Diego Tardelli: I have been told that in Russia football is played in some ‘snow houses’

Anzhi Makhachkala attacker Diego Tardelli has spoken about his life in Russia, about local stadiums and his teammate Roberto Carlos.

«It seems to me that all the teams in the Russian league are more or less equal. However, some clubs have very good players. For example, the eighth number of Spartak Moscow who plays on the right flank [Aiden McGeady – Sports.ru]. He’s a very fast and skilled guy. To me he seems like a Brazilian who is just concealing it,» said Tardelli according to Sport-Express.

Speaking about his life in the new country, Tardelli said he was not quite surprised by anything except the fact he is playing together with Roberto Carlos. «Nothing special has happened to me during the time that I have been living in Russia. Ah yes, there is something! Roberto Carlos. We are playing together in Russia! That’s indbelievable! By the way he has an excellent sense of humor. Every time I have the slightest serious look on my face, Roberto makes out a new joke. He is a really fantastic man.»

«I have been told that the stadiums in Russia are awful, that snow lies here right beside the pitch – and sometimes even on the pitch. They told me these are not stadiums, but rather some ‘snow houses’ and the grass is of such quality that you’d better keep the ball high. However, not all of these have turned out to be true. Yes, in Brazil we all got used to excellent grass. But here in Russia many things are also being improved. The progress is clearly visible. For example, the stadium, where we played against Dynamo Moscow [Arena Khimki – Sports.ru] was very nice.»