We stick to our course
Sunday, January 19, 2020
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On January 19, Filipe Celikkaya marks his birthday
The Shakhtar assistant manager turns 35 years old. We wish him all the very best on the occasion and traditionally ask the birthday boy a few questions.
- Filipe, what do you make of the first six months at Shakhtar?
- These six months were good for me and my family. My adaptation was easy. Shakhtar provides us with every condition for excellent work, and I’m really pleased with that. At the club, I met some great people and big professionals. In a word, everything goes in a natural way to achieve our goals. Thanks to the hard work, dedication, and respect for everyone, we are topping the Ukrainian league, also continuing our journey in the Europa League.
- What game is memorable for you?
- All matches are crucial, but I would mention the victories of 2-1 and 1-0 over Dynamo Kyiv. Meetings with those opponents are always special. Along with the Champions League victory over Atalanta (2-1) at San Siro and an away draw against Dynamo Zagreb when no one seemed to expect that any longer.
- Tell us more about your adaptation. How well do you understand the language, what features or customs of the Ukrainians seem interesting to you?
- A few years ago, I got my first foreign experience - with Al-Ahli in the UAE. Back then, I discovered that the culture is completely different from that in our country. Shakhtar is my second job outside of Portugal, and here my adaptation was really easy. Perhaps because I used to live in different countries. I suppose that Ukraine is no different from Portugal. I like getting to know the local culture, people, and history. The language isn’t easy, but I understand the key words. My wife, by the way, regularly attends language classes, I also plan to start learning it shortly. I haven’t had time to go to the opera, the ballet, or to attend the theatre performance that I heard many positive things about, but I'm going to do that. As for my gastronomic preferences, I’d mention borsch, potato pancakes and stuffed crepe that I regularly eat.
- We’ve been halfway through the season now. How do you see its perfect completion?
- We want to be the Champions of Ukraine and will do our utmost for achieving that. We’ve been fully dedicated to this goal since the first day of work at the club. We will stick to our course and develop further with great passion and devotion to our job. In the Europa League, we want to advance as far as possible. Primarily, it’s important to make it past Benfica - that’s our major focus at the moment.
- Filipe, what do you make of the first six months at Shakhtar?
- These six months were good for me and my family. My adaptation was easy. Shakhtar provides us with every condition for excellent work, and I’m really pleased with that. At the club, I met some great people and big professionals. In a word, everything goes in a natural way to achieve our goals. Thanks to the hard work, dedication, and respect for everyone, we are topping the Ukrainian league, also continuing our journey in the Europa League.
- What game is memorable for you?
- All matches are crucial, but I would mention the victories of 2-1 and 1-0 over Dynamo Kyiv. Meetings with those opponents are always special. Along with the Champions League victory over Atalanta (2-1) at San Siro and an away draw against Dynamo Zagreb when no one seemed to expect that any longer.
- Tell us more about your adaptation. How well do you understand the language, what features or customs of the Ukrainians seem interesting to you?
- A few years ago, I got my first foreign experience - with Al-Ahli in the UAE. Back then, I discovered that the culture is completely different from that in our country. Shakhtar is my second job outside of Portugal, and here my adaptation was really easy. Perhaps because I used to live in different countries. I suppose that Ukraine is no different from Portugal. I like getting to know the local culture, people, and history. The language isn’t easy, but I understand the key words. My wife, by the way, regularly attends language classes, I also plan to start learning it shortly. I haven’t had time to go to the opera, the ballet, or to attend the theatre performance that I heard many positive things about, but I'm going to do that. As for my gastronomic preferences, I’d mention borsch, potato pancakes and stuffed crepe that I regularly eat.
- We’ve been halfway through the season now. How do you see its perfect completion?
- We want to be the Champions of Ukraine and will do our utmost for achieving that. We’ve been fully dedicated to this goal since the first day of work at the club. We will stick to our course and develop further with great passion and devotion to our job. In the Europa League, we want to advance as far as possible. Primarily, it’s important to make it past Benfica - that’s our major focus at the moment.