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Ilya Kazakov, press attache of Russian football national team
Iím both honored and happy to be the press attache for Vadim Yevseevís farewell game.
Todayís press conference is dedicated to this event.
In 10 days Vadim will lead two teams to the Cherkizovo stadium:
the team of his friends and the so-called ëTeam of the worldí.
It bears this name as there will be representatives of various nations there.
For us the name of Vadim is fist of all associated with the famous came with the national team of Wales,
with these two games, actually.
But personally for me Vadim is the symbol of the rise of Moscow FC Lokomotiv,
the team that became the leader of Russian football, when another FC, Spartak,
temporarily moved to the second rank.
I donít know if it is symbolic or not,
but the Lokomotiv has lost its leading position after Vadim left and regains it only now,
thanks to Alexei Smertin and the others, who also play there.
The fans of the club remember and respect Vadim for his devotion to the club,
for his sportive, truly patriotic, character, for his selflessness.
That is probably why he was always so popular.
Iím looking at a long text now presenting his career, from the very beginning.
As an illustration to his character I would like to site you one episode:
he left Moscow FC Dinamo in 1990 when they refused to include him into the team
that was sent to the championship to France and joined Lokomotiv willing to prove that heís the best.
And he did.
If we talk about his career in the FC Spartak
- and you see that not only Alexei Smertin, but two other members of this team,
Andrei Tikhonov and Nikolay Pisarev, are sitting here with me ñ
Vadim started there in 1996, it was the famous quarter-final with the French Nantes,
which I think Russian football fans will never forget.
Vadim had 27 games that year with Spartak and won his first Champion of Russia award.
He has 6 similar trophies, and 4 of them were won during his career in Spartak.
During his career in Lokomotiv he won 2 Cups, 2 Championships,
2 Super-Cups and of course there were victories with the national team.
He made his debut there in 1999, when our team won over Andorra with ease, 6:1.
Then there were the famous games with Wales in 2004 in the frames of the Euro Cup.
As Vadim said after that game, a lot of football fans think
it was the realization of the ëRussian football idealí of that time.
Vadimís participation in the Championís League was also unforgettable.
We all remember how the Lokomotiv of that epoch played with French FC MonacoÖ
And we remember how Yuri Seminís team played with Real, Inter, Kiev DinamoÖ
Vadim played some 250 games with Lokomotiv, and he scored 25 goals, and this is a big figure for a fullback.
In 2007 Vadim left Lokomotiv, as he, as well as yet another famous veteran of this team, Dmitry Loskov,
couldnít get along with the new coach, famous Anatoly Byshovtsev.
After that he played for the legendary Moscow FC Torpedo, than for the FC Saturn,
that last April he was invited abroad (even though not far) by Sergei Gurenko to play for Belarus FC Torpedo.
And on November, 21 he declared that he ends his football career,
he said that everythingís to be done in the right moment, and it was the right moment for him.
The organizers of the game promise a lot of interesting surprises outside of the football festival.
Football-loving artists will be present.
Show-ballet ëTodesí promised to perform between the times,
and famous pop singer Irakly promised to perform a new song.
Traditionally football players are given a send-off with the famous ëVivat, king, vivatí song,
but weíll see what Irakly has prepared for us.
It is also important that during this match the children of the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv hockey team members
who died in the plane crash last year will be given sanatorium voucher to the ëOrlenokí camp.
The vouchers are granted by the ëDrevo Zhiznií (ëTree of lifeí)
foundation which helps restore our national cultural heritage.
This foundation also takes an active part in the farewell match of Vadim Yevseev.
Vadim Yevseev, the captain of the ëYevseevís friendsí team
I think itís time that I finish my football career.
Iím glad that Lokomotivís directors agreed to help me and Olga Smorovskaya allowed us
to hold this game on Lokomotivís stadium.
This stadium is truly unique.
As for my feelingsÖ
I donít know yet, maybe, Iíll have some feelings after the game, but nowÖ
Iím anticipating the game.
Valery Filatov and Yuri Semin will coach the ëYevseevís friendsí team
while Georgy Yartsev and Oleg Romantsev will coach the ëworldís teamí.
As for the players, I picked my Lokomotiv colleagues for my team for the most part,
for example, Pavlichenko and Torbinsky.
And the other team will have Russian players as well, I talked to them personally.
I also talked to Roberto Carlos, and he agreed to participate,
I talked with other foreign members of our teams, they all liked my offer tooÖ
Alexei gave me the number of Ivanovich, I called him,
and he agreed to participate if his team lost to Barcelona.
The team actually won, but he himself got a yellow card so he canít participate in the next game of the team.
So he agreed to join our celebration.
Timur invited the rest of the players.
As for Giggs, it is yet unclear, whether he will participate or not,
we donít know if heíll be able to make it.
I tried to call Dimitry Bulykin two weeks ago, and now,
but that I realized that he must be celebrating his clubs victory in the Championship,
so he doesnít pick up the phone.
But I hope heíll be there too.
Thatís all I can say about the players.