Sergey Karasev: "Xavi warned us before the game that this would be far from an easy walk"

Blue-whites captain Sergey Karasev shared his thoughts in an interview with Zenit TV following their victory over Enisey (83:76) in the 30th round of the VTB United League. The match was a milestone for the forward in the Zenit jersey. We discussed the fans' congratulations, future goals and the upcoming away game.

— Sergey, congratulations on the victory! You’ve long been the club's record holder for the number of games played, and today marks another milestone — your 300th game. Can you believe it?

— It’s hard to believe, really. It’s a big number. A huge thank you to the fan sector and the supporters for their congratulations — I heard them during and after the game. It’s really nice. So, for now, it still doesn’t feel real. But we need to keep going, keep playing, keep making the fans happy, and contributing to the team. That’s what we’re going to work on.

— Do you remember your very first match in a Zenit jersey?

— Hmm… Honestly, I don’t. Was it at home? No? An away game…

— Can you name the year?

— Two thousand… Sixteen!

— Yes, October 9, 2016, against Tsmoki-Minsk.

— Oh, Tsmoki, right. The game was at Falcon, in the small hall. I remember now, yeah.

— You scored 18 points in that game. Sergey, you're not only Zenit’s all-time leader in games played but also in points, rebounds and steals. You've won all possible trophies with the club. What goals do you set for yourself now?

— Every year, the only goal is to try and win every game. But I really want to bring the Belov Cup back to St. Petersburg. That’s our main objective — to win, make the fans happy, and contribute to the team. We’ll see how things go, but Zenit always aims for the highest goals. We don’t even have any other thoughts.

— Our fan sector has a great tradition of celebrating milestones. What did they give you today?

— The gift was me on a tractor. Pretty funny — I liked it, a cool story. It’s always nice when people remember, when they congratulate you. I’ve known these guys since 2016, we get along really well. Big thanks to them for their constant support. You always feel it, both at home and on the road. So, a huge thank you to them.

— A bit about today's game. Why was the match against Enisey so intense?

— Honestly, Xavi warned us before the game that this would be far from an easy walk. And we knew it ourselves. Whenever you beat a strong team before, you put a lot of emotions into it. We spent a lot of physical and emotional energy, and we lacked proper focus. It’s not that we weren’t mentally prepared, but we probably didn’t have the energy level we should’ve had. Maybe there’s an explanation for it, but we shouldn’t be playing like that. Still, a win is a win. Xavi told us that the most important thing was to get the one point. Everything else doesn’t matter, because we have two very tough games ahead and a battle for the top spot before a short break.

— You just mentioned those tough games. There’s an away match in Perm. The Perm team played well against UNICS. What do you expect from that game?

— Really tough games. First of all, they have amazing fans, and they play really well at home with their support. They’re a well-coordinated, aggressive team, and they play with great intensity. For them, games against the top four teams are something special. For them, for their fans, and for the city. They showed that today against UNICS. I think it’ll be the same story against us. They’ll be fully motivated. Now, we need to properly recover, prepare emotionally and physically, go out there, fight with full dedication and get ready for a tough battle.