Jesus Medina: My mentality is to work hard, play well and win

— Jesus, welcome to PFC CSKA and Campoamor! What do you feel about the transfer to the club?
— I am happy. I have always dreamed of playing in Europe, and now the dream has come true. This is a huge step forward in my career. PFC CSKA has given me such an opportunity, and I am really looking forward to the moment when I will enter the field of the home stadium for the first time in a red-blue T-shirt. But now all my thoughts are about joining the team, getting to know the guys better. I have already greeted everyone, I was very warmly welcomed, the mood is wonderful.

— Your contract with the previous club expired, and you came to us as a free agent. Have you managed to keep in shape these weeks?
— I played the last match on December 11, we won the MLS championship title with New York City. Then I returned to Paraguay for Christmas and New Year, and after that I started training with a fitness coach in the national team. We had a group of four or five people, we trained together.

— Who from PFC CSKA did you know before joining us?
— Igor Akinfeev and Mario Fernandes. I watched the 2018 World Cup matches, his save in the match against Spain, and other moments. I've also heard about Bruno Fuchs.

— Tell us about your strengths.
— I played right winger more often in the last year, before that the attacking playmaker. Perhaps I feel more comfortable on the edge of the field, I can move to the center and shoot, or vice versa, go to the wing, pass. I feel the space in this position better. The left leg is strong, but the right one is also good. I improved my right leg playing as a winger because I constantly used it.

— What do you know about Russian football, how did you make the decision about transfer?
— I talked to Balbuena from Dynamo Moscow, I know him from the national team and from Libertad, for which we played in Paraguay. Fabian said that football in Russia is more contact, intense, the players are physically strong. But I have never avoided contact football, I am ready for it, I want to prove myself, I am going to give my best, work hard.



— So far, you communicate most with Mario and Bruno. But now we speak English, it is absolutely not a problem for you, so you will get along with the others quickly?
— I managed to learn the language in four years in New York, now people really understand me (smiles). Portuguese and Spanish are similar, so for now it is easiest to communicate with the two of them.

— Have you already reminded them how Paraguay beat Brazil twice on penalties in the Copa America?
— It happened in 2011 and 2015. Great idea, I will go and remind them right now (laughs).

— Paraguayans have already played in the Russian championship, including against our captain Igor Akinfeev, Berezutskiy brothers, and other Army men players. Which of these compatriots do you know besides Balbuena?
— Personally — Alonso from Krasnodar, Ceballos, Valdes (played for Krylia Sovetov and Rubin respectively. - Ed.). I have heard about Bareiro, Barrios, Melgarejo.

— But you are the first Paraguayan in PFC CSKA history. Is this an extra responsibility?
— In a good way, yes. I got into a big team and I want to be remembered here as a football player from Paraguay from the best side. I set myself serious tasks in my career, and now the main thing is to prove myself well at a new level. If I succeed — the next Paraguayans will already be seen at the club with the knowledge that they know how to play football in my country.

— Almost all foreign players promise to learn Russian, but few people are making serious progress in this. What do you say about yourself?
— I played in the USA and learned English. Now I will play in Russia and learn Russian. You have to have at least a little command of the local language in every new country. But I have an additional incentive. My girlfriend's mom and grandparents are from Ukraine, they speak Russian or Ukrainian, I haven't really understood yet, but I know that these languages are also close. My girlfriend does not speak Russian, she was born in Paraguay, where her ancestors moved. But now we are going to live in Moscow, this is a very intriguing story for her, and slowly we are really going to learn the language at least a little bit in order to communicate with people.

— You found a girl with Slavic roots, and at one time a fan from Paraguay was very popular in Russia…
— Larissa Riquelme (smiles). Yes, she became famous after the 2010 World Cup, where she shone, as did our national team. Everyone remembers her from those photos with the phone. And the national team lost only to Spain in the quarterfinals, although it could have won — Casillas saved a penalty from Oscar Cardoso…

— ... and the winning goal was scored by David Villa, with whom you later played for New York City.
— Yes, that's right (smiles). It was a great honor for me to play with him.

— You became a champion in both of your teams at the adult level. Does it mean something about the future?
— My mentality is to work hard, play well and win. I love important matches where something is decided. Of course, it is a great feeling to win trophies. And that's my goal in every team I play for.



Roman Lyakhovenko