Main target is Wolfsburg
Friday, July 10, 2020
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FC Shakhtar Director of Football Darijo Srna reflects on the Europa League knockout phase draw
- Darijo, what was your first reaction to the draw results in terms of the possible opponents in the next round of the Europa League?
- Firstly, only Wolfsburg should be on our minds. Of course, now we know the potential opponents - Eintracht or Basel. Most likely, it will be Basel. I am pleased with the draw, but we need to think about Wolfsburg - a really good team. This is our main target. Only after that we can think about another opponent.
- Shakhtar have already met with Basel in the Champions League and with Eintracht last season in the Europa League. What are your impressions of those encounters? What’s the opponents’ level?
- Right. We had a positive score against Basel, but not against Eintracht. Both teams deserve respect. Basel beat Getafe twice ... But, as I said, our thoughts are just about Wolfsburg. We won’t think about Basel at all.
- In case Shakhtar make it past Wolfsburg, the unusual finals will follow in which everything will be decided in one game. What will come to the fore in those meetings? What details and features should be considered in order to prepare the team, to psych themselves up for securing the necessary result in each match?
- The most important thing is that football is back now. That’s most important for spectators, fans and footballers. One match at each stage? There’s no favourite here. It’s good that we are playing Wolfsburg in Ukraine. This is a decider for us. Only then we will think about the future. We haven’t had our last say in the Europa League yet.