Football is a passion
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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Shakhtar head coach Roberto De Zerbi talks about the upcoming UCL match against Inter, the opponents’ strength, the chances in European competitions and the squad
- You are facing the match against the opponents who want to qualify for the next stage, who need a victory. They say that tomorrow’s game will be virtually sold out due to numerous Inter fans. What do you think the fight will be like? And why, according to you, hasn't Shakhtar won a single match yet? (Agenzia Area)
We’re facing a really tough match. We will be playing against a very strong team who perform very well. Inter have many strong players who have been playing together for many years. We know that the stadium will be packed with highly enthusiastic Inter fans, as was the case in the Italian Serie A match against Napoli. We want to show our football. We’ll try to score points tomorrow which will give us a chance to claim the third spot in the group. We haven't had a single win in this Champions League campaign yet maybe because we haven’t deserved it. But we display good football. Even against Sheriff we didn’t play badly, but they shot on target twice and bagged two goals. We created many chances to win, but it didn't work out. Of course, we may even lose to Inter because, I think, they are a stronger team.
- Could you compare the match in Kyiv with the one that will take place tomorrow? Especially considering that Traore won’t be present there. (Inter-News.it)
- Tomorrow we won't have Alan Patrick and Ismaily. Let's see if Stepanenko can recover – his presence is also questioned. We’ll use those players who, taking into account their attributes, will be able to replace those mentioned earlier. It’s clear that those will be the younger players with less experience in matches of this level. In any case, we will field those who can give their maximum. We haven’t yet made the final decision as to those to be fielded.
- Patrick and Sudakov won’t be present on the squad list for the game, so I’d like to ask you about Pedrinho's state. He recently returned after injury: will he be ready to spend 90 minutes on the field? (ua-football.com)
- Pedrino played for 30 minutes in the last match on Saturday. Let's see if he can appear in the starting lineup or as a sub. He has actually recovered from his injury. It’s a pity that Sudakov will be absent – we will miss him, nevertheless we have enough footballers at our disposal.
- Does it put additional pressure on you that tomorrow's, possibly decisive, match you are playing in your native Italy? (Tribuna.com)
- No, I won't feel much pressure. I felt the pressure both with Rukh on Saturday and with Kolos. I will feel it in the match against Ingulets on Sunday. Everyone who does coaching understands that pressure is an integral part of this activity, and they need to be able to cope. Even more so in the Champions League. After all, the group stage is six matches, and they are all intense, especially at the end of the round.
- A month ago, in one round of Serie A, almost all the coaches of the leading clubs were sent off. Arteta and Klopp nearly got into a fight this weekend, and you were sent off in the game against Rukh. Can you explain what is happening to the world's top coaches? Can’t you handle the pressure? Or is it, conversely, a new style of managing your teams? (FanDay)
- Over five seasons in Italy, they never sent me off. I think on Saturday, when they sent me off, there were, of course, some reasons for it. But in fact, I live every day in football emotionally. Football is a passion. That’s why the things that happened don’t depend on me.
- At today's press conference, Inzaghi said that Shakhtar reminds him of Napoli and Sassuolo. Considering that Inter beat Napoli at the weekend, perhaps he wanted to hint that he knows how to beat Shakhtar. Do you understand how you can take points from Inter? And are you ready to surprise the Italian? (ICTV)
- I think there are few secrets left in football. I don’t know how correct it is to compare Napoli and Shakhtar, because we have a lot of young players. Inter actually had a very good match and beat Napoli. But I don't think it's worth comparing the two sides.
- Can you confirm that the mentality that you mentioned while answering the question about Inter is applicable to tomorrow's match?
- I'm not used to discussing the events in other teams. I follow the developments in my team. Inter conceded an opener by Napoli, ultimately winning the match. This means that they have created their own mentality, and that it’s strong. As I said, they are more determined to play in the Champions League. Primarily, we must win the Ukrainian league title again, and next season, I’m sure, we can play in this tournament in an entirely different way. In actual fact, this is also our way which can strengthen our mentality. Every Champions League match can help in some way. This doesn’t mean that we came here to play just for nothing - we still have chances, and we will try to score points to continue competing.
- What’s the biggest difference between Conte’s Inter and Inzaghi’s Inter? (Fcinter1908.it)
- As I said, I don't like talking about other teams, about the stuff happening there. What I can say for sure is that I can see how well Inzaghi works. This can be seen in the victory over Napoli, in the team’s quality play against Milan and against the same Real Madrid. His work is solid and really positive.
We’re facing a really tough match. We will be playing against a very strong team who perform very well. Inter have many strong players who have been playing together for many years. We know that the stadium will be packed with highly enthusiastic Inter fans, as was the case in the Italian Serie A match against Napoli. We want to show our football. We’ll try to score points tomorrow which will give us a chance to claim the third spot in the group. We haven't had a single win in this Champions League campaign yet maybe because we haven’t deserved it. But we display good football. Even against Sheriff we didn’t play badly, but they shot on target twice and bagged two goals. We created many chances to win, but it didn't work out. Of course, we may even lose to Inter because, I think, they are a stronger team.
- Could you compare the match in Kyiv with the one that will take place tomorrow? Especially considering that Traore won’t be present there. (Inter-News.it)
- Tomorrow we won't have Alan Patrick and Ismaily. Let's see if Stepanenko can recover – his presence is also questioned. We’ll use those players who, taking into account their attributes, will be able to replace those mentioned earlier. It’s clear that those will be the younger players with less experience in matches of this level. In any case, we will field those who can give their maximum. We haven’t yet made the final decision as to those to be fielded.
- Patrick and Sudakov won’t be present on the squad list for the game, so I’d like to ask you about Pedrinho's state. He recently returned after injury: will he be ready to spend 90 minutes on the field? (ua-football.com)
- Pedrino played for 30 minutes in the last match on Saturday. Let's see if he can appear in the starting lineup or as a sub. He has actually recovered from his injury. It’s a pity that Sudakov will be absent – we will miss him, nevertheless we have enough footballers at our disposal.
- Does it put additional pressure on you that tomorrow's, possibly decisive, match you are playing in your native Italy? (Tribuna.com)
- No, I won't feel much pressure. I felt the pressure both with Rukh on Saturday and with Kolos. I will feel it in the match against Ingulets on Sunday. Everyone who does coaching understands that pressure is an integral part of this activity, and they need to be able to cope. Even more so in the Champions League. After all, the group stage is six matches, and they are all intense, especially at the end of the round.
- A month ago, in one round of Serie A, almost all the coaches of the leading clubs were sent off. Arteta and Klopp nearly got into a fight this weekend, and you were sent off in the game against Rukh. Can you explain what is happening to the world's top coaches? Can’t you handle the pressure? Or is it, conversely, a new style of managing your teams? (FanDay)
- Over five seasons in Italy, they never sent me off. I think on Saturday, when they sent me off, there were, of course, some reasons for it. But in fact, I live every day in football emotionally. Football is a passion. That’s why the things that happened don’t depend on me.
- At today's press conference, Inzaghi said that Shakhtar reminds him of Napoli and Sassuolo. Considering that Inter beat Napoli at the weekend, perhaps he wanted to hint that he knows how to beat Shakhtar. Do you understand how you can take points from Inter? And are you ready to surprise the Italian? (ICTV)
- I think there are few secrets left in football. I don’t know how correct it is to compare Napoli and Shakhtar, because we have a lot of young players. Inter actually had a very good match and beat Napoli. But I don't think it's worth comparing the two sides.
- Can you confirm that the mentality that you mentioned while answering the question about Inter is applicable to tomorrow's match?
- I'm not used to discussing the events in other teams. I follow the developments in my team. Inter conceded an opener by Napoli, ultimately winning the match. This means that they have created their own mentality, and that it’s strong. As I said, they are more determined to play in the Champions League. Primarily, we must win the Ukrainian league title again, and next season, I’m sure, we can play in this tournament in an entirely different way. In actual fact, this is also our way which can strengthen our mentality. Every Champions League match can help in some way. This doesn’t mean that we came here to play just for nothing - we still have chances, and we will try to score points to continue competing.
- What’s the biggest difference between Conte’s Inter and Inzaghi’s Inter? (Fcinter1908.it)
- As I said, I don't like talking about other teams, about the stuff happening there. What I can say for sure is that I can see how well Inzaghi works. This can be seen in the victory over Napoli, in the team’s quality play against Milan and against the same Real Madrid. His work is solid and really positive.
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