we were in last place, we understood that we needed to make every effort to fix the situation. Everyone in the team has to give 200% on the field. Of course, the coaching reshuffle shook us up emotionally. It's a shame that we lost key matches in the last two rounds — to Orenburg (1:3) and Rostov (0:1). But in any case, there will still be chances — you need to cling to them and fight. Otherwise, everything will be very bad. Personally, I have a hope that we will stay. Because when I remember how hard we spent our season in the first league, I realize that I don't want to go back down there. Therefore, I will say for myself that I will do my best to keep Sochi in the RPL.

— What is so difficult about the first league that you don't want to go back?

— In any case, it's better to show yourself in the RPL. Everyone is watching it. Few people watch the First League. And all the strongest players play in the Premier League. There are good guys in the first league too, but you should always strive to play among the best in the best stadiums. If there is an opportunity to play in the RPL, then you need to do everything not to return to the first league.

— It seemed to me that many people are still stressed by the power football of the first league and the living conditions — old stadiums with bad fields, long-distance flights.

— There is that too. Although the old stadiums of the first league have their own cool atmosphere. It is clear that they are old, they have bad fields and locker rooms. But there's something to it. I try to look for advantages in this. Sometimes you come to Saratov, where the field is not of the best quality, but there are a lot of fans who actively cheer. And long—distance trips don't scare me - I come from the Far East. But in general, yes, I would like to avoid all these relocations, stadiums and fields if I have the opportunity to play in the RPL. Plus, in the first league, football is power play, hit and run, who will hit next. It's very hard to play.

— What is new for you about RPL?

— Also, when Sochi played transitional matches with Pari Nizhny Novgorod at the end of last season, it really struck me that the speeds were different compared to the first league. Yes, Baltika, Chernomorets and Ural were in the first league last season — this is also a level closer to the RPL. It is much higher than that of the average and outsiders like Sokol and Shinnik, who play mainly as the second number. But all the same, when I went to the first play-off match with Paris NN, I felt that the level of speed was stronger even than the leaders of the first league. And now, when I play with Sochi in the RPL, the speed and performance skills are even higher. And I miss goals that I can't understand why they're being scored for me. They put something crazy in the nine for me from a free kick, or now I got a shot from Rostov under the crossbar without a chance. Such performance skills and speed are immediately noticeable in comparison with the first league.

— Can we say that low attacks in Sochi allow us to prepare for the requirements of the national team, where Valery Karpin greatly appreciates goalkeepers who can play with their feet?

— I was taught this back at the Zenit Academy, where Alexander Vladislavovich Vladimirov, who is now also a member of the coaching staff of the Russian youth national team, worked with goalkeepers. He raised me. And we paid a lot of attention to this component. We used to go out on the field in the evenings apart from training and practice all this. Now these are the basics that every goalkeeper should know. Therefore, in the youth national team of Ivan Evgenievich Shabarov, and in Sochi, both under Moreno and Osinkin, this is already a familiar thing.

— You appeared in Sochi the season before last, before your departure from the Russian Premier League. Then, before the spring part of the championship, Moreno came to save the last-place team. He failed, but many admired how the club played on equal terms with top clubs like Lokomotiv (2:2), CSKA (2:2), Spartak (1:0), Dynamo (2:3) and Krasnodar (2:3). It seemed that with such a game, they should confidently return to the RPL and perform successfully there as well. What happened to Robert after the summer of 2024, when they took only fifth place in the first league, did not enter the transition matches according to the sporting principle, won them against Paris NN without a Spanish coach, and after his return scored only one point in the RPL in the first seven rounds?

— Moreno has changed in terms of the training process. The requirements have changed, the training has changed. A lot has changed after we were relegated to the first league. As a result, it was very difficult to get out of there through the joints. Then there were upheavals at the club in the summer, when the former Sochi management was leaving, and we still didn't know who would be the coach next. We have already been confronted with the fact that we only found out about everything when we arrived at the pre—season training camp. As a result, this difficult summer period affected our game already in the RPL after our return — a lot of players who led the team out of the first league left, the leadership changed. Hence the result. Now we must make every effort to rectify this situation.

— How did Moreno change his training process after leaving the Russian Premier League in 2024?

— It seems to me that the intensity of training has decreased. We spent a lot of time on tactics, but there was less physics. And for such a difficult tournament as the first league, this was sometimes not enough.

— Which is amazing. It always seemed to me that physical fitness should come first if you want to play successfully in the first league.

— 100% it should be in the first place. This is proved by Baltika, which is now in the leading group in the RPL due to its physical readiness. And due to this, I won the first league last season by a wide margin. This was proved last season by Chernomorets, who finished the championship in the joint zone. The leading "Torch" is proving it now. Physics comes first in this league. Because it's hard to play a low pass there. Take even the current season in the first league. I'm watching the tournament, and the Ulyanovsk Volga is trying to play ball control football there. But it's hard for them. And they themselves begin to switch to a power style in moments. Because that's the league. And last season we only played ball control there, we couldn't switch to power football. As a result, when we played with the teams from the bottom of the table, we couldn't add and put the squeeze on them in the end. We lost a lot of points because of this.

— Despite the fact that in the spring of 2024 it was at Sochi Moreno in the RPL?

— Yes, there was a high intensity. We had a very high-quality winter training camp and came to the spring part in excellent shape. In the first league, all this has changed. There's less physics, more tactics, and more ballplay. Hence the following results. But in any case, I am grateful to him for believing in me, giving me a chance in the first league, which I took advantage of, and then allowed me to make my debut in the RPL. But there were a lot of questions about his last months at Sochi. When we started this season unsuccessfully, it was obvious that everyone was nervous, including Robert. There were many unclear solutions. And in this regard, he has changed. I can't say why.

Escalated with Chile: the Russian national team lost for the first time in four years

Our national football team has ended its unbeaten streak.

— Did you feel the style of Barcelona and Luis Enrique's Spanish national team in his work, where Moreno worked as an assistant?

— Yes, it was especially noticeable in the first six months of his work at Sochi. Robert talked a lot with us goalkeepers and Dmitry Vladimirovich Borodin about how he wants us to launch attacks, how we should insure defenders. This Spanish mentality was very felt.

— Did Moreno talk about episodes from working with Marc-Andre Ter Stegen at Barcelona and David De Gea in the Spanish national team?

— Yes, and not only about working with goalkeepers. He gave many examples about the field players he worked with — Messi, Suarez, Iniesta.

— What do you remember most?

— I remember that before some game we looked at the opponent's standards. Moreno recalled how he and Barcelona played El Classico against Real Madrid. Knowing that Sergio Ramos, the opponent's central defender, plays very well with his head, they put Dani Alves, who is much shorter, against him. Robert explained that he was very good at preventing his opponent from playing. Maybe he won't jump higher than Ramos, but he won't let him play, he'll push him somewhere, put his body, his back. And due to this, Alves won the fight.

— Did he suggest to any of the Sochi players that they act this way?

— No, there was a general message that it doesn't matter how tall you are. The main thing is not to let the opponent play on the corner, but it is not necessary to jump high and hit the ball with your head. You may be short, but you will put yourself in such a way that you will not let the ball just reach the right opponent player.

— You were born in the Far East. How did you end up in St. Petersburg at the Zenit Academy?

— I was born in Nakhodka. I played football there. I was at Luch-Energiya (Vladivostok), then at Okean (Nakhodka). Then he moved to the Krasnodar Basic School, where he stayed for two years. And before enrolling in the boarding school itself, I went to Zenit for a viewing — they took me there.

— Have you ever been involved in training with the main team or Zenit-2 there?

— No, because I didn't have a contract with the club at that time. Therefore, I was not involved in either the base or Zenit-2 — I only trained with the youth team when Konstantin Anatolyevich Konoplev took over.

— Did Andrey Arshavin, Zenit's deputy general director, who has been in charge of youth football at the St. Petersburg club for many years, talk to you?

— Yes, he was always at the academy, he really wanted me to sign a contract with Zenit. But I chose a different path. Andrey Sergeyevich was a little angry with me because he wanted me to stay. But I didn't sign the contract. As a result, we had a good conversation with him and parted ways.

— Would there have been a chance to break through to the top if you had accepted his offer?

— No, I think I would have found a way through leases or Zenit-2. And I could stay there for a long time. And I wanted to show myself at a high level right away. Even though I started with the youth team at Sochi two years ago, this option was better. Because I saw a lot of guys at Zenit who stayed on the second team. And I didn't want to repeat this path.

— And how did you get to Krasnodar?

— My father worked for an oil company. And he was just transferred from Nakhodka to the city of Krasnodar. In principle, we already thought that I should leave Nakhodka somewhere, since there is little development of children's football there. But the cards matched so well that my father was also transferred to Krasnodar. It was an ideal situation.

— Is everything really bad with children's football in the Far East?

— I won't say that it's really bad. In any case, the players show up there. The last example is Rostislav Ogienko, who was born in 2005 and is currently playing for Yenisei in Krasnoyarsk. He's also from Nakhodka, and we started at Ocean together. My parents communicate well with his parents. In principle, our example shows that the local school is working. So I wouldn't say that everything is super sad, but yes, there is something to strive for.

— In the 1990s and 2000s, Luch and Okean almost did not get out of the first league, and occasionally even rose to the RPL. Is there a big problem that professional football in Primorsky Krai has long been at the level of the second league?

— Yes, right now only Dynamo (Vladivostok) is somewhere in the "silver" of the second league, floundering. And it's not clear what's going on with the financing. And Okean plays in the regional championship. His school also participates in SFL competitions in the Far East. But I have a couple of thoughts on how to help local football develop in the future.

"How?" With money?

— Yes, to invest money in infrastructure development. God forbid, I'll earn a lot of money and invest, because I remember my hometown.

— Does the lack of developed professional football greatly complicate the prospects for people like you?

— 100%. This is a big problem for Far Eastern football. Let's say I was lucky enough to leave for Krasnodar. But there are many other talented football players in Nakhodka or Vladivostok who cannot leave. They stay there. But they cannot show what they are capable of, because there is no professional team of the level of Luch and Ocean in the region when they played in the RPL and the first league. Or at least for Nakhodka to have Okean as a strong team in the second league — that would be better. It would be a place to grow and where to prove yourself at a professional level. I hope it will reappear soon.

— Nakhodka is associated with the port. What else is interesting there?

— Basically the port, you're right. I lived in Nakhodka in my early childhood, and then mostly lived in the village of Khmylovka in the village of Wrangel, which is a 20-30—minute drive from Nakhodka. My parents had a house there. In general, everything still revolves around the Eastern Port, through which a lot of coal is transported. Almost all people have jobs related to him.

— There are often stories on telegram channels and on TV about tigers entering rural areas in Primorye, walking around gas stations and finding themselves close to people.

"I've heard about it. And my grandmother, who recently moved to the Krasnodar Territory, informed me about this. But when I lived there, I personally did not see this.