Zenit football players / Photo: © FC Zenit
Zenit striker Alexander Sobolev assessed the first days of the training camp in Qatar, as well as his goal at evening training.
The Zenit training camp in Qatar runs from January 15 to 26. Zenit is in second place in the MIR RPL standings after 18 rounds, gaining 39 points.
— During the evening training session you scored the first goal at the training camp. How did you and the team react to this?
– Yes, we don’t relate to it at all. Normal training, normal preparation. It is clear that even in such games you want to win and score, everyone’s emotions are off the charts. In general, we are working as usual.
— How do you feel after two full days at the training camp?
— The first two or three days always feel the easiest, because fatigue has not yet accumulated, everyone is cheerful. But another two or three days, and the mood will be completely different, it won’t be easy. It’s clear that the work is hard, but we’re just not tired yet.
— It seems that the morning running test in masks was quite difficult.
“It’s always hard, because you work at your maximum and run until you fall. There’s nothing to add here.
— What are you doing now in evening training regarding the feeling of the ball, the feeling of your partners?
— We’re still getting used to it. It is clear that there was work during the holidays – it is clear that all the guys were working. This morning test even shows where we ran with masks. Everything is in working mode. We’re working!
— You said about vacation. How productive was it?
— I had a normal vacation. We had a little one, so it’s calm: at first he was in St. Petersburg almost until the end of the year, because the eldest child is studying at school, and then he went to Moscow for the New Year. And, of course, I have been working since December 26,” the Match TV correspondent reports Sobolev’s words.
Zenit will take part in the WINLINE RPL Winter Cup 2026 from February 3 to 10 in Abu Dhabi. Live broadcasts of all matches of the tournament will be available on the Match TV and MATCH PREMIER TV channels.