In recent years, he has given long interviews to Pressball almost most often in the Belarusian National Team. This is facilitated by the emphasized openness of Ivan Mayeuski and numerous weighty reasons. The guy who once worked in the market and at the plant in Rechitsa is becoming one of the leading players of the national team – one cannot help but talk. BATE gets Astana in the Europa League qualification – we dial Mayeuski’s number. The club from Nur-Sultan once again wins the Kazakhstan Championship – how can we not to talk again? And now, on the eve of the match between Dynamo Brest and Astana in the qualification of the Champions League, a conversation with a 32-year-old defensive midfielder is an item of the compulsory programme. And, most importantly, just as we have something to ask, Ivan always has something to answer.

- Did you have a premonition that you will get Dynamo Brest?

- To be honest, I watched the draw very calmly. There was no premonition. My first thought: I’ll fly to Belarus. I haven’t been home since January. Because of this situation with the coronavirus, I could not get there. We discussed the draw with Maks Ebonh. Of course, it will be interesting to play against friends with whom we play in the national team. Although, we talked more about our current situation. We haven’t played for a long time. The most important thing is to approach the match in the best possible shape.

- “We haven’t played for a long time” is five months without official matches. Do you have any anxiety?

-Of course I have. You can imagine what it is like not to play for five months. It’s very difficult. A football player can have such a big and serious downtime only because of an injury. It’s hard to have only training sessions all the time. Without official matches, you cannot be in one hundred percent condition. Any athlete will tell this.

Although, there were many similar situations now. The same Olympique Lyonnais did not play for a long time before the matches against Juventus and Manchester City. The lack of practice should be offset by the fact that this is the Champions League. A tournament in which you, even if you are not one hundred percent ready, must play one hundred and twenty at the expense of moral and volitional qualities, desire and enthusiasm. Hopefully it doesn’t have a big impact. And how it goes – we’ll see.

- Does the fact that the match will be played without spectators level your guest status?

-I think yes. I am sure that if the situation in the country and in the world were in order, the stadium in Brest would fill up and support would be outrageous. And matches without spectators, even judging by world football, look completely different. Basically, this really levels out the home and guest statuses.

-What is the most memorable match in Brest?

-From the latter – against the Hungarians in the national team. We played 1:1. I haven’t performed there for a long time, I don’t even remember.

- Isn’t the repair of Astana Arena finished yet?

-Not yet. It is also a very difficult situation due to the coronavirus. The specialists could not come. The question drags on. They promise to finish it in the near future. They re-cover synthetics – there must be a very good quality field, with automatic irrigation. I don’t even know when it will be over. We’ve been in Almaty lately, waiting for the restart of the championship.

-Please explain how it looked. Have all the teams gathered in one city and prepared for the recommencement?

-The plan is this: everyone should start in the same location to minimize movement. Since we missed a lot and had a large number of matches ahead, we intended to play in every two days. In this regard, it is easier for teams to be in one place, more time to recover. Almaty was chosen as the location. The infrastructure is good here – there are enough fields and hotels.

We got here early. For example, Nikita Naumov’s FC Zhetysu is based two hundred kilometers from the city. It made no sense for them to get out here – the distance is two hours by bus. So far I didn’t cross paths with any of the opponents here, I tried not to go outside once again. The recommencement date is August 18. Because the quarantine is in the country until the 17^th

-What is your opinion: what will be the nature of the match against Dynamo, given that there will be no return leg?

-It is clear that you need to think about both defense and attack. Some kind of balance is needed. In fact, there is no time to fix errors if they arise. Perhaps the match will be careful. The teams will play carefully, no one will run with guns blazing. Especially from the first minutes – this is obvious. One match is one match. I think everything will be decided by who will make the fewest mistakes. Well, and the individual skill of the players in specific episodes.

-Due to victories in two matches against BATE, FC Astana now feels confident?

-In principle, we do not talk on this topic. They write more about this. Those matches and the current one are separate stories. Moreover, there is now only one match. And in it you can either lose to any team or beat it. Everyone understands that there will be a very serious and difficult match.

-Often you can come across a banal but plausible opinion that the chances of teams are 50 to 50. Do you agree?

-Absolutely agree. A lot of factors point to this. Definitely.

- Has Dynamo’s unsettled fixtures recently trimmed the teams in their original conditions?

-Of course. Brest is two weeks without official matches. They also had difficult situations with the coronavirus, with postponements... But I repeat: one match levels a lot.

-It was reported that four players of Astana suffered pneumonia, four more got over asymptomatic with coronavirus. Do you belong to any of the groups?

-No. I had symptoms of some kind of illness. But the results of all tests for coronavirus are negative. Hope it was a simple cold. Thank God everything is fine. And all the guys in the team are already in the ranks.

-What has the new coach of FC Astana Michal Bilek changed – in the game and in everyday life?

- He brought something of his own. Example? At the training camp we go to meals together. We are waiting for the last person to eat, and then we get up from the tables. In principle, this has not happened before. But I take it calmly. All coaches have their own vision. It is difficult to argue now. Our preparation was very ragged. We started playing, then missed two months, started training again, then the guys got sick... He has his own nuances, but I don’t want to talk about them before the match.

- I met the opinion of a Kazakhstani fan that FC Astana’s football has become more defensive.

-How to say... In the preseason, we played according to different schemes – both with three defenders and with four. We have tried options. Perhaps the three-central defenders system didn’t quite work out. Because over the years we have become accustomed to dominating game, playing attacking. Although many teams follow the same tactics, they show attacking football. In the first match of the championship, we scored four goals, then one and three. In three games eight goals – it seems to me normal. Even if we conceded three.

- How is Maks Ebonh doing? Doesn’t he regret having moved abroad in such a troubled year?

-What regret can there be? Nobody knew that such a situation would arise in the world. Nothing can be done about it. The most important thing is health. Everything is good with him. Maks is a fine fellow, a hard-working guy. I do my best to help him. In my opinion, he is a very promising player. With the right attitude to work, he can make good progress.

-In the spring your daughter was born. Did the quarantine go through pleasant family chores?

- On the one hand, yes, but on the other, my wife and child are not with me now. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the birth. And at first I could not be with them either. I was in quarantine. There was no way to fully help my wife. Video communication only. Of course, every day I have now is happy and joyful. But also with sadness.

They cannot come to me yet. Firstly, there has been no flight since March. And secondly, flying by plane during COVID pandemic is not at all safe for a small child. Even if there was such an opportunity, we would think a hundred times. For me now, the family is in the foreground.

- So you haven’t seen your daughter yet?

-I saw. At the end of June, when the recommencement of the championship was postponed here again, the coaching staff and the management let me go to my wife. They gave a week off. I managed to fly to them and be together for a while. It’s good that my wife’s parents are there all the time and help us a lot. Such a difficult situation. After all, my parents cannot get to Russia from Belarus.

- Did you feel a change in yourself when you became a father?

-Sure. This is great happiness and great responsibility. When I took my daughter in my arms for the first time, there was a feeling that I was holding the most precious thing in my life. But I can’t feel it fully yet.

- Is your wife the daughter of the famous Russian coach Yuri Krasnozhan?

-Yes that’s right. He is a good specialist and person.

- Do you often talk with him about football?

- We talk, of course. But I won’t say that very often. Now we are talking more about his granddaughter and my daughter.

- Your wife worked as a Sports Manager for some time, didn’t she?

-Yes. In FC Moscow, then in FC Anzhi.

-What else did you do during quarantine?

-Learned English and as a young parent read various books about parenting. But I cannot give advice in this regard yet. After all, again, I am not near my wife and daughter all the time.

-Should we wait for you at the club from an English-speaking country?

- That’s not the point. I just need the language. In the modern world, it is desirable to know English, and ideally – several more languages. In order to easily be able to communicate with people in various life situations. I maintain good relations with some of the guys from the former teams. The language will clearly be useful in the future, for example, in coaching. I had certain knowledge, spoken English. But I forgot a lot from school. And so I decided to study up. I started to go all over again – I remembered the construction of sentences and times... I had a plenty of time during the quarantine.

-For such a period like in FC Astana, you did not stay anywhere else. Do you like it here more than in previous clubs?

- All the clubs had their own stories that pushed you to either stay or leave. Since it so happened that I have been here for the fourth year, it means that everything suits me. I am a three-time national champion, took three Super Cups, played three times in the group stages of the Europa League, and played in the Champions League qualification. That means a lot. I fully experienced sports achievements in Kazakhstan. I played in Old Trafford last year. It was just “wow” for me. From a football point of view, I gained a lot in FC Astana, experienced great emotions. No sense walking away from a good thing.

- Did you think about the match against Georgians in the European Championship qualification for quite some time?

- Honestly, I haven’t thought about it for a long time. What is the point of doing this? There will be a match, or there will be none – nobody knows. It seems to me that not a single player thinks about the games that will take place in two months, a month. Notwithstanding the importance. Thoughts about Georgia will not allow to prepare for the match against Brest.

- Will it be interesting to meet with Kazakhstanis in the Nations League?

-Sure. Very interesting. We laughed with the guys after the Champions League draw. When Brest fell out, they said: “Damn, we have already tired of you, Belarusians!” But you think about it less. As for everyone, football is now far from the first place.