We want to build strongest Shakhtar
Sunday, January 21, 2024
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Sports Director of FC Shakhtar Darijo Srna about Kevin’s transfer, the desire to create a strong team and develop Ukrainian football
– Darijo, Shakhtar made the first transfer in 2024. How can you describe Kevin and why did you choose him?
– We are very glad that we finally signed Kevin, because we wanted to do this a year ago: the player immediately agreed, but Palmeiras did not want to sell him. A year passed, and we signed Kevin. He is the player we need today, a young guy who makes a very big difference on the pitch. He is very skilful, has insane speed, has short dribbling skills and he is excellent in the final phase. We are all very happy that he finally joined us and is already training.
– You saw Kevin during training sessions. What exactly impressed you about him and how well does he interact with other players?
– I liked how Kevin fitted into the team on the first day: he immediately started talking with Sudakov, goalkeepers and other players. He also immediately showed his abilities. He does not need adaptation. You know that before there was an adaptation period that last from a year and a half to two years, but now there is no time – we have to adapt the footballer we sign very quickly.
– You are present at every training session of the team. What can you say about how the training camp is going?
– I really like how the training camp started. We were able to make sure that some players will go on loan, we will try to sell someone, and we will buy someone. We want to make very strong Shakhtar. When we met with the president several times a year ago, six months ago, everything was very simple for us – we know what we want. We want to build strongest Shakhtar. And we are on the right track. The fact that we have Kevin is proof that we want to build strongest Shakhtar and raise the level of Ukrainian football. This level has dropped drastically, because today we are in a difficult situation, but we cannot allow the Ukrainian fans not to hear the Champions League anthem in the future. That is why we are trying to do everything so that every fan, every soldier, who today defends our country, is happy when Shakhtar play. When Shakhtar play their beautiful attacking football.
– You mentioned that the club plans to buy more players. For what positions? What transfers are planned exactly?
– We will not disclose this, but we will make investments. We will make investments in order to improve Ukrainian football and Shakhtar itself. All other clubs are also investing, for which we are very grateful to them – to Oleksandriia, Dnipro-1, Mr. Butkevych and Polissia, Dynamo Kyiv, Zorya, and Mr. Kozlovskyi. who is building a very serious team. Together we can achieve what we need: strong Ukrainian League which will create very great talents. If you look at Ukraine national team today, all of its members play for such top clubs as Arsenal, Everton, Girona, Benfica, Chelsea. They all went through the Ukrainian League, and we need a strong championship, strong UPL. Therefore, I am grateful to everyone who puts their heart, money and time into the development of Ukraine, into the development of Ukrainian football.
– Can you tell how exactly the arrival of such players affects the development of Ukrainian football, the development of our team and, in particular, Ukrainian players, using the example of Kevin?
– Kevin has brought a lot of diversity and all other players will grow with Kevin. His quality improves other players as well. As I said already, Kevin himself fits in well, and I am sure that he will bring a lot of benefits to Shakhtar and will be a world star.
– FC Shakhtar CEO Serhii Palkin said that the club rejected the offer for Heorhii Sudakov. Are you happy that Sudakov stays with the team, and what can you say about it?
– This is another proof of what we want. Our president does not give up. Now, Ukraine is going through difficult times, there is a war. Unfortunately, the war started for us back in 2014, when we were left without our home, without our stadium, without our city, without our fans who live all over the world today. The refusal to sell Sudakov is an indicator of what we want to do. We want to ensure that every Ukrainian fan, every Shakhtar fan, watches and enjoys Shakhtar’s game. And I promise you that Shakhtar football team will do everything to give positive emotions to our soldiers, our fans to make it easier for everyone to live through this difficult period, to give a breath of fresh air.
– Summing up the conversation, what are Shakhtar’s goals and ambitions for the second part of the season?
– I think you know the answer to this question: to advance as far as possible in the Europa League and to gain points for Ukrainian football, to win the title, which will give us the Champions League, and to win the Ukrainian Cup.
– We are very glad that we finally signed Kevin, because we wanted to do this a year ago: the player immediately agreed, but Palmeiras did not want to sell him. A year passed, and we signed Kevin. He is the player we need today, a young guy who makes a very big difference on the pitch. He is very skilful, has insane speed, has short dribbling skills and he is excellent in the final phase. We are all very happy that he finally joined us and is already training.
– You saw Kevin during training sessions. What exactly impressed you about him and how well does he interact with other players?
– I liked how Kevin fitted into the team on the first day: he immediately started talking with Sudakov, goalkeepers and other players. He also immediately showed his abilities. He does not need adaptation. You know that before there was an adaptation period that last from a year and a half to two years, but now there is no time – we have to adapt the footballer we sign very quickly.
– You are present at every training session of the team. What can you say about how the training camp is going?
– I really like how the training camp started. We were able to make sure that some players will go on loan, we will try to sell someone, and we will buy someone. We want to make very strong Shakhtar. When we met with the president several times a year ago, six months ago, everything was very simple for us – we know what we want. We want to build strongest Shakhtar. And we are on the right track. The fact that we have Kevin is proof that we want to build strongest Shakhtar and raise the level of Ukrainian football. This level has dropped drastically, because today we are in a difficult situation, but we cannot allow the Ukrainian fans not to hear the Champions League anthem in the future. That is why we are trying to do everything so that every fan, every soldier, who today defends our country, is happy when Shakhtar play. When Shakhtar play their beautiful attacking football.
– You mentioned that the club plans to buy more players. For what positions? What transfers are planned exactly?
– We will not disclose this, but we will make investments. We will make investments in order to improve Ukrainian football and Shakhtar itself. All other clubs are also investing, for which we are very grateful to them – to Oleksandriia, Dnipro-1, Mr. Butkevych and Polissia, Dynamo Kyiv, Zorya, and Mr. Kozlovskyi. who is building a very serious team. Together we can achieve what we need: strong Ukrainian League which will create very great talents. If you look at Ukraine national team today, all of its members play for such top clubs as Arsenal, Everton, Girona, Benfica, Chelsea. They all went through the Ukrainian League, and we need a strong championship, strong UPL. Therefore, I am grateful to everyone who puts their heart, money and time into the development of Ukraine, into the development of Ukrainian football.
– Can you tell how exactly the arrival of such players affects the development of Ukrainian football, the development of our team and, in particular, Ukrainian players, using the example of Kevin?
– Kevin has brought a lot of diversity and all other players will grow with Kevin. His quality improves other players as well. As I said already, Kevin himself fits in well, and I am sure that he will bring a lot of benefits to Shakhtar and will be a world star.
– FC Shakhtar CEO Serhii Palkin said that the club rejected the offer for Heorhii Sudakov. Are you happy that Sudakov stays with the team, and what can you say about it?
– This is another proof of what we want. Our president does not give up. Now, Ukraine is going through difficult times, there is a war. Unfortunately, the war started for us back in 2014, when we were left without our home, without our stadium, without our city, without our fans who live all over the world today. The refusal to sell Sudakov is an indicator of what we want to do. We want to ensure that every Ukrainian fan, every Shakhtar fan, watches and enjoys Shakhtar’s game. And I promise you that Shakhtar football team will do everything to give positive emotions to our soldiers, our fans to make it easier for everyone to live through this difficult period, to give a breath of fresh air.
– Summing up the conversation, what are Shakhtar’s goals and ambitions for the second part of the season?
– I think you know the answer to this question: to advance as far as possible in the Europa League and to gain points for Ukrainian football, to win the title, which will give us the Champions League, and to win the Ukrainian Cup.