Zenit St Petersburg’s Axel Witsel has hit out at Spartak Moscow coach Valery Karpin’s criticism over their big money signings.
Vote for Hulk in the 2012 Samba Gold Trophy
Witsel and Hulk moved to Zenit in the summer for a combined fee of €100m and the Belgian insists that the comments were unnecessary.
“I understand that Karpin has his opinion on this matter and I cannot think like him. But, in my opinion, Hulk is one of the best players I have ever played with and he proved his worth on the field. And the 4-2 score speaks more than anything.”
The midfielder also admitted that he was concerned with his own form in recent weeks after scoring in the win over Spartak.
“To be honest, I was anxiously waiting for my first goal at Zenit ever since I have signed a contract here.
“And now I am very happy to score in an important game against Spartak. I also failed to score in as much as six games after moving to the Portuguese club.”
Hulk is one of the 30 nominees for the 2012 Samba Gold Trophy, which is award to the best performing Brazilian currently playing in Europe.
