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Yevgeny Fyodorov: "I do not like all those penalty shootouts"

The famous St. Petersburg musician belongs to those football fans who appreciate this game, above all, for its beauty, for its entertainment. Therefore, Yevgeny only watches the World Cups

- Every four years I spend a month watching football, and this Championship is the first in a long time I watch at home, - says the musician. - And the previous ones, it turned out, I followed from different countries of the world, from sometimes very unusual places in the company of people of different nationalities.

- And what was the most unusual place where you watched the tournament?

- It was the 2010 World Cup, I was in the Himalayas and there the snow blocked the pass and blocked the road. With a large group of the same crazy mountain tourists, for a week, we were stuck in a small hotel in a remote village and watched football.

- It's not a remote village if there was a TV!

- Yes, there are TVs everywhere! And in any of the most remote corners of the planet, people are clinging to the screens watching football. We, so it turned out, at that time watched the games in the company of the fans of those teams, whose match at that moment was shown. So we were integrated into this fan environment.

- Did you like that? Football fans are still a special subculture.

- No, ordinary people, who, just like me, watch football from time to time.

- Did you watch all the games at the current World Cup? Which teams did you like most?

- No, not all, because we had concerts, and the children go to bed early, we had to take into account such things in the fan schedule. I liked the Japanese and the Belgians. They played very beautiful football, without these penalties, without delaying time, falling, disputes with the referee. Interesting football from the point of view of the spectator.

- What can you say about our team?

- It did not impress me a lot, although the result was outstanding. However, the result is one thing, and a beautiful game is another one. There were some good moments, and, I will repeat for millions of other people, that we have a great goalkeeper. I hope that after such a “mobilization kick” as this tournament has become, our team will play better and better. It's high time.

- Who was your favourite in the World Cup final?

- I sometimes feel that I start to cheer for one team, and in the process of the match I turn to the other side, because I like the other team more. I watch football as a spectator, the result to me is not very important. Therefore, I really do not like all of these penalty shootouts, all this roulette.

- Together with the Optimystica Orchestra, you performed at the FIFA Fan Festival™, where there is music and football. How close are these phenomena to each other in your opinion?

- Both are from the nature of man. This is what allows men to attract women and demonstrate their superiority over other males. It is in rock and roll, it is in any art, it is in sport. Of course, there is a completely different atmosphere in the stadium, as well as at the Festival. It is not very close to us, we still play rather chamber music, designed for a small audience, for a warmer and closer contact with it, but sometimes you have to perform on large venues. Here football in the first place, and we are only musical accompaniment. Nevertheless, if we could get through this, if someone heard us – that is great!

- And what impressions did you have from the Festival as a whole?

- In general, I try to bypass the places where there are festivities. I live a quiet life away from noisy crowds. However, when people unite independently of language, nationality, religion and together have fun - that's great!