The absence of such a status player as Dmitriy Shomko in the last camp of the National Team of Kazakhstan, frankly, surprised, and all this took place against the backdrop of an unsuccessful period of Michal Bilek’s work in FC Astana. A correspondent of Vesti.kz spoke with one of the leaders of the capital club about his relationship with the Czech specialist, and touched upon other topical issues, including the player’s possible move to Russia, the mistake of Gafurzhan Suyumbayev in the match against Belarus and the rise of Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov’s career.

- Dmitriy, for the first time in a long period you were not in the National Team and there was a pause, how did you spend this time?

- I went home, where I worked according to an individual programme, which was given to each player by our Coaching Staff.

- Were you surprised by Bilek’s decision not to called you up to the National Team?

- It’s always a great honour for me to play for the national team of my Motherland, but Bilek is the Head Coach and he makes the decision. I was on the initial list, but then they decided not to invite me, this is the coach’s choice, my job is to go on working, proving my worth.

- “He looked good, but he will be better when he has readiness in his team,” – this is how Bilek explained your absence. How do you perceive his words?

- After the recommencement of the Championship, I played all the matches under the management of Bilek in the squad of FC Astana, and after that, he concluded that I was not ready. But, again, he is the Head Coach who decides on the squad of the National Team.

- If you name the three main reasons of the unsuccessful performance of FC Astana, from your side, from one of the team leaders, what are they?

- There are a lot of reasons. But if we single out, then first of all, the fact that we could not carry out full-fledged training work in Nur-Sultan during quarantine. Astana Arena is still not ready, we started to train at the “House of Football”, but then a ban came on holding trainings sessions in indoor sports complexes, therefore we worked a lot according to an individual programme. I think it had an unambiguous effect.

- There is a popular version in the media and among the fans that Bilek was not strict enough in relations with the team and this affected the motivation and shape of the players, did this take place or not?

- Not everything that is written in the media is true, so I will not comment on this.

- Is it true that the players asked Bilek not to play with three central defenders and he changed the formation after that?

- I can only speak for myself. Personally, I did not come to Bilek with such a request. Therefore, again, you do not need to believe everything that is written in the media.

- Was the defeat in Brest the most painful in your career?

- Any defeat leaves its mark. I think if we had played at least three or four matches before the start of the Champions League, we would have been better prepared for this match.

- During the quarantine period and the incomprehensible outcome after the recommencement of the season, did you have a day when something like depression arose due to the lack of football?

- I was not depressed as everyone had an individual training plan, the club provided workout bikes, so we continued to work. Of course, everyone wanted this to be over as soon as possible, and the Championship to be recommenced faster. We all understood that the later the Championship would recommence, the worse our preparation for the European Competitions would be. But this moment was been delaying all the time, although the way we are doing it now, without fans, strangers, perhaps, could have started earlier.

- This season you practically did not play in the presence of fans, do you have the feeling that this season is some kind of an endless training camp and friendly matches? That is, how much does it personally affect your mood?

- Undoubtedly, fans are an integral part of football, they drive their team forward, helping to achieve results. Of course, we miss our fans, but let’s hope that everything will work out soon and at least some percentage of the fans will be allowed into the stands.

- As expected, some of our players went to Russia after the imposing of the new limit. They have been talking about the interest of the RPL clubs in you for the last five years, but you are in FC Astana. There are no offers anymore or are you already not rush there?

 - I am very happy for the guys who went to the RPL, especially for Bakhtiyor Zainutdinov, who signed a contract with a big club – CSKA. As for me, I had offerings from Russia, but regarding specific clubs it is better to address this question to my agent Dmitriy Ageyev, if he considers it necessary, he will tell the names of the teams. At the end of the year, my contract with Astana ends, closer to this date my agent and I will make a decision about my future, whether I will stay in the capital club or continue my carrier in Russia. Of course, I’m interested in going to the RPL to try my hand. Now there is a very big chance to play in good stadiums left after the World Cup, since Kazakhstanis will not be considered foreign players there, we will have to compete with the Russians. Therefore, this is a great chance for Kazakh players to gain a foothold there.

- Let’s go back to the National Team. First, with a positive. Now everyone is praising Zainutdinov, and objectively there is a reason. You played side by side with him for a whole season, everyone talks about his natural modesty, gives different stories, do you have a happening related to Bakhtiyor that few people know about?

- Bakhtiyor is a very modest and talented player, he doesn’t even have a hint of star fever. He has a very strong left leg, I am sincerely glad for him that everything was going well for him in FC Rostov, and now the transfer to one of the top clubs in Russia – CSKA, is definitely a big step forward for him. As for the stories, I can’t remember anything right away, Bakha came around to the hotel after the national team’s match, we had very warm talk.

- Another figure in the national team is Gafurzhan Suyumbayev, who is now being criticized by many, let’s say. He made hard work 180 minutes, influenced the result in Lithuania, was by no means the worst against Belarus, but ruined everything with one out. How would you react to such criticism? And what do you think of the episode itself?

- In my opinion, there can be no questions to Gafurzhan, he played both matches at a good level, he is a real hard worker who is ready to work for the team. But mistakes happen in football, I had a mistake in the National Team match against Andorra, after this match I apologized to all the fans. There are such moments, perhaps he did not see the attacker and wanted to put the ball into play quickly in order to keep the ball. I do not consider it correct to judge a person by only one of his mistakes. He is a very decent person who does not deserve the stream of dirt that is pouring on him now. It is clear that the whole situation is unpleasant, but the main thing for him now is not to dwell on this, he is strong and, I think, will cope with this.

- Do you believe that FC Astana will be able to accomplish at least one of the tasks this season – to win the Championship or qualification to the Group Stage of the UEL?

- Nothing is impossible. FC Astana always sets itself only lofty tasks – the Championship and qualification to the Group Stage of the Europa League. And this year is no exception. I hope that everything will be fine and we will be able to fulfill both tasks that we face.

- Almost a traditional question for the present time, how would you describe 2020 in one word?

- A year of quarantine.