The main thing is to keep going
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
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At a press conference in Madrid, Shakhtar head coach Roberto De Zerbi spoke about the upcoming match vs Real Madrid, playing style, scoring chances, Carlo Ancelotti, Vinicius Jr. and Dentinho
- Good evening, Mister! The leaders and the bottom-spot side are about to meet up. Is this the final for you? Will you keep the same style of play as before? (COPE)
- Good evening. Yes, we continue to follow our playing principles. We’ve been working together for three to four months and we know perfectly well how we can progress in the future. I believe that our progress can also occur thanks to such matches against tough opponents. We’ll continue displaying our philosophy of play. Whether the opponents are strong or not, the most important thing for us is to keep going.
- You say that you won’t change your style of play. I want to ask you whether you’ll change the defensive line compared to the last match in Ukraine? (Radio Marca)
- Vinicius is a great player not just in the match against Shakhtar. I watched the game against Barcelona - he delivered a great first-half performance. Of course, we will pay a lot of attention to Vinicius and Benzema, but also to all the other players. The club and I have our own way, our own playing philosophy - we will keep using it. I believe that’s the right thing to do.
- You’ve met with Ancelotti four times and have never won. He’s a vastly experienced coach. What do you make of him in general? (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
- When two Italians speak Spanish, that's a lot of fun. Basically, I’ve already answered this question at the press conference in Kyiv. Carlo Ancelotti is a role model for all Italian coaches. He knows how to convey his calmness to football players, which he showed when he was a coach in England, France, Spain, Italy. We can only continue looking at him as a role model because I consider him one of the strongest coaches.
- Vinicius stays on track now. How did you see him on the field in Kyiv? Despite the youth of this Brazilian, perhaps he could become a superstar in European football? (El Chiringuito)
- I think Vinicius is an example for many who play in that role. He showed this in international tournaments and in Europe alike. At such a young age, he started wearing a Real Madrid jersey, which is a really hard-earned jersey for all footballers. Vinicius showed his qualities. I believe him to be a role model now, and he will be the one for many players in the future.
- Carlo Ancelotti at his press conference spoke very warmly about you, your unique philosophy and spectacular football. But a half of the group stage is over now for Shakhtar, and everything looks a little bit depressing - the team have not scored a single goal yet. How would you rate this? How much concerned are you over this? (Tribuna.com)
- I believe that we have not yet scored a single goal in the Champions League by chance. We took 25 shots against Sheriff, with 110 balls played in the opponents’ penalty area. We had multiple chances against Inter. And against Real Madrid, before their third goal, we also created some opportunities. So this is just accidental. And we mustn’t forget that we played two of three matches without Traore - this is not an excuse, but just a fact. Of course, it's hard to play without Traore.
- Dentinho’s track record is that of a Real Madrid killer - he scored two goals against Madrid in the Champions League. Will we see him on the field tomorrow? And is it true that his contract is about to expire, and that this is actually his last appearance for Shakhtar? (Tribuna.com)
- Dentinho flew here from Kyiv and will probably play, but I haven’t decide on the starting line-up yet. I will take that decision tomorrow. Maybe he will play from the off, maybe as a substitute. Now about his contract. Traore was seriously injured and is out for a long while which caused us difficulties. However, the issue of whether to extend Dentinho's contract or not has not been decided yet.
- Good evening. Yes, we continue to follow our playing principles. We’ve been working together for three to four months and we know perfectly well how we can progress in the future. I believe that our progress can also occur thanks to such matches against tough opponents. We’ll continue displaying our philosophy of play. Whether the opponents are strong or not, the most important thing for us is to keep going.
- You say that you won’t change your style of play. I want to ask you whether you’ll change the defensive line compared to the last match in Ukraine? (Radio Marca)
- Vinicius is a great player not just in the match against Shakhtar. I watched the game against Barcelona - he delivered a great first-half performance. Of course, we will pay a lot of attention to Vinicius and Benzema, but also to all the other players. The club and I have our own way, our own playing philosophy - we will keep using it. I believe that’s the right thing to do.
- You’ve met with Ancelotti four times and have never won. He’s a vastly experienced coach. What do you make of him in general? (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
- When two Italians speak Spanish, that's a lot of fun. Basically, I’ve already answered this question at the press conference in Kyiv. Carlo Ancelotti is a role model for all Italian coaches. He knows how to convey his calmness to football players, which he showed when he was a coach in England, France, Spain, Italy. We can only continue looking at him as a role model because I consider him one of the strongest coaches.
- Vinicius stays on track now. How did you see him on the field in Kyiv? Despite the youth of this Brazilian, perhaps he could become a superstar in European football? (El Chiringuito)
- I think Vinicius is an example for many who play in that role. He showed this in international tournaments and in Europe alike. At such a young age, he started wearing a Real Madrid jersey, which is a really hard-earned jersey for all footballers. Vinicius showed his qualities. I believe him to be a role model now, and he will be the one for many players in the future.
- Carlo Ancelotti at his press conference spoke very warmly about you, your unique philosophy and spectacular football. But a half of the group stage is over now for Shakhtar, and everything looks a little bit depressing - the team have not scored a single goal yet. How would you rate this? How much concerned are you over this? (Tribuna.com)
- I believe that we have not yet scored a single goal in the Champions League by chance. We took 25 shots against Sheriff, with 110 balls played in the opponents’ penalty area. We had multiple chances against Inter. And against Real Madrid, before their third goal, we also created some opportunities. So this is just accidental. And we mustn’t forget that we played two of three matches without Traore - this is not an excuse, but just a fact. Of course, it's hard to play without Traore.
- Dentinho’s track record is that of a Real Madrid killer - he scored two goals against Madrid in the Champions League. Will we see him on the field tomorrow? And is it true that his contract is about to expire, and that this is actually his last appearance for Shakhtar? (Tribuna.com)
- Dentinho flew here from Kyiv and will probably play, but I haven’t decide on the starting line-up yet. I will take that decision tomorrow. Maybe he will play from the off, maybe as a substitute. Now about his contract. Traore was seriously injured and is out for a long while which caused us difficulties. However, the issue of whether to extend Dentinho's contract or not has not been decided yet.
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