Basic Show. Watching Draw Together
The ‘Day With The Team’ event is here again. The fans who met the players this time, were selected among the season tickets holders. The Kulyasov family, Ms Kseniya Grizik with her twin daughters (all from the Family area), and students Mikhail Gasanov and Maksim Karalash (both from the South Stand) are among the lucky ones this time.
Anna Gallay accompanied them on the trip. Here’s her report.
…We started out from Cherkizovo early in the morning. With the traffic jams building up all the way, we guessed the Muscovites must have returned to the city after summer holidays. Luckily, we were just in time for the beginning of the workout. My company is in awe – they dreamt so much of coming here! They shoot dozens of pictures with their mobile phones, posing, with the lawn in the background, and the Cups, which are on display in the hall of the ground floor. We proceed to take seats on the bench and watch the training. The compact size of the field allows to hear what the head coach tells the team, what the fitness instructor demands from them, and what players themselves say to one another… So much football jargon - it’s clear what they mean, yet so strange from the point of view of everyday spoken language.
- I cannot believe my eyes, - confides the twelve-year old Katya Kulyasova. – We are used to seeing the team from the stands. But here, at the training ground, during the practice…
Little Sasha would make a dash right onto the field. The parents keep her back – there will be time to play with the ball when the session is over. The two students Misha and Maksim are intent on what the team is doing. They even start an argument about which side is likely to concede more. Will Pejcinovic score after the delivery from the corner kick, the same way he did in the match against Ufa? Can Corluka save his men in a tough 1v1?
The twin sisters are looking out for Miranchuk brothers. They want to ask for autographs and selfies. The girls get their chance after the dinner: Anton and Aleksey invite us all to their place! They show us the room and tell of the young footballer’s routine. At last, the sisters are ready to pose for the photo. The whole group is tickled. Meeting two twin pairs in the same room isn’t a daily occurrence: go ahead - make a wish!
Naturally, the main topic of discussion is the Europa League draw ahead.
- It would be nice to go somewhere to the seaside. We could watch a game and go site-seeing and recreate, too - Maksim and Misha say dreamily. – But, surely, we need some worthy opponents.
- Isn’t it logical to anticipate weaker teams?
- Are you kidding? Lokomotiv can beat anyone, if they really want! – Maksim and Misha cast reproachful glances at me. They positively want strong rivals. The two would definitely follow Loko to at least one of the Euro trips, no matter what the currency exchange rate would be.
Meanwhile, the momentous hour is getting closer. The team, the fans and the coaches gather in the hall upstairs. They mingle - Sarkis Oganesyan smiles at the year-and-a-half old toddler, seated in an adult’s lap next to him; Dmitriy Barinov finds himself surrounded by the twin sisters on both sides.
The head of the Kulyasov family, Grigoriy, is entrusted with the honourable task of marking our positions on a small board.
And there it goes! Everybody holds their breath: the groups are being drawn!
We will face Sporting and Besiktas. “Good, good,” – the coaching staff goes on about it. “Oh, that one would be interesting!” – we hear someone of the players say.
The last team of the group turns out to be Skenderbeu, the current Albanian champion. The club is a dark horse for us, so far. What we do know, is that Vedran Corluka would like to play against them. He mentioned that in an interview to Our Loko.
Aleksey Miranchuk shares a comment:
- That Albanian name is a real challenge. I am afraid I can’t pronounce it without stammering. But we will surely take a closer look at the Albanian football and the team. We will have them scrutinized.
- Aleksey, who’s your favourite? Sporting? – I venture in an attempt to find out how the powers are balanced.
- CSKA dealt with them. We can do it, too! – Alexey’s words sound reassuring to me. I am so glad.
Anton is of the same opinion: - The group is handleable. We will do our best. We must get into the play-offs.
The fans’ heads reel with impressions. They’ve just learned the long-anticipated make-up of our group for the Europa League. They have spent plenty of time together with the team. Grigoriy Kulyasov is genuinely moved:
- I am so excited I can hardly find words to express it. I was sitting during the draw with my squad and coaches, next to Alan Kasaev… And it was so intimate, as if we were one big family gathered together. We were a bit apprehensive, but it’s normal under the circumstances. I liked it here, with the team. Such opportunities are on any football fan’s wish list. We will remember this day for long.
We thank Grigoriy for his support! And all those, who stand by our team’s side!
