You spent the majority of your career in South America playing for Corinthians. Considering that technique is the most important aspect in South America, is there anything that stands out for you in particular here?
“The first thing I noticed was that here physical strength is one of the key elements compared to Brazil. I hope there will be no difficulties with that, I’m going to get used to it.
What do you think of the new kit and its design? Do you know what is illustrated on it?
“I love this shirt, both the material and how it looks when you put it on. I’ve been told about the idea behind it and I like it a lot.”
In your first Zenit match you weren’t afraid to dribble and make passes between the opponent’s legs. It’s a bit unusual for a central defender. Weren’t you worried about what the coaching staff would say afterwards?
“It’s one of my strong sides and I’ve been playing like this since childhood. There is no fear, it’s the other way around, I’m confident in my skills when I dribble. I haven’t had an opportunity to speak to the coaching staff about my performance yet, but I’m sure we will have this talk.”
Was it the first time when you were putting the number on your shirt yourself?
“Yes, it was the first time. It was interesting and I enjoyed the process. Thank you for the opportunity.”
You’ve been part of the club for a week. Tell us about the training sessions, the stadium and today’s presentation.
“The team is incredible, they’ve welcomed me very warmly. I feel that I’m getting used to everything faster and faster every day. Without a doubt the Brazilians in the team make it easier as they can help me both on and off the pitch. The city is so beautiful, my family and I are fascinated by it. We always try to go out together when we get the chance to. I want the weather to become warmer to be able to spend more time outside.”
All the Russian clubs including Zenit are not allowed to participate in UEFA Competitions. What motivated you to move to Russia?
“I knew the situation with UEFA Competitions, but as soon as I heard about the opportunity to join Zenit, I immediately decided to use it because I think it’s a great chance to test myself in European football. As I said, I have many Brazilian teammates and it’ll make the adjustment process faster for me. I was happy to accept this new experience.”
You’ve already said “thank you” and “good afternoon” in Russian. Did you start learning the language beforehand or only now when you arrived?
“The thing is that one of the coaches in the Brazilian U20 team where I played in January and February before coming to St. Petersburg knows a couple of Russian words. He kept teasing me by using the words like “good evening”, “thank you”, “please”. I learned these from him, but some of the words that I know now I learned when I came here.”
You mentioned the U20 team and now you received a call up to the first team. Have you already talked to the manager?
“Right after the call up I didn’t get a chance to speak to the manager, but currently the manager of the Brazil team is the same manager we had for the U20 team when we won the South American Youth Championship, so I know him very well.”
You’ve played your first match against Pari NN. Would you say that the opponent’s level is totally different from the Brazilian league?
“It was a good match with a good opponent. There are matches with similar competitiveness and the levels of the opponents are approximately the same. I’m happy that we won and with a clean sheet too.”
