Shakhtar U21 are preparing for the season
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
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Shakhtar U21 with the new head coach Fernando Valente are getting prepared for the league campaign start
Home training camp
In late June, the team got back from vacation and held the first stage of their pre-season training at the Academy in Schaslyve. In July, they had a week-long training camp in Poltava, where the Orange-and-Blacks played three test games beating the second-league Alyans (1-0), the select team of the Poltava Oblast (11-0), and Hornyak (3-2). Throughout the month, the players have had two sessions a day, apart from their gym sessions.
New coach and squad
This summer, Shakhtar U21 got a new head coach. Instead of Valeriy Kryventsov who headed the U21 team for three seasons and led them to the league title in 2018, the team was headed by a 59-year-old Portuguese specialist Fernando Valente. The Shakhtar U 21 team squad changed almost completely: nearly all the guys who played last year, have moved to the professional league, with the Academy’s Shakhtar U19 players replacing them.
In late June, the team got back from vacation and held the first stage of their pre-season training at the Academy in Schaslyve. In July, they had a week-long training camp in Poltava, where the Orange-and-Blacks played three test games beating the second-league Alyans (1-0), the select team of the Poltava Oblast (11-0), and Hornyak (3-2). Throughout the month, the players have had two sessions a day, apart from their gym sessions.
New coach and squad
This summer, Shakhtar U21 got a new head coach. Instead of Valeriy Kryventsov who headed the U21 team for three seasons and led them to the league title in 2018, the team was headed by a 59-year-old Portuguese specialist Fernando Valente. The Shakhtar U 21 team squad changed almost completely: nearly all the guys who played last year, have moved to the professional league, with the Academy’s Shakhtar U19 players replacing them.
Fernando Valente, Shakhtar U21 head coach
Pavlo Shushko, defender:
- After moving from the U19 team to the U21 one, not many things changed because the guys have remained the same. Perhaps there’s a bit higher pace and a more serious level of play. Plus a new coach has joined the team, and we are getting used to his requirements. We have more ballwork now, with everyone really enjoying it. We’ve got no issues in our communication with the coach: we studied English at school, so we understand many things, plus our coaches help us with translation.
Dmytro Kryskiv, midfielder:
- The preparation is going really well! We trained for a week in Poltava, held three friendlies there and rediscovered a pretty good form. The team got younger, but everyone knows each other as we played together in the youth team. We’ve got just one goal for the season - competing for the top spot. Shakhtar just can’t have any other objectives.
Shakhtar U21 will open the season on July 30 with an away game vs Oleksandriia U21.
- After moving from the U19 team to the U21 one, not many things changed because the guys have remained the same. Perhaps there’s a bit higher pace and a more serious level of play. Plus a new coach has joined the team, and we are getting used to his requirements. We have more ballwork now, with everyone really enjoying it. We’ve got no issues in our communication with the coach: we studied English at school, so we understand many things, plus our coaches help us with translation.
Dmytro Kryskiv, midfielder:
- The preparation is going really well! We trained for a week in Poltava, held three friendlies there and rediscovered a pretty good form. The team got younger, but everyone knows each other as we played together in the youth team. We’ve got just one goal for the season - competing for the top spot. Shakhtar just can’t have any other objectives.
Shakhtar U21 will open the season on July 30 with an away game vs Oleksandriia U21.
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