Footballers grow continually
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
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The head coach of Shakhtar youth team Fernando Valente summed up the results of the league season’s stage one, named the best ones and spoke about the Academy’s goals
- Was this half-year period fruitful for Shakhtar Academy?
- I think we have done a good job in the face of the pandemic. My objective is preparing players for the first team. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that our players grow continually. We sent Sudakov and Viunnyk to Shakhtar's first team, while Ocheretko went on loan, to the UPL as well. I am happy with this success, but it isn’t sufficient. I want to remind you that last season's players are also playing for good clubs now: Melichenko is one of the best at Minaj, and Kryskiv is a key player at Metalist-1925.
- What do you make of the Championship’s first stage?
- I know that we suffered more defeats than usual this half of the year, but we opened the doors to the first team for the players. I'm not looking for excuses, but the accompanying conditions weren't the best ones. Everyone knows that during the first-team pandemic, our leaders replaced sick players. During the season, we have substantially renewed the Academy squads. In the second half of the season, we'll be working more with our talents individually to help the players progress.
- You mentioned Viunnyk and Sudakov, did they progress the most?
- Yes, despite their age, the guys are well prepared, I think they can already play in the first team. On the example of Sudakov and Viunnyk, you can see that we instilled a sense of confidence in the guys. They, in turn, shone even brighter, believing in themselves. They have a great future, but they need to refine themselves and have patience in order to prove themselves in the main team of Shakhtar.
- In 13 matches, you fielded 34 players. Is that a lot or a little?
- Currently, the season passes in such a way that some players leave, others come, and some others are just ill. We must be ready for this and look for a way out of this situation. Very often during the first stage, I resorted to the help of the youth team players, I think this is the best way for them to progress. The outcome was not always such as we wanted it to be, but we tried to win every match. I am happy with the progress we currently see in our younger generation.
- Which of the matches do you like the most?
- I can't say for sure since we didn't always play perfectly. But I would highlight the match against Oleksandriia when we managed to win a tough encounter. In general, even the guys who got integrated into the team during the Championship scored with us, which means that individuals decided a lot.
- What aspects of the play would you like to change?
- I’d like to see better interplay, so that the team could make the difference collectively. The difficulty lies in the fact that the leaders have left, and it’s impossible to prepare a stable squad during the pandemic.
- How hard was it for the coach to work in the conditions related to COVID-19?
- It's very difficult. I prayed for us to be able to end the year safely, I was really worried that COVID-19 could interfere. I would like to thank our doctor Viktor Tereshkov who helped us a lot during this difficult time. I also want to mention the whole club for the conditions they provided us with. I want to extend my greetings to the entire Shakhtar family on the upcoming holidays and wish them good health! Hopefully, in the coming year we all will be able to defeat COVID-19.
- I think we have done a good job in the face of the pandemic. My objective is preparing players for the first team. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that our players grow continually. We sent Sudakov and Viunnyk to Shakhtar's first team, while Ocheretko went on loan, to the UPL as well. I am happy with this success, but it isn’t sufficient. I want to remind you that last season's players are also playing for good clubs now: Melichenko is one of the best at Minaj, and Kryskiv is a key player at Metalist-1925.
- What do you make of the Championship’s first stage?
- I know that we suffered more defeats than usual this half of the year, but we opened the doors to the first team for the players. I'm not looking for excuses, but the accompanying conditions weren't the best ones. Everyone knows that during the first-team pandemic, our leaders replaced sick players. During the season, we have substantially renewed the Academy squads. In the second half of the season, we'll be working more with our talents individually to help the players progress.
- You mentioned Viunnyk and Sudakov, did they progress the most?
- Yes, despite their age, the guys are well prepared, I think they can already play in the first team. On the example of Sudakov and Viunnyk, you can see that we instilled a sense of confidence in the guys. They, in turn, shone even brighter, believing in themselves. They have a great future, but they need to refine themselves and have patience in order to prove themselves in the main team of Shakhtar.
- In 13 matches, you fielded 34 players. Is that a lot or a little?
- Currently, the season passes in such a way that some players leave, others come, and some others are just ill. We must be ready for this and look for a way out of this situation. Very often during the first stage, I resorted to the help of the youth team players, I think this is the best way for them to progress. The outcome was not always such as we wanted it to be, but we tried to win every match. I am happy with the progress we currently see in our younger generation.
- Which of the matches do you like the most?
- I can't say for sure since we didn't always play perfectly. But I would highlight the match against Oleksandriia when we managed to win a tough encounter. In general, even the guys who got integrated into the team during the Championship scored with us, which means that individuals decided a lot.
- What aspects of the play would you like to change?
- I’d like to see better interplay, so that the team could make the difference collectively. The difficulty lies in the fact that the leaders have left, and it’s impossible to prepare a stable squad during the pandemic.
- How hard was it for the coach to work in the conditions related to COVID-19?
- It's very difficult. I prayed for us to be able to end the year safely, I was really worried that COVID-19 could interfere. I would like to thank our doctor Viktor Tereshkov who helped us a lot during this difficult time. I also want to mention the whole club for the conditions they provided us with. I want to extend my greetings to the entire Shakhtar family on the upcoming holidays and wish them good health! Hopefully, in the coming year we all will be able to defeat COVID-19.