Olga Smorodskaya: We are actively looking for new sponsors

Lokomotiv president Olga Smorodskaya answers topical questions in an extended interview with TASS news agency.

- Have you already discussed the current issues with the new head of RZD Oleg Belozyorov?

- We have had a meeting but only touched upon the issues slightly. I understand the head of the corporation has an immensely packed agenda. We will have a detailed discussion of Lokomotiv's matters when the RZD president will have time. I cannot tell the exact date.

- Answers to what questions would you like to have?

- I have many questions. I don't want to make them public now. Because they concern money. Money likes thoughtfulness and silence.

- Yes, but the silence has been breached by the news that FAS (Federal Antimonopoly Service) have asked the RZD to develop a plan of selling its non-core assets, that lists, among others, FC Lokomotiv.

- I was surprised to hear Lokomotiv has been mentioned in this context. The majority of the League's clubs are funded by either the state-owned monopolies, or the regional budgets.

- Probably, Lokomotiv's fate worries everyone because of the reshuffle in the top management of the RZD?

- Not only because of that. During the five years that I have been working here, the Accounts Chamber have audited us several times, trying to find a connection between the expenses on Lokomotiv and the railway tariffs. But there has never been such a connection, and never will be. I don't understand why some journalists are trying to state the contrary. The club covers more than 20% of its demand. When I came to Lokomotiv, the number was below 10%. And keep in mind that we are working in the frame of the unimaginable limitations that concern the ways we can earn money: we cannot sell beer at the stadium (and the brewers don't want to advertise for the sake of advertising), we cannot advertise bookmakers, and so on. We are tied hand and foot, and we have to perform well.

- Nevertheless, there's an idea being formed in the public consciousness that the RZD will sell Lokomotiv and the club will go through hard times.

- I can say for sure: nobody is going to sell anything. Lokomotiv and RZD have been together for quite a while. The sector and the club have been tied for 80 years! And it's impossible to say the club is not needed anymore. Especially when we have the World Cup coming up...

No, no one is going to do this. The policy will be reasonable, and the risk that the RZD will give up Lokomotiv simply doesn't exist.

- Is there a risk the RZD will seriously reduce funding of the club?

- It has never been abundant. If you sort the Russian clubs according to the size of their budgets, we have been taking the positions from 4th to 6th at different times.

- Do you understand already how your relations with the new head of the RZD will be organized?

- Not yet. When the head of the corporation was changed many people started worrying about my future: will she be fired or not? Time will tell.

- Who owns Lokomotiv Stadium?

- All land, the stadium, and the entire infrastructure belong to the RZD. The club only owns several trademarks.

«The club has cut its expenses drastically»

- UEFA is closely watching how Lokomotiv is managing under the new Financial Fair Play regulation…

- …Just like any other club, including the Russian ones. We respect UEFA’s recommendations and are trying to comply.

- We see the situation at Lokomotiv from this perspective: the club has budget revenues UEFA is studying carefully. The contracts are scrutinized as complying or non-complying with the market conditions. As a result, a big share of irrelevant incomes are found. True?

- True. But what UEFA doesn’t do is it doesn’t give reasons for the share of the relevant incomes into the clubs’ budgets. Income cuts can range from 40 to 60 per cent. As a result the clubs get virtual damages and get punished for them.

As for us, Lokomotiv has passed the UEFA’s compliance test.

- Indeed, but the fact is that UEFA has sanctioned Lokomotiv. The organization demanded you make structural changes in the financing scheme. What needs to be done to avoid sanctions in the future?

- We need to find new sponsors. UEFA has introduced a new rule: if the club’s sponsors will give it more that 30% of the club's income, they will be considered as related parties, meaning the incomes they provide will fail to comply as market revenues. To make all of our incomes comply, we have to find, say, five sponsors each giving us 20% of our total revenue.

- The chances are high that Lokomotiv will qualify for a European competition in season 2016/17. That means you have to find sponsors before that time, right?

- Yes. And we’re looking for them non-stop. And we succeed. We have made metal trading corporation A GRUPP our sponsor. I think it’s a breakthrough. We will do everything to attract new sponsors and earn money. We have cut our expenses drastically. There are 21 players listed in the team, excluding the young. We can’t shrink further.

- Did the ruble devaluation hit Lokomotiv hard?

- Very hard. We had drawn up the budget based on one currency value, but then it changed completely. And no one is going to compensate us. We fly to Europe, we pay for hotels. We pay in foreign currencies.

- Does UEFA take into consideration the financial situation in Russia?

- We hope UEFA will issue a special appendix on the so-called economic peculiarities of the European countries. It hasn’t done so yet. So I don’t know what’s going to be next.

- Do you fix players’ salaries in rubles now?

- It depends. I would really like to pay in rubles but we don’t always come to terms.

- How much of the total expenses goes to the players’ fees?

- 60 to 70 per cent.

‘Introduction of salary cap will harm the Russian football’

- Can it happen that the club will have to get rid of the expensive foreign players you signed long before the sanctions were imposed?

- My take on it is absolutely different. The UEFA’s sanctions are a minor factor in this context. Unlike the toughening of the foreign players limit by the RFS just a week before the start of the championship…

UEFA just scolded us, really, while our internal regulations obliged us to conduct reforms. Last year the Executive Committee approved the ‘10+15’ scheme that suited everyone. But then a new decision comes up, and the old one is cancelled. And if the limit again will be tightened the prices for Russian players will skyrocket again.

- Is the Financial Regulations project introducing a salary cap is not being made by the RFS just in order to avoid it?

- The proposed project doesn’t make me enthusiastic. I think it’s lame. The measures it introduces could provoke the rise of the shadow economy. The parties in the football market will start searching for the ways to pass the limitations and barriers. Now it’s up to the Executive Committee to decide whether these Financial Regulations will be approved or not. I’m not going to vote for it. I’m sure it will harm the Russian football.

- Do the Russian clubs want to seal a pact, stopping the ‘expense race’?

- There’s no such thing as the ‘expense race’. In August, European clubs were spending big money while all of the Russian clubs spent just 15 million euros, - that’s comparable to the amount of money one Russian club would spend two years ago.

- Do you think the market was overheated back then?

- The level of our football was rising. It can’t be that a championship is mediocre, but the national team is undefeatable. Back then our championship took a spin that I call the ‘Anji factor’. The club from Makhachkala rapidly increased the expenses on transfers; on the one hand it came as a surprise for the League; on the other it made the clubs take a look at the situation from a different angle. It became clear that you could sign very interesting players who can not only demonstrate spectacular football, but also teach the young. You just can’t live in your own limited world - high-quality players always have to be purchased.

‘There was a provocation at the game against Skenderbeu’

- At the Europa League game against Skenderbeu there was an unpleasant situation: the crowd chanted political slogans. Did they manage to find the firebrands?

- We immediately apologized to Skenderbeu and their fans for this. The Europa League games are a festival that we have been waiting for a long time. Our fans deserved it. And we want to protect their rights.

Again I can do nothing but be sorry that we cannot sell tickets by passports. We don’t know who comes to the stands and what goal they have. It’s a problem, and I have been talking about it for several years already. As a result, we have what we have. Some tickets were bought by the citizens of the former Yugoslavia who probably planned their visit to Moscow to have a chance to come to the game against the Albanians.

- Do you think it was a provocation based on the infamous international conflict?

- Exactly so, a planned provocation. We have good CCTV. We know how these firebrands look like, but cannot proceed with the search. We passed these materials to the police so that they could initiate search and start the procedure. As of now, we know about 15-20 instigators.

- Have Lokomotiv sent UEFA a letter of explanation?

- Not yet (the conversation took place on October 7th - TASS). Our case will be heard by the UEFA Disciplinary Committee, and we’ll wait for the verdict.

It’s the first time when UEFA hear a case on Lokomotiv fans. There was no such thing in the past.

- The game against Amkar attracted just 7,504 spectators, even Lokomotiv’s top position doesn’t help draw people to the stands. What needs to be done to increase the attendance?

- To be honest, I’m somewhat confused. I can’t explain this. The attendance is pretty low, especially when we play against weaker teams. We thought it could be because of our poor play. But as you can see it’s not because of that. And the atmosphere is good. We have the Family Area, the School Area, and the Students Area. We are the pioneers in Russia in creating such zones. And not only in this.

Recently we have launched a new app. It is actually an on-line game for the fans. The app allows not only to play but also to follow the team’s updates and events that take place at the stadium. The slogan speaks for itself: the team play when you play! The subscribers can choose the best players, make forecasts(who and when scores, takes a corner kick, etc). Its functionality and graphics are great. Those who get the most points get awarded. In the end of the season the most successful fans who score more points will get super-prizes.

So we are trying to entertain the fans even virtually. It is an absolutely new product in our market, and I recommend that everybody downloads this app from our official website.

- Back to the attendance. Did you think the difficult economic situation could be to blame?

- It could. And the problem is not in the price for a ticket - not only did we not raise it, but even added the Europa League group stage matches to the Season Ticket programme. But people work harder, and it’s not easy for them to survive in the crisis.

‘Dmitriy Sychyov will not return to Lokomotiv’

- In November expires a loan agreement between Lokomotiv’s Dmitriy Sychyov and Okzhetpes from Kazakhstan. What are your plans for Dmitriy?

- He is not going to return. When his loan agreement expires, his contract with Lokomotiv ends as well. We are not going to employ him in a different capacity.

- Is it true that Mbark Boussoufa’s salary is 4 million euro per year?

- It’s not. His salary is way less.

- Why didn’t you manage to sell him in summer?

- His contract expires in less than a year, and we are experiencing pressure from the FFP. I told the player and his agent that we will have to part if somebody wants to sign him. There were two good opportunities to sell him to Anderlecht from Belgium and Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, but both times Boussoufa didn’t agree to personal terms. We agreed the fee both with the Belgians and the Saudis, there were no problems with that, but, again, their offers didn’t satisfy Boussoufa himself.

- Are you going to sell him in the winter?

- Yes, I am.

- Why is he training with the youth team, not with the main squad?

- It’s the coach’s decision. And I agree with it. Boussoufa’s problem lies not with the attitude, but with doing what the coach says.

- Does it mean Boussoufa just doesn’t want to play for Lokomotiv?

- No, it doesn’t. Of course, I have analyzed Boussoufa’s character, and I have a clear understanding of the situation, but I’m not going to expose it to the public.

- Does he have problems with discipline?

- None at all.

- So, his return to the main squad cannot be ruled out?

- Of course it can’t.  

- Do you have any offers regarding Boussoufa?

- No, but the transfer window is not closed yet.

- It looks like the Portuguese defender Manu Fernandes is not meeting the expectations. What’s his problem?

- You’d better ask him. To be honest, I’m not satisfied with his adaptation, and his role in the team.  

- Is he asking to sell him to another club?

- No, he isn’t. The only thing I’m happy about in this situation is that he came as a free agent.

- Do you want Vedran Corluka to play here until the end of his career?

- I do have such a desire. We haven’t yet talked about it, you know, we have just prolonged his contract. Vedran is a personality. Not only is he a great player, but also a bright and smart man, a man of principle, with an acute sense of justice. Just remember his red card in the game against CSKA. He couldn’t just stand and watch the referee making mistakes and turning a blind eye to the fouls made by the Armymen. In the capacity of the captain, he tried to advocate the interests of the team.

- Are you going to sign a contract extension with Jan Durica? His current agreement expires in June...

- Yes, we are.

- How about Vitaliy Denisov?

- We have renewed his contract already. I won’t tell you for how long. It’s a pity he can’t play for the Russia national team (Vitaliy plays for Uzbekistan - TASS).

- Will Lokomotiv sign new players in summer?

- We want to strengthen ourselves but the question is, will we have the money to do it? I wouldn’t like to discuss the actual positions.

- What are you going to do with Alberto Zapater?

- He has left our club. His contract expired in August.

- Despite the good results Lokomotiv have been showing, your players were not called up to the national team for the games against Sweden and Liechtenstein. But soon, Leonid Slutskiy invited three players to his team against Moldavia and Montenegro, them being Alexander Samedov, Dmitriy Tarasov, and Alan Kasaev…

- I can say for sure: all of our players are dreaming of representing their country. They will rush there immediately, just call them. Of course, the guys were very much upset when they were not called. I was upset, too. I think Sasha Samedov, Dima Tarasov, and Alan Kasaev could strengthen the national team. But I totally trust Leonid Slutskiy. Everything he's doing is in the team’s best interests. Our players practice hard, and their progress is obvious. It didn’t pass unnoticed. After the game against Amkar I went to the dressing room to congratulate the team with the victory, and of course I used the chance to praise Tarasov and Kasaev who were sitting next to me. I told them: ‘I won’t let you go, even to the national team, you play too well!’ Probably, it wasn’t the best time to joke, they got angry, sprang to their feet and shouted ‘Why? What happened? It’s our dream!’ How could they really believe I would let them go to the national team, I wonder?

- Does Guilherme want to play for Russia?

- He does. And he deserved it. He would readily play for Russia if he was handed a chance.

- When is he going to become a Russian citizen?

- I hope it’s going to happen soon. I think it will happen before the end of this year. I want to stress it that he applied on the common terms, without any assistance from the Ministry of Sport. To be eligible for a citizenship you have to live in Russia for five years. Guilherme has been here since 2007.  

‘We have already won the Cup, winning the League is our top priority’

- Lokomotiv are the closest chasers of CSKA in the League, the team demonstrate solid play. Where does the secret of Cherevchenko’s success lie, in your opinion? How did he manage to reshape the team?

- What do any club’s top managers do first hand, in any country? They try pick the right coach. I think I have succeeded. And it was Igor’s choice, by the way. I had offered him the manager’s position before but he’s a very responsible man and thought he was not ready for it. When he felt he was ready, we made a deal. And it’s necessary to stress that the transition from an assistant coach to a head coach is always a tricky moment. You have to set a distance with the players and make it clear to them. It’s difficult but he did it. He enjoys big authority in the team.

Our last game against Amkar is another proof to the fact that the team is developing. Lokomotiv has become creative, inventive, the players are relaxed. We have managed to set up a good atmosphere in the team. It’s our achievement, both mine as a president and his as a coach. I used to pay way more attention to creating a positive atmosphere in the team than I do now. Now I’m secure that the atmosphere is okay. Our players play for their team, and not for their names. That’s what’s important. Just to give you an example: in the game against Amkar one the League’s top scorers Niasse had a great chance to net but instead chose to assist to the young Miranchuk. You see? He wanted the young player to score. It’s a very notable example.    

- Why is Niasse progressing so fast?

- I remember when we signed him, many people were saying it was a useless transfer. But I was confident we bought the player we needed. He is young and has incredible pace, the quality which is very important in the modern football. When Niasse came, Dame Ndoye was our main striker. Leonid Kuchuk who was our head coach at that time kept turning a blind eye on Niasse, and the newcomer was depressed. But what Niasse is demonstrating now is what we have been waiting from him. Of course, it was achieved through common effort of the player and the coaches.  

- It’s been in the press that Chelsea wanted to loan him in summer.

- Loaning Niasse out to anyone was not on our to do list. Some teams show interest for him, but it’s not concrete so far. As for the Blues, they have never contacted us.

- Do you prioritize between the League, the Cup, and the Europa League?

- I do. We have already won the Cup and proved our abilities. Winning the League is our top priority now.

- What is your goal in the Europa League?

- Lokomotiv is an ambitious club. If we’re taking part in a competition, it means we want to win it. Will we succeed or not - it’s a different matter. But we have to set only the highest goals.

About a park in the stadium’s territory  

The park located in the territory of Lokomotiv Stadium is ready to become the favourite place with the locals. Lokomotiv president Olga Smorodskaya personally took the TASS correspondents around the territory of the sports complex .

Lokomotiv Stadium finds itself in Moscow’s Preobrazhenskoye district. The venue was opened in 2002, and since then the club’s presidents tried to fill the area around it with amusement parks and sports venues that would attract the locals and become another source of income for the club.

- I want the park to become a hotspot with the citizens, where they would go to for a walk and recreation, - Ms Smorodskaya notes. - Now it has roads for walking, for roller-skating, a neat park, big flower-beds. The territory has been transformed.  

Lokomotiv’s territory today is a multi-sports complex that includes, besides the main stadium, the Small Arena, the indoor football pitch, the ice arena, the tennis courts. Last year a new artificial turf was installed.

- There used to be a sad picture here, with pipes sticking out here and there. Now our schoolchildren play here, - Smorodskaya points at one of the fields. - The central stadium needs some repair. Our primary task now is to mend the roofing.

- Lokomotiv was constructed as a summer stadium. The concrete floors expanded in summer and contracted in winter. We installed new membrane flooring that covered all the gaps. Now we need to make repairs to the roofing, - Smorodskaya said.