Congratulations on wining the first game after the summer break, how was it?
Overall, not bad, of course, there were some errors out there, but we had chances and I think we scored some good goals and deserved the win. There is still work to do and we will now prepare for the next game. .
Having been on loan at Sochi, did you advise your teammates about them?
No, the coaching staff did the analyzing work, and I played my game. Sochi also have quite a lot of new players.
Coming back from loan, did it take you long to get used to things at Zenit?
No, I was at the training camp for a month and a half in the winter and things haven’t changed. There are some new faces, but we understand each other. I’m not fully there yet, but there is still enough time before the season starts.
When will you be in optimal shape do you think?
I think after the third game, so there’s enough time, another week and I hope we will be ready by then. Some will play more in the next game and we’ll gradually reach peak fitness.
Two assists. How would you rate your own performance today?
Sasha Erokhin will always get his foot or his head to a cross, and Mantuan also scored a good goal today, but the game was going well before that. Mostovoy and Cassierra both scored too and took their chances well.
Zenit have played Sochi and Crvena Zvezda many times. Ahead is the game Argentina’s Talleres and this will be a first game between the two clubs. Is it interesting to play against a team from Argentina?
Yes of course! They are top of the league in Argentina, so it will be interesting. I hope they will play their best starting XI and then it will be an interesting test for us. It is very nice that they accepted the invitation to this tournament. Both the supporters and the players we are very pleased about this. I hope tournament’s like this will become an annual thing.