The forward of “Alexandria” Alexander Filippov commented on his team’s second place in the current Ukrainian championship.
Alexander Filippov— The emotions from Alexandria taking second place are, of course, very positive. We have been striving for this for a long time. It was a very hard and difficult season that took a lot of strength and energy from us. From the very beginning of the championship, we were, as a team, as a whole, like one family. Therefore, I believe that the second place is quite deserved. It is a reflection of our work, our efforts, as well as our faith in ourselves and in each other.
— At the moment, is this your best achievement in your career?
— Probably, yes. I believe this is my greatest achievement because we took second place in the Ukrainian championship. Our opponents are the giants of Ukrainian football in the face of “Shakhtar” and “Dynamo”, and besides them, there are many other good teams that always set high goals for themselves. To surpass “Shakhtar” is indeed worth a lot. This season will really be memorable for me for life.
— Is there any European specialist you can compare Ruslan Rotan by style? Maybe Alonso or Arteta? They are midfielders too.
— By style, I probably cannot determine. There may be moments when the coaching staff shows us the games of the same “Arsenal,” how they position themselves on the field, how they build their game and press. Midfielders themselves are the brains of the team and they generally have an analytical mindset. Therefore, it often turns out that in most cases successful coaches are midfielders. They are responsible, they know how to act in defense, attack, and in the center of the field. So as I said, midfielders are the brains of the team.
— Which match do you personally and the team consider the brightest? Probably the one with “Shakhtar” when you scored a hat-trick and you won 4:3? In fact, this victory was also important for taking second place in the UPL!
— This season there were indeed many important, tough, and memorable games. That victory over “Shakhtar,” as well as the victories over “Kryvbas” and “Polissya,” which are strong teams with good footballers. There were many turning matches when we did not play so successfully during the match, but still pressed the opponent thanks to our desire, faith and character. It is really good that this season had many memorable victories.
— “Alexandria” will play in European competitions. Are there already thoughts about these matches?
— So far we are not thinking about European competitions. Of course, we understand that we will be playing in them. But right now our thoughts are only about “Chornomorets.” We need to finish this season on a high note. Then we will need to rest a bit, distract from football, switch to our families. We need to forget a little, so to speak, because it has really been a tough season that took a lot of strength. And then we will gather and have time to prepare for the European competitions.
Dmitry Kotkov
