The forward of Zhytomyr’s «Polissya,» Alexander Filippov, shared his emotions about his first goals for his team, evaluated its performance in the Eurocup qualifications, and answered other questions.
— Sasha, on September 29, you could say you broke through with your scoring in the UPL. In the «Wolf Derby» against «Veres,» you managed a double! These are your first goals for «Polissya» in the UPL. What are your emotions about these goals?
— Of course, it’s always nice to score goals for a new team. However, I wanted to score them a bit earlier and help the team from the very start. But everything happens when it should. Everything has its time. Therefore, I am glad that with my goals and actions I am helping my team to earn points. You could say that we are gradually getting back to ourselves and moving forward. I am sure that we will become even stronger.
— Are you glad you managed to score twice and win the match against a strong opponent? How would you comment on the goals? In the first goal, Andriyevskyi gave you a brilliant pass with his heel. And in the second, you impressively slotted the ball into the net on the volley.
— Regarding my goals, I can say that it would have been great if there were two assists from Sanya Andriyevskyi in these cases. If I had scored the second goal immediately, it would probably have been a masterpiece from his pass. So, I apologized to Sanya for the fact that it was probably even more difficult for him to give that pass in the second moment. But he delivered it well! It was a perceptive heel pass. I wanted to score in the far corner. But it’s good that the attack continued and I scored the second goal.
Regarding the first goal, I can say that I also saw Sanya Andriyevskyi in a good position, so I ran. He gave a good heel pass. In that episode, all that was left was to beat the keeper and score! And in the second episode, it’s good that the attack continued, and the ball fell nicely on the foot. So, it turned out to be quite a good goal too.
— Speaking of the Eurocups, what emotions remain from the Conference League qualification matches?
— You could say there is a certain residual feeling. Because we could have reached the group stage of the Conference League. But still, I believe that the team can be credited with a plus for this performance. Because there was the arrival of a new coaching staff in the club, new players. There were still perturbations. So, it took time to build the team! And it is still slowly forming.
We went through two rounds in matches with quite good opponents! And «Fiorentina,» I believe, is probably one of the strongest opponents we could face. But we played them with dignity. It was tough to come back after a 0:3 defeat, but in the return match, we were winning 2:0 away! And we could at least hold on to this victory and return home with positive emotions. But it turned out that we conceded in the return match. But we will do everything possible to be stronger in the future and play even better, and, first and foremost, enter the Eurocups! And we will do everything possible to represent our team and our country on the international arena as best as we can!
— «Polissya» is currently in 5th place in the UPL, with 16 points. The gap from first place is only 3 points. Will you fight for the championship?
— I am not used to looking at the standings. Especially since it’s the beginning of the championship now. Everything will change more than once. Therefore, at the end of the championship, we will count the points. We are an ambitious club that sets maximum goals in all the tournaments where we participate. We want to earn points regardless of whom we play against — «Shakhtar,» «Dynamo,» «Kudrivka,» «Poltava,» or other teams. Therefore, we are fully focused, fully concentrated, and we step onto the field to complete our task.
— Do you think these two goals in your personal tally will give you, so to speak, the drive to try to become the top scorer in the UPL? At the moment, after nine rounds, there is still no clear leader in the top scorer race.
— I do not set the primary goal to become the top scorer. Of course, I want to score because it’s my job. I love doing my job well to help my team, first and foremost. But how everything will turn out, the championship’s finish will decide. The main thing is for my goals to bring victories to the team.
— What can you say about working with Ruslan Rotan in «Polissya»? What would you highlight as interesting?
— As I always said, Ruslan Petrovich is a young, ambitious coach who is also becoming much more experienced, calmer, and better because he has already gone through a lot in his coaching career and as a player. He has that invaluable experience needed. He is one of those coaches who work 24/7, who never get tired and deliver information that is always helpful to us. And our task as footballers is to go out and implement it on the football field. Therefore, we fully trust our coaching staff.
— What can you say about your teammates?
— I see that we have quality and very good players. We have an excellent selection of footballers, so I think the coaching staff should be happy with the players we have. I see in the guys a desire to grow both as a team and individually. I know that we are capable of achieving the highest positions. That’s why we work every day, putting all our strength into becoming better.
— Who have you crossed paths with in former teams? And how do you work on the team play?
— Nikita Kravchenko and Shepa, who joined! We were together in «Oleksandriia.» There are guys with whom we played together in «Dnipro-1» and some we met on the football field more than once before. We basically all know each other, and you could say we speak the same football language. So, in terms of adaptation and communication, no problem arises.
— Your goal against «Santa Coloma» was very important. It helped «Polissya» achieve an important victory. Are you glad you managed to score again in the Eurocups? And by the way, this is your debut goal for «Polissya» in the Eurocups.
— Of course, any goal always boosts a player’s confidence. Especially since it was the first goal for «Polissya.» And it was indeed a crucial turning goal in the Eurocups. That victory brought wonderful emotions because we lost the first match. And the return game was quite exciting. We were nervous and wanted to prove to ourselves that the result of the first meeting was a coincidence. Perhaps we burned out a bit in the first match. So, in the return match, we played with a cool head and achieved a good result.
— After «Santa Coloma,» you beautifully defeated «Paks,» and then there was «Fiorentina,» with which we had a bright confrontation. Is the experience of games with «Fiorentina» special? Games with a Serie A team probably add a special kind of experience?
— «Fiorentina» is a top team from a good league, namely Serie A. We truly wanted to test our strength in matches with such a club. But in the first game, we played more with emotions than a cool head. Not everything worked out, and we conceded a quick goal. But we did have quite a number of good moments where we could have turned the game around. But De Gea made some very good saves. So a 0:3 score, you could say, was not reflective of the game. I am confident that we deserved one or several goals, and we would have approached the return match with a different result.
And in the second game, we let everything go, went out on the field, fought, played for each other. But still, we were a bit short. «Fiorentina» is experienced, with seasoned players, a team that has been in the Conference League final for two consecutive years and then in the semifinals. So, class is class nonetheless. These were indeed games where we grew as footballers.
Of course, you can feel the class of «Fiorentina’s» players. Even when compared to the confrontation with «Paks,» after a 3:0 home victory on our field in the return match when we were losing 2:0 away, there was some jitters and nerves. But «Fiorentina,» even losing 0:2 at home, continued to create moments. So the class of players is evident. They have played a lot on the international stage against good opponents with the same intensity as they should. We must strive for this level. Perhaps we lacked confidence and class.
— Last season with «Oleksandriia,» you won «silver.» Do you want to take «gold» with «Polissya» this season and play in the Champions League? Is playing with «Barcelona,» «Bayern,» «Man City,» or other teams achievable dreams?
— Of course, I want to become champions. That’s why we work, that’s why I play football, to achieve my goal, my dreams, to reach them. But we will approach this gradually, with small steps. The most important game is the next one. If we take the points we should take in each match, we will, of course, become champions. Then we will play against strong European giants.
I see how FC «Polissya» is developing. Thanks to our president, Butkevich Gennadiy Vladislavovich, all the staff and the coaching team, all the footballers who do their job and elevate the club to new heights.
Dmytro Kotkov