Parekha: “In Russia, Karpin is a legend. At Spartak, we spoke the same language on and off the pitch.”

Former Spartak defender Nicolas Pareja said that he was pleased to work with coach Valery Karpin in the Moscow team.

Parekha and Karpin worked together at Spartak from 2012 to 2014. The 54-year-old coach now heads the Russian national team and Rostov.

– What can you say about working with Karpin?

“It was a pleasure to work with him. We spoke the same language off the field and on the field. He loves good football and loves perseverance. I think he saw it in me, and I tried to repay with a confident game. Everything was great with him.

Is there any funny story connected with him?

— No, nothing like that. Maybe he played square with us – we ourselves asked for it. He had already graduated at that point, of course, but he still played football well. He was often in the square with me and looked great.

– Is Karpin the best Russian coach?

– He is now the coach of the national team, I am very happy for him. In Russia, he is definitely a legend. It’s good that the team is led by a person who played at a high level, – Sport24 quotes Pareja.

Now Pareja is participating in the Legends Cup tournament as part of the Latin American team, which will end in Moscow on February 12.

Watch live broadcasts of the Legends Cup matches on the Match TV federal channel and the thematic channels of the holding, as well as on matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.

• Pareja on the Legends Cup: “In the Latin American team, everyone has excellent technical data, but over the years the shape goes away”