Konstantin Zyryanov speaks on his 10 years at Zenit

The legendary midfielder and current Zenit-2 star gave the club magazine an exclusive interview after 10 years in St. Petersburg. 
In March 2007you joined Zenit from Torpedo Moscow, what can you tell us about this decision?
 
I can now say as an old man with experience that 10 years have gone by and I've sailed along on a comfortable ship, like being on a beautiful cruise through the Mediterranean." 

You are comparing Zenit to a cruise liner or do you mean your life in general?

The conditions at Zenit are better of course, but this is not the main thing. At Torpedo we also played beautiful football, but at Zenit, my team mates were of a higher level. We played a game that was pleasing to watch and brought positive results, this is the dream of any football player.

Many people think the great team that won the UEFA Cup started their rise with the 9-3 win against Dynamo Moscow in the cup, do you agree?

It was a memorable game, I came on as a substitute and scored three goals! This was only my second hat-trick, the first one was when I was at Amkar. Four days before that cup match, we lost to the same Dynamo team in the league. That defeat made us rethink a lot, we went into that game wound up and got that devastating victory, after that we were convinced that we could play very well. 

Towards the end of 2007 was a tense time, chasing the UEFA cup, Russia qualifying for the Euros, what can you remember about that time? 

Almost all the matches were wins for us with good results. Winners quickly feel better. 

The result of the match in Greece could have been different, if not for your goal. 

We arrived there with a positive feeling, we thought that we would easily beat Larissa and go through to the next round, but with 20 minutes to go we were 2-1 down. I remember that goal very well. I ran 50 or 60 meters and Tymoshchuk played the ball from our half of the field, then Dominguez gave me a fabulous pass. I struck the ball and sent it through the goalkeeper's legs. 

In Ramenskoye when Zenit won the league against Saturn, all the fans were shaking to the last second, what was it like to be on the pitch?

Being on the pitch is easier, you are constantly in the game. Of course, in the back of our mind we all knew that one goal conceded and we could lose the championship, which would be a tragedy. But I did not want to think about that. 

What did the team say to Dominguez, who stopped the ball crossing our line? 

We all thanked Alejandro, patted him on the back and said thanks! But that was all, we did not focus more on this. 

Do you remember being told you'd won best player of the year that year? 

Honestly, I do not remember exactly. I think I was it was at the end of the season. I was going to Moscow a lot then, as I was taking part in sports TV programs, awards. Once I was even dressed in a musketeer costume. 

Thanks to the celebration of your goal in the UEFA Cup final, all of Europe saw that the Zyryanovs were expecting a child. Your son will soon turn 9 years old. Is he interested in football?

I would call him a sports addicted! Chess, table tennis, karate, all this and football. I would like my son to give football more time, but this is his choice. He likes those four sports and what direction he chooses will be up to him.