The CSKA striker spoke about his vacation, his passion for different sports, his impressions of football and basketball, and shared his emotions after a day spent with the Gagarin Cup.
- Matvey, with the Gagarin Cup, you visited both basketball and football almost immediately after the victory. How are your impressions?
- It was very cool. I got a lot of emotions. I love both football and basketball. Of course, watching live at the stadium is completely different than watching on TV. Both the CSKA club and our common CSKA family have very cool fans, so the atmosphere was just great at basketball and football. Unfortunately, our team lost that football match to Sochi, but the basketball players won and eventually made it to the finals. The impressions are colossal: I was very glad to be invited.
- Do you manage to follow your army teammates?
- I try to keep an eye on my army teammates. As I said, I love both basketball and football. We can say that I practice these sports in the summer, I like to play. I follow the guys and, of course, I wish them as many victories as possible.
- Later you took the Cup for yourself. How did you spend time with the main trophy?
- I took the Cup to my house, took it to the dacha. All the people closest to me were with me. I wanted, first of all, to share with them this joy of victory, to show them the cup. I spent a wonderful day with my family, with my loved ones, so I will remember it forever. My whole family was very happy, it was a wonderful, fun day for everyone. I am very glad that everything turned out this way. On this day, it was coincidentally my parents' wedding anniversary. It turned out to be a double celebration for them: we can say that for them it was the main gift that we won the Cup. They were very worried about us, our team, they always worry about me. I always try to please my parents, because they do everything, make a huge contribution to who I am.
- We saw you mastering a new sport – golf. Did you like it? Did you succeed?
- I got to play golf, I really liked it. I already tried it three years ago, it was very hard. Then I didn't have a mentor, there was no one to show me how to hold the stick properly, how to hit the ball. I remember that then I hit so that a whole piece of grass flew out from under the stick, and the ball just lay there and remained in the same place. This time there was a great mentor who showed how to hold the stick, how to hit. Almost immediately everything worked out. This game really hooked me, I think that now I will sometimes go play it. An interesting and new sport for me, you can play with friends. The golf courses have great views, beautiful scenery. I will try to find time for the game in the summer.
- How interesting and difficult is it to switch to other sports?
- Switching to other sports is interesting. You play hockey all year round. And here there is some variety in the form of other games, which, in my opinion, also helps to develop some physical qualities. Different kinds of sports require different training. This is both interesting and useful for you, as an athlete, in the off-season.
- After one of the regular season games, the opponent said that you also do boxing and immediately all the questions of journalists in the mixed zone were just about that. Have you been practicing for a long time?
- Yes, it was Alexander Nikishin, my good friend, who, after the match and the fight with Lekhter, told reporters that I was boxing. As I said back then in the mixed zone, I don't have any kind of focus on going out to fight or becoming a tough guy. But I try to study sometimes. This helps to tighten the physical condition. This is more for maintaining and improving your physical shape.
- Tell me about your vacation: what else did you do, did you have time to rest?
- I spent most of my vacation with my family. I had time to rest, gain strength for the new season. Of course, I really miss hockey already, I want to start a new championship. I've been training and preparing for a long time. I started missing the team, the games, and the fans almost a week after the end of the season. When you love hockey, you can't do without it, it's your life. I really miss the guys, the games and our wonderful fans who supported us all season, for which I thank them very much. I can't wait for the start of the new championship. See you at the stadium!
