Chingiz Esenamanov: “Friendly matches with Croatia are good experience for us”

- What can you say about the Croatian team before the friendly matches you playing in February?

- Croatia is a good fighting European team. The players are very fit and technicaly prepared. They often played friendly matches and participate in different tournaments. The team is strong and it will be hard to play against them. We played at EURO-2016 and won with 4:2. In addition, they play in the top European club championships. I think that two friendly matches will be good experience for us.

- According to the draw, Romania is one of the future rivals of the main qualification round of the 2020 World Cup. Does this team look like a Croatian team?

- In my opinion, the Croats are stronger than the Romanians.

- Do you remember the 2016 European Championship qualifying match, when Kazakhstan lost to Romania with 6:4?  Do you think it will be possible to take revenge this year?

- Yes, I think so. It was almost four years ago, we only played the new squad. A new coach just headed the team, everything was new. We didn’t have enough experience, Romania played at home. I think that we have shown our skills and could have won, but, alas, it had turned out differently. As a result, Kazakhstan left the group from second place, beating Portugal. It was also a good result.  Two victories, we got six points and managed to qualify for the play off.

- There is another important tournament, the UEFA Champions League Final Four. What do you expect, due to the fact that the match will take place at home in Almaty?

- We are waiting for victory. For us, the Champions League is the main tournament of the season and, of course, we want to win. Our team is ready and we have all of the necessary conditions. We play friendly matches with some Russian teams and soon will play a friendly game in Europe. Home game of such level as the Champions League final is a holiday both for us and for the fans. The main thing is to win.

- What are your goals for this season?

- The main thing for the nearest future is to win the Champions League. The national team does not have any official matches in the near future, but anyway we would like to do our best. Of course, it is important to win the Kazakhstan Championship, which will give us the right to participate again in the Champions League next year. Besides, at the end of the season I had a lot of injuries, I need to be careful.