A 50-50 chance
Friday, February 26, 2021
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In an interview to Shakhtar TV, FC Shakhtar Director of Football Darijo Srna commented on the outcome of the Europa League last-16 draw and the upcoming meeting with Paulo Fonseca’s Roma
- Darijo, before the draw you said that you wanted to meet with Dynamo Kyiv. Did you really want to meet with the Kyivites as early as in the Round of 16?
- When you reach the closing stages of European competitions, of course, you want to avoid encounters with top rivals, but sooner or later you will still get them. That’s why I wanted Dynamo, Granada, Molde, Young Boys ... But we ultimately got really strong Roma with our former coach working there. Lately, we’ve been lucky to meet with the coaches who left their mark at Shakhtar. We’ve just met with Patrick van Leeuwen's Maccabi, and now we will play against Paulo Fonseca’s Roma. By the way, Paulo and I have already exchanged messages, we agreed to meet and have a cup of coffee together. Roma are good opponents who are among the top four clubs in Italy. We are facing a really tough clash, but we’ve recently gained a lot of experience, including our young footballers who played in the Europa League semi-finals, so I estimate it as a 50-50 chance.
- Who is Paulo Fonseca to you?
- He is not only my friend, but also a friend of our club. A great coach who won seven trophies with Shakhtar in three years, currently coaching Roma. We are friends, but on the field, as you know, there are no friends. He will fight for his team, we’ll do so for ours. After the second leg, we'll see who proves stronger and will definitely congratulate each other.
- Shakhtar have already played Roma in the Champions League and have got some positive statistics: the Miners secured four wins in six matches. Do you think you’ll manage to keep the positive statistics in the Europa League?
- We’ve already played twice in Italy with Mr. Castro at the helm. On the first occasion we defeated Atalanta, and then tied with Inter. God grant that we continue in the same way. Despite the importance of the matches against Roma, they are still distant in time; now we need to improve our play, to try to defeat Zorya, then we’ll have fixtures against Ahrobiznes in the Cup and Olimpik in the Championship. And only then we will think about Roma and get prepared.
Watch the exclusive comments of footballers and coaches in the news on Shakhtar Club and on Shakhtar TV. Shakhtar News is aired on weekdays at 19:36. The club channel is also available on the Volia network, satellite Xtra TV, as well as on the platforms of MEGOGO, OLL.TV, Sweet.tv and Divan.tv.
- When you reach the closing stages of European competitions, of course, you want to avoid encounters with top rivals, but sooner or later you will still get them. That’s why I wanted Dynamo, Granada, Molde, Young Boys ... But we ultimately got really strong Roma with our former coach working there. Lately, we’ve been lucky to meet with the coaches who left their mark at Shakhtar. We’ve just met with Patrick van Leeuwen's Maccabi, and now we will play against Paulo Fonseca’s Roma. By the way, Paulo and I have already exchanged messages, we agreed to meet and have a cup of coffee together. Roma are good opponents who are among the top four clubs in Italy. We are facing a really tough clash, but we’ve recently gained a lot of experience, including our young footballers who played in the Europa League semi-finals, so I estimate it as a 50-50 chance.
- Who is Paulo Fonseca to you?
- He is not only my friend, but also a friend of our club. A great coach who won seven trophies with Shakhtar in three years, currently coaching Roma. We are friends, but on the field, as you know, there are no friends. He will fight for his team, we’ll do so for ours. After the second leg, we'll see who proves stronger and will definitely congratulate each other.
- Shakhtar have already played Roma in the Champions League and have got some positive statistics: the Miners secured four wins in six matches. Do you think you’ll manage to keep the positive statistics in the Europa League?
- We’ve already played twice in Italy with Mr. Castro at the helm. On the first occasion we defeated Atalanta, and then tied with Inter. God grant that we continue in the same way. Despite the importance of the matches against Roma, they are still distant in time; now we need to improve our play, to try to defeat Zorya, then we’ll have fixtures against Ahrobiznes in the Cup and Olimpik in the Championship. And only then we will think about Roma and get prepared.
Watch the exclusive comments of footballers and coaches in the news on Shakhtar Club and on Shakhtar TV. Shakhtar News is aired on weekdays at 19:36. The club channel is also available on the Volia network, satellite Xtra TV, as well as on the platforms of MEGOGO, OLL.TV, Sweet.tv and Divan.tv.