– You had some problems at spring training, but you got over them quickly and even played in the match with Polonia. How do you feel now?
– Everything`s fine. The match gave me the chance to feel the ball, to feel strong again. We have very hard practices and we haven`t reached the result yet that we`re counting on, but that`s why Zenit is here – to fix our weak points and sharpen our best qualities. And if we have to lose, let it be in the preseason.
– But Luciano Spalletti said that Zenit played much better in its second friendly in Spain than in the first friendly match.
– That`s normal, because considering the amount of work we`re doing, we`re getting better and better. We can make the football we play even more high quality. And each day, with each practice, we`ll be able to see that progress. I hope that we`ll be even more threatening to our opponents after a couple more weeks (smiles) .
– There have been a lot of competitions between Zenit`s players in the preseason. You`ve been playing lots of tennis-ball, and you have a lot of scrimmages. When you wake up you probably think "I lost yesterday, so I have to get revenge today!” ?
– Ya, of course! If there`s no result then we have to work hard, we have to fix the things that were not doing right, in order to be ready for getting revenge. We have a great coach, and we all know that he`ll make us even better. Believe me, each player is sure that we have room to improve.
– You`re leaving for three days to play for your national team of Portugal, and you might play on February 9th in the match versus Argentina. Is that hard to do, or are you used to having to make so many flights to matches?
– I don`t think you can approach this is any special way. It`s just the normal life of a footballer. First you have preseason, then your national team, then more practices with your club team. It`s nothing out of the ordinary. I hope I`ll be in the starting lineup of the national team, that I`ll play the match and then return to Zenit in a good mood and excellent physical condition.
