We had a big interview with the forward of Urartu FC Semyon Sinyavskii. The 26-year-old striker spoke not only about football and the resumption of the season, but also about what he did during the quarantine, what problems he had with children in the yard, why family members complain about him, how to eat khinkali and so on.

 

INDIVIDUAL TRAININGS, CHALLENGES WITH CHILDREN FROM THE YARD, FITNESS COACH

 

- How did you take a quarantine break?

- I did not spend this period badly. Of course, it was very different from our usual lifestyle, but we trained every day. The coaches sent us videos of the exercises, and we did them. Every day was productive. We did different exercises, among the guys the teams held unique distance competitions. There was something to do, it cannot be said that we did nothing. At home, it was quite comfortable, which is really very important.

- A lot of people say that it was a boring period.

- Yes, there were times when it became boring, because it was allowed to leave the house only in case of need, we didn't conduct team trainings, we could not walk. I said that this period is very different from our usual routine, but I can’t say that it was boring, because there was always something to do. During this time, we were able to communicate more with our family, friends and relatives. I trained, and the rest of the time I spent in front of the PlayStation, as it later turned out, not in vain (laughs).

- Most players said that this quarantine was a difficult period, especially for foreign players, because they were not in their native countries.

- Most of the Armenians speak Russian, so I can’t say that I felt uncomfortable. I did not see any reason to return to my homeland. If I went, I would have to go to Moscow, and there the situation is more complicated than in Armenia. Here I feel comfortable, there were all conditions, even to keep myself in good shape during quarantine. I have a pretty good house, there is a large store next door, there was a football field in the yard where I could do any exercises. So there was no point in leaving. From the point of view of health, it was also safer, I didn’t go anywhere because everything was very close and very accessible, and if I went to Moscow everything would be more complicated.

- We know that to keep in shape you trained at the playground, children did not complain that you occupied their territory?

- This is a separate topic that I can tell funny stories about. There were exercises that required an appropriate space, sometimes even the entire area of the football field that was mentioned, of course, the children did not like it, they can also be understood. They also left the house for a limited time, and I occupied their territory. I said: “Guys, wait 15 minutes, I will finish my exercises and leave”, but I felt that they didn’t like it. When I trained, I even hoped to make sure that there were no children, so that neither I nor they would disturb each other. These guys even competed with me. I did accelerations, and they tried to get ahead of me on a bicycle. This is funny, but what we could do, that was the situation.

- During this time, everyone found some new interests and activities. What can you say?

- I watched and read some things, but found that I can be an individual fitness coach. My wife always visits the gym, but since everything was closed during this period, gyms were also closed. She also had to train at home, and according to what plan I already decided. I must say right away that it turned out not bad. I think that in the future my wife will not go to the gym, but will follow my instructions and will train according to my commands (laughs). Even from the exercises sent by our coaches, I instructed my wife something, and we trained together. So her daily life became more interesting. Yes, I have training, that is, I have something to do, and for her the situation was more complicated, but in this way we made our time more interesting.

 

PLAYSTATION, CYBERFOOTBALL, CONFILCTS AT HOME

 

- During this period, a cyberfootball tournament was held between the Armenian clubs, and you became the winner of this tournament. What do you say about this?

- As I said, the quarantine time was not meaningless, I was able to win the first title for the team (smiles). I really spend a lot of time and nerves on video games. It’s good that such a cyberfootball tournament was held, it was interesting and slightly facilitated this time without football. It so happened that in the final, I competed with Stanislav Efimov, representing Van FC. I know him for a long time, we played a lot together on the Internet. There were really good opponents, it was interesting to test your strength in such a championship. I hope this will not be our only title this season (laughs). It was very symbolic that in the semifinals I beat the representative of Noah FC . In real football, we play with this team in the Cup semi-finals. I won 2-1, and if in the second leg we can win with this score, then we will reach the final.

- What can you say about your passion for the PlayStation?

- It's not normal when at 26 you have a mania for video games (laughs). This is not true, but I really like playing video games. After matches and trainings, this is a very pleasant experience. Yes, now I can not to play the PlayStation and go for a walk, now trade centers are open, but it’s dangerous, there is a risk of getting an infection, and it’s safe to stay at home and play PlayStation. But you can’t say that I am stuck in front of the TV for the whole day and play without a break. No more than an hour a day, I play more only on Saturdays and Sundays, because these days interesting online tournaments are held. In those days, the people who live with me complain because the TV is always occupied.

- And from video games do you play only “FIFA”?

- I play everything. “Call of Duty”, by the way, I was supposed to play online yesterday with Juan Azocar, but I don’t know why we couldn’t play together, I also like auto racing. 

 

EXTREMELY HEAT, CAUCASUS CUISINE, EVGENII KOBZAR

 

- You have been in Armenia for a year now, what surprised you the most in this country and in Armenian football?

- I can’t say that something surprised me. Football almost everywhere has its own characteristics, but basically it is the same. True, I did not play in the Russian Premier League, but the Armenian championship is very similar to the Russian National Football League. Here, football is at a pretty good level. There are good teams, good players. There are guys in "Ararat" Yerevan FC who have won the Russian Premier League, there are high-level players in all teams. As for Armenia and Yerevan, I had no wrong expectations before coming here. I knew this was a good country, I haven’t encountered anything bad here yet. It was especially interesting last year when there was no quarantine, and there were long breaks due to matches of national teams. Then it made it possible to discover Armenia. I was in Garni, Geghard, I saw The fortress of Amberd . There is always something to see, everything is very beautiful. Everything is also very tasty. Now is the middle of May, and for two weeks now we have been eating strawberries, which are really very sweet. The only minus of Armenia is the unbearably hot weather, which gradually will be.

- Do you have favorite places?

- We live in the center of Yerevan. Northern Avenue is very convenient for walking, of the restaurants I love "Lavash". Caucasian cuisine is very tasty there.

- What is your favorite Armenian dish?

- My favorite food is not Armenian, but Georgian - it's khinkali. To be honest, I am not very familiar with Armenian cuisine, I only tried dolma. But I really like khinkali, they are very tasty cooked here. I know that this dish has a special eating ritual, it must be taken with hands, the top of the dough should not be eaten. I met all this at a very young age, when I was still in Lokomotiv FC, by the way, Evgenii Kobzar was there too. There were Georgians in the team, we often went to eat khinkali with them, and they taught me how to eat them correctly.

- You played with Evgenii Kobzar in the youth team, can we say that your cooperation has a long history?

- We did not play so much together in the youth team of Lokomotiv. But we played a lot against each other in the youth championships. I was at Lokomotiv, and he was at CSKA. Our teams were direct rivals and fought for the championship. Kobzar almost always played at that time, and I had less playing time. Kobzar played so much at CSKA and fought for the championship, but I won it with Lokomotiv, spending very little time on the field (laughs).

 

STRENGTHENING CHAMPIONSHIP, FAILURE START, OPPORTUNITY APPEARED

 

- Let's talk about football, what can you say about the championship of Armenia? Is this a difficult championship?

- I think the championship is getting stronger. In fact, in each team there are guys who have come a long way in football. Look, in Pyunik there is Aras Ozbiliz, who recently was one of the players who set the tone in the Russian Premier League. The championship is definitely getting stronger. True that you can't compare the Armenian championship with the Russian Premier League, because the teams' budgets are different, as are the aims, but look, during the Cyprus camp we palyed with Ufa FC and generally did not look bad in this game. Even when we came to Armenia as part of Armavir FC and held friendly matches with local teams, it was always difficult. There are no easy matches in the championship either. I think that the championship will be strengthened every year.

- In any case, how did it happen that Urartu was not in the top six?

- We started the season very badly, there can be no two opinions on this issue. I think that is exactly what influenced. I can’t say that this was a reason, that we were not able to enter the top six. But after losing in the Europa League matches, the team seems to have started a black streak. Yes, it was possible to avoid this band, but we really lost a lot of points at the start. This is not to say that we were weak. Look, the champion of Armenia Ararat-Armenia FC, we played with them twice, both matches ended in a draw, although in both cases we had a real chance to win. In the home game we were in the lead, they managed to score a goal only in the 86th minute and equalize. I just say again that this championship is unpredictable. On the way to Armenia, at first I thought that the strongest teams are Ararat-Armenia, Pyunik and Alashkert, but what in the end? For a long time the table was led by Lori, and, for example, Noah celebrated quite convincing victories. We are to blame for the situation, but I am glad that after unsuccessful performances in the Championship we managed to rebuild and successfully play in the Cup. We managed to get together as a team, unite and celebrate victories. As part of the Cup, we beat Pyunik, and then Lori in their field, where everyone knows that playing is very difficult. Now we are in the semifinals. In the first game, we lost 0-1 at home, but there is still a return match. We will do our best to reach the final. I think everyone in the team understands this.

- There are interesting statistics on the topic when Urartu FC last time won the Armenian Cup. The team in the semifinals lost to Alashkert 0-1, and in the same stadium Nairi, where Noah is playing their home games, Urartu won 2-1, reached the final and won the cup.

- I don't believe in statistics, I believe in our team, I believe that we are able to change the outcome of the rivalry. This is not unrealistic; look at what kind of comebacks world-class teams make. This is football, we played poorly in the first match and lost, but there is a return game, so there is an opportunity. I believe that our team is able to succeed.