Quarter-finals are like a final

- Luis, tell us about the second leg against Wolfsburg. Maybe it didn’t have the good start Luis Castro expected. We all saw Luis Castro’s decisions. He reversed the triangle, Alan Patrick was playing on the left and Marcos Antonio was on the right. That changed the match a bit or maybe a lot?
- Yes, it was a start that we were expecting. From the moment we won in Germany 2-1, we knew that Wolfsburg would try to score in a more direct way, at least in the first minutes of the match, and place all their focus on scoring and getting through to the next round. They put a lot of pressure on us and we tried to look for a way out. We had some difficulties in the first ten minutes, we changed our positions and from that moment on, we started to control the match and had the feeling that the match was going our way than it was for Wolfsburg. However, we know that in football everything can change in an instant, and that’s why it is so exciting. In the second half, at a particular moment, things got more complicated than expected. In the first half, we created five clear goal opportunities but we didn’t score. Wolfsburg had some opportunities as well. But yes, as you said, it was a turbulent start in the first ten minutes, not because of our lack of ability but because of Wolfsburg’s ability to prevent us from playing the ball out from the back.

- There was a moment when the match was still 0-0 when there was a sending off. How did Luis Castro react so that the team could maintain its shape?
- The sending off happened when it was still 0-0. We were aware that from that moment on, Wolfsburg would focus even more on directing the match towards our goal. They would try to open spaces. Those spaces existed but not in such an obvious way once we were ten against ten. More gaps appeared all over the pitch and we knew that if we could play faster in our attacks, we could force the match to be played in their half of the pitch as we wanted. From the moment we forced the match to be played in their half of the pitch, some of Wolfsburg’s players wanted to stay away from their area and they would wait for the transition to hurt us, to try to score and from then on, the gaps would get bigger. That’s what happened. The players that came in to play had this important role of helping the team to get the victory, that’s what happened, we can say we could naturally exploit the spaces they left.

- The Wolfsburg match was the first European match in which FC Shakhtar Donetsk didn’t concede any goals. This is something that, of course, you want but is there anything in particular to be done to address this issue?
- We knew that… At this moment, we have played ten matches, six in the [UEFA] Champions League and four in [UEFA] Europa League. We lost against [Manchester] City [FC] and Atalanta [Bergamasca Calcio]. They are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. We didn’t lose in the other eight matches but we did concede goals in those matches. And we knew that in this match, we could concede and still go through relatively unscathed and without too many difficulties. We would have to play a clean match. We knew that a Wolfsburg goal would increase their chances of getting through, and in case of a second goal they would qualify, or if they scored and we scored, we would have to go to extra time. We knew that in order to get through, we had a very small amount of time to do it. Going to extra time is something that could hurt the teams, so we really wanted to qualify without conceding. We had our opportunities, we kept our discipline and it was very satisfying. The big difference, and which will be the case in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, is that the second legs are always like a final. The first leg is not a final and the second is indeed a final, because everything is decided at that point. They have this special feature, in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals there will not be any time to make up for the first leg. So, we have to be there in the best physical condition, all the better if we avoid extra time and any surprises.

- On the other hand, from the point of view of the attack, you have scored 18 goals in ten European matches. Shakhtar attacks in such a nice way. You play a lot on the front foot. Why is Shakhtar so strong when attacking and so pleasant to watch?
- The players know the way I think about how to attack. They have freedom in the last third of the pitch and for those watching, it can look as if we are in a chaotic moment but there is some order, really. Chaos can be a type of order that those who think it is chaos can’t understand. But we understand it and know that in both the first and second thirds of the pitch, some things have to be done in order to arrive at the last third in a clear and decisive way. But in the last third, the mobility of the team itself leads us to so many opportunities to score, we basically observe the rival, the gaps, the ball and our team mates. And that relationship that we establish in our minds with the gaps, the rival, the team mates and the ball, is vital to enable us to create those opportunities. It is not mandatory for the player to be obsessed about filling the gaps, or each player only filling certain gaps but the important thing for me, is that the gaps must be exploited in order to adapt to what is happening. And that has been pleasant for me, as a coach, and it has been pleasant for the players because they like to play in that last third, to have that kind of freedom, but they know that they have to have a quick response to losing the ball, that they have to position themselves, to reposition the team’s defensive block after losing possession, when we can regain the ball after losing it. So, it’s a direct result of how we think in attack, and we all align ourselves during that attack without losing the defensive balance. It does cause us to concede some goals here and there, but we know that the match is not just for us, the match is also for those watching us, and I think that the great pleasure that coaches have, and also the players, is to feel that the fans have that pleasure as well. And that is what strongly motivates us. 

- You talk a lot about the collective, about the importance of maneuvering the 11 players, but there is one that has been a stand out performer, which is Junior [Moraes] – he has scored 25 goals, made 12 assists. In european matches, [he’s scored] five goals and made two assists. Tell us a bit about this star player.
- Junior knows that I don’t like to individualise, I always consider it a collective game, football is wonderful because of that collective aspect. To coordinate 11 players on the pitch against 11 coordinated players on the other side, and a ball between the two teams that has to go into a goal, is something that demands a lot from the collective. And when I evade questions about the individual, it is because I think that each player has a job to do, they have to do it well. So, they are doing what they are expected to do, to perform well, and that is what we work for every day. And I don’t see it as exceptional that a player performs well, I see it as exceptional that a player performs badly, that is something that would make me speak with a player. When a player is performing well, there is nothing to say. I don’t worry about a player that is performing well, and Junior is a player that, similarly to everyone else in the team, is a player that is performing well, because like all the others, he works hard. Junior is a player that works hard throughout the week, he is a player that takes care of himself, that has a lot of care for his body, that is the four dimensions of performance always makes sure to be at a very high level – in the technical, tactical, physical and psychological dimensions. He is very resilient, he is a player that puts a lot of pressure onto the rival defenders, he is a player that can make long and short diagonals runs at the right times, and he is a very helpful attacking player for the team, a good finisher. He is someone that is a good example, like everyone in the team in terms of character, and how he goes about his profession.

- Since May, Shakhtar has had eight victories, two draws, and no defeats – very strong performances. That gives the team great confidence, right?
- We feel like the confidence that we have is the same confidence that Basel has. Basel has got eight victories, one draw and one defeat, and that defeat happened when they were already qualified. And Basel is a team that won against Krasnodar by five goals. So, this is the data, they have scored 20 goals and conceded four. So, when we speak about our confidence, we can’t forget about the confidence gained by Basel. And that means more responsibility for us, we are aware of the adversary we are facing, and we have to take responsibility for it. And when we are aware of the adversary we quickly know what we have to do on the pitch, and we have to be very focused on the pitch, we have to be very determined on the pitch. And we have to be aware that we are facing an adversary that wants exactly the same as we want, that has exactly the same chances of obtaining it as we do, and that is the confidence that we’ll take into the match, but confidence mixed with awareness.

- This match with Basel, what are your predictions for it, you’ve already talked a bit about it, but in detail what do expect from this match against Basel? An adversary that has maybe surprised many people, but you have already laid out the statistics, what is your opinion on them as an opposing team?
- They are a very strong opponent, only those who are not paying attention would not see it. You know, life has a very interesting thing, it is status. There are moments that status is fatal, making you fail, or on the other hand be successful. Many times during competitions – UEFA competitions – people start talking about which teams are likely to reach the semi-finals, the final. And the betting offices are witnesses of that, because there are a lot of teams that have higher odds because nobody expected them to succeed, but they managed it, and continuously. So, I look at Basel as an extremely aggressive team, with a strong midfield with Fabian Frei, Taulant Xhaka and Samuele Campo – they are very, very strong. And with [Arthur] Cabral as a striker, very assertive, aggressive and intense, and [Afimico] Pululu on the left, who is also strong. They have a defensive line which serves the attack perfectly, that takes advantage of the spaces left by the opponents, they are solid when they’re defending, that knows that the opponent will lose the ball at a certain moment, and in that moment they will launch a fast counter-attack. The central defenders attack the ball, Frei is a player that controls the spaces and assists with diagonal passes to the opposite side, the central defenders serve the attack with long passes. So, it’s a team with a very good defensive block, a strong team, it’s not a one-dimensional team, it’s a strong team. We face a very complex game.

- In the Europa League, how does Luis prepare the games, which is the approach? Is it different from the league championship? How do you prepare for these competitions?
- Yes. We have to be aware that a knockout tie is two games, and in the championship there are 30 games. If we make a mistake in the championship we can fix it, but in a knockout no. So, not even the players can withstand the density of information that we have for a Champions League game or a Europa League game, in this case. This density of information, the videos shown to the players of all the games moments, they couldn’t handle this density, it’s very exhausting. People usually say that the player is tired because it was a very physical game, but no, the player is tired because the mental wear is terrible, but physically they are ready for anything. Mentally, we as human beings are often not ready for certain things, because our body’s ability - not that our mind is not part of our body, because it is but in a different way - commands it. So, to command it, to have a fresh body, the mind has to be fresh. So, we can’t give the players the density of information for a game like this one that we give for a championship game. So, the information increases, we work in record time, the players have to be very focused, there is the pressure of the game, everything is decided in two games, or, in this case, in just one. It’s full on. It’s a careful preparation, the video timings, the trip planning, everything is done in detail. This is our life, we are used to it. They are interesting challenges.

- Now it’s the final eight, in Germany. You’ve said the preparation is different, with just one-legged rounds, the attack is more important? As Phil Jackson [NBA coach] said: “The attack wins games, but it’s the defence who wins championships”. What do you think?
- I think teams lose and win games. There are no attacks or defences. It’s the game. A game is a game, it has everything in there, absolutely everything – the expected and the unexpected. Now, the defensive and attacking moments are decisive, but that’s the game. That’s how I see it. I respect and understand the idea, but this now changes and why? They change because the quarter-finals are like a final, and have exactly the same characteristics of a final, not different ones. Everything is decided in that moment, there isn’t another game, one team has to go through, like in a final, there’s a winner. A second leg allows for a loss, just like in the championship. It’s terrible not having a second leg, the psychological pressure to which players will be subjected to. The team that goes to the final, reaches the final extremely drained mentally. This will then be overcome by the motivation to be in a final, it will overcome the mental wear and tear, but it’s exhilarating when a game is over. In a second leg, the semi-finals, the quarter-finals, will be exciting for both the players and coaches, but it’s a necessary change due to a virus that is affecting us all. It’s a decision that has to be taken and that we understand, but the psychological aspect will be put to the test, because playing knockout games in such a short time, without a second leg, we are not used to that. But we accept it, because it is the only opportunity we have to finish the tournament.