Premier League - Pavlyuchenko sick of English food

Eurosport - Tue, 17 Feb 10:32:00 2009

Tottenham Hotspur's Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has launched a stinging attack on England's food and women.

2008-2009 Tottenham Hotspur Roman Pavlyuchenko - 0

The 27-year-old, who has made a lukewarm start to his career at White Hart Lane following a £14 million summer switch from Spartak Moscow, said he had to get his wife to cook his favourite Russian dishes.

"I don't like English dishes. At the Spurs training ground, the food is modest. All they have there is a simple canteen," he said.

"At the Spartak training camp, near Moscow, the choice and quality is better. But since my wife Larisa joined me in London it's not a problem for me any more.

"She is a good cook and now I eat at home. I'm back to my favourite borsch and vareniki - dumplings stuffed with cottage cheese - and from this point of view I now feel as if I never moved countries."

In January 2008, then-Tottenham fitness coach Marcos Alvarez criticised food at the club when he arrived with former manager Juande Ramos, saying he had changed it for the better.

Alvarez said: "It was mostly English food and it wasn't healthy. We needed to change the diet because food is very important, it is the fuel for the players.

"To eat healthy means there is no fried food, fatty food, no sauce on the dishes. Now there are salads and fruit, while fish and meat is grilled rather than fried."

Pavlyuchenko continued his assault on his new home when asked whether Russia or England had the better-looking women, replying: "Russia, of course - there can't be any comparison."

The striker, who has 12 goals this season - nine in cup competitions - also said he was baffled at English attempts to pronounce his name.

"I hear how all the English football commentators pronounce my last name - but I can't even reproduce it," he said. "It sounds so distorted. I can't even say it."

Alex Chick / Eurosport

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  1. He works here and pays his tax so the fat british women­ can have 10 babies all different colour and go to the­ post office every week to collect the benefits. What a­ joy!!!!

    From Michael, on Sun 31 May 11:39AM
  2. He does NOT have to eat the food served at Tottenham­ canteen.There are in London all kinds of restaurants­ that meet every ethnic taste. He can eat out or order­ in. I doubt if Russian food ranks any higher than ­ English food anyway !!

    From Tim, on Wed 18 Feb 6:44PM
  3. he is a bushman.....anyone should cope anywhere in the­ world

    yes,russian women are prettier

    From nevawalkalone100, on Wed 18 Feb 6:35PM
  4. There nothing wrong with english food. Give me a fry up­ for breakfast, a ploughmans for lunch and a roast for­ dinner, everyday for the rest of my life and I would­ die a fit, healthy, happy man.

    From soapy_1, on Wed 18 Feb 4:14PM
  5. send him back wat a sap fried food do me a favour spurs­ wont be dishin up rubbish he just throwin his dummy­ out the pram there are russian places to eat in london­ and i am sure they can cater for him anyway why­ shouldnt his wife cook for him while his very well­ paided shame he aint that good wat a donught i will eat­ russian food for the same wage he is on and i wont­ moan lets have him gone

    From ANDREW W, on Wed 18 Feb 3:54PM
  6. hmmm...since curry is now one of our main dishes... i­ love it..
    I cant stand russian food...dumplings and­ cheese..LOL...ill pass..
    Ques - What would you­ like?
    Ans - I would like to have chicken curry and rice­ to go out...

    HOW ABOUT DUMPLINGS?
    Ill pass

    From Unknown U, on Wed 18 Feb 3:47PM
  7. If he doesn't like it here then why doesn't he­ go back home? I suspect the excessive wages he is being­ paid might be preventing him from doing so.

    From IAN G, on Wed 18 Feb 2:13PM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    for the information of the guys who think that pigs are­ the cleanest animals on a farm - Pigs root, live &­ sleep in their own faeces! Also, the reason why people­ love pig meat is because of how tender it is - the­ exact same reasons why viruses, diseases &­ parasites find the pig meet appealing to live in!
    Pig­ meat is a haven for parasitic creatures which can pass­ into the human system if eaten. Plus, the fact that­ most people like their pig meat undercooked means that­ most of these parasitic creatures & viral diseases­ survive the cooking process & pass directly into­ the human body! (if the meat was cooked thoroughly then­ less of these parasites would survive).

    this­ information on pigs is general public knowledge now.­ there were several documentaries about this on TV. One­ was were a guy deliberatly ate pig meat on regular­ occasions & then had himself checked out after­ several weeks to see if anything had infected him or­ entered his body. On several occasions, they found he­ had tape worms in his stomachs, sometimes several­ metres long.
    Other foods can have flat worm parasites­ in them but not on the same scale as pig meat, simply­ because of how soft & tender it is.

    From shujaahmad2004, on Wed 18 Feb 12:29PM
  9. English food know idea what that means however, the­ proliferation of every nationalities restaurant to­ choose from in london what is this vodka boy talking­ about?carl.

    From Carl, on Wed 18 Feb 12:12PM
  10. Everyone's entitled to their own thoughts &­ opinions and RP spoke his mind. He aint the first one­ to complain about English food. Anyway, these big clubs­ ought to have the finest 5 star canteens offering fine­ if not healthy food.

    From paul b, on Wed 18 Feb 11:16AM
  11. I cant believe the idiot fell for that media trap!­
    Most players prefer their own national food and women,­ but they have the sense to shut up about it,­ particularly when your English employers are paying you­ huge amounts of English pounds every week.
    He'd­ better start scoring more goals or else the White Hart­ faithful will kill him!

    From Federal C, on Wed 18 Feb 10:57AM
  12. Prince monkey-bum, you are talking out of it!
    Pigs are­ actually the cleanest animals you can find in farming.­ I should now, I looked after them for three summers­ while at Uni.Don't be mislead by muddy fields.
    I­ would advise the health conscious to eat grilled or­ sauteed fish, white meat & pulses as a source of­ protein,plus fresh fruit & vegetables at every­ meal.Freeze or re-use leftovers. It doesn't cost as­ much to eat fresh than it does packeted,stodgy­ carbohydrate foodstuffs.This time of year you can­ easily make a nourishing thick soup or stew from cheap­ root vegetables, with maybe pulses or cheap cuts of­ lean meat added. Really tasty & again, you can­ freeze if you make enough to keep.

    From Ian, on Wed 18 Feb 8:21AM
  13. I think English food should have been good had it not­ been fatty food. Pork is the most disgusting food in­ the world. Pigs are the dirtiest animals and it is only­ big cats and dogs to eat pig's meat.

    That is the­ only bad thing about English food. It is NOT healthy­ food.

    From Prince monkey-bum, on Wed 18 Feb 7:51AM
  14. What an idiot. Not what he said - he's entitled to­ his opinion (frankly he's right about the women,­ but dead wrong about the food). Anyway the point is he­ needs to shut up and get a good PR agent.

    From ftumch2001, on Wed 18 Feb 7:48AM
  15. i am a brit but have spent the last eight years living­ in ukraine i agree with roman generally the traditional­ food in eastern europe is of a much higher standard­ than in the UK people here tend to use fresh produce­ more frequently purchased from the numerous bazaars­ they rarely spread butter on bread unfortunately there­ is a new generation whose minds are being influenced by­ western fast food marketeers hopefully they won't­ lose their sense of food value completely. regarding­ women i don't believe that they are any better­ looking in eastern europe but they do tend to present­ themselves in a more feminine way that many british­ women might describe as tarty. almost without exception­ the western men i meet here agree that the local women­ are more pleasant to look at than women in the UK why­ do many western men marry east european women and not­ vice versa. as usual the truth does hurt

    From goritsz, on Wed 18 Feb 7:40AM
  16. Oh some of you need to calm down, it was hardly the­ most offensive comment ever.
    grow up @#$%

    From EVAN, on Wed 18 Feb 7:18AM
  17. to: imadhurata You must be kidding old chap! That's­ why when the Brits go to Italy they fill their belly­ with Maccheroni,{Macaroni} Spaghetti,­ Tortellini,Tortelli,Tortelloni,Ravioli, Lasagna,­ Agnolotti, Cannelloni, Gnocchi, Rabaton, Risotto alla­ Mantovana,and leave the Good Food behind i.e. Bollito­ Misto , Brasato al barolo, Anatra farcita, Filetti di ­ Manzo, "brusca" Cotolette Tartufate, Quaglie­ alla Piemontese, Osso Buco alla Milanese con Risotto.­ Fegato alla Veneziana, Tonno alla Genovese, Coniglio­ arrosto, Risotto con i petti di Fagiani, Lepre in ­ Salmi',Scaloppine al limone, Ragu' alla­ Bolognese, Braciole di Castrato. Costine di Agnello,­ Stracotto, Osso Buco, Cotolette alla Valdostana ­ Bistecca alla Fiorentina, Michelin Guide} Abbacchio­ alla Romana, Tiramisu', Cannoli­ Siciliani,Baba' al Rum, Crema di Mascarpone,­ Charlotte alla Milanese, Cioccolata della Marchesa ­ Saapajean, Torrone, Torta alla Crema, Varieta'di­ Gelati, Barbaresco, Barolo, Moscato d'asti, A­ marone, Brunello di Montalcino, Great Super­ Tuscan,Grappa,Vin Santo,Marsala, Fabolous Piemontesi­ Sparkling wines.. I think Ernest Hemingway was right­ when he said the greatest Italian Cooks cook the­ greatest food in the Universe and Lord Byron said ­ Italy taught France how cook!!!!!

    From dante, on Wed 18 Feb 6:28AM
  18. Well, Roman, if you don't like England, you could­ always sacrifice your premier league salary and go back­ to Russia! So what's wrong with English women?­ Would they expect you to do your share of the cooking­ when you get home from kicking your ball?

    From cliveoseman, on Wed 18 Feb 6:14AM
  19. my opinion, english food is awesome,,,,,,,,, but the­ average dinner, meal in an english house hold is @#$%,­ what? you think, bake beans, fish fingers chips, or a­ pop noodle is good. but shepards pie, roast, yorkshire­ pudding, who in god's name doesn't like that?­ besides there are many hyprid meals which are very much­ british born meals, like chicken vindaloo out there.­ and ontop of this, what isn't availible in london?­ i'm sure there are many good accessible russian­ restaurants in london, so what's the biggie.

    From imad, on Wed 18 Feb 5:27AM
  20. to: G K, What a bloody, nervy, nincompoop, cretin, you­ are; to call Great Russia a backward country! F.Y.I­ Idiot, I'm not even a Russian!!!

    From dante, on Wed 18 Feb 5:22AM
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