Congratulations on your debut, scoring two and you Man of the Match award, bravo! How do you feel now?
I’m incredibly happy, but mainly because the team won. We worked hard and had a lot of possession. I’m happy for myself personally of course, I’ve made my debut and scored twice. It was very important to get three points today and return to the top spot.
You’ve been at Zenit for less than a week and have only had a couple of training sessions with your new teammates, yet you’ve scored two goals. How is that possible?
The guys from South America have helped me a lot and everything is easier with them here. They’ve been patient with me, and I can ask them about everything. I’m trying to adapt as quickly as possible, do what the manager instructs and I am trying to understand how the team plays and help the team get wins. Things have happened very quickly, and I’m enjoying it. St. Petersburg is a very beautiful city, Zenit are a great club with an incredible stadium.
When you were told you were starting, did you expect things to go so well?
That’s why I train and try to stay focused on my role all the time. My family are supporting me and I’m trying to get used to everything here as soon as possible, to help the team and get good results. It all happened today, I scored goals and worked hard.
What instructions did the manager give you personally before the game?
He said that I should play calmly, be myself, and then everything would work out. I felt very calm, and I felt the trust of both the manager and my teammates.
What are your first impressions of Russian football?
It’s a very competitive league and although we played very well today, and were better than the opposition, it was difficult to score our chances. Matches like these become more difficult if you can’t score, but, we had a lot of attacks and in the end we were able to take some of the chances we had.
Whom would you dedicate your first Zenit goals to?
To my beloved girlfriend, who has come here with me, to my family, my friends and everyone in my home town of Rufino, who have always supported me. This is a very cool first game and I want to continue the same way. There is still a lot of work ahead of us and I want to play even better. I think I am on the right track.