— You’re all alone at the list of top goal-scorers in the Russian Premier League with 5 goals. But you said right after the match with Krylya Sovetov that you’re not interested in that. So are you trying to say that you don’t follow your own statistics?
— Well, actually, of course I do. It’s just that I’ve never been first in the list of scorers in my career before, and I’m not used to being there. But of course I understand that it’s just the six matchday now, and that there will be plenty more people fighting with me for the top spot. So I don’t want to attract attention to my person. It’s a lot more important to me how Zenit plays in the league, although, if you want to know the truth, I’d be happy to stay in first place in the list of top scorers.
— You scored some of your goals this year from the position of central forward. Others you scored from your more familiar position of outside forward. Do like shifting back and forth?
— I can play in any one of the four attacking positions now. Obviously, having the chance to be playing in a club like Zenit all the time is fantastic. But it’s not easy for me. It’s great that I’m scoring goals right now, and I’m sure that I’ll keep doing so in the future.
— You came off the bench against Krylya. But I think you prefer to be in the starting lineup?
— We have enough excellent players in Zenit for each player to feel the competition. I would like to be able to come on the field as a starter in every match. That makes a player more confident psychologically.
— So you see yourself as a leader in the club?
— In order to win, which is most important to me, the team has to come first. Whether I’m the leader or not isn’t that important. I’m ready to work for the team. At the same time I don’t want to say that I don’ have any personal goals for this season. I do! But that doesn’'t mean that I want to be the leader.
— After last year’s Russian Premier League season you said that you were sure practically from the start of the season that Zenit would be champion. What does your intuition tell you now?
— The same thing. We have an excellent team which should aim only to win it all. I think the main battle for the championship will be between us and CSKA. And in the end the team that wins this rivalry will be champion.
— Can you explain what it is about Zenit’s style that gives players confidence in their own abilities?
— You should ask that question more to our coaches. In my opinion the important thing is that we have 25 equal players in the team now, each of which is ready to win — in both the Russian league and in European Cups.
— But at the same time, if the team does well in domestic league play, we can’t say the same about playoff matches. Is Zenit not a “Cup” competition team?
— I wouldn’t say that. We’re completely ready to play in a play-off system as well. And I’m sure that our loss in the Europa League was just a coincidence. Ya, we played terribly in Holland, but at home we had good chances to make up the score and should have gotten by Twente, but the referee wasn’t on our side. In any case, you shouldn’t make conclusions like Zenit isn’t a “Cup” competition team just based on one match.
— Before coming to Russia you said that the best coach in your career was Fred Rutten in PSV. Now, after having worked with Spalletti, did your rating change?
— Fred Rutten is a special person in my life. He’s like a second father for me. He helped me professionally and personally in his time. So for me he’s above all competition. Although, of course it’s really interesting to work with Spalletti too, and thanks to him I’m getting better as a player. There’s no doubt about his professionalism.
