Rodrigão, what can you say about the Cup win against Spartak?
“I think we played well, we were creating chances and most importantly didn’t let the opponent score. Unfortunately we weren’t able to score either, but we claimed this win in the penalty shootout. I’m very happy about it because we feel the need to leave the pitch as winners after every match. I’m also happy that I was able to come back to the starting team and play for the whole 90 minutes after recovering from my injury.”
At the end of the match there was a big fight between the teams, with players getting sent off, how did it all look from your perspective?
“Unfortunately sometimes such things happen in football. Closer to the final whistle everyone was on edge because they kept provoking us, it seemed like they were looking for the opportunity to start exactly what happened in the end. It was just an argument, and I stood up for one of my teammates, the other players ran up too and the fight started.
I’m not proud of what happened at all, I don’t like the fact that it happened in front of everyone who looks up to us and considers us role models. Though I’ll say it again, the feelings are always strong at the pitch, and sometimes they can overpower us.”
Would it have been possible to avoid this?
“We as Zenit players get on the pitch to play football, to represent St. Petersburg and our fans. Today we were doing that since the start so people at the stadium could enjoy good football. Unfortunately our opponents came here to provoke us and get the result they needed instead of playing football. Obviously we could have avoided what happened if they weren’t provoking us in front of our loved ones, at our home. It was difficult to endure all this and stay calm, at some point we had to defend our honour as men. Though everything has already happened, so we have to leave it in the past and move forward.”
What did you say to Ivan Quaresma who was the heroe of the match?
“Ivan is a very hardworking guy, you can ask anyone at Zenit, everyone knows how much effort he puts into the games to prove that he’s capable of a lot. He is always ready for any difficult situations and he demonstrated that today by showing his potential and strength. It’s hard to overestimate his help for the team, and I want to thank him.
