Zenit assistant head coach Anatoly Timoshchuk told how the team is approaching the first friendly match at the winter training camp against the Chinese club Shanghai Port.

Zenit is holding its first winter training camp in Doha (Qatar). On Thursday, the blue-white-blues will meet with a club from China.

— In what mode of preparation does Zenit approach the first friendly match at the training camp with Shanghai Port?

“It doesn’t matter that the match is on Thursday, we work as planned with two training sessions a day. The only change was that three guys from the Zenit academy were called in to help us a little in this sparring. These are Andrey Kasadzhikov, Matvey Ivanov and Kirill Kosarev. But in general, we are still working under pressure so that the players adapt faster and gain physical condition. As usual, based on the testing results, we divided into groups, and we work with them. The first one, as usual, complains a little because she has to run at a higher pace (smiles). We have to explain and show why it is this way and not otherwise.

— What positions did the guys from the academy take?

— These are youth players, we have enough defenders, they wanted to see the attack line. Sergei Semak spoke with Zenit-M coaches. Whichever of the best players they recommended based on their condition, we invited them.

— The match with Shanghai Port will be played in three halves of 30 minutes each. Why did you choose this one?

— At this stage of preparation it is optimal. Everyone will spend a half on the field, and then we will see who is allowed to play more, who is given less, and how to dose the load in the future. Such formats are often practiced at training camps; we are no exception, although we have not always used them before. Now we also decided to use this format.

— On what basis will the lineups for each half be formed?

— In accordance with what was played during training, so that the combinations were familiar to the players. Some guys have slight restrictions based on their physical condition. We will try to approach this issue as correctly as possible so that the guys take the load in the right way. Maybe we’ll try new combinations and new positions for some players. Let’s see.

— Do you feel that the test results are better this year and that the players can handle the workload more easily?

“Many of the guys were preparing on vacation, and it’s clear that they arrived in good condition. By the way, we see statements from many RPL coaches that the first days of the training camp are very important for laying the foundation of physical condition and endurance. So we don’t react to complaints from the guys. We do the work, and this is the most important thing,” the Match TV correspondent reports Tymoshchuk’s words.

Kirill Kosarev, Matvey Ivanov and Andrey Kasadzhikov / Photo: © FC Zenit

Zenit will take part in the WINLINE RPL Winter Cup 2026 from February 3 to 10 in Abu Dhabi. Live broadcasts of all matches of the tournament will be available on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels.