They should think about safety
Monday, September 2, 2024
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Shakhtar captain and midfielder Taras Stepanenko shared his thoughts on the stopped match against Kryvbas
– Taras, the match between Kryvbas and Shakhtar was interrupted and postponed for an unknown period. What can you say about this situation and what is the atmosphere in the team after this news?
– I can say that I already have experience finishing matches after multiple interruptions, like when we played for six hours in Dnipro, sitting indoors three or four times. Now there is experience that the match will be postponed. It is very difficult, but we understand that we have a difficult situation in the country, frontline cities are always at risk. And if a decision is made, then for the sake of safety, it is better not to play the game. After all, when you are emotional, you want to finish the match, especially since we have a complicated schedule. It is difficult to get to Kryvyi Rih and there are always air raid alerts. But it is as it is. To be honest, we are a bit disappointed because we wanted to finish the match. It was said that the curfew could be extended until 23:00, but we're not sure. As I understand it, there is still an air raid alert, so that’s the situation.
– Despite all the scary news, Shakhtar still came to Kryvyi Rih to play this match. How do you support young players and foreigners as a captain?
– After what happened in Kryvyi Rih, I was worried, my family was worried, I know that the wives of footballers were very worried. As for the foreign players – it's understandable: they came to another country and were frightened, but they pulled themselves together. Conditions were arranged for us: we spent the night in another city, travelled two hours by bus to the game, started the match, but didn’t finish it. It's hard, it's not very pleasant, and I think that the people who organize our tournaments, who organize the matches, should pay more attention to safety. Because it's honestly not funny. And I believe that this is not always right.
– Let's talk a little about the positive things: you scored. What emotions did you have after the goal?
– I haven't scored in a long time, and it's always nice to do it in such a tough match. My younger son asked me to score a goal, saying: "Dad, when are you going to score?" So as soon as I did, I called my wife, and she showed it to him – he was thrilled. A goal is always cool! After all, we took the lead, that's why I felt positive emotions.
– You will join the national team together with the other teammates. What goals do you set for yourself with Ukraine?
– I think we will get together and there will be certain tasks that the coach, the UAF president will give us, and we must fulfil them. I think the task is clear: to do everything to win the matches and advance from the group, which gives us the right, as I understand it, then to play in the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup. Although they are constantly changing something there, I don't know for sure, but I understand that these will be the goals. I believe that, basically, we now have a team to achieve them.
– I can say that I already have experience finishing matches after multiple interruptions, like when we played for six hours in Dnipro, sitting indoors three or four times. Now there is experience that the match will be postponed. It is very difficult, but we understand that we have a difficult situation in the country, frontline cities are always at risk. And if a decision is made, then for the sake of safety, it is better not to play the game. After all, when you are emotional, you want to finish the match, especially since we have a complicated schedule. It is difficult to get to Kryvyi Rih and there are always air raid alerts. But it is as it is. To be honest, we are a bit disappointed because we wanted to finish the match. It was said that the curfew could be extended until 23:00, but we're not sure. As I understand it, there is still an air raid alert, so that’s the situation.
– Despite all the scary news, Shakhtar still came to Kryvyi Rih to play this match. How do you support young players and foreigners as a captain?
– After what happened in Kryvyi Rih, I was worried, my family was worried, I know that the wives of footballers were very worried. As for the foreign players – it's understandable: they came to another country and were frightened, but they pulled themselves together. Conditions were arranged for us: we spent the night in another city, travelled two hours by bus to the game, started the match, but didn’t finish it. It's hard, it's not very pleasant, and I think that the people who organize our tournaments, who organize the matches, should pay more attention to safety. Because it's honestly not funny. And I believe that this is not always right.
– Let's talk a little about the positive things: you scored. What emotions did you have after the goal?
– I haven't scored in a long time, and it's always nice to do it in such a tough match. My younger son asked me to score a goal, saying: "Dad, when are you going to score?" So as soon as I did, I called my wife, and she showed it to him – he was thrilled. A goal is always cool! After all, we took the lead, that's why I felt positive emotions.
– You will join the national team together with the other teammates. What goals do you set for yourself with Ukraine?
– I think we will get together and there will be certain tasks that the coach, the UAF president will give us, and we must fulfil them. I think the task is clear: to do everything to win the matches and advance from the group, which gives us the right, as I understand it, then to play in the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup. Although they are constantly changing something there, I don't know for sure, but I understand that these will be the goals. I believe that, basically, we now have a team to achieve them.