Andrey, first question, how do you feel when you wear that Zenit shirt at the Gazprom Arena?
Mostovoy: I feel very good, it’s such a big stadium and full of our supporters. Having the Zenit badge on your chest is a great responsibility, and it is very nice to have of course.
Do you feel excited when you arrive at the match?
Karavaev: At first I feel excited, but it goes away after in a few minutes.
Mostovoy: Yes, when we’re in the dressing room under the stands, it is exciting and you feel nervous, but once you touch the ball and something goes well, all those nerves go away.
The UEFA Champions League draw is coming up, we’re in Pot One, but in Pot Two are clubs like Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea. Who would you prefer to draw?
Mostovoy: I would choose Barcelona.
Karavaev: I like Chelsea, so I would like to play them in England.
Mostovoy: Well, yes, I would like to play in England too, but the Nou Camp is something special.
Karavaev: The most important thing is that the fans will be there.
What are Zenit's chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages?
Mostovoy: We need to see who’s in the group first once we know this we can get started.
Karavaev: I would like us to do as well as possible, and we’ve not even discussed yet getting to the next round. First of all, we really need to get to know who’s in the group.
You’ve mentioned the fans, has it been hard playing without supporters in the stadium?
Karavaev: I have mixed feelings. Because you’re playing an official league match, but the atmosphere feels like a friendly. It is strange and a bit uncomfortable.
Vyacheslav, where is the football tougher Russia or Holland?
Karavaev: We still have tougher football.
Can you compare the Dutch league to the Russian Premier League, is Russia more defensive?
Karavaev: I think yes. If you look at the results in the Dutch championship, you see scores like 5-3 score or something like that. So,I can definitely say that Russian football is more defensive.
When you first played football as a child. Which player did you have on the back of your shirt?
Mostovoy: I always wanted to be Carvalho, who played for CSKA and wore number 7, but my mum brought me Olić who wore 9. So I wore this number for almost the whole time I was at the academy.
Karavaev: I can't really remember my early childhood. At school I had a Portugal shirt with Cristiano Ronaldo on the back, it was beautiful.
Who was your favourite player as a kid?
Mostovoy: I'll say two: Henry and Brazilian Ronaldo. I loved watching them.
Karavaev: My first hero was Zidane, I was always watching videos of him. Later when I started to focus on my position, Philippe Lahm.
If you had the opportunity to go back in time and swap shirts with one player, who would it be?
Karavaev: Maradona.
Mostovoy: Alexander Mostovoy!
Have you ever met him?
Mostovoy: Never in the flesh, but we once spoke on video link on Match TV when he was in the studio. So we’ve sort of met.
On a scale of ten, how bored are you with questions asking if you’re related to him?
Mostovoy: Not really. You can just go online and understand that I am not his son.
Dejan Lovren has said that he will learn Russian. You see him every day. How is his Russian coming along?
Karavaev: He does try and some words in Russian and Croatian are very similar.
Mostovoy: Yes, Croats, Bosnians and Serbs can easily learn Russian.
Karavaev: We generally speak English. But Dejan can already say some Russian words, especially those we need on the pitch, but most of the time he speaks English.
Andrey, tell us how you felt about your goal against Arsenal Tula.
Mostovoy: I felt overwhelmed as I saw that the ball hit the back of the net, It was like a storm of emotions! I felt so much inside but outwardly didn’t show it too much.
Vyacheslav, what about you after your wonder goal for Russia?
Karavaev: A lot of people wrote to me both personally and in the comments on Instagram. But I am calm about goals, even though I don’t score many. After the game, I went to bed and tried to sleep, but couldn’t as usual.
Vyacheslav, you’ve played abroad. What advice can you give to Alexey Miranchuk?
Karavaev: If in everyday life, communicate with your teammates as much as possible and don’t be shy. It's not easy at first and when I arrived in the Czech Republic it was hard for me as I didn't know the language. I think Miranchuk speaks English, but for me I found it hard to express myself and my teammates would not understand me. You just have to communicate and not be afraid, ask if you don’t understand. When everything is good in everyday life, it will be good out on the pitch.
Andrey, why did you choose number 17?
Mostovoy: It just happened. When I went to Sochi a year ago there were some available numbers and I took it, everything went well and so, when I returned to Zenit, Shatov had just left, and the number was available so I decided to take it.
What does your wife or girlfriend do?
Karavaev: My wife is a film screenwriter. It is not an easy profession and she writes and reads a lot. Everything is very complicated. We are looking to find someone to help promote her scripts.
Mostovoy: We’ve just moved so she’s searching for something at the moment.
Vyacheslav, you played with Martin Ødegaard, how good is he and what are his prospects at Real Madrid?
Karavaev: He is a talented player, his left foot is amazing. As for his prospects, he has everything to start playing at Real Madrid. He will have to work as hard as all the other players.
If you weren’t a footballer, what would you be doing?
Karavaev: Ice hockey player, I like that a lot. That or Formula 1.
Mostovoy: The same for me. I was born in Omsk and my parents first thought about getting me interested in ice hockey, but then we moved to Moscow. I also always watch Formula 1.
What a coincidence! Have you ever seen F1 live?
Mostovoy: I was in Sochi when the Formula 1 race was taking place stage, but we had a match first so I had to forget about it, I was sad to have missed it.
Karavaev: I’ve seen F1 practice in Dubai, I don't even remember how I got there, but I would like to visit an official race.
Are you following a strict quarantine, or have things become softer?
Karavaev: I am, It is impossible to stay at home and not go out at all and some things have to be done, like going to the shops or taking your pet to the vets…everyday issues. Of course, I try to keep this to a minimum and only go out in case of urgent need. I wear a mask and gloves in public places and take antiseptic hand wash with me. We take this very seriously because you can infect the whole team and not only yourself.
Which country will you visit first after the borders open?
Karavaev:I would like to go to Holland. I’ve had good times there, it would be great to fly there again.
Mostovoy: I have a dream to visit the USA. Not any particular city, but to travel all over America for a month.
