The title is for the fans!
Saturday, June 20, 2020
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Shakhtar goalkeeper and captain Andriy Pyatov reflects on the championship, the decisive victory and the team fans
- Shakhtar have won their 13th title. What do you feel at the moment?
- Just happiness! We went all this year to this and finally became the champions five rounds away from the league season end, which pleases us even more! I told the guys before the game that we must claim the title today. That we couldn’t put it off, because everyone expected this from us. The game was fun, we got somewhat complacent, later managing to put our act together though. We ourselves made our lives harder, and then clinched the win ourselves as well. The main thing is the team’s reaction. I’m delighted by the fact that during the match the team can step it up, with the sub players making our performance stronger. Just look, Konoplyanka came up with an assist, and Tete grabbed a brace. This proves that we’ve got a really strong team and good competition.
- Do you know that no one in Ukraine has claimed the championship so early - five rounds before the finish?
- Nope, we never focussed on that. We just wanted to win it asap.
- Can such an early title be called the easiest in the history of the club?
- No, believe me, it only seems to be so. For me, this is the tenth championship - and each is increasingly harder to secure. Although we haven’t competed through the last round, covering this way isn’t so easy.
- Do you celebrate this championship in an unusual atmosphere?
- Of course we do, celebrating without fans is not quite the thing. But even though they are not at the stadium now, they are always with us and in our hearts. We feel their support, we play for them. The title is for the fans!
- Just happiness! We went all this year to this and finally became the champions five rounds away from the league season end, which pleases us even more! I told the guys before the game that we must claim the title today. That we couldn’t put it off, because everyone expected this from us. The game was fun, we got somewhat complacent, later managing to put our act together though. We ourselves made our lives harder, and then clinched the win ourselves as well. The main thing is the team’s reaction. I’m delighted by the fact that during the match the team can step it up, with the sub players making our performance stronger. Just look, Konoplyanka came up with an assist, and Tete grabbed a brace. This proves that we’ve got a really strong team and good competition.
- Do you know that no one in Ukraine has claimed the championship so early - five rounds before the finish?
- Nope, we never focussed on that. We just wanted to win it asap.
- Can such an early title be called the easiest in the history of the club?
- No, believe me, it only seems to be so. For me, this is the tenth championship - and each is increasingly harder to secure. Although we haven’t competed through the last round, covering this way isn’t so easy.
- Do you celebrate this championship in an unusual atmosphere?
- Of course we do, celebrating without fans is not quite the thing. But even though they are not at the stadium now, they are always with us and in our hearts. We feel their support, we play for them. The title is for the fans!