St. Petersburg Zenit continues to prepare for the second part of the RPL season, where it is in second place, just a little behind Krasnodar. Despite the small difference in points, the club from the banks of the Neva still risks interrupting its hegemony in the form of five victories in a row in the Russian championship. Meanwhile, the composition of the St. Petersburg team continues to be updated. Right during the second training camp and exhibition tournament of the Equality Cup in Qatar, midfielder Alexey Sutormin left the blue-white-blue team, going on loan to Sochi. Earlier, Zenit defender Dmitry Chistyakov moved there. Another leading player of the team in the recent past, midfielder Danil Krugovoy, is at the location of the blue-white-blue farm club Zenit-2 – in January he signed a contract with CSKA, for which he will play in the summer. Of the iconic Russian football players who do not have regular playing practice, only midfielder Andrei Mostovoy remains in St. Petersburg for now.
In an interview with Izvestia, the footballer shared his impressions of the ongoing training camp, spoke about Krugovoy’s impending departure, commented on the game of the team’s newcomer Pedro and assessed the situation in the team in the conditions of the dominance of Brazilian players, of whom there are now eight.
— How would you assess Zenit’s readiness for the spring part of the season?
— The training camp is going well. The first gathering was retractable. And in the second, the first five days turned out to be difficult. But there are still games where you have to play for 90 minutes. I think this will be the most difficult. More precisely, it’s not that difficult, but rather a load with pleasure.
— You played your last test match against Al-Rayyan at the Ahmed bin Ali stadium, one of the arenas for the 2022 World Cup. There was no thought that you could have been there as part of the national team if the play-offs had been two years took place back and Russia won them?
– Yes, yes, it was like that. It would be cool if they played for the national team there, if there was a full stadium, like at the World Cup. But… How many times have I already said: “What we have, we have.” (Smiles.) If only, if only, in general…
— Do you now follow your competitors and their matches at the training camp?
– Yes, I looked at it in passing. But I can’t say that I closely follow and watch them – this, of course, is not the case.
— Do you correspond with Danil Krugov?
– Not really. To be honest, I wouldn’t say that I’m directly in touch with him. Of course, everyone talked to him and wished him good luck when he was still on our team, but we already guessed that Krug was apparently leaving. Well, what can I say… His decision is not worth arguing with him. He wanted to play more and get match practice, so he moved to CSKA. I don't blame him for this in any way.
— Will he have problems with playing practice now if he has to play in the second league for Zenit-2 before the summer transfer to CSKA?
“I don’t think this will change him in any way in terms of professionalism.” And it is unlikely that the opinion of him will somehow change in CSKA or anywhere else in Russia. Everyone knows his qualities, that he is a very good football player. I think he won’t lose anything in terms of gameplay. And perhaps he will also help us if we need his help. (Smiles.)
— There weren’t very many Russian footballers in Zenit’s main team anyway. Now Krugovoy at Zenit-2 is preparing to move to CSKA, Chistyakov and Sutormin to Sochi. Isn't it time for you to learn Portuguese?
– Well, yes. (Smiles.) It seems that we have more Portuguese-speaking players than Russian ones. But as it is. Our club has moved into this area – targeting Portuguese-speaking, Brazilian football players. We do not choose and we do not decide how to assemble the team. Our job is to prove in training and in games that we can be useful to the club and help it win.
— Do you already know many Portuguese words?
– Not really. I know the bad words in their language. (Laughs.) Well, a little censorship, of course, but not that much.
— How do you like the team’s newcomer Pedro, who at the age of 18 is already actively scoring goals for Zenit at training camp?
– A good player, like other Brazilian newcomers – Nino and Arthur. Selection works well for the club. Judging by the results of the matches with their participation at the training camp, the players are of a very high level.
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