Dmitry Vasiliev was playing at the beginning of the season and looked good, but after his injury he’s not played much. What can you say about his current form and can we expect to see him playing soon?
He is a team player like everyone else and is in good shape, he just needs to wait for his chance and fight for a place in the starting lineup. He will have opportunities as we have a packed fixture list.
Everyone was impressed by Pedro’s performance against Spartak. Will he do something similar on Sunday?
Everyone has a chance to play and we are watching everyone who is preparing for the game. We’ll see how quickly Pedro can recover from the midweek game, so these are factors that will determine if he starts or not.
Talking about Baltika, former Zenit player Danila Kozlov is there and playing well. Can you comment on his performances at his new club?
Danila is an excellent player and very talented. He came with us to the winter training camp and did well, but we wanted him to progress even more and play more, so he was given the chance to join Baltika, and he looks good there. This has been a good chance for him and was what he needed. He has shown a very good attitude, desire, and his quality. I hope he continues to play like this.
Does your Zenit team need a very strong opponent to play at its best? We saw the second half performance against Spartak, but will we see similar against 15th place Baltika?
Everyone has good games and bad ones. Every club, European or Russian, no matter what everyone has good and bad matches, or good and bad halves. We have no illusions regarding Baltika, we have already played them three times this season, twice in the Cup and once in the league. So we know all about the level of the team, they’re quite good, well organized, and play attacking football, they’re also dangerous at set pieces. I think we all know a very tough match is ahead of us.
Andrei Mostovoy was injured in the match with Spartak, how is he now and will he be able to play against Baltika?
We have a small amount of players with minor injuries or not feeling at their best. We’ll see them train today and make a decision tomorrow, and this includes Andrey Mostovoy. Mario Fernandes is definitely out and we’ll have more information on him soon.
Zenit will donate all money from ticket sales to victims of the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Moscow. How do you feel about this?
I don’t think this is anything unusual, and it’s the right thing to do. Helping and doing something good is right and this is what people or a club should do in the situation we find ourselves in.
Do you have any thoughts on the Russian players who are playing abroad, Miranchuk, Zakharyan, Golovin and Kuzyaev? Is it good experience for these players or is it better to stay in Russia?
That’s an interesting question. Firstly, you need some interest from somewhere, secondly, to get the move abroad, you need to try to win something here first. All professional players sets themselves challenges, for some it’s a place in the starting lineup, for others, it is to win the league or be the best player. Players need to progress and go forward. If you don't play or haven't won anything, or aren’t making the starting lineup, then you won’t get the move abroad, that’s an incentive here for a player to develop.
Daler Kuzyaev, Golovin, Miranchuk and Zakharyan have decided get that experience abroad and that’s good for them as players. I definitely don't quite understand players deperate to leave, everything needs to be done with thought and consistency, there should be a reason why you are doing it.
