On the beginning of his career

My dad in Brazil has his own shop, but once he wanted to be a footballer too and even made the first steps to do it, but it did not work out for him. He has helped me a lot in my career. Dad has been and always supported me. Of course, my life could have been different and if I had not become a footballer, I probably would have helped my father with the store.  That or educate myself and then make a decision about my professional future. 

On moving to Russia 

I was at Fluminense for five years, but in the final year I wanted to change club and I received only one offer from Terek Grozny. I wanted to play my football in Europe, because here everything is a bit different from Brazil. I discussed it with my parents and my wife and about going to Terek, we went online to find out more about this team and in the end, we made the final decision. Of course, Grozny is a small town and I did not even have a translator, but I so wanted to play football so it was worth it!

On Russian Football - When I played in the championship of Brazil, I watch Russian football to see my countrymen playing. At that time, there were quite a lot of Brazilians at CSKA Moscow - Jo, Carvalho, Vagner Love. Many were names from my team. So I knew the army men well. And CSKA in the mid-2000s had some success in international competition. Now, after 6 years of playing in Russia, I understand that the local championship is pretty strong. Football in the Russian Premier League is physically strong with as much emphasis on tactics. It has a really important role in the organization of the game. The difference with Brazil is quite a lot. For the last six years in Russia has seen quite significant steps forward in the direction of quality football.