Roman Knyazev: "We plan to play a series of friendly games and start the season successfully"
Zenit U21 head coach Roman Knyazev spoke about how the summer training camp of the U16 national team went — a team he has led since 2024 — and also shared his plans for the preseason preparation of Blue-White-Sky Blues youth squad.
— This is your second year in charge of the Russian U16 national team. How would you assess the recent summer training camp?
— Everything went as planned; we prioritized gaining match experience. We managed to play six games, two of them against the Serbian national team, which has now made a successful start at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket. I think we played two worthy matches and gained excellent experience.
— Your team had one of the busiest friendly schedules: in addition to Serbia, your opponents included the cadet national teams of Belarus and Armenia. What food for thought did these games give you, and how important, in general, is international practice for the development of young athletes?
— Of course, such matches are very useful for understanding your condition and level. I can say that our guys looked solid, and we need to continue working on their development.
— How would you evaluate the performance of Zenit players Nikolay Sevostyanov and Anton Suikonen during the recent training camp?
— Guys looked good and took on leadership roles in some games. In addition to Anton and Nikolay, Daniil Vorobyov also did well, covering the center position for us, since during the camp we faced a shortage in that spot.
— With such a tight schedule, were you able to get any rest during the off-season?
— Fortunately, I managed to organize a family vacation — for the first time in a very long while. I hope it will give me extra energy for the upcoming season.
— The Zenit youth team’s training camp has already started. Can you share your plans for preseason preparation?
— We began preparations on August 10. It will be a typical preseason routine. We need to integrate the newcomers and define roles. We plan to play a series of friendly games and start the season successfully.
