When Oleksandr Zinchenko arrived at Philip Stadion for his pre-match press conference on Monday night, he was greeted with a headshot from his PSV days.
Our flying full-back spent the 2016/17 season on loan at PSV from Manchester City, helping the club to a third place finish in the Eredivisie.
“Well, first of all, that was amazing experience for me,” he told the press who were gathered at the stadium. “A very important year in terms of my career.
“Even if you look at it on paper, I didn't play much or I didn't get what I really wanted before I joined PSV but honestly, I wouldn't have traded this experience for anything else because whenever people asked me about PSV, I always used to say good words because the place here is absolutely fantastic in terms of everything.
“Football wise and living life because even since I left PSV, I used to come here a couple of times for holidays, because I have a few friends here as well.
“And for such a young player, like I was at that time, it's an amazing place. Always a full stadium, the fans, they always love football. Whenever they meet you, they are always happy to see you. I think this is the most important thing for every football player.”
Asked about his time playing alongside PSV legend Luuk de Jong, Oleksandr said: “Luuk is an amazing professional, honestly. I would say one of the best players playing with his head.
“I used to call him, it was a bit of a joke but in a good way. I respect him so much and he's my friend. But I used to laugh with him that when you go one v one with the keeper and he's close to you, to give him the ball for the empty net, it's always better to chip for his head because the way he plays with his head is absolutely amazing.”
To read every word of his press conference, click here.
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