We were deserving the quarter-finals
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
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On March 27, the Shakhtar analyst coach Tiago Leal marks his 33rd birthday. We are extending our birthday greetings and publishing an exclusive interview with him
- Happy birthday, Tiago! For the first time in your career, you have participated in the Champions League. What emotions have you experienced, what expertise have you gained?
- Thank you for the greetings! The players, the coaches and, I’m sure, the fans as well, are proud of Shakhtar's performance in this Champions League edition. We delivered a top-quality performance, demonstrated the team’s capabilities, supported the club’s high standing on the international scene. The Miners nearly appeared among Europe’s top eight clubs! One should understand that it was precisely we who caused those expectations in people after a fantastic group stage performance and the first leg against Roma in Kharkiv, where we might secure our advancement to the quarter-finals. But before the competition start, nobody believed that we could manage to make it to the knockout stages. But we were ready for that kind of challenge. Roma, having played in the same group with Atletico Madrid and London-based Chelsea, didn’t concede a single goal at their home stadium. Unfortunately, Shakhtar also failed to score. I think we were deserving the Champions League quarter-finals. At the moment, we’re switching to the Ukrainian Premier League, where our major goal is the gold medals. Because next season, our fans should hear the Champions League theme song again.
- You are analyzing many games with the participation of different rivals. What are the trends of modern football?
- In football, as in life, people have different views on many things. There are two key positions. There are specialists who want to be protagonists, trying to manage the play despite all the existing risks. There’s also another group of coaches, who believe more in the strategy, deliberately giving the initiative away and waiting for an error by the opponents. We support the first option. Fonseca decided to create a certain style that would stand out against the background of others. Therefore, we want Shakhtar to always be renowned for their strong character, to play their own game regardless of the opponents and the conditions, we strive to leave a mark at Shakhtar. Therefore, we always tell the footballers the following: we want to dominate possession, we want to make the opponents get nervous because they have no ball, but at the same time we don’t want to keep the ball under control for the sake of statistics; our objective is to keep the ball and create danger near the opponents’ goal. Look, in the Ukrainian Premier League games, Shakhtar always retain the ball. Nobody in Ukraine compares with the Miners in this regard, as well as in terms of the number of dangerous moments we create during a match. Therefore, the opponents don’t see a better option than simply parking the bus in their box and waiting for a counterattacking chance. We, living in that kind of reality, must keep the ball until we rip open the spaces. We are looking for the right time, the right place to accelerate and score one. The players make 20-25 passing moves to send it home. Why? Because we have next to zero open space.
- Who are the most difficult opponents you had to prepare to take on this season?
- All the clubs we played in the Champions League. Manchester City are a step away from claiming the English league title. By the way, Shakhtar are the first team to have beaten Man City this season. Napoli are also competing to win the Serie A, Feyenoord were the champions of the Netherlands; Roma won the top spot in the group against Chelsea and Madrid-based Atletico. Those are all great teams. That’s why Paulo Fonseca told the guys that they should be proud of the work done. Shakhtar won all the home games without playing in the home stadium, and kept the club image at the high level.
- How will you mark your birthday?
- That’s a regular day for me. I never arrange any festivities on the occasion. After training, we will have lunch with my colleagues from the coaching staff. We don’t have that much time for relaxation and fun: there’re just few days left until the next game, we must be fully ready. Shakhtar very much want to win the championship again.
- Thank you for the greetings! The players, the coaches and, I’m sure, the fans as well, are proud of Shakhtar's performance in this Champions League edition. We delivered a top-quality performance, demonstrated the team’s capabilities, supported the club’s high standing on the international scene. The Miners nearly appeared among Europe’s top eight clubs! One should understand that it was precisely we who caused those expectations in people after a fantastic group stage performance and the first leg against Roma in Kharkiv, where we might secure our advancement to the quarter-finals. But before the competition start, nobody believed that we could manage to make it to the knockout stages. But we were ready for that kind of challenge. Roma, having played in the same group with Atletico Madrid and London-based Chelsea, didn’t concede a single goal at their home stadium. Unfortunately, Shakhtar also failed to score. I think we were deserving the Champions League quarter-finals. At the moment, we’re switching to the Ukrainian Premier League, where our major goal is the gold medals. Because next season, our fans should hear the Champions League theme song again.
- You are analyzing many games with the participation of different rivals. What are the trends of modern football?
- In football, as in life, people have different views on many things. There are two key positions. There are specialists who want to be protagonists, trying to manage the play despite all the existing risks. There’s also another group of coaches, who believe more in the strategy, deliberately giving the initiative away and waiting for an error by the opponents. We support the first option. Fonseca decided to create a certain style that would stand out against the background of others. Therefore, we want Shakhtar to always be renowned for their strong character, to play their own game regardless of the opponents and the conditions, we strive to leave a mark at Shakhtar. Therefore, we always tell the footballers the following: we want to dominate possession, we want to make the opponents get nervous because they have no ball, but at the same time we don’t want to keep the ball under control for the sake of statistics; our objective is to keep the ball and create danger near the opponents’ goal. Look, in the Ukrainian Premier League games, Shakhtar always retain the ball. Nobody in Ukraine compares with the Miners in this regard, as well as in terms of the number of dangerous moments we create during a match. Therefore, the opponents don’t see a better option than simply parking the bus in their box and waiting for a counterattacking chance. We, living in that kind of reality, must keep the ball until we rip open the spaces. We are looking for the right time, the right place to accelerate and score one. The players make 20-25 passing moves to send it home. Why? Because we have next to zero open space.
- Who are the most difficult opponents you had to prepare to take on this season?
- All the clubs we played in the Champions League. Manchester City are a step away from claiming the English league title. By the way, Shakhtar are the first team to have beaten Man City this season. Napoli are also competing to win the Serie A, Feyenoord were the champions of the Netherlands; Roma won the top spot in the group against Chelsea and Madrid-based Atletico. Those are all great teams. That’s why Paulo Fonseca told the guys that they should be proud of the work done. Shakhtar won all the home games without playing in the home stadium, and kept the club image at the high level.
- How will you mark your birthday?
- That’s a regular day for me. I never arrange any festivities on the occasion. After training, we will have lunch with my colleagues from the coaching staff. We don’t have that much time for relaxation and fun: there’re just few days left until the next game, we must be fully ready. Shakhtar very much want to win the championship again.