Karpin perceived me as a son. There were no problems at Spartak” – Emenike

Former Spartak striker Emmanuel Emenike spoke about jokes from the team’s ex-head coach Valery Karpin, and also stated that the specialist perceived him as a son.

Emenike played for the Moscow club from 2011 to 2013.

— The toughest joke from Karpin?

— When I didn’t score, he constantly joked with me. And at the next training session he encouraged: “Keep going, Ema. You’re the coolest!”

“I thought you’d remember how the coach called you chocolate?”

– Yes, it was Karpin, ha-ha! That’s what he called me and Ari.

– Is this a good joke?

– Definitely not something bad. On the contrary, Karpin’s warm attitude towards me showed. Fun, atypical banter. I took it with humor.

— Valery Karpin in a nutshell?

– Good man. He helped me become a better person and was generally like a father to me.

– It sounds loud.

– Yes, and Karpin perceived me as a son. That’s why I didn’t have any problems at Spartak, although Karpin established strict discipline. The coach, for example, saw how I was losing muscle mass, but did not punish me in any way. Karpin was always on my side,” Sport24 quotes Emenike as saying.

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