Ex-Krasnodar Sports Director, Zinin: Never Heard of the Idea of 11 Academy Graduates from Galitsky

FC Rodina's Director of Operations and Sports, Alexey Zinin, who previously served at Krasnodar, responded to speculation circulating in the media regarding the desire of the club owner, Sergey Galitsky, to form a team consisting of 11 academy graduates. "I never heard from Sergey Nikolaevich about this idea. It was only talked about by journalists. The club owner was always wary of young players who had not yet achieved anything, and he believed that 29-year-olds were usually more competitive than 18-year-olds. The accusations against him of having dreams about 11 academy graduates emerged when the academy's first batch of kids were 15-16 years old. There was always the idea that teams should play football, and people should enjoy watching. A culture of support is always important, but I don't remember any extraordinary goal for the academy It's more of a social story – giving children a chance to live, it was always important that academy graduates be able to work and earn a living – whether in Krasnodar or elsewhere,” Zinin said in an exclusive interview with “Championat” journalists Alexander Yershov and Vladimir Chetverikov.