We must help Ukraine, it is the obligation of the whole world

– Good evening. First of all, I would like to thank you, the Japanese people and Avispa Fukuoka, for the invitation and for this great deed. It always feels nice. Thank you from all of us, especially from my players, the people in the club and the people of Ukraine. It is a great initiative and we are very grateful to be here. Of course, we came to play football and we would like to show people what Shakhtar is, to play a nice game so that people can enjoy it. And we hope that there will be more such charity events in the future, but without such terrible reasons as war. We all hope that it will end soon. But organising such charity events for people is always a fantastic initiative. One more time, we are very grateful for that.

– This year you personally experienced the war in Ukraine. What is the current situation in FC Shakhtar Donetsk?
– The circumstances are not as they should be for a football club or an athlete, of course. Because of this situation, it is absolutely not easy, but there is an unbelievable strength: the mental strength, the strength of brotherhood between the people in the club, who have been living and working as a family for a very long period, working together excellently to help the team and me, as a coach, to focus on the main thing, which is playing football. And we are grateful to them for that. The situation is not perfect, like I already said, but we hope that it will be over very soon. But an important question arises from these circumstances: what can we do right here and right now to make the best of it? And the answer is – play football as well as possible, to be as successful as possible and to give people joy and, most importantly, make the country proud by representing it in the European arena. It is an obligation, but at the same time, a beautiful obligation, because we know what we are doing it for. Also, I have a tremendous respect and admiration for all people in the club who work under these circumstances. It is actually unbelievable. It has only been two months for me, but sometimes I feel like two years have already passed – this says a lot about how intensely we work together under these conditions. And when I see these people, how hard they work, how committed they are to the club, how my players work with a great attitude, travelling a lot, trying to represent their country and the club, but especially the country, in the European competitions, I am very proud of them.

– What is the main significance of holding this charity match in Japan?
– Like you said, this is a charity game, which is very important and which we are very grateful for. It is not so easy to organise such matches and it is also not so easy to travel for them. But we do it with a lot of love. So we are very grateful for these opportunities, and will try one more time to show people a nice game that they will all remember, and, most importantly, we will try to put a spotlight on the situation in Ukraine. Hopefully, the world will help solve these problems and people will live like everybody should live – in peace and prosperity. We are all hoping and praying for that. Sometimes there are no words to describe the situation, as you all know, you can try to find the words but actually there are no words for that. But one more time, let’s all do something nice together tomorrow to remember this game for this good cause. And hopefully this war will end as soon as possible so that people can live in peace and prosperity. And I also want to add that the world has a human obligation to help solve these problems, and should not forget about this obligation. It is not only our obligation as a club, players and coach to play the matches for charity, to put a spotlight on this situation, for other countries it is even bigger – it is about humanity. It is the obligation of the whole world, everyone should act like that.

– Avispa Fukuoka won the J.League Cup this year. What is your first impression of the team?
– Yes, we know that you won the Cup, so congratulations on that. We know that the team took 7th place in the J1 League, which is a very good achievement, I think. We also know that they play dynamic football, like to fight in every episode, but we will learn more details tomorrow at the meeting. I hope it will be a great game with a lot of good moments that the audience will enjoy. Both teams are here to create something special.

– Shakhtar arrived here after the official season was finished, it was a long journey. But the fans in Ukraine are very happy about this game and this tour to Japan, many of them ask the question: do you have any plans to cooperate with Japanese football? Maybe in the future we will see transfers of Japanese players to Shakhtar?
– Yes, football is a global phenomenon, and it is a nice part of it. As a coach, I have great experience of working with several Japanese players. The latest example is Ueda at Feyenoord. As far as I know Japanese players, I can only express my admiration for their passion, desire for development, work attitude, and personal qualities, which, of course, are different for everyone. Many Japanese footballers play at a very high level, at the Champions League level. Like I already said, my experience of working with them was very good. As for Shakhtar signing a Japanese player in the future, I can say that it is possible, but I do not know for sure at the moment. We need to talk about the next transfer window, what we are going to do. We will see. Anyway, we hope that the players from abroad will see that you can play in Ukraine. Yes, the circumstances are not always easy, but it is possible to play, it is possible to show yourself and be on a good level at a well-organised club such as Shakhtar Donetsk.