Former midfielder of CSKA Evgeny Aldonin did not confirm the rumors about the problems of the former striker of the army, Jo, with alcohol.

On Monday it became known that Jo ended his professional playing career.

– What kind of football player do you remember Jo?

– One of the most extraordinary in attack. From the training camp and from the first official game, it was clear that he was a very interesting player, he could play on the edge, play along, hit with both left and right. And yes, he had a great career. After CSKA he moved to Manchester City. Yes, maybe he didn’t prove himself there to the end, but then he went a long way in football, while playing in the Brazilian national team.

– And what can be said about Jo as a person – did he communicate exclusively with Brazilians or was he open to all teammates?

– To a greater extent, Jo communicated with the Brazilians. Naturally, because there were 4-5 compatriots, but at the same time, Jo and the rest of the Brazilians were open to everyone. When the whole team got together, they were no exception and always supported.

You can’t avoid comparison with Wagner. In what was Love stronger, and in what was Jo?

– They are very different. Wagner in terms of playing with his back, the ability to close the ball with his body is much stronger, but in terms of moving forward at speed, here Jo was better with his long legs. When Wagner became more experienced, I was always amazed at how he felt the game episodes and how he assisted the same Seyd Doumbia or other attacking players. That was great. Jo was initially considered rather not at the cutting edge, but in the top three, but from the first matches he began to realize chances and score in the most important matches. I remember many of his goals against Spartak, thanks to which we won trophies.

– Evgeny Valerievich, would you agree that Jo is one of the top four CSKA strikers in the 21st century, along with Wagner, Olic and Doumbia?

— Probably, yes.

– There is an opinion that Jo from this four is the best in terms of his ability to make a goal out of nothing. What do you think about it?

– In combination with the successes of Wagner Love, it is difficult to compare Jo, because he played little, and at the same time very brightly, but the interest from Manchester City speaks volumes. Although it was not yet the same City with stars and big money from the sheikhs, nevertheless, a very strong team was already forming there. The fact that Jo looked very bright is a fact, but in aggregate I will vote in favor of Wagner.

– It’s no secret that before the sale to Manchester City, Jo had problems with alcohol, but thanks to the closeness and managerial wisdom, CSKA got 24 million euros for the Brazilian. You have been watching this from the sidelines. How did the team react to Jo’s problems with the regime?

– Listen to say that Jo had a problem with alcohol – no, I did not see it. It is clear that in the future different stories are born. The Brazilians could have fun, joke around. Probably, already before leaving for City, it was clear that Jo turned on the gouging, but in no way did this affect his capabilities. In Manchester, I think, he did not understand where he was, and only after returning to Brazil, he successfully married for himself, became very devout, and this brought him back to earth, which allowed him to reach a decent level again, return to the national team, play at the World Cup -2014. For the same Brazil that lost to Germany 1:7, but Jo was there and even started. In terms of playing qualities, there was no doubt that Jo was a player with a capital letter, Aldonin told Metaratings.ru.

Jo played for CSKA from 2006 to 2008, played in 77 meetings and scored 44 goals.

On Tuesday, CSKA will play the return match with Krasnodar as part of the ¼ finals of the FONBET RPL Path of the Russian Cup.

Watch the meeting in Krasnodar from 19:25 (Moscow time) on the federal channels “Match TV” and MATCH PREMIER, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru. The first game ended with the victory of CSKA – 3:0.