I got the foundation at Shakhtar
Monday, October 22, 2018
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Manchester City player Oleksandr Zinchenko spoke to reporters before the game vs Shakhtar
- Oleksandr, in 2015, with Shakhtar U19, you scored one against Manchester United, the major rivals of Man. City. Three years later, what emotions do you experience when meeting with your home team?
- It happened a bit earlier, but back then I couldn’t imagine that I would end up in such a big club under the guidance of such a great coach. Anyway, that time, the five years I spent at Shakhtar Donetsk, were some of the best years of my life. It was there that I got the football foundation.
- How important is winning now this match and the group for you?
- Of course, this is crucial, as we remember our loss to Lyon in the first round. Tomorrow, there will be a duel with great opponents. Shakhtar has got some excellent footballers. Despite the fact that Fred, Bernard and some others left in the summer, this is a great team, and we are ready to meet with them on the field with all guns blazing.
- Shakhtar is your native club. If you appear and score one, will you celebrate the goal?
- Good question. I hope you’ll see that tomorrow.
- Oleksandr, your coach has not been quite sure both last and this year, that the City have been ready to win the Champions League title. At the same time, you managed to win the EPL title last season. What are your priorities?
- For us, every competition is our priority, therefore we are training to the max. Our objective is to perform well both in the league and in the Champions League. It all depends on us.
- At the club, Pep Guardiola deploys you at left back, while Andriy Shevchenko gives you a more habitual role in the national team. How hard is it to switch from one to the other?
- Initially, of course, it was tough. But we are all professionals, being present here for a good reason, so we need to be able to switch roles. I think that’s a good attribute when you can operate at several positions at once, and it wasn’t that difficult for me.
- Last year, Guardiola was presented with five copies of the Pep Confidential book, and he promised to hand a copy to Fernandinho and you. Have you read it?
- I think this question should be addressed to Pep himself because I haven’t received any book yet (laughing).
- It happened a bit earlier, but back then I couldn’t imagine that I would end up in such a big club under the guidance of such a great coach. Anyway, that time, the five years I spent at Shakhtar Donetsk, were some of the best years of my life. It was there that I got the football foundation.
- How important is winning now this match and the group for you?
- Of course, this is crucial, as we remember our loss to Lyon in the first round. Tomorrow, there will be a duel with great opponents. Shakhtar has got some excellent footballers. Despite the fact that Fred, Bernard and some others left in the summer, this is a great team, and we are ready to meet with them on the field with all guns blazing.
- Shakhtar is your native club. If you appear and score one, will you celebrate the goal?
- Good question. I hope you’ll see that tomorrow.
- Oleksandr, your coach has not been quite sure both last and this year, that the City have been ready to win the Champions League title. At the same time, you managed to win the EPL title last season. What are your priorities?
- For us, every competition is our priority, therefore we are training to the max. Our objective is to perform well both in the league and in the Champions League. It all depends on us.
- At the club, Pep Guardiola deploys you at left back, while Andriy Shevchenko gives you a more habitual role in the national team. How hard is it to switch from one to the other?
- Initially, of course, it was tough. But we are all professionals, being present here for a good reason, so we need to be able to switch roles. I think that’s a good attribute when you can operate at several positions at once, and it wasn’t that difficult for me.
- Last year, Guardiola was presented with five copies of the Pep Confidential book, and he promised to hand a copy to Fernandinho and you. Have you read it?
- I think this question should be addressed to Pep himself because I haven’t received any book yet (laughing).
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