Liana Kotelnikova: "Training on March 8th? I really hope so!"

— You come from Chuvashia. Do you know the Chuvash language, how often do you speak it?

— Actually, no, because in Cheboksary, where I was born and raised, the Chuvash language is not particularly used in everyday speech. It is usually spoken in rural areas. My parents are Russian, and the family speaks only Russian. And I studied Chuvash at school, so I know it on the basis of four classes – I can count up to ten, I know individual words. For example, oak – yuman, love – yurt. So in Chuvash I can say the phrase "I love oaks" (laughs). Although I read poetry in Chuvash at school, there was such a thing. Now I'm surprised at myself (smiles).

— Tell me, at what age did you start playing football and how did you get into it in general?

— I could not get into it at all, there were different options, I could go to the music conservatory. But football has always been present in my life, since I was born, as long as I can remember. At first I played in the apartment - oddly enough, my parents never scolded me for it. The gates were doorways, a battery, or just backpacks thrown with the guys. Then they started letting me out into the yard, because it was still dangerous to play in the apartment (smiles). In the yard I disappeared from morning to evening. There, of course, the gates were more solid – swings, horizontal bars (laughs).

— How is football in Cheboksary?

— In Cheboksary, as such, there is no football school, and there is no women's team. It all looked like this – the girls came, a certain number of players were recruited, there were not enough people even for the full squad. Well, we were chasing a ball with each other. We usually brought the ball with us, as well as the uniform and all the other equipment.

— And continued to play in the yard?

— Yes, mostly with boys. There were several points at once, 5-6 yards where you could play football. But I loved playing alone against everyone. She came into the yard and said, "Guys, let me be alone, and all of you?". They: "Come on" (laughs). Most of the time I won. When I lost, I was very worried about it and came to this place until I won. Sometimes, when it was really hard, I took a goalkeeper.

We also played football at school, but there we were divided into teams of boys against girls. Because there were a lot of people willing. 10 boys played against 20 girls (smiles).

— How did you get into football on some more or less serious level?

— In fact, I got into big football only last year, when I ended up at Rubin. At the age of 16 I moved to Kazan and started playing for the local club Miras. I played for this club for a while, then went from there to the Kazan Thunderstorm, had experience playing for the Perm Zvezda, and in 2021 I was invited to Rubin.

— How much did your parents influence your choice? Do you have a sports family at all?

— I will say this: neither music nor sports have ever been the desire of parents. They did not impose anything, there was complete freedom of choice. Because of this, I myself have always had many options for what to do. Some new section was opening at the same school, I wanted to go to it, no problem - they were taking me there. Therefore, there were gymnastics, drawing, and the same music school.

My mother was never close to sports, and my father was engaged in basketball at school, then in his youth he was a good volleyball player. He was noticed and even invited to watch in the national team. But he refused and joined the army. The younger brother was engaged in judo, now swimming.

— Do you see him in sports in the future?

— We are very different. It seems to me that now he perceives sports at an amateur level. It's great that he is engaged, the main thing is that sports bring him pleasure. While he is doing this, because all the children are doing something, it means that he needs it too (smiles). And I do football because I live by it, I need it. They will forbid me, I will go anyway. This is a big difference that says a lot.

— At what age did you realize that football is so serious for you that you are ready to start a professional career?

— I remember this day very clearly and vividly. I was 12 years old, I was sitting in the kitchen at home in Cheboksary and saw Shakira's clip Waka Waka, written for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It hit me in the head, I started crying, I don't understand why, then I sat down at the table and said to myself: "I'm going to be a football player." I called my mom and told her, "I have to go to football." She didn't understand anything I said (laughs). Yes, mom knew that I was playing ball in the apartment, in the yard, and in general the girl is active, but after my call she returned from work, looked up information on football teams in Cheboksary on the Internet and found out that there was no women's team in the city. To which I said to her, "So what? Let's go to the men's room!" She didn't even try to dissuade me, it would have been useless (smiles).

So she found the football school closest to the house, called the coach, told him: "There is a girl who wants to come." And the guys from this school just knew me, we ran together in the yard. They told the coach that I was playing well, and brought me in. So I got to my first coach – Sergey Nikolaevich Horkov. We are still in touch with him, he helps me a lot.

— Do you see him often?

— We just met with him recently, I asked him: "What did you think about when I joined the team?" And I myself am a very thin girl, then I was even thinner, I didn't know how to do much, I played with guys who are much older than me, nothing worked with the ball, I often lost, fell a lot. But then he was very hooked by the fact that she always played to the end, got the ball and walked like a tank, got on her feet, got up and ran on, not paying attention. He really liked it, he even said then that it was a game of a European-level football player.

In short, I paid attention and allowed to attend training sessions. But even then he wondered where I could be sent so that I could develop. Still, it is difficult for a girl to play with older boys, it may even hurt.

— Is it true that after signing the contract with Dynamo, you sent a game T-shirt with your name on the back to the coach of the Kazan "Groza", and not to your parents at home?

— That's right. He is a real football enthusiast.

— How do your parents feel about your football career now?

— As I said, when I was a child, my parents did not support my playing football, but they did not stop it either. Yes, there were educational moments when I was not allowed to go to training and even to games because of bad behavior.

But just recently I spoke with my mother, and she admitted to me that she began to respect and perceive my path only after I got into the Super League. And before that, I didn't support it and was generally against it. My father was more loyal and supportive. Now he is actively interested, but to be honest, I myself am reluctant to share with him. I'm not used to sharing it, I don't need it. I'm just glad that I finally earned respect and was able to turn a dubious business in the eyes of my parents into a full-fledged, serious occupation. Now I can't imagine who else I can be. When I was little, I wanted to be a pirate. I think it helped me in football (laughs).

— Before joining Dynamo, you played in Kazan, spent last season in the Super League for Rubin. Remember your brightest match in your career.

— The victory over CSKA in 1/8 of the Russian Cup last season. In fact, we were playing against the reigning champion. The main time ended 0-0, all 90 minutes we totally defended, we can say that we just stood up. It doesn't seem like a big mind is needed, but we still have to survive these 90 minutes. CSKA has a different level of players, experience of performances, preparation. It was possible to resist this only by character, which we did. We had a single team, as one whole. We survived, in the penalty shootout, each of the girls in our team approached the point as confidently as possible. I wonder where this confidence came from? However, we believed in ourselves.

There was one moment. It was our first game with the fans in the stands. I remember how a huge number of people supported us for the entire 90 minutes, chanting chants. It helped a lot, especially when it got really hard because of the heat. Once, during a pause, I looked at the podium and saw little guys sitting and hitting the adjacent chairs with plastic bottles and shouting so loudly that they shouted over the adults. It touched me so much at that moment! Everything came together – support from the coaching staff and fans, a bright victory on penalties, our character, the unity of the whole team at that moment.

— On one sports website I came across an analytical report on you. In it, your strong qualities are called reading the game, rebounding skills and playing on the second floor. Do you agree with this?

— Quite, I'm really good at these elements. In general, I treat my strengths from the position that they need to be developed and improved, and my weaknesses need to be worked on more and turned into strengths.

— What strengths would you highlight yourself?

— I still have a good shot – tight, accurate. I like to play with passes – short and medium pass. Gave – opened. The main thing is to have practice in the game.

— Again, your experience of playing in the Super League – how much does it help you adapt to the new team now?

— I must say right away that the principles of the game of Dynamo and Rubin are seriously different. Most of the time Rubin played without the ball, only at the end of the season we started to play more organized and confident. I liked the way we interacted with each other and created chances at the opponent's goal, bringing the ball through the pass.

Therefore, as for the experience of playing in the Super League, I do not perceive it as some kind of advantage or help. On the contrary, for me, the experience of playing in the Super League right now at Dynamo can be considered an additional responsibility. I try to behave more responsibly both on the field and behind it. I make more demands on myself and take things more painfully that I can't do very well right away. I understand that it's okay to make mistakes, but it's because of my experience in the Super League that it's hard for me to allow myself to make a mistake somewhere.

— A decent level of self-reflection.

— I have to behave professionally. Yes, I'm not the only one in the Super League team, but I have an understanding of what to strive for through this experience. I know what kind of pressure we will have in games, what speeds, I know who we will play against. That's why I try to impose this fight and this pressure on my teammates in training so that they are ready to come out and counteract it later.

— Is that why there are raised voices in the locker room after training?

— Such that we went into the locker room and it started all over again, it hasn't happened yet (smiles). The locker room has a very comfortable and calm atmosphere. Perhaps, on the contrary, we need to talk more, including on the field, which we still lack. After all, the team is still new, we all come from different teams and we need to understand who is used to what game, who is more comfortable – we need to keep up with the pass, on the move, to the left, to the right. All these points need to be discussed.

Most often we talk to each other, share opinions and come to a compromise, just trying to understand each other. This is normal. There hasn't been any shouting in the locker room yet, but if anything, I can arrange it (laughs).

— How can it look like?

— At the winter training camp in Turkey, we had a friendly game with Krasnodar. During the break, I allowed myself to raise my voice in the locker room, because I felt the disorganization of the team, which was confirmed by the head coach. All the girls reacted to this with understanding. These are emotions, sports, it's normal. I just sat down and calmed down.

— You live permanently at the Dynamo base in Novogorsk. How is your day going now?

— I wake up, I do all the girlish procedures – shower, masks, washed my face (smiles). The mood rises, I go to breakfast on a charge of cheerfulness. After breakfast I get dressed, go out for a short walk around the base. If my legs hurt a lot, I can still stretch. And after this walk, for some reason, my desire to move categorically disappears (laughs). I go to bed, fall asleep, wake up, go to training. After training, I return to the base and immediately fall asleep.

I understand that I have just described a dizzying pastime (laughs). But to be honest, I sleep or spend most of my free time outdoors before starting my workout.

— And on weekends?

— On weekends I try to find an opportunity to go to Kazan.

— Do you manage to get to Moscow, visit somewhere, see something?

— I rarely go to Moscow. I've only been a couple of times so far. When I first arrived from Kazan for viewing, even before the start of training, I visited Red Square, the Central Children's World and GUM. And so I get to know Moscow when I go to the wrong place by metro and get off in an unfamiliar area (laughs). I think, "Oh, great! A tourist walk." So I'm studying the capital thanks to my absent-mindedness.

— Which of the players of the current squad do you like the most?

— I like Daniil Fomin's game – his football intelligence, ability to organize. Denis Makarov involuntarily attracts attention. He, like me, moved to Dynamo from Rubin. I saw him in Kazan, and now I've arrived and I see him again (laughs). Well, I like his game. He is a calm, intelligent and technical football player who plays for a partner. I really like it.

— What do you watch more often – men's or women's football?

— More often male. If we talk about women's, then sometimes I watch the games of Arsenal and Chelsea in London, especially after Alsou Abdulina moved there. But I usually watch the games of the national teams of Russia.

— Why is men's football?

— I'm looking at what to strive for. It is more technical and interesting for me personally. It's more comfortable for me to watch it (smiles). The main thing is that I play football more often than I watch it.

— Which clubs do you like outside of Russia? Whose style do you like?

— The absolute favorite is Manchester City, and my favorite player is Kevin De Bruyne. In terms of ball control, interaction, and understanding each other on the field, this club has no equal. What these people do on the field is art. Complete delight!

— Have you found the days of the primeval "Barcelona", when all the main stars played there? How do you like this kind of football?

— I like playing short and medium passes, passing between two lines, team interaction that leads to a goal, so yes, of course, this kind of football is very attractive. I would really like to play in a team that promotes the game through the pass.

— Do you like how women's football is developing in Russia?

—Yeah." I think this year is a big breakthrough in Russian women's football. They started broadcasting us. The match of Zenit and Lokomotiv in the Russian Cup was shown on Match TV. Women's football attracted the attention of big clubs, women's teams began to open – our Dynamo, Spartak, Rubin. I heard that this year Match TV is joining the Super League, the most important matches will be broadcast on television. This is a big breakthrough, as this also contributes to the financing of women's football, attracting the attention of fans.

— What do you think he lacks at the moment?

— Fundamental training of athletes: opening academies and schools, bringing players to the top level so that we can compete with European—level teams.

— How does it happen at Dynamo?

— Why do I admire this project and why did I immediately agree to move here? Dynamo has already opened several branches of its academy in different cities of Russia, which also have women's teams. That is, Dynamo has been training girls from an early age. I didn't have that opportunity. Being a girl living in Cheboksary, I could only dream about it. Now Dynamo is fulfilling these dreams – only not for me, but for other girls. I have my own dream at Dynamo (smiles).

— When the guys find out that you are a football player, how do they react?

— In fact, there have never been any inappropriate reactions. It's already so common and familiar. Most often it's not even a surprise, but a reaction: "Oh, great! So you need to eat more" (laughs). That's why they keep trying to feed me and help me with something. But often it also causes genuine interest. The guys are interested in talking to me about this and finding out the details.

— Did you have any connections with any of the guys you played with in the yard? How do they feel about the fact that you have grown up to Dynamo?

— Yes, I'm still friends with one of the boys with whom we kicked the ball in his apartment. He was very technical, he studied at the Youth Sports School, and at that moment I was a little girl and constantly played football at his house. And so we grew up. Recently he came to Kazan, we had a very warm conversation. He has his own business now. Who would have thought then how things would turn out? I always thank his mother, Aunt Olya, for allowing us to kick a ball in their apartment as a child. I still wonder why we were allowed to do this (smiles). He smashed chandeliers, doors, and window panes with a ball. Unlike me. This is important!

I still communicate with some classmates. In fact, there is a certain pride in the fact that we managed to turn a constant pastime into a serious matter and live it now.

— You said that music could be an alternative to football. How serious was it with her?

— Yes, I considered the option of entering the conservatory after graduating from music school.

— What did you play on?

— On the accordion (smiles). And an additional specialty was piano. Thanks to accordion lessons, I can now do push-ups. There was a rule in the classroom – those who do not study do push-ups on the desk. That's where I pumped my triceps (laughs). This is the only power skill that I have well developed right now.

I regularly participated in music competitions, became a laureate of the first degree. At one of the competitions there was a commission from the Moscow Conservatory, I was noted. There was an offer of admission, but I didn't think about it at all then. She performed and left to play football.

— What place does music occupy in your life now?

— Permanent. My two primary needs in life are football and music. I don't play the accordion now, the piano was my specialty, so for a while there was a synthesizer while I was playing in Kazan. I loved to sit up for him, I could play for hours. Now my best friend is a guitar. No offense will be said to my living, talking friends (laughs).

— Are you more of a performer or are you composing something yourself?

— I mastered the guitar myself, I've been trying since school. Nothing special worked out, but when the quarantine happened because of the coronavirus and there was absolutely nothing to do, I mastered it in a month. At first I played what I liked and what I listened to myself, then I got tired of it and at some point I started composing myself. I wrote a couple of songs, I like them even more than other people's songs (smiles). But I can't compose anything on the keys, I don't have enough knowledge of solfeggio. I skipped him because of football (laughs).

— Can I say that you are the most musical person in the team without options?

— I won't say for sure, but I would be glad if one of the girls would also play something.

— And then you can create a music group in parallel with football.

— Haha, yes, but while football is a priority, it's difficult to combine it.

— It is clear about the performance and creation of music. What kind of music do you listen to?

— Out of competition – foreign retro 70-80's: Depeche Mode, Queen, Pink Floyd. Our music is Bi-2, Zemfira. There is almost no modern music in the playlist, but I can listen to it, I'll take it calmly. And if you need to recharge before training or playing, then this is, of course, drum'n'bass and harder. You can rock, but softer – Linkin Park, for example.

— Do you like the music that sounds in the locker room after training?

— Nice music. Yes, I can sing along! If I feel like it, I'll sit down and play the guitar. I can safely play the guitar of Scriptonite, Egor Creed. I like to play this music. In principle, I perceive any sound as beauty. It's just that there is music that I like specifically, and I listen to it on a regular basis, and there is music that I don't mind listening to in the locker room.

— Have you thought about what you will do after the end of your football career?

— I've been thinking and so far I've come to the realization that I wouldn't really want to make music professionally. I doubt that I will ever be able to retire from football. It is untreatable and very contagious! I think I could become a coach if I do it hard. It's too early to think about it, but sometimes I willy-nilly pay attention to the work of the coaching staff. And not from the position of the player, but how they work, relate to the players, prepare a training plan, do not sleep (laughs). I would like to be like our coaches.

— Are you studying somewhere now?

— After moving to Kazan at the age of 16, I entered the Timiryasov College, studied for 2.5 years as a lawyer under the program "Law and organization of social security". But I didn't have the patience to finish my studies for six months and get a crust. I didn't really like the teaching system there, I was still working at the same time and I understood that the time I am currently spending on pairs is absolutely wasted, I could use it for work and earnings, which would allow me to provide for myself. I counted and realized that if I go to work fully now, I will be able to fully provide for myself. So I made a choice in favor of work, not having completed my studies before graduation for six months.

Now I'm thinking about a more practical specialty – for example, teacher education. I set myself the task of learning English and getting my license.

— Will you have a training session on March 8?

— I really hope so! I'm painfully worried about the days when we don't have training. It will be the best gift for me if we train.

— How was March 8th celebrated in your family?

— Always celebrated. My father gave flowers in the morning, we all had breakfast together and after breakfast we went to gaming or shopping centers. When I was little, we went to a toy store and my parents spent their entire salary, I remember it was 3,000 rubles, buying me toys. I loved the designer. I remember they bought me a Baby Bon, I broke it because I didn't understand why this doll was talking, and I climbed in to see how it worked (laughs). After that, they started giving me non-electric toys because I was breaking everything.

When I got older, it was always a movie. In front of the entrance to the hall there is always some kind of playground with cars, slot machines, ping-pong. And so they always gave me something to play with. Well, after the movie we went to a pizzeria or McDonald's. I loved him very much – I didn't eat anything there, I just came, sat and breathed.

— Why didn't you eat?

— I don't know! They ask me what to order, I refuse (laughs). The maximum I could take was a hamburger or a cheeseburger, juice. But most of all I was interested in the toy that could be obtained there. Everyone was wondering which one would come across – electric or not (laughs).

— The coolest gift you received on March 8th?

— Most often my parents asked me what I wanted and gave me something practical that I needed. In fact, I feel like I've been pampered. If I want - they will give me a tablet, if I want – a laptop. Although the family is not particularly rich. It's just that my parents gave it to me for some reason, although I won't say that I was the perfect child (smiles). Rather, on the contrary, I was a rebellious girl. And it's not a fact that it's changed a lot. If I was punished for something, for example, banned from playing football, I ran away from home or just locked myself in the closet and sat in silence. Well, one day I ran away so much that I went to Kazan (smiles).

— Do you have a football dream? What would you wish for yourself?

— A dream in my understanding is something as absurd, unattainable and a little crazy as possible. From the age of 12, my dream was to get into a football team, to professional coaches, where I would be trained and where I would get the opportunity to develop as a professional, as an athlete. This dream came true, it took me 8 years to make it a reality. Now I have specific goals in front of me, I set myself certain tasks. All that is required of me is work and understanding where I am going.

— What do you wish the girls – your teammates?

— I really want it to finally get warmer. Therefore, first of all, warmth, sunshine, energy and patience, because I know what loads we are under. So much patience for us! And, of course, without injuries.