Nicolas Lombaerts: Our task is clear

The Zenit defender, upon arriving in his home country, told who is going to be watching the blue-white-light blues play, predicated how many people will attend the match, and asked for fans to believe in his team.

– I came in a great mood, – Zenit’s Belgian defender said in the lobby of his hotel in the center of Brussels. Matches in Europe are always interesting, and here, this match, in particular.

– You’ll probably have a personal group of fans at the match.
– Ya, of course! My whole family will come. There will be a big delegation. My girlfriend will fly here from St. Petersburg too. And then, after the match, back to Russia. This is great stimulus for me to play the best I can.

– How do you expect tomorrow’s match to go?
– Anderlecht is a team with good history, and a sea of trophies and achievements. A year ago they played very well in the Europa League, but they haven’t started this season too well. The team has changed somewhat, and I’m not sure they’ve found their own style of play yet. But they are still a strong European team, a serious opponent. We’re going to have to really sweat to beat them.

 And they’re also starting the group stage in their own stadium…
– That’s not a bad thing. Anderlecht’s fans are particular: if the team is playing well, then the fans support it. If something doesn’t go well, then the stands can whistle at their own players. Our task here is clear (smiles). I doubt the stadium will be full. I heard that there are still eight to nine thousand tickets left.

– There will be at least 1,000 fans cheering for Zenit, according to the latest information.
– Ah, well, in that case, this match will probably be like a home game for us. Zenit fans are capable of outvoicing the whole stadium.