#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. In the 11th round of the Russian Championship, Brazilian legionnaire Alex Filipe Santos Aparecido (Alex) made his debut in Norilsk Nickel FC, having moved to the camp of the northerners from Portuguese Sporting, in which he won the UEFA Cup. During his career, the 27-year-old striker managed to play in his native Brazil, as well as in Spain, where he defended the colors of one of the strongest clubs in the championship – Movistar Inter.
Alex shared his impressions of the debut matches, in which the Norilsk residents at home hosted the Yekaterinburg Sinara. According to the Brazilian, he flew to Norilsk just a few hours before the start of the game, so it was a little hard for him. He also commented on the first “productive” action in the new club – the earned yellow card, due to which the Norilsk people conceded a goal from the penalty spot.
“Due to various circumstances, I could not fully train right before the tour. Therefore, I was not in the best shape. As for that moment with the violation of the rules in our penalty area, in my opinion, there was no foul or penalty. Nevertheless, the referee put it, and they scored a goal for us. I think we shouldn’t dwell on this, we should forget and move on”, Alex said.
Speaking about the differences between the championships of Russia and Portugal, where he, by the way, playing for Lisbon Sporting, became the owner of the UEFA Cup, the Brazilian stressed that there is difference between them of course:
“I would like to note that in the Russian Super League the playing manner is more forceful. Athletes are required to be in good physical condition to meet this level. In addition, there are well-known differences – the format of the event. The half time here is 25 minutes, and there are two games on the round two days in a row. Moreover, the Russian championship is more competitive than the Portuguese one. In Russia, any opponent is not easy, a victory takes a lot of effort. I can say with confidence: playing in Russia is much more difficult than in Portugal”.
We would like to add that now the Norilsk Nickel FC is in the fifth place in the tournament table with 30 points. In the next round, on February 6 and 7, the Norilsk players will face Tyumen at their home field.
